Angel [BoyXBoy]

Chapter 25: Redemption? Part II

Chapter 25: Redemption?Part II

When it came time to wake up the next morning, Angel was sluggish. He expected to roll over and find Cole cocooned in the sheets, but when he woke, the spot next to him was cold. He had a momentary panic attack, breaths coming out in strangled pants. This was his worst nightmare, waking up to find Cole had abandoned him for someone with less baggage.

He desperately clawed at the top of his chest, begging his lungs to cooperate and pleading with his anxiety to uncoil their chains from his throat. The door opened, and Angels eyes shot up to find Cole holding a tray of food. When Cole took in the sight of his panicked lover he quickly placed the tray on the dresser and rushed to be by Angels side.

Cole didn't ask what the problem was, he knew he wouldn't get any kind of intelligent response when Angel was in this state. Instead he offered Angels his hands to grab onto and Angel took the offer. He grabbed Coles hand and held them to his stomach. He rolled into himself and fell into Coles chest. Cole took it with stride, he'd done it all before. Cole settled his chin on top of Angels messy mop of hair and shushed the boy.

"You're okay Ang," Cole cooed, "I'm here, I just went to get breakfast, I'm sorry for not waking you up"

Cole knew early morning panic attacks came from one of two situations, Angel had a night terror, or he'd woken up without Cole and freaked. He didn't need to know which it was, just that Angel was in the middle of a panic attack and he'd help get him out of it. Angel wasn't good with the whole 'picturing a happy place' or 'the five senses' tricks that therapists provided to ease panic attacks. He was much more physical, he needed Cole to hold his hand or stroke his back, or just be a pillar of calm for Angel to leech onto. It took roughly five minutes for Angels breaths to mellow and his tight grasp on Cole's hands to loosen. When his cheeks had dulled from the bright red they became amid a panic, he pulled away from Cole and refused to look at him, "sorry," he mumbled.

Cole looked at him with pity, "it's alright Ang, today is already stressful, I should have left a note or something, at least. I toasted you a bagel and got some apple juice, do you know how many types of juice Nick has in his fridge? Like 70 I swear!" Cole tore the tension by joking.

Angel cracked a smile, beyond thankful to have such a caring partner. He was worried Cole would get sick of the constant need for reassurance, but the black boy never complained or demanded time away. To Angel, Coles dependability was magic. Cole stood up when Angel had released his hold completely and he grabbed the tray. He handed Angel a white plate with an everything bagel with cream cheese on it. Angel took the plate and rested back against the head board to eat. They didn't need to talk about what had just happened, more times than no it sparked another attack. Cole had made himself a plain bagel with butter and had gotten them both tall glasses of apple juice. He knew that coffee would just make them jittery.

Cole talked about the weird dream he had last night, he dreamed about having to work as a barista, but he was only six inches tall. That made Angel laugh so hard he almost spit out his apple juice. Cole smiled at his boyfriend laughing.

When they finished eating they sat in silence for a few moments before Cole took a deep breath, "I think we should call his business partner and ask when a good time to drop by would be," Cole said.

"Yeah," Angel responded without much emotion, "what was his name again?"

"Corey," Cole said, reaching for his phone, "Corey Briggum or something like that."

"Let's get this over with then," Angel sighed, and Cole smiled sadly, he scrolled through his notes until he found where he had written down Corey's work number and typed it into his phone. Cole reached for Angels hand as he pressed call and set the phone on speaker. Angel looked like he was about to cry.