Between The Tides Of Pain & Rapture | MxM

Chapter 28

One month later.

In October, the leaves turned orange in Evanston.

As the distant laughter of children echoed in the background, Nathan took a deep inhale of the afternoon air; cool and crisp, it filled his lungs and he sighed, a small smile playing on his lips. A lot had happened in the past month—more than he had ever imagined. He had confessed everything to his family, leaving nothing unsaid, laying out the truth that had long weighed him down. They already knew, thanks to Logan, but this time, Nathan made it clear that this was who he was, and he wasn't going to change—not anymore.

Ira had not been forgiven, despite forgiving him. She had listened, even understood, but her final words stung more than anything else. "I can't be a part of your life anymore, Nathan." She had packed her bags and left to stay with her family back in Texas, cutting ties completely. Nathan knew she would never speak to him again. It was okay; she deserved better.

As for his mother, Nathan had hoped for a different outcome. She was also relentless in her stance. She listened, her face unreadable as he poured out his apologies, but in the end, she had said she needed time—time to process, to understand. She had also packed her bags and left. She called sometime later when she said, she said she was back in India, staying with her brother's god-fearing children. Nathan feared she might never return from. Still, he believed, deep down, that she would forgive him. One day.

He lost two people in a blink of an eye. They were not dead, yet both broke his heart as if they were. At least... Logan stayed. They weren't back together, but they were not apart either. Although he had stopped working at Logan's firm, he stayed by the younger man's place. Logan has been thrilled—he made Nathan comfortable and dotted over him every chance he got. It was clear Logan wished for him to stay; however, Nathan needed to figure out his next move as his heart still needed time for himself. He had decided to leave Evanston and move to New York to find himself once and for all... though it meant leaving behind the man he loved. He had to do this—needed to do this. As for Logan, he had not told him of his plans; not yet at least.

The sound of footsteps approaching snapped Nathan out of his thoughts.

Logan showed up, a soft smile on his face with two ice cream cones in his hands: doubled-scooped cherry vanilla, and chocolate. "They're melting like crazy," he said, handing Nathan the cherry vanilla as he took a seat on the park bench, next to Nathan.

"Mm," Nathan hummed after he tasted the frozen, creamy goodness. It had been a while since he allowed himself to enjoy the simpler things in life. "I expected the opposite... the place is starting to get cold."

"What do you want to do after this?" Logan asked.

Nathan shrugged. "Maybe go see a movie?"

"Something scary? I heard Beetlejuice 2 is playing—how about that?"

"That's not scary. Isn't that a comedy?"

"Well I watched the first part when I was little and got scared, so..."

Nathan arched an eyebrow, his tongue deep into the ice cream in pause. "Really?"

Logan nodded. "Mmhm."

"Alright... we'll go see Beetlejuice then."

With just the two of them, watching the afternoon skies painted in orange and pink, peace washed over Nathan. He hadn't felt this calm in years, maybe ever. It was strange, how quiet everything had become in his life—no more hiding, no more lies. He turned his attention to Logan, who shoved the last piece of wafer into his mouth and smiled.

"You never did tell me what you did with the video of us," Nathan said casually.

Nathan and Logan exchanged a long glance before the younger man cleared his throat and answered, "I deleted it."