22 March 2013

Snippet: Measured Doses

As I'm on Easter Holiday for a week and half, I'm scheduling some posts with snippets from my finished stories. They're still very much unedited, as I plan on editing them during my holiday. This first snippet is from Measured Doses, and it features Chad, who goes to the same group therapy as Josh and Damian in the Their Circumstances series.

* * *

Maybe Dion would help him out? He'd told Chad back then, almost four months ago now, that they couldn't pursue whatever was between them anymore because he had a boyfriend and he loved him. Chad had said he understood, Chad had let him go. What else could he have done? Chad had nothing to offer.

But maybe Dion still cared just a tiny bit. Maybe he'd let Chad stay for a couple days until he healed up and could figure out what he was going to do next. Dion had always been so kind. Chad hoped he still was.

He knew where Dion lived. At least where he had lived when Chad was still in college. He could only hope he still lived there, because if he didn't … then Chad didn't know what to do.

He sat hunched over in the tube. He had one arm wrapped tight around his middle while the other was braced on his knee. It still hurt to breathe and he was pretty sure the other passengers were looking at him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

He all but dragged himself up to the second-floor flat Dion had used to live in. He'd checked the mailbox and it still had Dion's name printed on it, so it looked like maybe he was in luck after all.

Chad leant heavily against the wall next to the door for several moments as he tried to gather his breath. He reached out with the arm that wasn't holding his own waist and knocked rapidly two times. Please let him be home. Please don't let him send me away.

The door opened slowly and Chad pushed himself away from the wall. A man was standing there but it wasn't Dion. No! "I … Is Dion here?" Please, please, please. Chad felt his eyes sting and he knew the tears weren't far behind.

"He's not at home right now." The bloke frowned down at him.

Chad couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears started trickling and the sudden sobs that escaped him hurt ten times more than simple breathing did, and that had hurt too. "P-please …"

The world was spinning again. Chad spread both his arms to try and steady himself against the doorway, but the sudden movement caused his ribs to protest painfully and he stumbled forward into a pair of strong arms.

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