Careless

11- Arguments

Sal paced back and forth as he waited for Larry to come home. Ash said he was fine, but he still hadn't called or text. Nothing. Ever since he found Larry in the treehouse all those years ago, he was very careful to make sure that Larry was okay, no matter where he was. And he still got panic attacks when Larry wouldn't pick up the phone for extended periods of time.

He looked up from the floor when he heard the front door open, rushing out of his room to see Larry trudging into the house. He had obviously been drinking, tear stains down his cheeks and bloodshot eyes. Yet he still smiled when he saw Sal, though the blue haired boy didn't smile back. He was relieved to say the least, but at the same time, he was fuming.

"Where have you been?! I've been calling and texting. I was so worried, Larry!" Sal said, rushing over to the taller male.

Larry could tell that Sal was still panicked, and he felt bad for being the cause of it. "I was painting in the woods."

"Bullshit! All of your art supplies is here! Every single paintbrush is in the box!"

Larry felt his blood run cold, he had been caught, caught in his own stupid lie. Of course Sal would notice that his art supplies were still here.

"I can explain-"

"Please do! Here I was thinking that you were actually gone and now you're just lying to me?!"

"Sal, baby, I know you're upset and scared but I can explain," Larry tried to stay calm, though he was feeling his anxiety rising.

"Of course I'm scared! I can't help that the first thought that comes to my mind when you don't answer for five hours is that you fucking killed yourself!"

"Baby-"

"Don't! Where were you?!"

"I was at the treehouse, okay?! I was at the treehouse drowning my feelings in whiskey!"

Todd, Ash, and Neil peaked around the corner when they heard the arguing. The two boys rarely ever fight, so when they do, its typically bad.

Ash walked out, as she is usually able to calm to boys down before things escalate.

"Why do you care anyway?!" Larry yelled.

"Because I love you, god damnit! I'm scared to lose you and I worry about you every time you leave when you're upset! But it seems like that doesn't matter to you at all..." Sal's voice got quiet at the end as he looked Larry in the eyes.

Larry didn't respond, instead he just walked past Sal and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Sal looked down at the floor, covering his mouth to try and choke back sobs. Ash walked over and placed a hand on Sal's back.

"Just give him some time, he'll come around," She said in a soft voice.

"I'm just so worried about him. He hasn't been taking his meds, he's been avoiding me, I'm just...I'm so scared, Ash..." he said, breaking down into a sobbing fit.

She pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back for comfort. She turned her head to the side to see Todd and Neil standing there.

"You can come hang out with us for the rest of the night if you want, Sal," Neil offered.

Sal pulled out of the hug, wiping his eyes before shaking his head. "No thanks, I think im just going to watch a movie with Gizmo. I don't wanna bother, Larry," he sad sadly, walking down to the basement and showed no signs of coming back up even after a few hours of being down there.

Ash looked back and forth between the bedroom and basement door, a worried look rested on her face.

Neil placed a hand on her shoulder, "they'll be alright. They just need time to calm down and talk."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm just worried."

"We all are, but we just need to give them space."

Days went on, the two boys refused to talk to each other, though neither left the house. Larry felt bad for making Sal worry so much, and he honestly didn't want to argue with Sal because he knew his boyfriend was right. Sal felt awful for yelling at Larry, but he just wished that Larry would talk to him, he just wanted him to stop hiding from him.

Though they supposed forgiveness wasn't in the cards just yet. Considering that this has been the longest the couple have gone without talking after an argument, it was going to take a while.

Ash sighed as she saw the two boys go their separate ways for the final time today, knowing that they would be going to bed as soon as the doors closed.

Larry curled up under the blankets, the coldness he felt beside was pure agony. No skinny, scarred arms wrapping themselves around him to sleep. No kiss on the cheek and and I love you. Just cold and quiet...pure agony.

Sal layed down on the couch, Gizmo curled up at his feet. His back pressed against the couch cushions, and he felt empty. He had gotten used to Larry's snoring, and sometimes he felt as if he couldn't sleep without that god awful noise. He pulled the blanket up to his chin, tears rolling down his cheeks. He missed Larry, but he just couldn't forgive him just yet.