Present Day
3:50am
Joe pulls up to Sal's house, quickly heading in, carrying an overnight bag and a sack of greasy fries. He lets himself into the house, heading into the kitchen to make two cups of herbal tea. Sal's favorite. Joe notices the glass in Sal's sink and quickly washes it, knowing Sal needs to not focus on chores right now. Once the kettle is hot, he pours the water into two dark blue mugs, stirring each before heading upstairs with the mugs and fries in tow.
"Sal?" Joe speaks quietly, not wanting to upset his friend.
He peers into the room to see Sal on the floor, an open box next to him, and pictures sprawled out around him. He takes no notice of the man standing in his room.
Setting the mugs and fries on the table next to the bed, Joe walks over to Sal. Moving the pictures away and sitting in front of him, Joe wraps his arms and legs around the younger man. He squeezes tight, feeling Sal slowly relax into his grip.
"Joey... Why?" Sal asks. Tears flow again, staining Joe's shirt. The older man puts his hand on the back of Sal's head, trying his best to comfort him.
"I'm here Sal. I'm not going anywhere. Focus on me. Focus on the tea I made and the fries I brought. I know you love both of those, and I'm going to stay here for a while, ok?" Joe says, pulling Sal away, putting his hands on Sal's cheeks. Sal nods his head, eyes not quite reaching the other man's.
"Let's watch a movie. How about your favorite, Shark Tale?" Joe asks, lifting the other man to his feet. He knew his friend couldn't refuse an animated comedy. He walks Sal over to the bed letting him get situated.
Joe cleans up the mess of photos on the floor, returning the box back to the top of Sal's closet and out of sight. Searching Sal's bookcase, he finds the Shark Tale DVD and puts it in. Sitting next to Sal on the bed, he wraps an arm around his best friend, clicking the movie and pressing play.
Joe loves Sal. Not in a romantic way, but Sal has long felt like a little brother. He would do anything for Sal. Joe knew he hasn't had a night like this in 10 years. Sure, there had been other situations over the years, but this one in particular, he knew Sal had been hiding his pain away.
YOU ARE READING
Memories to Burn a Broken Soul
RomanceIt had been 10 years since Sal thought about him. A decade since he lost the love of his life so why was he suddenly dreaming of his late boyfriend? "If you keep rubbing your eyes like that, you're going to go blind." Sal hears a soft voice say beh...
