Everett squeezed his eyes shut and did his best to keep his irritation from his voice. “He’s good. Not much to report on.”
“Do you know if he’s spoken to Marshall recently?”
The hairs on the back of Everett’s neck stood on end. “No, he hasn’t said. Since he hasn’t brought it up, I’m guessing that they haven’t spoken.”
Marshall was one of Caleb’s fathers, and he was married to Everett’s father’s best friend. While Everett was grateful that their decades-old friendship had meant that he’d grown up alongside the man he loved, these days, it bothered him that his father knew everything there was to know about Caleb, past and present, good and bad.
At least, almost everything.
No one knew that Caleb and Everett had started to fool around a little over two years ago, not even their hawkeyed families. No one had batted an eye when Everett had announced he was moving into Caleb’s condo—they’d been best friends since before they could talk, after all. It made sense that they’d want to share mortgage payments. No one had to know that they were sharing a bed as well.
“Have you talked to him about it?” Everett’s father asked.
Everett winced. The light turned green, and he followed the flow of traffic forward. “It’s not my job to get him to make peace. Please, can you leave me out of this?”
“You live with him.”
“And I’ve done the best I can to get him to at least talk it out.” The longer the conversation continued, the heavier Everett’s heart became. Traffic slowed until it came to a stop. Anxious, he ran his hands up and down the leather steering wheel. “I’ve tried. I don’t like living with it any more than you do.”
“All Marshall wants is a phone call.”
“Dad,” Everett said, almost cutting his father off. “It’s… it’s not on me, okay? All of this is on him. I know that you’re trying to help your friend. I’m trying to help mine, too. Please don’t put me in the middle of this. I’ve done my part. Caleb isn’t going to do anything he doesn’t want to do—you, and I, and Marshall, and Oli all know it.”
A long while passed where nothing was said. Everett glanced at his phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“Besides.” Everett sighed. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world. I know it probably feels like it to Marshall, but… it’s not. One day Caleb will wake up and realize that he needs to change—” the words stung with double meaning that Everett would never disclose, “but today isn’t that day.”
“I wish I could figure out what’s going on in that boy’s head,” Everett’s father lamented.
Everett pinched his lips to keep his emotions at bay, but his voice still trembled when he replied, “I wish I could, too.”
7
Jayne
GlitterDoctor: Okay, after the Uber ride from hell, I’m a block away from your place. Sorry for the delay.
Gwynning: Uber ride from hell? Everything okay?
GlitterDoctor: Yeah, everything’s fine. To be fair, the driver seems like a nice enough woman, but I think I’ve permanently scarred her
Gwynning: Uh…?
GlitterDoctor: So, long story, but this morning I temporarily lost full control of my legs, and I had to launch myself off the wall of a busy downtown condo building and scoot across the pavement like a dog with an itchy ass before I was able to pull myself up with the car’s door handle and ooze my way inside like an oversized slug
Gwynning: I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.
Jayne looked away from the screen of his phone. His Uber driver, a young woman with mousy-brown hair done up in a loose bun, was keeping watch over him through her rearview mirror. Jayne locked eyes with her and arched a brow, which caused her to jump and audibly squeak in fear.
GlitterDoctor: Ah, the great mysteries of life. Will I crawl up your driveway like an unfortunate, yet fabulous seal, or will I strut to your front door with the grace of a Saturday morning gazelle? Who knows, really? My Uber driver certainly isn’t sticking around to find out.
Gwynning: No, but really—are you okay?
GlitterDoctor: I’m fine
Jayne stretched out his legs and tested his knees with his fingers, checking for numbness. It seemed the last of the Rohypnol had worn off. He’d entered the car as a wriggling caterpillar and would emerge a fully functional butterfly. Wonderful.
GlitterDoctor: But if I end up staggering into your house a half-slug, half-gazelle monstrosity, don’t say I didn’t warn you
