36 Questions - Wolfstar

Hear Me Out

     The soft chime of an iPhone as it set to record and a weary sigh were audible amongst the background noise of a car winding along a dark road on a rainy night.
"The date is Thursday, July 28th, 2009..." A gruff voice murmured into the phone speaker. "My name is.." There was a pause, as though the man was having trouble recalling his own name for the record. "Sirius Black." He said finally, with decision. "And I have been lying to my husband since the moment I met him. I'm recording this right now– In case I need to remember. The time is 6:43 and I don't have anything to charge my phone with so– Time is of the essence I guess... I need this plan to work— Fast." It was then that the voice was interrupted by the car's navigation system. The man grunted, disregarding the record for a moment; Presumably to pull into a driveway.
The vague sounds of mumbling and cursing could be heard in the voice recording, but most of it was incomprehensible through the sounds of gravel under car wheels. After a moment or two though, the mumbling stopped, replaced by an out of key sort of tune. The man seemed to be singing to himself. The tune didn't really match any song currently existing. It seemed less like a song and more like a substitute for normal speech as he talked to himself in the dark.
Then the noise of the engine came to a stop. There was a click of a car door as the man stepped out into the night. It was only then that he continued to address the record,
"Well– Here we are... I am currently standing outside Remus's family's– I don't know if this is classified as a cabin—? Though it doesn't really matter I s'pose." There was a deep breath and a slight jingling of car keys as the man shoved them into his jacket pocket. "It looks like a really great place to get away– I'm sure that's what he came here to do.." A pause, "What with– Well everything I've put him through–" He said that bit more quietly, barely catching it in the recording. Then there was the slam of a car door.
"Whoops– Well that probably tipped him off–" That statement was followed by a long pause in which there was only the muffled sound of a dog's bark. When he spoke again, there was amusement in his voice. "Although– It sounds like a damn construction site in there– What the hell is he doing? ..And since when does he have a dog—" Leaves and twigs crunched underfoot as the man slowly approached the front door, the sound of barking growing louder. He was mumbling to himself, "It's fine– This isn't an ambush... I just need to talk to him. Not a trap–" He breathed in and out, the creak of his boots against the porch steps breaking through still night air. "I'm going to fix this."
As the man reached the porch, there was a loud whirring that sounded as though it was coming from some sort of drill. There was a shaky breath in the speaker as the man shifted his weight. He raised his hand, hesitating for a moment before forcing it forward and knocking four times.
No response.
The man knocked again, harder this time, sighing in frustration as a dog clawed and yapped from inside. The man yelled over the racket coming from behind the door.
"Re– I can hear you– doing whatever it is you're doing in there... I know what your dad's car looks like I know it's not him–"
Nothing.
He tapped his foot irritably on the damp wood, biting his lip.
"C'mon, Re–"
Silence.
"Remus will you please just open the fucking door..."
The whirring seemed, if anything, louder. The man let out an explosive breath.
"Okay– Right– I deserve that–" He muttered, knuckles pressed gently against the wood. Then he pulled his hand back, shoving it into his coat pocket and rummaging around before finally pulling out an envelope. He slid it through the mail slot. "I'm just– gonna let you open that whenever you feel like. I'll just be here–" Then he cleared his throat. "But uh— maybe don't wait too long or else the dog might nab it.." His voice was worn as he rocked on his heels. There was a long silence, only the whirr of the drill audible.
The man smacked at a mosquito as it landed on his neck. "Jesus– There are copious amounts of mosquitoes out here— For your information—"
Still nothing.
The pressure built in his chest. Every moment of silence irked him more and more as he listened to the whirring and the night breeze and the electric buzz of an old porch light. He swallowed.
"Okay look— Either I'm talking to my husband of two years, Remus John Lupin who takes his tea with two spoons of sugar and hides chocolate bars in the medicine cabinet— Or I'm talking to a stranger who is, for some reason that's beyond me, renovating his childhood home. Either way I'd appreciate if you'd open the fucking door because it's freezing and wet and there are bugs everywhere and I haven't taken a piss for like hours so–"
Nothing. Not even a listening pause, a hesitation, a single opening. The man swore under his breath, tapping his foot in agitation. He took a moment to collect himself. "Alright– You wanna play games? I'll play them with you. I'm not me, you're not you, alright?" He left a hopeful pause before urging, "You're someone his dad hired to fix up the house, right?" The man sighed, leaning his forehead against the door. He was quiet for a minute or two before he cleared his throat. "Well anyways— If you are renovating, it's quite a strange coincidence that you've got my husband's car. Maybe he sold it for an upgrade or maybe you jacked it– But I feel like usually people come in those big old vans with all their tools. It's an interesting choice of vehicle.." He bit his lip. "And– If you aren't him then I guess you'd have no idea who I am really— Or... Fuck well I guess neither of you would know that– That's the point.." He swallowed hard, closing his eyes.
"Well either way then— You don't know me, but I guess I feel like I know you.. Like maybe we met before in another life or something–" He trailed off, picking at his cuticles for a quiet moment. "That's– That's assuming you aren't– Remus.. Which is who I really drove 27 hours to come and talk to.. Because if you were Remus– The Remus I was married to anyways– You'd open the door."
The whirring was still there, but– He could almost feel a hesitation through the wood of the door.
Although that may have just been wishful thinking...
"I just– I wanted to give you a chance to get to know me.. To really like– know who I am–" He said, urging himself to speak loud enough for the man inside to hear. "I guess you could say the 'real me.' And if you hate it I'll find my own way, right?" His voice carried a hint of defeat as he tapped his fingers lightly against the doorknob, but he was determined not to give up. "I know– Um– I know I fucked up with you– And really I don't expect trust that's way too much to ask of you and I know that.."
The man listened to the whirring of the drill and the soft scratching and pawing of a curious animal. His heart ached in his chest.
"I err— I don't know if it helps, but honestly I have just as much of a clue who I actually am as you do– So... It's not personal..." He muttered the last bit, massaging his temples. "The only thing I'm really sure of right now is that I needed to give this a shot. So if you could find it in yourself to care– even a little– That would mean everything to me..."

The whirring finally stopped.
A long, long pause followed.
The man staggered back, letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as he heard the lock click and the door slowly began to swing open, revealing a very tired looking man.