More Than Our Parts | Reed900

Chapter 15

Pacing around his kitchen, Gavin waited for his coffee to brew, feeling much less rested than he would have hoped. The events of the night before had left his mind hopelessly preoccupied, swimming with questions that pleaded for answers. Nervous fingers twitched on his phone as he held it to his ear. The dial tone rang on a loop until a person eventually answered. Their voice was low and groggy from the early morning intrusion:

"Hello...?"

"Tina, I'm having a crisis."

There was silence on the other end of the line, save for the sounds of gentle breathing. This was followed by the rustle of bedsheets and a long, dejected sigh. "It's 8:35 on my day off. You better be dying."

He combed his fingers fractiously through his hair as he grappled with the best place to start. In his struggle, a stray thought tumbled gracelessly from his lips, "Nines has fucking freckles. Have you ever noticed that?"

There was a dull thud, presumably Tina's head, as it slammed back down on the pillow. "This is getting sad. I can smell your sexual frustration down the phone."

"I need your help."

"Alas, my sweet, I cannot. For we are both flaming homosexuals."

"Not like that. I need advice."

There was a short yawn as his friend roused herself from any lingering remnants of slumber. "Okay, fine. As you've so rudely interrupted my lie-in, you may as well enlighten me. What's happened that's got you freaking out?"

"You remember me saying that it wanted to help? With the whole Tiffany thing?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you said I should reconsider the offer?"

"I recall imparting that nugget of wisdom."

There was a hissing sound from the counter as his coffee came to a boil. Steam billowed from the spout of the pot, and Gavin wasted no time in letting it cool. He slid his mug into position and poured himself a drink. "Well, I did—reconsider, I mean. I was tired and desperate. Willing to try anything. So I let it stay the night."

"Wait," Tina's tone had shifted, buzzing with an edge of excitement. "Hold that thought. I'm getting a snack."

He waited apprehensively as the woman shuffled her way out of bed. There was the sound of a door closing, and the plodding of steps on a hardwood floor. Following this was the beep of a fridge and the rustling of food packets before she returned the phone to her ear. "All good. Please continue."

"It was awkward as Hell", Gavin exhaled, tapping his fingers on the sides of his mug. "I needed something to break the tension, so I started drinking."

"Shocker."

"I suggested we put on a movie. Which we did, and it was fine. Then it ordered me dinner, which was weird, but whatever. It does weird shit all the time." He blew on the rim of his mug before taking a tentative sip. "We were talking. Just random shit, and then it got...intense."

"In what way intense?" her voice was loud—as if she were leaning apprehensively into her receiver.

"We started talking about my dad."

It was clearly not the answer Tina had expected, nor one she knew how to approach. Gavin's father was a sensitive topic, of which she had always been deeply respectful. There was a long, weighty pause as she patiently waited for him to continue.

"I don't know why I did it. I guess it was the booze talking, but the damn thing was so..." His eyes scrunched closed as he struggled to find a word to describe the behaviour. "... decent about it", he eventually settled. "It mostly just listened, but in a comforting way. I think it even tried to hold my hand."