Darling, Let's Run From it All

〈 Chapter 6 〉

I know we don't really know each other and you probably have your opinions of me. I thought maybe if I told you how I feel, things could be different. The truth is, I can't stop thinking about you. I'm crazy about you. I think you're amazing! But I know these feelings I have are wrong. It's not the way a boy should feel. Shame swallows me whole, just writing these words. My father would kill me but I can't live in his shadow forever. I just...

The note devolved into scribbles from there. Sal had lost count of how many times he had read the damn thing. After finding it on the floor of the bathroom during his interaction with Travis, he found himself unreasonably interested in the note.

Travis had to have been the one who wrote it, right? He was the only one in the bathroom at the time, and Sal couldn't think of anyone else it could be.

Sal couldn't quite understand why he was so invested in the note. It wasn't meant for him, so he shouldn't care at all. But here he was, caring far more than was probably acceptable.

The fact that he had kept the note probably made him a damn creep. But hey, he'd been called a lot worse before, so he couldn't bring himself to care much.

A part of him had wanted to ask Travis about the note when he had come over, but he didn't want to make things awkward. The topic of the note was so serious; there's no doubt that Travis wouldn't have wanted to talk about it.

That fact didn't do much to curb Sal's curiosity, though. Now that he knew about this note on top of knowing about Travis's struggles at home, he suddenly had a much better understanding of why Travis acted the way he did. Of course, that didn't make it okay, but Sal had a hard time holding Travis accountable for his actions.

As Sal sat and stared at the note, another thought popped into his head: who was the note meant for? It was clearly meant for a certain person, but there was no name. Sal's curiosity only grew; it was none of his business, but that didn't mean he didn't want to know the answer.

He and Travis had planned to get together over the coming weekend to work on their project more. Once again at the apartment complex, of course. Sal stood and began to in his bedroom as he watched the clock.

He hoped that, if nothing else, this time would be less uncomfortable. By the time Travis had left after their last meeting, Sal had been so tired of the awkward silence.

A quiet knock at the door brought Sal out of his thoughts. He jogged out into the living room and towards the front door.

To his surprise, when he opened the door, Travis wasn't the one who stood there- it was Larry, who had told him earlier that day that he would be out with friends all afternoon.

"Hey, man," Sal said, stepping out of the way so that Larry could walk inside. "What are you doing back?"

"What, did I catch you doing something illegal in here?" Larry teased. He crossed the room and started to search through the clutter on the table.

"We both know you're more likely to do something illegal than I am," Sal joked, watching Larry. "Seriously, though, what're you doing?"

"I told Asher that I was going to lend him a book and then I forgot it. And we're just hanging out around the corner, so I just ran back here to grab it."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah. So I'm just going to head right back out."

Sal nodded and glanced at the clock. "Alright. Hey, you didn't happen to see Travis while you were heading up here, did you?" He questioned.

"Travis? As in, Church Boy Travis Phelps?" Larry asked, turning towards Sal with a raised eyebrow.
Sal sighed. He should have known that his brother would react like that. "Yeah, Travis Phelps."