Hollow Grace

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ - ᴅᴇᴀʀᴇsᴛ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ

The vehicle halted short of the house. Headlights blazed directly into his eyes, obscuring any detail of the car's color, license plate, or the driver's face. Charlie's grip on the knife handle behind his back tightened until his knuckles ached, poised to retaliate against whomever dared approach. The doors swung open, and the driver, boots crunching on the gravel, advanced.

"Charlie? What are you doing here?" Raine's unusually stern voice disoriented Charlie. He blinked in bewildered confusion. The mechanic had never sounded so tense, so commanding. Yet, his presence brought instant relief. Recognizing a friend, not a foe, Charlie took a step forward.

"I was waiting for you... I couldn't reach you, and no one was home. I was terribly worried."

"Weren't you supposed to be at home, or at the Oferton carnival?"

Raine switched off the headlights, relieving Charlie from the blinding glare. Two other doors opened, and Nova and Evan emerged. All three appeared weary and disconcerted, Evan especially. His disheveled hair and smudged makeup only accentuated his distressed state. But Charlie, after the night's harrowing events, was overwhelmingly relieved and elated to see his beloved alive and unharmed. He moved towards Evan, only for the latter to react abruptly and harshly.

"You're such an imbecile, Wright!" Evan exclaimed, shoving Charlie's shoulder. "Was it so difficult to let me know you were alright?! Were your fingers too fell off to reply to a message?!"

"Evan, I... listen, I couldn't..."

"Of course, you had more engaging pursuits! I almost got fucked while you were having fun with who the fuck knows!"

Charlie was taken aback, his eyes widening in disbelief. He had anticipated Evan's distress and concern over his disappearance. He was even prepared for anger regarding the missed calls and messages. But at the very beginning of the dispute he was not prepared for such an argument.

"Evan, please, don't shout," Nova interjected, attempting to step between them. "What happened, Charlie? We were looking for you everywhere."

"I'll explain everything," Charlie stammered, his frightened gaze darting across his lover's face. Oh, Charlie physically felt the shift between them in that instant, sensing the palpable tension. Evan, having received no response to his calls and messages, had clearly allowed his anxieties to escalate to a point where no explanation might suffice. Wright couldn't even articulate the events of the night coherently to himself, let alone to Evan.

"Explain?" Evan choked, wiping angry, makeup-streaked tears from his face. "Explain! By all means, do! Explain why you weren't there when I needed you most, but were instead joyriding with a drug dealer and some floozy!"

"Evan," Raine intervened this time. "Please, lower your voice... let's go inside and discuss this. Charlie, I don't fully understand what transpired between you two... but you should come inside as well. Do your parents know you're here?"

Evan gave a convulsive nod and, avoiding any contact with Charlie, Nova, or Raine, dashed towards the house. Charlie, consumed by fear and despair, shook his head in bewildered response to Raine's question. The fact that Evan had somehow learned of his misadventures was a complete shock. The mention of Darren and Nemo, combined with Evan's own interpretations and conclusions, only worsened Charlie's predicament. He had wanted to explain everything himself, privately, so that it wouldn't appear as a betrayal in his lover's eyes. But he was too late. Someone had explained it all before him.

Charlie sprinted after Evan. With hands trembling from nerves, he opened the door and stumbled into the house, frantically searching for his boyfriend. Evan, his usually patient and cheerful Evan, was huddled on the kitchen floor, concealed between the island and the stove. He was sobbing uncontrollably, curled into a frightened, trembling ball. Charlie had never seen, nor could he have imagined, him so vulnerable and broken. Only once before, when he had opened up about the betrayal of a previous lover.