Blue Eyes, White Lies

Chapter 15

(Take more Eric angst, also I somewhat retconned shit but I updated the other chapters to match- also it's a tiny detail y'all probably missed so-)

What. The. Hell.

Eric is practically fuming in front of us, looking like he wants to shred the letter in his hands. The paper almost crunches it as he holds it. He almost growls. 

It almost looks like he's crying. 

He doesn't say a word. None of us do. We try not to, considering what this moment is. I'd reach out and help him if I could, but I know he'd try and push me away. 

I decide to let him let what he's going through out. It's better off that way. 

Julian and I stand there completely silent, exchanging glances and seeing if we can figure out what's going on. 

He crumples the note and slips it in his pocket, out of sight, out of mind. He keeps his head down, not saying a word. Instead he leans against the tree, pulling his knees up to his head.

He's definitely crying now.

I can hear him. Choked up, not even caring that anyone's in front of him.  It hurts me to see him like this. 

It's another minute before he says anything.

"Da..mm...it." He chokes out through a sob. "A..a..ron..." he trails off.

Wait... Aaron... the guy from before. The guy from the articles I've been looking into. Aaron L.  Hall. Georgia native, went to Georgia state.

I mentally slap myself in the face. How the hell did I not notice? I only know one other person who lived in Georgia, and that person happens to be on the ground crying right now. Robert E. Smith. That's why he was tense. He knew Aaron. 

That E stood for Eric. It made a lot more sense now. Eric would've heard about the disappearance if he was still in the hospital.  Even if he was out of state by then he probably still would have.

Slowly, Eric's breathing returns to a normal pace. Although the tears haven't stopped, neither of us expect them to. By this point, Julian and I have a similar conclusion. They knew each other, and they lost each other. 

Eric stands up, leaning against the tree. His eyes are red, his face is shining with the marks his tears left. 

"How..." he mutters under his breath, shaking a little. "how..."

Eric steadies himself, still whispering. "He couldn't have..."

I look at him, trying to remain calm. "It's alright, we've got you." He walks a little closer, bracing himself with a hand on my shoulder. 

He sighs, still a bit shaken. "You two are the only ones that do." He rubs a tear away from his eye.   "And I am so glad that you do." He pants a bit, pushing off my shoulder and standing up fully. 

"I'll explain what you haven't figured out when we get home."

He looks exhausted, and he has the right to be. This can't be easy on him. 

——

The walk home is silent, all three of us trying to process what'd just happened. We sit in our respective seats at the table, Eric and I's notebooks open.

Eric takes a breath in. "I didn't want to have to say this. I hoped I was wrong." He almost laughs. "But life is funny that way. You're never right when you want to be."

He sighs and opens a page in the very back of his book. "I have a page on him just in case. I shoved it back here thinking I'd never need to be reminded again." 

He turns it towards me and Julian. It reads

Aaron Lysandre Hall

Born 5/20/1970

Presumed dead 10/14/91

Known Family: Miriam Grey, William Hall (Deceased)

Height: 5'11 (180 Cm)

Appearance:

Brown hair, brown eyes (Green patch in left eye). Caucasian.

Notable features: Streak of grey hair

-

Reasoning: 

Personal connection

Affiliations: None known 

—

The page has a dot just a bit darker in color in one corner. A tear stain. 

He turns the book back toward himself, scribbling something down in the corner. From what I can make out, it says "prime suspect", written in red ink. Eric puts a small post-it note on the page, closing it. 

"You can still see where I cried that night..." he puts the notebook away. "I assume you'd like to know the story?"

I nod. "As long as you're comfortable with telling it, I'm always willing to listen."

"Well then." He clears his throat. It seems the storyteller voice is a bonus trait of living here.

"We met when  I was young. We both were. Seven and eight, maybe nine if I'm incorrect. I'm older either way. He didn't have many friends. Kids used to pick on him for his appearance. I never really cared. We were two peas in a pod. He was the first person I came out to. That friendship lasted until, you know."

He touches the dog tag he showed us before. 

"As I've said before, this is the last I have of him. Or, had. Sometimes I regret our plan. To always be by each other's side. If he hadn't been going to that school, he could've avoided this. I stopped blaming myself like that years ago, though. Fate does what it shall. My only wish is that we meet on better terms than these. I know how it's going to end if we meet on these terms."

He sighs. "That's it, I suppose. I'm worried for what he's become. The Aaron I know is a pacifist, a polar opposite to this. If I see him again, he'll be nothing more than a stranger to me. I hate that I have to admit that. But after tonight, I can't keep denying it. He's no longer Aaron Hall. He's Lysandre Grey."

He unclasps the necklace, muttering under his breath. "Aaron... Lysandre... whatever you call yourself. You're going to regret coming back. And I'll make damn sure of that."

I interrupt. "No, we will make sure of that. Nobody has the right to hurt someone like that, and nobody ever will."

We brings us into a hug.

"Yes. We will." Julian says.

"I love you two. Never loose that spark." 

He smiles softly at the both of us, tear stains and marks gone. 

"I love you guys too." I say, Julian nodding. 

——-

If you're one of those people that thinks polyamory is wrong I'd advise you to click off now,  as this story will have polyamory, and as a writer and a human being, I support it.

(To clarify; what I mean is don't be a bigot, you don't have to be poly to read this if it came out that way)