The elevator dings open, and I accept the bag of new clothes and hand over the suit I most definitely shouldn’t have jacked off in, and give him a generous tip for the urgent request.
The man leaves with a beaming smile and a promise to have the suit back by morning. If the stars align, I’ll have the suit back before Ray arrives and questions me on why I needed to get it cleaned in the first place, and none will be the wiser.
Well, besides me, but that memory can live in the depths of my mind, never to be mentioned again.
I return to my giant L-shape couch and flop against the side that’s facing the large windows. It’s true I bought the place because of the breathtaking sunsets, but the night view isn’t anything to sneeze at either. It’s a field of black with tiny lights sparkling as if you’re in outer space.
It’s quiet here. Completely different from my days of living with the boys when MYTHS first started out. Those days weren’t bad, though. We’d all been working toward something beautiful. We all had the same goal, for which we were willing to sacrifice. Some, as I learned later on, had sacrificed more than others.
Sully comes to mind, and I know I need to call him. I can stall for a couple of hours, but not all night. Not when Tate is genuinely worried.
I am too, but I’m also battling guilt I still haven’t let go of.
Even if Sully forgave me, I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself.
But his well-being is more important than whatever self-blame I’m feeling, so I pull up his contact and hit call.
The ringing feels like it goes on forever, each one adding another notch to my anxiety until the line finally connects and I can release the breath I’m holding.
“Hello? Milo?”
Sully’s voice sounds groggy and rough with sleep.
“Hey. Shit, sorry, did I wake you?”
It’s only nine, meaning the night has only just started for me, but Sully doesn’t live the pop star life anymore.
“No, it’s fine. I should be thanking you, actually. I’ve been sleeping all day and would’ve been up in the middle of the night at this rate,” he says with a chuckle that breaks out in a coughing fit.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Just sick.”
“Sick?” The panic is back.Sickcan encompass so many things.
“I’m sick” were the exact words Sully used the day MYTHS disbanded for good. What if it’s the same? I’m trying to mentally go through my connections to see if I can fly anyone out to him tonight.
“With the flu,” Sully quickly interjects, halting my thoughts. “It’s just the common flu. I’ve been sleeping it off and will be right as rain in a couple of days.”
“Oh.”
I can’t hide the audible sigh of relief that comes out of me.
Sully chuckles.
“I’mfine, really. I have full control of my body, well, except for this damn flu. This, I did not choose.”
I chuckle too, mostly to ease the tension in my body.
“Tate is worried about you. Says you haven’t been picking up.”
There’s a beat of silence before Sully replies, “Yeah, I’ve been sleeping a lot. I’ll…I’ll message him back, so tell him not to worry.”
Even if he’s not in the room with me, I can sense the shift in his mood.
“Did you two get into a fight? Did he do something to make you angry? Tell me if he did and I’ll…I’ll slap some sense into him!”
That earns me another chuckle. “Oh, you will, will you?”
