Sunny Side of Hell

It should've been a quick trip to the grocery store. Ten minutes to and ten minutes back, just to get some ice cream to treat a few friends. But an hour had passed before Aeron realized Finny wasn't back. It wasn't like he should take long, Finny hates shopping.

Before he could even call, he received one from Finny himself.

"Hello?" No answer, just silence. The shuffling of clothes.

"I'm here, I'm here... Aeron," more shifting. A gasp. "Aeron..." The voice trailed off.

Now he was concerned. Something was wrong.

"Finny, are you okay baby?" There was no answer, just shuffling and then:

"I'm bleeding... I'm bleeding a lot." The voice was soft and quiet. Aeron was on the verge of tears now. He had never heard his husband sound so weak, so scared.

His friends---gathered on the couch---all stared at him in confusion. The phone was not on speaker. Aeron looked at the four other eyes in the room, trying to convey the message that this was an emergency.

"Finny, Finny, baby–"

"I'm bleeding, Aeron." Panic.

"Okay baby, it's okay." Aeron tried to keep his voice steady. "Have you called the police?"

"No... no," Finny whispered, "I hear sirens, they're close... Aeron..."

The next couple hours were a nightmare. Aeron drove to meet Finny at the scene. Cop cars, sirens flashing, and a flipped Chevy. Their car. Finny's car. Before he even knew, he was running, asking the police for any information they could offer.

"I'm his husband, I'm his husband, please!"

Aeron sat with him in the ambulance, stroking his hair, kissing his hands. He told him everything will be okay. He would be okay. There was blood everywhere. So much blood. But he'll be okay, he's Finny.

And he was okay, as it seemed. The bleeding stopped by the time they reached the hospital. His bruises would heal. No major damage. The worst was a broken wrist and major concussion. They had hope.

Aeron sat by his bed with his friends, Lukas and Dennis, sitting right behind him. He held his hand while they joked and laughed about how Finny never did get the ice cream. Aeron struggled to laugh, but he did, knowing his love would live. Finny would live to see the next day and the days after that. Aeron knew he would.

But that was a lie. It happened when Finny fell asleep that night. It was so quiet, no one even knew. He never felt a thing, just peace.

He just simply didn't wake up.

~

That was four months ago. Aeron still slept with Finny's shirts, which still smelled like him. They always would.

Finny's side of the bed remained completely undisturbed, besides his pillow, which was cuddled every night along with the shirts.

His games, his phone, all of his things, were right as he left them the last time they were used. The only change in their room was a framed picture of Finny, placed on the small table right beside Aeron's side of the bed.

The house was sparkling clean the first few weeks after Finny's death. Aeron coped by doing all the things he usually would if Finny were there, like cleaning, cooking, never leaving himself without something to do. He talked to Finny while he worked like he normally would. It was as if Finny wasn't gone.