Pathways // Gawsten [Book 2]

06 - Return To Wonderland

Grace and Awsten leave the next day. They had always intended on leaving the next day, but when it came around it was difficult.

Awsten woke up and stared at the ceiling for a long time. This was it, he was finally leaving them. He knew this is what he had to do, but he also knew he truly didn't want to do this. Life would've been a lot easier if he'd called Geoff a fag and that had been the end of it. But, if he'd have done that, he might still be in prison right now, or be completely oblivious to Otto being alive.

The door to Geoff's room swung open and the dog came bounding in. He was a beautiful German Shepherd, and Awsten still didn't know his name. As the dog jumped onto Geoff's bed, Awsten pulled him closer - ignoring the licking his hand was getting - and checked the tag. Caspar. He wondered where Geoff's dog was, maybe he'd let his sister take care of him? He also wondered how Geoff went from having a small puppy to a massive german shepherd, but shrugged it off. Geoff and Otto really had created their own little life back in Houston, they'd become as domestic as Awsten and Grace... just hopefully without the sleeping together.

He didn't come out of Geoff's room until he'd packed his bag, and he immediately darted to the bathroom for a shower. He wanted to stay isolated as long as possible, and get to leaving as quick as he could, although that was up to Jawn, not him. When he finally entered the main room, Jawn was already there, and Awsten was even more ready to leave.

"You're leaving so soon?" Awsten heard Otto say, and he saw Grace nod,

"I loved being here, and you know we missed you so much... But we never planned on staying long." Grace saying that reminded her of when her and Geoff found out Jawn was leaving after Awsten's trial, and that was exactly what Jawn had said. This was as temporary as that. Everything was temporary. She was beginning to think Otto and Geoff were both only temporary fixtures in her life.

Grace clung onto Otto with tears streaming down her face. She was leaving the love of her life, but at least she knew he was live. It pained her to not know when they'd next see each other, and she knew she'd have to deal with it. Him being alive was the most important thing to her, even if she did have to leave him behind. She knew she had no business staying in Houston with them. Just like they wanted to stay in Houston, she wanted to stay in London. It's where their homes were, and they couldn't just leave them behind. She completely knew Otto's understanding for not wanting to leave another home. Especially, she knew his hesitance to return to that house. The house where such bad things had happened. Although, she couldn't pretend it didn't sting that he wouldn't come home for her.

Awsten - on the other hand - was secretly glad to be going home. He didn't want to stick around when he knew there was a deadline on their time together. He had to accept Otto and Geoff weren't going to be a part of their lives anymore, and he couldn't recover from that while they were still together. He couldn't be happier when he and Grace were finally back at the airport away from it all, even though he could still feel the hurt gnawing at him. 

Neither of them looked back at the apartment building from the car. That was their goodbye, and it would be too painful to remind them of what they were leaving behind.

In the apartment, Geoff and Otto were dealing. Otto took it the hardest, losing Grace again. Even though he wasn't the one who left this time, and they finally got a goodbye, it was still difficult. He was so irrevocably in love with that girl, and he'd let her walk out of his life, unknowingly into the hands of Awsten. 

"What if we did go back to London?" Otto asked, and Geoff nearly dropped his phone from his hands. He stared back at his best friend who had a deadly serious look on his face.

"What?" He choked out, feeling the lack of air in his lungs from shock. He couldn't believe Otto was suggesting this.

"Geoff, I..-" Otto sighed, and sat down on the kitchen counter facing his friend.
"We were never meant to stay in Houston... We could've had our lives back if we'd gone back sooner. This was never the plan."