1 | Almost Happy ▷ Sam Wilson | ✓

30 - THE TRUTH COMES OUT

NICKY AND SAM RETURNED TO THE LOFT TO FIND RHETT LEANED AGAINST THE SOFA. The moment the laughing pair stepped into the room, they knew something was off. The entire room was filled with a tension that easily pointed towards the man who was staring at them, his jaw set and eyes hard. Whatever mirth that had existed had been snuffed out in an instant, leaving nothing but a looming fear.

"Sam," Rhett said, his tone low and careful, jaw still set, "I need to talk to him. Alone."

Sam paused for a moment, gauging his reaction, but when he found nothing to be truly wary of, he nodded, squeezing Nicky's shoulder before leaving. Despite being welcomed by the two men with open arms, he knew when there was a line and would never dare to cross it.

With Sam gone, Nicky was left to stare at Rhett with a sinking feeling in his stomach, because Rhett had never looked at him like that before. Never in his life had he ever seen that look directed at him, and it made him sick.

His skin crawled and he shivered underneath his jacket, the hairs on the back of his neck and along his arms rising, his stomach churning and chest constricting. This was the epitome of fear, not because he feared for his life, but because he feared of what was directed at him.

It seemed like years until Rhett spoke, his whisper filling the large room. "I can't believe you."

Nicky's heart stopped, but he wasn't quite sure why. "What-what do you mean?"

That seemed to break the ice and Rhett surged forward, and Nicky jumped back, but he didn't think the man would ever hurt him. "How long?"

"How long, what?" Nicky asked, taking a tentative step forward to meet the man, because he knew he wouldn't hurt him.

Rhett grabbed Nicky by the shoulders, not harsh, but with enough force to show that Rhett was incredibly hurt. "You said you'd tell me everything. You told me you were okay, then I find this shit?"

He screamed the last word, shoving himself back—Nicky stayed in place, but Rhett skidded backwards, using Nicky to push himself, because he would never push him—turning around and running his hands through his hair, and Nicky could feel the anger radiating off of him.

He didn't say anything, partly because he didn't know what to say, but also because he knew that he had no right to speak. Not now, not when he had just been found out.

Rhett turned back around, rubbing his mouth, and Nicky's heart broke when he saw the tears pooling in his bright blue eyes. The blond shook his head, sighing and running his hand through his hair, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"I've been here for you for nine. Fucking. Years. Nine years, and I'm not mad about it! You know why? Because I love you! You're my best friend, you're more than my best friend, you're everything to me, and you couldn't trust me enough to let me know about this?"

He had started out softly, but by the end he was shouting, pointing sharply at Nicky's room, his words slurring and, as he had been talking, he had curled inwards, then thrown his arms out, all his movements were centered around every thought, emotion, and feeling he had.

Gone were his worries of saying the right thing. He couldn't do anything except feel.

"It's been years since Terran disappeared," Rhett seethed, "And all this time, I thought you were okay with it. All this time, but you were just fucking with me? I ask you all the time if you're okay, you didn't think maybe I actually meant it?"

"I know you meant it," Nicky sighed, unable to help himself from speaking, "That was kind of the problem."

That wasn't the right thing to say.