The Note

3

“Todd, please” Jim cried harder into the other man's shoulder.  “I need you”

Todd gasped at the sound of those words. The same words on the note. If Jim wasn't crying so loudly he might have heard Todd and if he wasn't rocking back and fourth he might have noticed Todd retrieve a bit from his embrace.

“I need time to think” Todd whispered into Jim's ear and kissed his forehead.
“Please” the man holding him plead again only quieter.

Todd stood up and weakly pulled himself away from his lovers hold. Placing his wallet and keys into his pocket he walked towards the door. Stopping at the knob, he paused for awhile but regretted it immediately, for the last thing he heard before leaving was a faint and heartbreaking  “please”.

The next morning Jim got off from the floor and showered. If you were to see him and the way he moved around the house as he prepared for work
 you might say something in-between the lines of “he looks emotionless and empty” but that was not the case. In fact he was overwhelmed with his emotions— range, pain, love, regret, sorrow— but did not know of any way to express them all at once. I mean, would you?
 
He was discursive around his apartment. he was no different in the car or at work. thankfully today was just reviewing a re-written script and giving thoughts and suggestions and not actual acting for he knew if he opened his mouth to even say one word he would collapsed right then and there.

Nobody really took noticed in his abnormal behavior, they simply thought he was seriously focusing on the script and so they went on with their day. He went home early and laid on the bed wondering what Todd was doing at the moment. Wondering if he too felt overcome with emotions and hoped he would forgive him soon. Awhile back he had made a fake account on an app called Whisper to ask regular people questions but he could never bring himself to actually use it but he re downloaded it and signed in that night. Using a photo of a heart he found on line as a background, he typed in “Do cheaters deserve a second chance?” and waited for replies.

Many that he received say "depends". One was “Depends how long were you in the relationship?”. Another was “Depends why and how” . Others said “Depends who it was with ” . And only one felt like a slap in the face: “Cheating is cheating, doesn't matter who, when, why or how. Second chances are for those who tried their hardest the first time but failed. Not for those who lost without try.” It didn't exactly answer his question but he understood the point. Feeling censurable he cried out one more please letting himself fall to sleep.