Roan looked up at Liam from where he sat on the floor. Liam stared down at the other boy fondly, his green eyes clear and amused.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAuATIzttxtM
“Liam, please! C’mon, let’s go outside!” Roan pleaded, pulling at Liam’s trouser.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAFX0q2Eyg9a
“Roan, it’s raining,” Liam said, as if that would solve this argument.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAg2KpUu1qsq
“All the more reason to go outside!”
273Please respect copyright.PENANAT3tfkjpGOK
Liam sighed in exasperation and threw his book on a table and stood up, yanking Roan up with him. “Fine, fine, you stubborn fool, let’s go outside then.”
273Please respect copyright.PENANASs145THWVQ
Roan whooped and ran outside, hauling Liam with him.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAQCkh3XE3N0
The two boys stepped out into the rain and ran down the roads. Roan watched as the other threw his head back and laughed. Triumph surged through Roan as he knew that he was the one who made Liam laugh like this. Liam was special to him. He was his friend. His lover.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAuu2SzLvJcD
“Told you it’ll be fun,” Roan yelled.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAY4FDeLPpl8
“When you’re sick tomorrow don’t come whining to me!” Liam shouted back.
273Please respect copyright.PENANACNXRJHcErC
“But you’re here with me now, aren’t you?” Roan said. “You’ll be sick too then!”
273Please respect copyright.PENANAcqQq3oTPv0
“Then we’ll just have to be sick together!”
273Please respect copyright.PENANAFBAnScz5QP
Liam grabbed Roan by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss, hands entangled and their chests pressed together. They broke apart, gasping and grinning wide.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAcAzO2PyzWG
“You’ll be with me forever, right?”
273Please respect copyright.PENANAo6NPHrzRYo
Liam cupped Roan’s cheeks, smiling softly.
273Please respect copyright.PENANASqL6u7lnNJ
“Yes, yes I will.”
273Please respect copyright.PENANAIVW2Oclwk6
Roan loved Liam. Roan needed him. Liam was his only hope. Liam was like rain to him, always calmly, soothing his anxious, blazing flames.
273Please respect copyright.PENANArBoSWDJRSY
Hopefully, this rain will last forever, Roan thought.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAscU3cViA2H
* * *
273Please respect copyright.PENANAbkJ65pZnZk
Roan leaned against the wall, letting his tears fall down. He slowly collapsed to the floor in a sobbing mess. He glared at the letter he held in his hands.
273Please respect copyright.PENANA7CJ9glRVxn
Dear Roan,
273Please respect copyright.PENANAOSvT3sjE0y
I have to leave you. I have to leave us. I’m sorry Roan, I really am. But I have to do this. For both you and me. Please, forget about me. Find someone else. Find love again. I am so sorry, Roan but I have to leave.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAuCV0HdLY71
Liam
273Please respect copyright.PENANAQBrcH2l062
273Please respect copyright.PENANAWDh2VA2F2F
A scream tore through his mouth, letting his tears fall on the paper. He crumpled the paper in his hands, wishing it would turn to dust. He refused to believe this. He wished all this was just another nightmare.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAKZLTmGxpK7
No. This isn’t real. This isn’t happening.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAxjCAPuRgAI
Roan tried to convince himself this was all a lie. It’s all just some stupid joke. But then, why was he crying? Roan curled up into a ball and rocked himself back and forth, yearning for Liam’s warm embrace. He wished Liam would just appear and take him in his arms again and comfort him like he always does.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAzyIp1PPuXG
Roan waited. He waited for days. Months. Years.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAwLPQebWyTP
Liam never came.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAZKVlVYDANq
It seems the rain didn’t last after all.
273Please respect copyright.PENANA7RzXLGXawf
* * *
273Please respect copyright.PENANAg2meOQBwFU
Life played out in front of him like a video tape but Roan stayed frozen, watching and waiting for something he knew would never come. Here he was again, in front of their house. The house they had bought with their savings. It used to be a hide-out for them. A home. A place where they didn’t have to pretend. A place where they could exist. Roan still remembered the time they first moved in, all beaming laughter and wonder. He remembered it like yesterday, but the memory also felt so far away.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAaKxaJPqpXA
Roan placed a shaking hand on the rusted door knob. The knob turned with a creak and Roan stepped inside, a wave of goosebumps grazing his arms. It felt like he just stepped into a whole new world. He looked at the dusted furniture and the worn down walls.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAlrD0ritkjn
God, how long has it been?
273Please respect copyright.PENANAG5Rlt1n8gs
He shook off the urge to shiver and sighed. He went to the living room and the sight brought back so many memories. The couch Liam would sit on and read to him while Roan would listen to his soft voice and at other times try to convince him to go outside. The shelf filled with trinkets and photos they’d collected when they travelled the world when they were young. The bookshelf filled with books Roan could bet his life on that Liam had read every one of them. The piano Liam played while Roan screamed his lungs out which made both of them fall to the floor in laughter.
273Please respect copyright.PENANACTnEaLednT
Roan laughed humorlessly, walking towards the wall and slipping down to the floor. He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his jacket and opened it. He read the words again. He thought the pain would dull eventually but it only grew worse and more unbearable.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAALFh1hPVTy
How dare he? How dare Liam expect him to move on from him when Liam was all Roan had? Forget about him? He’s tried. But Liam is stuck in his mind, the only face that would matter to Roan. Find someone else? Who could hold Roan with the same gentleness he did? Find love again? Where? He’s sorry? If he were, then why isn’t he here?
273Please respect copyright.PENANAOMU1VswadP
Tears slipped down Roan’s face, for the millionth time. How long will he have to keep crying? How long will he be like this? He leaned his head against the wall, paper in hand, and he closed his eyes, wishing for something to end his pain.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAH3uJJqEYcZ
When he opened his eyes again, Liam was kneeling in front of him, watching him.
273Please respect copyright.PENANA5xPl6uS5xE
“Liam,” Roan croaked out, reaching out a hand to touch him.
273Please respect copyright.PENANANjLt268f12
His fingers touched Liam’s cheek. Roan brought their faces together for a soft kiss. His eyes fluttered shut as he tried to stay in this moment forever. But when Roan opened his eyes again, Liam was gone, as if he were never there to begin with.
273Please respect copyright.PENANAGI2A0LwR5p
It had started raining outside, Roan noted. But where was Liam?
273Please respect copyright.PENANASzMghHe6l3