The Will of Love and Life (Peterick)

Chapter Twenty-Three

December 05, 2016

Patrick went upstairs to pack as a way to escape. Shoving his stuff into a suitcase made it official that he was leaving. He almost couldn't wait to get out and be away from Pete and the responsibilities of keeping him happy.

Pete only knew that Patrick had come home because he heard the front door slam. He didn't go upstairs. He just rolled his eyes and turned up the volume on the television.

He wished Patrick would pay attention to him. Not that Patrick didn't pay him any attention. There were always the material things and sexual things, but that was it. It was so easy for Patrick to get mad at him, making it simple for Pete to get immediately upset.

Pete was surprised when his cell phone rang. Kailyn was at work, and he and his mother weren't really associating anymore. When he looked at the caller ID he felt an actual growl in the back of his throat.

"Why the hell are you calling me?"

He heard the sigh over the phone, and he was sure that if he had the television muted, he would've been able to hear it upstairs, too.

"Can you bring me one of those bags with the zipper thing from the kitchen?"

"You're obnoxious," Pete said, going into the kitchen and digging through one of the drawers.

"Well, I yelled for you, but you didn't answer."

"We are in the same house, Patrick." Pete started walking upstairs, clenching the bag in his fist. "You don't need to call me."

"I do when you ignore me."

"I wasn't ignoring you. I couldn't hear you." And if I did, I probably would have.

Pete wasn't listening to Patrick over the phone anymore. He could hear him the closer he got to their bedroom. "Pete, could you please just---"

Patrick stopped talking when Pete was standing in front of where he was sitting on the floor. They both still had the phones pressed to their ears, and Pete held the bag out to him. Patrick took it, and they just glared at each other throughout the exchange.

"Thanks." Pete heard it in front of him and two seconds later through the phone, and then he hung up, walking away. "Did you just hang up on me?"

Pete didn't reply. Once he was halfway down the steps, he heard Patrick behind him. He stopped outside the archway to the living room, knowing that Patrick wanted to argue with him. He just turned around and crossed his arms, waiting for Patrick to reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you seriously picking a fight with me right now?" Patrick asked, lugging his suitcase over to the front door. "I'm leaving for over a week, and all you wanna do is yell at me?"

"What, you think I want to yell at you?" Pete asked with a scoff. "I want to be kissing you and having sex with you because you're going to be two hundred miles away. But instead, I have to yell at you for treating me like crap."

Patrick dropped his suitcase and stared at Pete. "Tell me how fucking awful I am to you," Patrick growled, making Pete take a step back. "I give you absolutely everything you want, and all I get in return is you bitching about how much you hate me."

"I do not hate you," Pete argued. Pete was nowhere near as sassy as Patrick was, but he couldn't help but fight every snide comment Patrick threw at him. "I'm yelling because God forbid you have to do something for yourself. You lived without me for twenty-eight years. You can take care of yourself for ten minutes."