Behind Closet Doors (A Rome-ance)

Chapter 4: Since When Are You Interested in My Mail?

             Brutus woke up the next morning in Caesar's bed. He realized he spent the night. That was new. Caesar had already left, but he left a note for Brutus.

"Had to leave for work. We'll hang out later. Love you <3"

Brutus smiled to himself and got changed. After work, Brutus headed home. Portia was there when he got there.

"You didn't come home last night," Portia said grinning, without looking up from her computer. "Should I be concerned or happy?"

"I guess happy," Brutus replied, not being able to hide his smile.

"Will I be hearing wedding bells in the near future," Portia joked.

"I don't know," Brutus admitted.

Portia looked up. "Wait, you don't know? Are you getting married? Should we file for a divorce?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen, but it's looking that way."

"I'm so happy for you," Portia exclaimed, and jumped up to hug Brutus. "I've been waiting to get a divorce since we got married."

"I love your take on our 'marriage,'" Brutus joked.

"Seriously, it's about time you find someone who actually loves you. This guy does love you, right?"

Brutus sighed, "I hope he does."

There's a rapid knock on the door. When Brutus opened the door Cassius was there.

"Hey," He exclaimed and pushed past Brutus to go inside with a handful of envelopes. "When was the last time you checked your mail, your mailbox was overflowing."

"The other day," Brutus replied.

"You should check it more often," Cassius replied, handing Brutus his mail. "Hey Portia."

"Afternoon, Cassius," Portia said. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, boring work stuff."

"Fun," Portia replied with a fake smile. "I believe it's time for me to go." She walked up to Brutus and hugged him. "See you later."

"See you later," Brutus smiled, and watched Portia leave.

"So, what does your mail say?" Cassius asked.

"Since when are you interested in my mail?"

"Since now. Now open it!"

Brutus rolled his eyes, and looked through his mail. "More mail from anonymous citizens of New Rome."

"Wow, people must really like you," Cassius said.

Brutus looked at Cassius suspiciously. He was acting weirder than usual. Brutus ignored it and continued to go through his mail. He came across one envelope that actually was signed, but he didn't know who it was. Brutus looked up, "Do you know who Artemidorus is?"

Cassius thought about it for a second, "I think Caesar might have mentioned him to me a couple times. I believe they were best friends in secondary school."

"Well why is he writing to me?"

Cassius shrugged, "No clue. You should read it."

Brutus eyed him cautiously before opening the letter. The letter read:

"Dear Brutus,

You probably don't know who I am, but I have heard much about you. I am an old friend of Julius Caesar. We were friends in secondary school. I assume you know Caesar is gay, because...well, Caesar's told me about your relationship. From hearing all these stories about, I've grown to respect you which is why I feel like I must tell you this. Caesar and I were more than friends in secondary school. We were lovers. After graduation, we grew apart. We would occasionally send letters to each other with life updates. That's how I found out about you. A couple weeks ago, I got a letter from Caesar, and I feel like you should read it. It is in this envelope. I am so sorry about what you are going to read. Believe me, I don't feel the same. If you need someone to talk to, don't be shy to reach out.

Best regards,

Artemidorus."

With shaking hands, Brutus slowly closed the letter and reached into the envelope to find a second letter.

"Well?" Cassius asked.

Brutus held up one finger and whispered, "One second." He opened up the second letter. It read:

"Dear Artemidorus,

I'm sorry I've been terrible at keeping in touch recently. I've been busy with work and everything else. The truth is, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I miss our little relationship from secondary school. I've been hooking up with a couple people recently, but they've all been boring. I want something more exciting. I'm sorry we ever lost touch. Can we reconnect? I think I might still love you. Please reply quickly.

Yours Truly,

Caesar."

Brutus didn't know what to think. That letter was dated for a couple weeks prior. That meant Caesar had sent it when he told Brutus he cared about him. What kind of messed up game was he playing? As far as Brutus knew, he was the only one Caesar was hooking up with. According to the letter, there were others. Was Caesar lying in the letter, or did Caesar lie to him? Brutus didn't know what to think. There Caesar was, telling Brutus he loved him, and wanting them to be public, when he was writing love notes to his highschool sweetheart.

"What did it say?" Cassius asked again.

Then there was Cassius. He was right. Brutus couldn't trust Caesar. He was way too power hungry and arrogant to actually be in a committed relationship. Coming to think of it, Brutus didn't believe Caesar was even fit to rule New Rome, much less be king. How dare Caesar want to be king! New Rome was not supposed to be a monarchy, but Caesar didn't care about that. He just wanted power. Brutus knew Caesar had to be stopped.

Brutus crumpled up both letters and threw them in the trash, "It doesn't matter what they say. What matters is I'm on your side. Let's kill Caesar."