•CHARLIE•
My head's spinning and I couldn't calm down. I couldn't sleep a wink last night. Even in the arms of the guy I really like, all the previous comfort seemed like an illusion and I was suddenly brought back to Earth by the snap of a magician's fingers.
Thank you, world, for being an asshole to me.
I sighed, leaning back into the chair.
I thought so! Theodore is too perfect. There was obviously some flaw somewhere but talking about cutting off someone's hand like discussing the weather was totally a shock.
What am I gonna do?
A hand suddenly landed on my shoulder and boy, did it scare the shit out of me. I looked at the owner of the hand and it was Julian.
"Are you okay?",he asked after a while of staring at me like I grew a boob on my nose.
"Yeah",I said nodding.
"Well, there are paintings to deliver to B&C, did you forget?".
"No but could you pardon me for today?".
He rose a brow at me,"Why should I? I'm giving you an opportunity to meet your boyfriend here".
"I'm kinda busy and B&C is a little far from here",I half lied.
He looked at me closely,"Are you really okay?".
"Yeah".
I bit my lip. Should I ask him about it? I mean, they are best friends so he obviously knows Theodore better than I do.
"U-uh, Julian",I began nervously. Thinking of telling him without my fears unintentionally exaggerating the details.
He looked skeptical,"Yeah?".
"About Ted. Does he-",I was interrupted by the door opening and Brody walking in.
He looked at Julian,"Some lady named May is looking for you".
Julian looked confused,"Which May?".
Brody shrugged,"How should I know?".
"How does she look like?".
"Short, busty, blonde... Ah, a rose tattoo on her neck".
"Oh, that May",Julian exclaimed happily and turned to leave.
"Julian", I called and he looked back at me,"can I stay at your place tonight?".
He looked uncomfortable,"Geez, Charlie. I like you and you're a cute guy but I don't swing that way".
I frowned,"I don't mean it like that".
"You can come stay over at my place",Brody politely offered.
I would have accepted if the risk of being forced to do something I didn't want to wasn't there.
I smiled at him,"Thanks but no thanks",I looked at Julian expectantly.
He groaned,"Ted is gonna kill me", then he looked at me,"okay. Just for tonight".
"Sure".
He left and I sighed in relief. He's the only person I can talk to about this.
"Are you sleeping with Julian too?",Brody asked as he leaned on the doorframe.
"He just said that he doesn't swing that way".
"So you're targeting him?".
My eyes widened in surprise,"That's not the point".
"Then why would you want to stay over? Are you and your rich ass boyfriend having a lovers spat? Looking for comfort?".
I rolled my eyes and stood up,"Aren't you some multicoloured fucker?",I said sarcastically,"you invite me to stay over so politely one minute and making me sound like a whore the next".
"Aren't all gays like that?".
Without much thought, I grabbed him by the collar,"Watch your mouth",I said through gritted teeth and let go,"I don't owe you any answers so fuck off".
"Hmm.... Can it be? You've finally seen your boyfriend's bad side?".
I stiffened.
He knows? How the fuck does he know?
Ignoring his question, I walked out of the resting room and got into one of the classes. Seeing if there's anything to refill or if there are canvases that need to be replaced.
After work hours, I stood outside the art studio as I waited for Julian to finish whatever he was doing with the woman inside.
I got my phone and called Ted. After the third ring, he picked up.
"Hey",came his smooth voice and my heart flattered.
"Hey, Ted. Uhm, I'm not coming home today".
There was a long pause,"Sure",he said and I felt my jaw hit the concrete.
Sure?
That's it?
"I'm still working so..... We'll talk later",he hang up.
I looked at my phone in disbelief. He didn't ask why. He even hang up on me. Was he offended? I'm the one whose supposed to be offended here.
"Is it just me or are you really off today?".
I looked at Julian. He was walking towards me, shaking the keys in his right hand.
I smiled softly.
"What do you wanna talk about?".
I exhaled loudly,"It's about Ted".
He looked at me for a while then stared ahead,"My house is an easy five minute walk from here. We'll talk properly then".
We walked down the street and as he said earlier, his house was really close. He unlocked the door and he let me get in first then he walked in.
From outside, this place honestly looked like a dump but the inside was amazing and weirdly huge. The walls were high, luxurious furniture graced the place and there was an indoor pool.
"Whoa", I said as I took in my surroundings.
"You like?".
I smiled wide,"A lot".
"What do you want to drink?".
"Water will be fine".
He nodded and walked to the bar. He grabbed two glass cups and filled one with scotch and the other with sparkling water.
He handed the one with sparkling water to me, I said thanks and took the cup.
"So, what's going on?", he asked, sitting on the black couch.
I sat across from him and told him everything that happened. When I was done, Julian stared at his glass of scotch like he was looking through the universe. I began to wonder if he heard me or got drank in the middle of my narration.
"Julian?",I called. Unsure if he fell asleep with his eyes open or not.
He looked at me,"Theodore has a dark personality".
"A dark personality? Like a split personality or something?".
"No. He's just really possessive and overbearing",he leaned back,"he wanted to cut off some guy's hand because he hit you. That's good. It's been a while".
"I'm sorry but I'm not the type of person who is flattered by such actions".
"He's first love got injured because of him so he's really overprotective of his lovers but it's the first time I've heard of him go this far. He must really like you".
I bit my lower lip,"I'm really scared. He gave out the order like he was used to it".
He waved his hand at me dismissively,"Don't worry. He's neither a murderer nor is he involved with the mafia. Well, he's not involved with the mafia anymore".
"The mafia?".
"That's a story of the past. Anyway, you should talk to him. I bet he's feeling really sad that his lover ran off".
I felt bad. I need to talk to Theodore properly and sort things out instead of running away.
~
Okay then. Longer chapter this time, huh?
I hope you liked this chapter.
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