Memories to Burn a Broken Soul

Chapter 7

Present Day
12:04pm

*Ding-Dong* *Ding-Dong*

The sound of the doorbell pulls Joe from his daydream. He walks to the door, letting James in, noticing he's carrying a few boxes of pizza. Joe sighs slightly at the choice of food, considering Sal just mentioned it a few minutes ago.

"What's up bro!?" Murr shouts a little too loud, barging past Joe into Sal's kitchen. The ferret looking man looks down at Sal, noticing the swollen, red eyes, and puffy cheeks. He instantly changes his attitude, wrapping his arm around the other man's shoulders.

"Sal pal, what's going on?" He asks gently, rubbing small circles on his back. Sal looks over to Joe, who just entered the kitchen.

"Sal had a bad dream last night... About him." Joe says, giving Murr a knowing look. Murr's eyes widen, nodding his head slowly.

"Do you wanna talk about it, buddy?" Murr asks, leaning over the counter so he can see Sal better. Sal shakes his head and takes a deep breath.

"Pizza!" He says, trying to crack a smile, but ultimately failing. The other two boys sit down at the bar with Sal, and each take a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"It's your favorite Sal!" Murr says, taking a huge bite. Joe looks over at Sal, who shakes his head slightly, as to tell him not to say anything.

The boys quickly finish all three pizzas and find themselves sitting together on Sal's couch.

"Murr, you know he hated it when we called you ferret?" Sal asks, looking over at James.

"Who, Brian?" James says, immediately regretting his words. He smacks his hand over his mouth and looks at Sal. Sal stares off into space, biting his lip. He's wondered what it would be like to hear his friends say his name again.

"Yes, Brian." Sal whispers, loud enough for the other two to hear, causing them to give each other wide-eyed looks.

The three of them sit silently, all unsure of what to say next. Joe awkwardly turns on the TV. A new Superman show comes up on the screen, making Sal's heart wrench. They all knew how much Brian had loved Superman. Heck he had gotten a Superman tattoo when he turned 18! Joe quickly changes the channel, side-eyeing Sal, who continues to stare into space.

"He's still here," Sal begins, "There's no other reason for all of this to be happening. He's here."

Joe and Murr exchange looks.

"Bud, we know he's here. We feel him too. He's giving us these signs that he-"

"No!" Sal interrupts Murr. "It feels like he's still here. On Earth." Sal sobs out, shaking uncontrollably as tears fall from his eyes. "He can't be gone. The love of my life can't be. Brian..."

Joe gently wraps his arms around thecrying man. The two haven't heard Sal talk about Brian in ten years, but thisis exactly how he sounded after Brian's funeral. Sal eventually cries himselfto sleep, Joe still holding him tight, and Murr's hand holding Sal's.