Like the coward he was.
He’d gotten his answer as to what the man had been doing, and it was hating him for what he’d done to them seven years ago.
Yeah, there was no way D’Artangnan would ever forgive him for what he’d done.
His race to escape said it all.
In his mind, he had this fantasy that they’d cross paths again, and he’d race to him so they could hold each other. In that fantasy, they’d kiss, and it would be like nothing had broken them apart.
It was stupid.
It was also never happening.
That last hope was gone.
The look on the man’s face said he wasn’t going to come back there either to talk to him.
For Graham, he was in a freefall, and hopelessly spiraling out of control.
He needed a drink.
A BIG ONE.
Graham thought he could do this, but he couldn’t keep doing battle. There was no way he was going to be able to keep going. His heart was too heavy, and he was broken by seeing D’artangnan Graves.
The only love of his life.
What he needed was to sink into the booze, so he’d stop feeling anything. That would be his escape from the pain and suffering.
He’d drink himself to death.
Heading into the garage, he found his way to his little apartment that the caretaker of the estate would call home, and headed inside.
The place was small, but it was neat and orderly. It was cozy, and not unlike the tiny little apartment they’d once shared off base when they were serving.
What it lacked in space, it had in character.
At the bookshelf, he found the one thing he was looking for, and picked it up. Honestly, he only opened it once a year, and with good reason.
It hurt to do it.
Carrying it back out, he headed for the kitchen and placed the precious box on the counter.
What was in it?
The truth.
Lifting the lid, he stared into the box at the truth of the last years that he’d spent alone, and each moment that he’d missed with the only man who ever made him feel like he mattered.
Inside, he saw the few treasures he had in life. Now, it was time to pass them on. Reaching inside, he only removed one thing.
It was the last thing his lover had given him, and it was his only symbol from him of their love.
“I love you, D’Artangnan. I’ve never stopped loving you, and now, I have to be free of this burden. I can’t survive any longer. I know where you are, and that you survived. I’m sorry for my sins. I hope that one day, you’ll forgive me.”
That said it all.
He was officially empty, and there wasNOfight left in him.
