Six Days in April

Chapter 11: Climax and Afterglow

When Chezdon got home, he spent almost 30 minutes taking a long look at the Melbourne skyline wondering how his life had gotten so screwed up even as he was trying to stay away from the alcoholic beverages, away from the drugs. His head was pounding as his headache grew more intense. He wondered if he had any OxyContin. Screw the effort to be free of the drugs. He was hurting, and drugs were supposed to deal with pain, yes? Why not avail himself of their wonders?

Chezdon changed clothes to go for a run--maybe it would take his mind off his headache, he thought, and as he descended from the heights of the Eureka Tower, he sent Jayden a text message. It would be his last effort to contact the boy for a while. He just didn't have any more time to spend on the matter. Maybe it was time to move on, let Jayden figure out a way to salvage his own life, leave Chezdon alone. But each time he thought about Jayden, he realized that Jayden was like the brother he never had. It was a connection he found hard to break. Well, one more effort probably wouldn't change matters much, though it might give Chezdon some piece of mind that he had done everything he could think of to help Jayden. He hadn't thought that he might be helping himself at the same time. He typed:

Chezdon: Jayden, we still haven't finished our talk. Just let me know when you're ready to do so.

He sent the message expecting not to hear anything further from Jayden before the funeral. Maybe that was for the best. Chezdon was grateful the school had held classes only earlier in the week and was now closed until after the funeral. He couldn't imagine handling his schoolwork and Jayden's crap at the same time. Hell, he thought, just handling Jayden's crap was getting to be all consuming.

Seeking a new route, Chezdon decided to go over to the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and enjoy the views afforded by the south bank of the Yarra River east of his home. He hadn't run this route in months, and maybe a change in routine was called for. Maybe it would calm his mind and help alleviate his headache. Maybe it was time to make a lot of changes in his life. To start dating suggested to Chezdon that he was entering a new phase of that life. Time for lots of things to change--lots of things that Chezdon could change.

Jayden had retreated to the tree in Albert Park. He needed some quiet to allow himself to think. Had what he had done really been that awful? What else was he supposed to do? He sat down underneath the tree and assessed the situation. Chezdon was a loss as a boyfriend. Maybe even as a mate, let alone best mate. Whatever relationship he had had with Austin evaporated after he accidently bit Austin's penis while giving him a blowie earlier that year. Brody had screwed him in more ways than one, and the bastards otherwise known as his parents were giving him a difficult time just for being. Looking at the situation and seeing himself increasingly isolated, Jayden put his forehead on his knees, closed his eyes to imagine what he had hoped for his future, and then what his future was increasingly looking like it would be. He was hard pressed not to notice that the difference between the two visions was becoming ever greater. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure out how he could get close to living his dreams and concluding that Melbourne Grammar and college were essential for that future, his exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell asleep.

About half an hour after Chezdon sent Jayden the text message, Jayden woke up and saw it. He wasn't sure quite what to do. Much as he would like to talk to Chezdon, even if just as his best mate, he was now getting tired even as evening was not yet at hand. He texted Chezdon that he was ready to meet and talk. Chezdon received it in the middle of his run. He didn't want to stop, but he also knew that the window for discussion with Jayden was closing fast. It seemed a minor decision--except Chezdon knew that to leave Jayden festering would strain their relationship. Would it break? Chezdon didn't know, and he realized quickly that he didn't want to find out. At least not yet.