Unrequited? A Lie Told-A Promise Broken

2. Art & Gear

Art-

The moment I leave the airport my body radiates under the urgency of finding him.
I urge myself to calm and decide to head to our place to wait on him to return from work.

Milo watches me intently from the passenger seat as I speed to our place.

"You know don't you Milo? He's waiting for us."

-I turn the key and the lock clicks, I halt.
I stare at the door, our door, our place, not our home.
He is my home, I am his. He will be waiting for me, loving me, I remind myself.

Milo whines beside me. I look down at him.

"He's waiting for us." I say again. He seems to understand he hops up onto his hind legs and places his paws against the door.

I smile down at him, my hairy dog son is so smart.

I turn the door knob and let Milo do the rest. He pushes the door open and enters. I stand at the thresh hold and watch as he searches and smells things. Pretty quickly he disappears out of sight.

I take a deep breath and step inside.

It's eerily quiet and dark.
I look around and instantly I know he hasn't been here for a while.
I open our bedroom door and peer inside. I can't feel him here.
My anxiety halts me. Why wouldn't he come home? What does this mean?

I'm so lost in thought I didn't hear Milo until he brushes his snout against my hand.

He looks up at me and whimpers. "I know. I didn't find him either."

I gently pat his head as he seems to wait for me.

I take a breath and walk into our bedroom. I head straight for the closet while Milo pads along beside me. My heart starts to pick up pace as I reach for the double doors.

I open them slowly. It's dark inside but I already know my fear is realized. My fingers tremble as they search for the light switch. My eyes sting and my vision blurs as I flip it and warm light illuminates the double closet.

My heart shatters into a million pieces. I slowly walk in and drop myself onto the floor looking up at nothing. The closet is completely bare.

"I told you I would pick you up from the airport."
I turn to look up behind me. Gear offers me a sympathetic smile.

We stare back at each other.

"Why isn't he here waiting for me?" I ask him.

Gear-

My chest tightens looking at him. These five months have been agonizing.
I go back and forth with myself on whether to tell him the truth. The truth I know or how it appears. I didn't even know the world could make this little sense.

I didn't go to the airport. I knew he would be here. I walk over and sit down beside him as Milo watches us. I smile and pat his head momentarily stalling, desperately searching for the courage to speak the words that will shatter my best friend.

I take Arts hand in mine and meet his teary gaze.

"Art, there are things I kept from you. Mostly because I didn't know how to speak the words. The world is strange right now. You asked me about Fiat and I told you I didn't know and I hadn't seen him. I'm so sorry I lied."

He quickly grasps both my wrists, "Where is he?"

My chest tightens and my mind scrambles.

I take deep steadying breath.