On The Edge

He looked out of the window. It was dark outside. He turned around and looked at the clock. 2 Am.

‘Chad is late again.’ he whispered.

Suddenly, it started raining. Soon the weather became really bad and it was quite cold. Brian slowly walked away from the window and went to sit on the sofa. He grabbed his book from the table and waited for Chad to return. After a while he looked at the clock again. An hour had passed. That’s when Brian heard the sound of the door opening.

‘Why are you still up Brian? It’s really late.’

‘I was waiting for you. You already know that I don’t like you being this late. Where were you? It’s dangerous for you to be driving in this weather this late at night!’

‘Ohhh, not again. Can you please stop with your lectures? You are not my mother. And it’s not like I wanted to be late. Something came up at work and I had to deal with it. So stop acting like a crazy person.’

‘A crazy person? Chad are you serious? I am acting like a crazy person? You are the one who has been avoiding me for the past 3 days, and still I’m the crazy one? I care about you, and still you have the guts to tell me that I am crazy?’ he said with a raised voice.

Brian stood up, went to the bedroom and closed the door. He lied down and closed his eyes. A couple of minutes later the bedroom door opened and Chad lied down next to him.

‘Brian, are you sleeping?’ he whispered.

Brian opened his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

‘I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean that. I was just really tired and wanted to relax. It was wrong of me to call you that.’ said Chad, turned and put his arm around Brian.

Brian couldn’t be mad at him for any longer. He knew that he loved Chad. And he would not be able to sleep if they were mad at each other. He put his hand on top of Chad’s, and just like that they fell asleep.

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‘Chad.’ he whispered.

‘Chad wake up. Let’s have breakfast. It’s almost lunch time.’

Brian sat down and patted his head. He thought that he was still sleeping. Chad grabbed his hand, opened his eyes and looked at Brian. Suddenly, he pulled him closer and kissed him. Brian was surprised, but he didn’t resist. He never resisted. They kept kissing and Chad got up real quick while pulling Brian down and laying him on the bed. He held his hands and kissed him.

‘Chad stop playing and let’s have breakfast.’ he said with a smirk.

They both got up and went to the kitchen.

‘You don’t have work today, right?’ said Brian.

‘Ehh, no I don’t, but-‘

‘Then, let’s go on a date. We haven’t gone on a date for so long.’ he continued while smiling.

‘I’m afraid I can’t. I need to go somewhere. Maybe we can go next week.’

‘Oh, okay. Where do you need to go? Can I come with you?’

‘No. Brian I don’t think you can come with me. It’s quite complicated. Better go out for a walk or hang out with some friends.’

‘Okay. Ehh, are you going to be late?’ he asked.

‘No, I’m going to be home by 19:00. Let’s have dinner together.’

‘Perfect. I’ll prepare something for us to eat.’

But Brian was worried. He thought that Chad was acting weird lately. He came home late and didn’t talk much. He didn’t tell him almost anything. Where he was, with whom, what was he doing. He was really worried about what was going to happen next.

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‘Baby, I’m back!’ said Chad.

‘Hi baby. I’m almost done cooking.’

Chad went behind Brian, wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly.

‘Go wash your hands and come eat. Hurry.’ said Brian with a little smile.

They both sat on the table and enjoyed their dinner.

‘Oh, Brian I just remembered something.’

‘What? Is everything all right?’

‘Yeah, it’s no big deal. I have a business trip next week, so I am not going to be home for a couple of days.’

Brian didn’t know what to say.

‘Okay, for how long?’

‘It’s a three-day trip. I’ll be back before you realize it.’

Chad had been to business trips many times before, but this time it felt kind of weird. It didn’t feel like something normal, and that made Brian upset. 

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Chad woke up quite early, and went to get ready.

‘Why are you up so early baby?’ whispered sleepily Brian.

‘I have to go to work baby.’

‘This early?’ he asked and looked at the clock.

‘It’s 7 o’clock. Why do you need to go to work so early?’

‘We have a meeting, so they asked us to go to the company early.’

‘Hmm, okay.’ Brian replied.

‘Go back to sleep.’ he said and kissed him on the forehead.

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It was quiet inside the empty house. The clock was ticking. 1 o’ clock. Brian was really tired, but he waited.

He fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up even when Chad came home. The next morning, he woke up because of a phone call. Not a phone call for him, but for Chad.

‘Josh, are you ready? Yes, I told him that I am going on a business trip. Of course he believed it. Ok, let’s meet today. Ok, I’ll pick you up in an hour. Okay, see you.’

Brian heard everything. He had so many questions. Who was Josh? Did he lie about the business trip? Why? Where is he going? Why is he going with Josh? Is he cheating?

‘Oh, baby you are awake. I’m sorry for not coming home early yesterday.’

‘Hmm, it’s ok Chad. Are you going out?’

‘Yes. I’ll be back for lunch.’

‘Okay. Have fun.’

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‘Did you pack everything?’

‘Yes Brian, stop worrying so much.’

‘Are you sure you didn’t forget anything?’

‘Yes, I am absolutely sure.’

‘Ok, be careful. Love you.’

‘Hmm, I will.’ Chad replied and kissed him on the forehead.

Brian was waving his hand while Chad was leaving, and he smiled. But inside, he was dying.

“He didn’t say he loves me too.” he thought.

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The three days went by real quick.

‘I’m back baby.’ said Chad while closing the door behind him.

Brian had been suffering for so many days, and he just couldn’t bear with it any longer.

‘Chad, do you have anything to tell me?’

‘Like what baby?’

‘For example, where were you?’

‘I was on a business trip baby, you know that.’

‘I called you department. You were not in the company for three days, but you didn’t go on a business trip either. So where were you?’

‘Baby, I- I am sorry. I didn’t go on a business trip, but I had something really important to do.’

‘Chad let’s be honest. Are you cheating on me? Who is Josh? These past few days you have been avoiding me. You are always out doing something and on top of that, you come home late in the middle of the night.’

‘I can’t tell you… But baby I am not cheating on you.’

‘Chad, I can’t do this anymore. Let’s- let’s just break up.’

‘What do you mean? Brian you-’

Brian didn’t want to listen to Chad. He quickly packed some clothes and left the house.

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They didn’t see each other for 2 days. Chad was desperately looking for Brian. Brian had gone to his parents’ house, and stayed there without giving them any explanation. He didn’t want to eat anything, and just stayed in his room, crying all day.

On the third day, his parents, who were really worried for the past days, called Chad and asked him to come over. As soon as he got the call, he rushed to his house. Brian’s parents explained the situation and asked him for help. Chad headed upstairs, to Brian’s room and opened the door.

‘Brian, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?’

Brian turned around and surprised as he was, he got up from his bed.

‘Why are you here? I don’t want to see you. Leave! Go to Josh!’ he yelled.

Chad took a good look at him. He was very pale and slim, but his eyes were pretty as always. He walked towards Brian, grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs aggressively. He opened the front door of the house and rushed out. Chad forced Brian into his car and started driving.

‘Where are you taking me? Just leave me alone!’ Brian yelled.

Chad did not reply. He continued driving. They were driving for a long time, when they arrived at the beach. Chad parked and opened the door for Brian. Brian was shocked and couldn’t understand the situation. Chad took his hand and they walked towards a small mansion. The sun was setting. A beautiful orange color painted the sky. Suddenly Chad let go of Brian’s hand and stopped walking. Brian didn’t realize at first, but a couple of seconds later he stopped and looked back.

Chad was on his knees, looking at Brian. He took a small box out of his pocket.

‘Brian, we have been together for so long. We met by accident, but we were meant to be together. You know that better than anyone. You supported me when I found out what I wanted to do with my life. You were there when I came out to my parents. You were there in my every step. And I am glad that it was you. I believe you are the one. The only one. And just like you were next to me these past years, I want to be next to you until I die.’ said Chad and paused.

Brian didn’t know what to do or to say. So many memories came to his mind, so many mixed feelings. He couldn’t move.

‘Brian, will you marry me?’ he continued.

Brian couldn’t keep it inside anymore. He ran towards Chad, hugged him tightly and started crying.

‘Yes.’ he whispered.

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They continued walking together towards the mansion, while holding hands. When they arrived Chad opened the door, and a big table was in front of them. On the right, there was a man holding flowers.

‘Brian, this is Josh. My best friend and the one who helped me prepare all this. Honestly these past few days I was so busy because I was preparing a big surprise for you. And honestly, I wanted to confess in a more special way. But someone didn’t trust me and came to conclusions without even hearing an explanation. ’ Chad said with a smirk.

Brian was so embarrassed that he couldn’t say anything. He held Chad’s hand tighter and looked him in the eyes. He just couldn’t imagine a life without him. Brian was so grateful for everything, and had so much love for Chad. It was impossible to stay away from him. Then what he did came back to him. The countless fights, the breakup, everything.

‘We really were on the edge, weren’t we?’ he whispered.