It was a harsh reality and as quickly as I had fallen in love with the world, I had come to despise it.
He was still alive when they got him inside the ambulance, yet paramedics were doing their best to keep him stable all the way to the hospital. I begged them to accompany them. I told them that he was my roommate, my best friend, my soulmate, and I didn't want to abandon him. I didn't want to become like those kids of my childhood who left and never looked back. I wanted to be there when he'd open his eyes. I wanted to kiss him and tell him that I love him and apologize for not being so considerate regarding his parents. I wanted to be there.
And I wasn't the only one.
Once we reached the hospital, they rushed him to the ER, and I was the one giving all the info they needed; his name, address, age, insurance, everything. And then, they politely asked for the closest relatives. It took me a while to remember their phone number not because I had forgotten it, but because I was dreading the moment I'd see them.
After that, I had to sit and wait. The driver was also brought in, although the man was alright. He had bruised his thorax a bit, but there was nothing serious going on. He reunited with his family and then left, while I was thinking how unfair it was for only one to be making it out in one piece. I wanted to cry and I did let a few sobs escape, but I swallowed the rest of it once they had arrived.
Never before in my life had I felt such fear. I knew they'd blame me. Hell, I was blaming myself for what happened. I also knew that if there was a chance for him to survive this, they'd do anything in their power to keep me away from Chris. They were loaded, and people with money could easily buy power, and then nothing stopped them.
His father, when they finally acknowledged my presence, demanded me to leave. I had no reason to be there. I had done my part as they had predicted; I screwed up their son and I even killed him. His mother didn't need to say anything. She was standing next to her husband, her gaze penetrating mine and cursing me, wishing I was in his place; wishing I was fighting for my life and even losing the game. I was shaking; I was speechless and I couldn't do anything.
"You've caused enough suffering. First, taking our son away from his home," he was yelling at me yet no one did anything to stop him, "and now he is dead! Are you happy now?" his hand met my shoulder, pushing me violently. "Do yourself a favor and just leave. You have done enough for Christ's sake!"
"I ran away. I don't know what I was thinking or what exactly drove me off. Perhaps I believed everything that he shot at me and in a desperate action of avoiding screwing it all up, I ran away." Marc took the last sip of his beverage and leaned back on the couch.
"His parents sound like shitty people anyways," Manolis commented, but Peter slapped his shoulder. "What the hell did I say? How can you treat your son's boyfriend like this? Chris was an adult, and they wanted to control him nevertheless."
"Exactly, they were possessive and controlling assholes. But I can't blame them entirely. They had just lost their son and I was the easiest target. Turning him gay, forcing him to stray from the perfect path they had laid for him." He shrugged, placing the glass on the coffee table. "I didn't even attend the funeral. Once I got home, I arranged everything concerning his stuff and some money we were saving up, and I traveled to Avlona to begin my military service, which I could no longer avoid. The rest is history. I suppose Manolis has told you about our time there in great detail."
"True." Peter laid on his boyfriend's lap and drew a deep breath.
"But you seemed so…happy."
Marc ran his hand in front of his own face with a smile. "It's called masking, my friend. I never liked people feeling sorry for me. Plus, we were both hiding our true selves in there." He winked at the other. "I was the only one knowing you were gay and that by complete accident!"
"I want to hear that story…" Peter commented, sipping his drink, and Marc gladly complied.
"Your boy was struggling one night with his phone beneath the covers. My bed was across his and it was quite noticeable how he was trying to take a photo of his penis." It was hard not to laugh. "Anyways, being some sort of an expert on photography, I decided to give him a tip or two, even if I didn't know him that well. So, I casually approached him and-"
"Casually approaching, he says, when in reality he came out of nowhere popping a question like: Trying to impress your girlfriend?" Manolis scoffed while Peter and Marc burst out laughing.
"Did you want me to turn it into a more awkward moment than what it already was?! At least I had the discretion of not mentioning that I could admire your organ in its full glory!"
"What can I say? I am proud of it." Manolis shot back with a cocky smile.
"And, I saw him grimacing at the mention of 'girlfriend' so I immediately understood that he had a boy left back home."
"I still can't believe how you gave me tips on sending this guy here a decent pic." The man caressed Peter's hair, "He even told me about lighting and what was the other thing? Something with lines…" he stopped, doing his best to remember that conversation back then.
"Leading lines," Marc said. "How you can captivate one's eye with just the lines of your surroundings. It's like guiding them into seeing your very own point of interest."
"All I wanted was to turn you on that night, yet this kid decided to make a course out of it," Manolis commented to his boyfriend.
"So, what are your plans, now?" Peter asked.
Marc had a sparkling smile on his face. "What I always knew best; take photos. At some point, I want to open my own studio and work professionally."
"I can help with that," Manolis mentioned and Peter agreed as well.
"Yeah, if you want models, you know where to find us."
"That's not a bad idea actually. I'm mostly working with nature and the overall environment, but I could use you for modeling purposes."
"Who knows, maybe someday you will work for Vogue! "
"I'd totally start buying that," Peter claimed with a grin, drinking his beer while Manolis had turned red from laughing.
Hey Chris, it's been a while since I laughed that much.
Thank you for being part of my life.
Thank you for always being here.