STRANGE AND UNSEEN

Chapter 25

Chris and Rob walk out of the hotel office stopping by Rob's car to chat quickly with Chance and Austin inside.

Chris then heads to the van where Avi, Adam and Tim sit waiting in complete silence.

The day had been just too much to handle, physically and mentally.

"We were able to get two rooms side by side with an adjoining door." Chris says as he climbs inside the van.

"Good." Avi says quietly and nods.

Chris glances into the back at Tim and Adam. Both sit quietly staring out the window. He reaches between the seats, taking Tim by the hand and gently squeezes it.

Tim's attention leaves the window and his eyes meet those of his boyfriend's. He manages a slight smile and returns the squeeze.

Chris turns to look at his little brother.

"Hey, Kid? You alright?" He asked with a concerned voice.

"Yeah, it's just been a very long morning." Adam smiles.

"It just dawned on me that I've not eaten anything." Tim says quietly.

"None of us has, Sweetheart." Chris smiles.

"Maybe that's why I feel so weak." Avi chuckles.

"Can we order pizza to be delivered?" Adam asks.

"Sure, that probably would be the quickest." Chris says as they pull up in front of their rooms.

Rob and the others were already getting out of their car.

"Guys, we're gonna order pizza. We're all starving." Chris says as he walks around to the side of the van to lower Tim's chair down.

"Works for me." Chance replies as he unloads their suitcases.

"Thank God. I thought I was the only one starving to death." Austin chuckles.

They walk into the rooms, opening the adjoining door. Chris, Tim, Avi and Adam will be in one room and Rob, Chance and Austin the other.

Chris wrote down what everyone agreed on along with the address and gave it to Tim. He was going to call in the order while the others unloaded the car and the van.

Tim reaches into a side pocket of his chair pulling out a box of surgical gloves. He slips on a pair and returns the box to the pocket.

He opens a drawer to a table by the phone and pulls out a phone book. He finds the number to a pizza place. He then reaches back into the pocket of the chair for a pack of sanitizing wipes. He carefully wipes the receiver of the phone before putting it to his ear to call the pizza place.

By the time they got everything unpacked the pizzas had arrived. Chance, Rob and Chris walked to a near-by drink machine to get them all something to drink.

After they had finished eating, Chris thought it was time to bring up their situation.

"So, how is everyone feeling since we are out of the house?" Chris asks as he takes Tim by the hand.

"Relieved." Adam was the first to answer.

"I can actually breathe." Tim says. "There was always a, I don't know, maybe a heavy feeling?"

"I feel safe." Austin answers.

"But what are we gonna do? We can't just live in a hotel." Rob says.

"We need to find out just what went on in that house." Chance says.

"You could always check the library records or maybe even a town historian." Avi comments.

"What about a paranormal team?" Tim asks.

"I thought about that." Chris says. "But we need to find out some kind of history on the house first."

"I wish I could help out tomorrow but I have to work." Rob says.

"Me too." Chance says. "Rob, you'll have to drop me off at the house to get my car."

"Don't go in the house." Austin says in a panicked voice.

"Sweetie, don't you worry about that. I'm not going in that house alone." Chance chuckles.

"Well, me, Tim and Austin can go research at the library. Avi and Adam can see if they can hunt down a town historian." Chris says. 

"We can do that." Avi answers.

"This is kind of exciting." Austin giggles as he snuggles up to Chance. "We're playing detective."

Chance smiles as he wraps an arm around the smaller man's shoulder.

"Well, enquiring minds wants to know." Tim smirks as he looks at the couple. "What's going on with you two? Everything has been so crazy that I haven't had time to ask."

"Oh, uh." Chance says with a chuckle as he looks around at a smiling Austin. "We, uh, kinda realized we liked each other."

"A lot." Austin adds.

"That's cool." Tim nods with a smile. "Now if Rob would only hook up with somebody."

"Ugh, I have you know, Timothy." Rob states as he pushes up his glasses. "I have my eye on a fine looking lady at work."

"For real?" Tim asks with furrowed brows.

Rob looks around at everyone's shocked expressions.

"Why are you all looking so surprised?" Rob asks. "I can be quite the Romeo."

"For real?" Tim asks again but this time with a smirk on his face.

Chris chuckles quietly as he brings Tim's hand up to his mouth, kissing the back of it.

"It's just that you've never mentioned anything before." Adam says.

"Are you planning on asking her out or are you just stalking her?" Austin laughs.

Tim laughs as he reaches up to give Austin a high-five.

"You two are walking on thin ice." Rob says with a slight smile on his face.

"It's amazing how different everyone acts outside that house." Chris says.

"It affects everyone's mood." Avi says.

"What do you thing is going on in there right at this moment?" Austin asks.

"Who cares. As long as we're not there." Adam says.

"I don't want to go back." Tim says quietly as he plays with Chris's fingers.

Chris frowns as he pulls his lover into a hug.

No one says a word because truthfully they all felt the same way.

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