Long Away

Chapter 67

After having dinner together, Gwil and Joe sat down in the living room to watch a movie. They chose a comedy neither of them had seen before. It was a good distraction for a while, until Joe's phone buzzed from a new message. He briefly considered to ignore it until they had finished the movie, but he saw that it was indeed Rami who had texted him, and he wanted to get things sorted out as quickly as possible.

Rami: "What exactly are you referring to? I don't know what he told you, but I stand by everything I said." - 8:28pm
Joe turned to Gwil, showing him the message.
"Rami responded. Could you type out exactly what he said please? I don't want to be responsible for any miscommunication."

Gwil read the text with thin lips.
"Sure." Joe handed him his phone and leaned in to see what he was typing.
" 'There is no excuse for playing with someone's feelings like that, even if Ben's life depended on it' "
Gwil passed the phone back to Joe.
"That's what I'm referring to." He pressed send. Within seconds, Rami started typing, and Joe felt a twinge of anxiousness in his stomach.

Rami: "What? I never said that" - 8:30 pm
Gwil let out a scoff. Joe regarded him with a confused look.
"Are you sure there wasn't a misunderstanding?"
"There wasn't. He is lying."
Doubtful, Joe looked from Gwil's angrily narrowed eyes to the text on his screen and back. This didn't make sense. None of it.

"I honestly don't think he would do that. Are you really sure-"
"Joe, I know what he said," Gwil insisted.
"I remember it clearly because of how much it shocked me. Do you think I would make that up?" The hurt tone in his voice told Joe he had to be careful with his choice of words.

"Well no, of course I know you wouldn't. But I also don't think Rami would say something like that, but much less deny it if he had. There must have been a misunderstanding."
With a sigh, Gwil turned away to face the tv screen.
"I get it. I wouldn't believe me either. But I know what he said."

A feeling of guilt overcame Joe. He knew for certain Gwil wouldn't make something like this up. Rami was one of his best friends too. It was an all around shitty situation for everyone involved, and now Joe was making him feel like he wasn't taking him seriously. Hesitantly, he placed a hand on Gwilym's.
"I'll try to figure this out, okay? Maybe Lucy can help afterall."

Joe scrolled down in his contact list until he found her. He hadn't realized how long it had been since they last talked to each other. His depression really had messed with his social life more than he wanted to admit to himself.
Joe: "Hey Luc. I'm sorry it's been so long. I hate that this has to be the first thing I ask you after all this time, but could we call? I need to know what happened between Rami and Gwil." - 8:34

~~~~

Joe was already in his guest room, getting ready for bed when Lucy texted back.
Lucy: "Hey Joe. Don't worry about it, I know things haven't been easy for you. Rami just left to run errands, so we could call now if that works for you?" - 11:03pm
Joe sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed the call button. It didn't take long before Lucy picked up.

"Hi Joe."
"Hey Luc. It's good to hear your voice again."
"Are you holding up alright? Is that a stupid question?"
"I'm managing. I have to. What about you?"
"Well, it's not a great time obviously, but all things considered I'm fine. Now, what did you want to know?"

Suddenly Joe felt very unsure. Maybe Gwil had misheard him? He didn't want to get on Rami and Lucy's bad side if that was the case. But if it wasn't, would Lucy even tell him the truth?
"Uh... So... I'm staying with Gwil again and he told me about his fight with Rami. And he supposedly said that what Gwil is doing isn't acceptable 'even if Ben's life depended on it'."
"What? Rami would never say something like that!"

"That's what I thought too, but Gwil says he did. That's why I wanted to ask you. You were there when they talked, right?"
"Now... I do have to say I wasn't there for the entire conversation. But I know Rami wouldn't say that. And Gwilym has been quite rude to him. I don't know what's up with him, but I wouldn't put it past him to lie after all this."
Joe furrowed his eyebrows. Didn't Gwil say Lucy agreed with her boyfriend?

"Gwil also said that you seemed to agree with Rami. What was that about then?"
"I was in the other room when I heard Rami raising his voice, so I came to check and he was already in the middle of arguing with Gwil. He put him on speaker and I tried to calm both of them down. Gwil was using very colorful language... Now that I think about it, I think I did literally say 'the way you are acting is unacceptable'. I don't know if he realized I didn't hear the whole conversation. Maybe he did think I was agreeing with- but I just can't believe Rami actually said that."

A wave of relief washed over Joe. So Gwil didn't lie, at least this part was just a misunderstanding.
"I can't either. But could you at least ask him about it? I don't want to accuse either of them of lying, and I don't know what to think."
"Of course. I'll talk to him when he's back. I'm sure everything will sort itself out. We're all just a little overwhelmed I think."
"Yeah, definitely" Joe sighed, letting himself sink into his mattress.

They kept talking for a while longer. There was a lot to catch up on. Lucy mentioned they were looking for a place in London, as they wanted to move in together permanently. Joe felt a little hurt Rami hadn't told him that already, but he didn't say anything.
It was well after midnight when they said their goodbyes and hung up. Joe was tired, but talking to Lucy again had made him feel better. She always had such a calming effect on him. Joe yawned. Hopefully she was right and all this drama would be over soon.