After Brad left, I finished off my coffee. I need to give them some time to talk, so I decided to go for a jog. The weather was beautiful and warm, not even a breeze to the air. It helps me focus on the run and not the conversation Brad's having with Mike. I'm dreadfully curious about what he's hiding, but it feels invasive to ask Brad to confront him further when he said he needed time to think about it.
Brad's right, however. It's a dangerous situation that needs to be solved now and not later. It'll be better to have everything out in the open than stalked and who knows what when the time comes. Hopefully, we can finish the tour in one piece.
I jogged for a while before slowing down to a walking pace. It's been fifteen minutes and I've heard nothing from either of them. I decide to turn back around, they should hopefully be ready by the time I get there. If not, I'll wait in the hotel.
I try to think of what Mike could be hiding from me, but I'm clueless. It sounded serious at first, but Brad's reaction has me second guessing. Is it just something Mike's embarrassed about? But why does Brad know? How does he know? My phone rings in my pocket, interrupting my thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Chester... we should talk," Mike's voice echoed through the phone. "Can you come back to the room?"
"Yeah, I'm on my way," I agree and we say a brief goodbye before hanging up. I'm a little surprised Mike called instead of Brad.
The entire walk back fills me with dread. I feel bad invading Mike's privacy, he's allowed to have secrets. It's awful he's being forced to tell me what he's hiding.
Entering the room, I notice Mike is alone. Brad must've left sometime before my arrival. Mike says nothing at first, just motioning for me to sit across from him at the small table in the room.
"I have to tell you what he gave me," Mike began, pulling out the envelope. "It's a love letter."
"A love letter?" I ask in shock. "To who? Why would you keep that a secret from me?"
"To you," he says softly. I'm unsure how to respond or react, I'm surprised. "I wrote it around the start of the tour, but it went missing. I guess he somehow found it."
"Do you really feel that way?" I bite my lower lip. "Do you love me?"
"Yeah, I do," he admits with a small smile. "But I didn't want to say anything sooner when there was something clearly going on with you. It feels a little awkward bringing it up during all this craziness."
"I don't know what to say," I breath out, feeling as though there are no words to describe my thoughts.
"I don't expect an answer from you about it, at least not now, but it's best not to hide it anymore. I'd rather you be safe than have this hanging over our heads."
"Where do we go from here?" I ask.
"We go to the police, surely we have enough evidence, and get that guy locked away for a long time," he suggests.
I'm at a loss of words, I don't know what to think about Mike's secret. Our relationship has always felt different than with anyone else. There's always been a deeper connection I couldn't explain and perhaps this was it.
Thinking back, I remember all the times he said he loved me and how disappointed he looked when I'd say I loved him back. He always meant it differently, I just never picked up on it and he knew it. He was clearly afraid of hurting the band and our friendship, but he was forced to tell me.
I wonder how he found out about the love letter, if he read it, how he feels about Mike's confession. It started at the beginning of the tour, which was when things started going out of control. He must've been planning all of this the whole time, yet I still don't really know what he wants from me. Maybe I'll never know.
"Are you okay?" Mike asked, I realized I've been spacing out for awhile. I nod in response and he sighs deeply. "I'm sorry, this really isn't how I wanted you to find out."
"Don't apologize, none of this is your fault," I attempt to reassure him.
"I can't help it. I wanted to tell you in a more meaningful way, not under obligation. It's not the right time, but you had to know," he clearly has a lot of regrets. Nothing I say will put him at ease.
"For the record, I think I have feelings for you too, I just haven't had much time to think about anything," I feel my cheeks heating up. He goes quiet and grabs my hand from across the table.
"There's no rush on your end," he squeezes my hand. "Let's get this guy put away, then you can think about what you want."
"Okay," I agree and give him a small smile. "I do love you though."
"I love you too."
