"Eve, Everett." Someone shouted my name as I was walking on the street, and my breath hitched at the sound of that voice. It was raining heavily, pouring so much that, in between the sound of the rain, I didn't miss the wave of sensation that sound brought to me. It's been what, years? I abruptly stopped my step and turned back to see whether it was real or if I was hallucinating.
Silas stopped in front of me, breathing heavily. I wasn't hallucinating; it was him, my Silas. When he got control of his breathing, he started smiling as he saw me. "Hey." His smile went wider, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Hi." "Oh god, it's been years. Where the hell were you?" "Here," I answered without missing a beat, and he rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean." He forced a chuckle as he said that, and I nodded at that. "I know."
We stood in silence, and the sound of rain filled the silence. "I mean, Eve, there was no goodbye; you just disappeared." He spoke, hurt evident in his voice. "I did call you to explain the situation, but your cell was either switched off or not reachable. You didn't even try to contact me when you were on vacation." I explained calmly as the old memories assaulted me. Thank God the rain stopped, and I should get going. "My manager is waiting; I should get going." I started walking away from him, toward the manager's car, before he could even reply to me.
My manager and I had come to the restaurant to meet a client who wanted to renovate his farmhouse. It was a big farmhouse, and this was a huge deal for us; along with this, we got a few more deals. We were happy with our achievement as we rode back to our company.
As we entered the company, we took note of everything, and it was already evening. I bid goodbye to my colleagues with a cheerful voice and exited the company, as Silas consumed my thoughts. Same old, same old; I have not changed. It's been five years, for god's sake.
I am Everett Miles, an architect in a big company, with a tall, slim body with a bit of muscle, black hair, brown eyes, and a bright brown skin tone. I was not eye candy, but I was ok, good, not average, but a good-looking guy.
I debated my sexuality for two years; I was torn when I couldn't conclude, and then Silas happened. Things clicked as I saw him for the first time, playing basketball, and I didn't blink for several seconds. My throat went dry when my eyes roamed over his body without waiting for my permission, and I was just 15.
I joined the team for a reason, and yes, things clicked; we became friends. Later, I was introduced to his female best friend, Freya Colton. We started hanging out together; I couldn't fit in no matter what. Their chemistry was old and gold. They had a strong bond because they grew up together from childhood, so yeah, I tried hard to fit in. Silas was making things easy for me, but I couldn't say the same for Freya. To this day, I am not able to tell whether she liked me or not, but it was good old times.
When Silas and I were hanging out together, the vibe would be completely different and more lovely. One thing led to another, and he proposed to me, with the condition going public when Silas wanted. Which was a huge red flag. Silas was confused and scared, and he wanted to confirm before announcing it to everyone. As I was crazy about him, I was ok. Only Freya knew about us.
At the beginning, while Silas was taking me on a date, he was making sure Freya was tagging along with us. So, things would look normal to the outside world. She was an attention seeker, and Freya would end up being the main focus till the end of the date, which I didn't mind a bit.
As the months passed, I got used to everything. I turned into a fine actor around them; Silas had no clue what was going on in my mind, and he never tried to read my silence. He gave his full attention to his best friend, making sure of her well-being, even the tiny things about her. When it was 6 months into being in a relationship with him, I confirmed he was not putting enough effort into our relationship, holding himself back, and was scared as hell. Again, a red flag that I ignored.
I still remember the day when three of us were hanging out in Silas's mansion. Well, did I mention that both Silas and Freya were rich like hell, and both fathers ran large companies? Silas is athletic, tempting, and has a strong personality. Handsome; it's kind of a perk of being rich or something. On the other hand, Freya was gorgeous, as I said, a perk of being filthy rich. As time went on, we were hungry, and Silas ordered pizza along with soft drinks and fruit juice. Our order arrived, and I collected it.
I placed the order on the table and opened it; it was Freya's favourite, including soft drinks. Silas is not picky; he would eat anything, but I was a little picky. I didn't like alpino on the pizza, along with capsicum, but both were present on the two pizzas. Soft drinks for Silas and fruit juices were for Freya and me. He made sure to instruct that no sugar was added to either fruit juice, but I prefer an exact amount of sugar in my juice. "There is no sugar in my juice." I pointed out, and he knitted at that. "Oh, you like it with sugar!" I don't know whether it was a question or a statement. I have ordered so many times in front of him, and as usual, he never paid attention. "There are alpino and capsicum too." I pointed out again. "Oh." He started scratching his head sleeplessly. "Sorry, I didn't think much before ordering." Of course, he didn't. "You are darling, Silas." She made sure to counter as she started eating the pizza.
She would accompany us while we went to watch a movie, making sure to grab his attention throughout the movie, making weird comments and faces, so Silas could laugh at it. For sure, as the movie ended, Silas's face would turn red, and sometimes, he couldn't stop laughing. I always thought something was going on between them, but I never found the proof. I almost thought of giving up, but I saw them kissing at one of the parties. I had just entered the party; the scene greeted me, and I retraced my steps without uttering a word.
My dad didn't like me much because of my sexuality, and I was close with my mom. I shared everything with her, and she was displeased but never voiced her opinion, leaving me in charge. After the party, I thought they would both open up about the kiss; there would be some changes between them, some awkwardness, but there were none. The bonding was at the same level; neither of them ever admitted about the kiss.
As the three of us turned 17, Freya started dating, and I never felt relief from that. They both were thick and thin, so Silas always made sure about whom she was seeing and everything about the guy. Our relationship took a step further, as Silas started kissing me but never acknowledged our relationship openly. Still, he was scared; it's not like their parents were homophobic, but who knows. As a good guy, I gave myself the boyfriend title in the relationship as he was taking his sweet time.
I was a sucker for him, enduring everything that he threw. He was pro in basketball; while he was playing on the court, I was present to cheer him up along with Freya, but only her voice was heard in the court, and Silas always waved at her. She was too open, and everyone on campus thought they were a thing, and neither of them reacted or corrected them. Silas wanted that, and of course, Freya too, but I don't know why she didn't make any move.
I was there in Silas's life, constantly making sure everything was ok and hoping our relationship would be public someday. The first breakup for Freya stressed both of us out. She kept crying over the guy, and Silas didn't like it a bit. He turned over every stone to cheer her up. He dragged her from her room, with gifts, taking her to her favourite spot, what not. Silas made sure I was always tagging along with him.
In the middle of 17, she fell seriously for someone. I could tell because of the way Freya was watching Simon, her second boyfriend. I wanted to sigh in relief as she was hanging out with Simon most of the time. Silas was completely mine in those few hours, or even somedays. We started having sex, and things felt good and easy after that. We bonded; I was counting the day when he was going to openly acknowledge our relationship.
My dad died due to blood cancer as I turned 19, and my mom and I were devastated. He was the only earning member, and we had a little bit of debt. Silas was there, trying to share the burden, and it was enough for me. He was there to wipe my tears, making sure that I was ok. I enjoyed those days with him, as I didn't get to share him with Freya.
Freya broke up with Simon as I was slowing coming out of my father's loss. She was more devastated than the first one and started acting like crazy. Silas didn't waste a second and left my side immediately. It was just a week after my father passed. I didn't stop him, as he made it clear so many times where his priority lies.
Things were too tough at home; we were suffering from everything, and my mom was in huge pain. My dad was her first love, so I can understand how devastated she felt. Things turned further crazy when Freya tried to commit suicide. After that, Freya's family was always on the edge, as she was the only daughter for them. Silas completely left my side after the incident, and I needed him more in that situation. He stopped contacting me for a few days, as Freya was in the hospital and I was in my own misery to deal with. My mom sold everything she had—shares and jewels—and cleared my dad's debt, but we never felt peace at our place.
One day, Silas called and informed me he was going on vacation with Freya because she needed one the most, and she needed a change for fifteen days. I informed my mom of the same, and she chuckled in return, not uttering a word, pointing out my stupidity.
My mom suddenly felt chest pain, and she was admitted to the hospital. Nothing was severe, so she was discharged the next day. I felt disappointed in myself as I failed her. "Eve, I need to leave this place." One day, my mom spoke as we were silently eating our dinner. "I couldn't take this anymore; this place is killing me." She started crying, and I hugged her immediately. "Please take me from here." She begged, and I couldn't stop my tears.
Immediately I tried calling Silas, which was either switched off or not reachable. It was seven days; he didn't contact me once. "Enough is enough, Eve." My mom barked the words as she was descending the steps. "The real estate agent finalised the deal, and I am taking it." I nodded at her. "I have accepted the job offer too, and I am sorry." I chuckled at that, not getting why she was sorry for it. "I need to give a proper ending, right?" She sighed at that. "Not every story needs an ending, Eve; it should be left where it should be." I hummed at that, once more dialling Silas's number. "Tomorrow morning, we are leaving for good." That's all she said before bidding good night.
Things happen for a reason, and probably I needed this. I didn't argue with my mom. Everything was packed the next day, and we were near the car. "Hand over your cell." My mom stretched her hand toward me; reluctantly, I handed my cell to her. Immediately she took the SIM out of the cell and threw it on the ground before making sure it was thoroughly broken. My eyes went wide at that in shock. For a few seconds, I stayed stunned in place. "Get in." My mom rolled her eyes as she saw my expression. "Eve." She shouted, and I collapsed on the passenger seat with a thud. "This is for good." She stated as the engine came to life.
To be continued...........