things worse. He respected the man’s decision, but Rudy’s heart was shredded and he figured putting a lot of distance between them might help him heal.
He just prayed he was strong enough to not go begging at Graham’s feet for another chance.
****
“Graham! Jesus, you’re too young to be losing your hearing,” Sue said as she propped her hands on her hips.
He offered her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. What did you need?”
“I was hoping you might lug the dog food in from the truck,” she said, watching him closely, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “But I’m wondering if I should make you an appointment with the ear doctor.”
“I’m on it.” Graham headed out to her car, not wanting to get into a conversation with her regarding his mood and the cause of it. He nearly went flying, the remnants of the ice storm lingering despite the unseasonably mild air that had followed behind. Cursing, he caught his balance and watched where he was walking. He hefted the giant bag of dog chow over his shoulder and lugged it back into the house.
“Thank you,” she said. After a long moment of biting her lip, she finally asked, “Graham, is everything okay?”
Sighing, he looked away. He didn’t want to do this with her. For that matter, why was he even here where people were likely to notice his case of the holiday blues? I don’t want to be alone. Right. Spending the past two days cooped up in his cold, quiet apartment left him in a miserable state complete with several tears. He wanted Rudy back. But he couldn’t see a future for them and it hurt so much, his chest ached. At least spending some time with his sister and the kids provided a distraction from that pain. Then again, they were a reminder of what he could have with Rudy if he could accept watching them grow old and die.
“Does it have anything to do with Rudy Snowden?” she asked.
He huffed, but didn’t respond, hoping she might go away if he buried his head in the snow. No luck. Sue sighed and took a seat on the armrest of the couch. Her expression was entirely serious, and he knew he wasn’t getting out of this no matter how hard he tried.
“It is pretty obvious, you know.” When Graham snapped his attention to her, she went on. “You’re not going to try and deny it, are you? Everyone is aware you’ve had a thing for him since high school. I’m just surprised it took this long to finally progress.”
Graham grumbled, hating that it were so obvious. “It doesn’t matter.”
“If it didn’t you wouldn’t look like a melting snowman in the middle of spring right now,” she teased. “Graham, you can talk to me. I know it must be hard living in the middle of nowhere with few people that share your interests.”
Watching a cobweb blowing in a draft, he tried to arrange the words in his mind. He couldn’t tell her the truth about the Snowdens and the real reason he had to break it off with Rudy. Eying her carefully, he managed, “I feel like we don’t have a future together.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Different people. That kind of thing.”
She nodded slowly, as if taking the time to absorb his excuse. “Could have fooled me. I’d never seen you so happy before and you guys seemed to have really clicked. Are you sure that’s the only reason? Do you know how many atrocities in this world came to be through miscommunication?”
He wanted to tell her he couldn’t be with Rudy because he was chicken shit and didn’t want to watch his family die around him while he remained young and healthy. Besides, they would start to notice when he didn’t age—how was he supposed to explain to them that he wasn’t human anymore? He had considered staying with Rudy while human, but he didn’t want to put the man through watching him die. They were in a lose-lose situation and it sucked.
“Well. I guess you won’t have to worry about the guy much longer then. I stopped by the Snowden house to drop off a cranberry loaf, and
He just prayed he was strong enough to not go begging at Graham’s feet for another chance.
****
“Graham! Jesus, you’re too young to be losing your hearing,” Sue said as she propped her hands on her hips.
He offered her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. What did you need?”
“I was hoping you might lug the dog food in from the truck,” she said, watching him closely, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “But I’m wondering if I should make you an appointment with the ear doctor.”
“I’m on it.” Graham headed out to her car, not wanting to get into a conversation with her regarding his mood and the cause of it. He nearly went flying, the remnants of the ice storm lingering despite the unseasonably mild air that had followed behind. Cursing, he caught his balance and watched where he was walking. He hefted the giant bag of dog chow over his shoulder and lugged it back into the house.
“Thank you,” she said. After a long moment of biting her lip, she finally asked, “Graham, is everything okay?”
Sighing, he looked away. He didn’t want to do this with her. For that matter, why was he even here where people were likely to notice his case of the holiday blues? I don’t want to be alone. Right. Spending the past two days cooped up in his cold, quiet apartment left him in a miserable state complete with several tears. He wanted Rudy back. But he couldn’t see a future for them and it hurt so much, his chest ached. At least spending some time with his sister and the kids provided a distraction from that pain. Then again, they were a reminder of what he could have with Rudy if he could accept watching them grow old and die.
“Does it have anything to do with Rudy Snowden?” she asked.
He huffed, but didn’t respond, hoping she might go away if he buried his head in the snow. No luck. Sue sighed and took a seat on the armrest of the couch. Her expression was entirely serious, and he knew he wasn’t getting out of this no matter how hard he tried.
“It is pretty obvious, you know.” When Graham snapped his attention to her, she went on. “You’re not going to try and deny it, are you? Everyone is aware you’ve had a thing for him since high school. I’m just surprised it took this long to finally progress.”
Graham grumbled, hating that it were so obvious. “It doesn’t matter.”
“If it didn’t you wouldn’t look like a melting snowman in the middle of spring right now,” she teased. “Graham, you can talk to me. I know it must be hard living in the middle of nowhere with few people that share your interests.”
Watching a cobweb blowing in a draft, he tried to arrange the words in his mind. He couldn’t tell her the truth about the Snowdens and the real reason he had to break it off with Rudy. Eying her carefully, he managed, “I feel like we don’t have a future together.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Different people. That kind of thing.”
She nodded slowly, as if taking the time to absorb his excuse. “Could have fooled me. I’d never seen you so happy before and you guys seemed to have really clicked. Are you sure that’s the only reason? Do you know how many atrocities in this world came to be through miscommunication?”
He wanted to tell her he couldn’t be with Rudy because he was chicken shit and didn’t want to watch his family die around him while he remained young and healthy. Besides, they would start to notice when he didn’t age—how was he supposed to explain to them that he wasn’t human anymore? He had considered staying with Rudy while human, but he didn’t want to put the man through watching him die. They were in a lose-lose situation and it sucked.
“Well. I guess you won’t have to worry about the guy much longer then. I stopped by the Snowden house to drop off a cranberry loaf, and
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