Charlie sat on the couch waiting. The sun began to peek through the clouds as the blur of last night, that just barely ended, swam in his mind. The text from Tristan that told him one of his roommates had just hooked up with the guy that broke his heart. The abrupt exit from a dream date (or whatever it was) with a dream guy as he flagged a cab back home. The dread of waiting, of confirmation that one of his nearest and dearest had betrayed his trust. The key turning in the front door made him jump with alert.

"Hey," said Hunter. "Did you make the double point score?"

"Yeah," said Charlie. "Did you?"

"Well, I dunno if it was a triple point or home run but... "

"Who was he?" asked Charlie so pointedly that it gave Hunter pause.

"Well, I... "

"Oh, it's open," said Tyler, opening the door, looking disheveled. "Hey guys."

"Aw sweet," said Hunter, giving Tyler some skin. "Looks like someone made a home run too."

"Yeah, well... "

"What was his name?!" demanded Charlie, rising, exhausted with emotion.

"I never... "

"Was it Tommy? Or Tom. Only I called him Tommy. Was it?"

"I never got it," said Hunter.

"Me either," said Tyler, bewildered and a bit afraid.

"One of you broke the code. You hooked up with... "

"Now hold on," said Hunter.

"... the one guy, the ONE... "

"You never told us who it was! How the fuck could we possibly know?"

"It still doesn't change the fact that one of you... "

"And how do you even know? Huh? When you yourself were too busy... "

"Tristan saw one of you. He didn't say who, but he saw you go up to his place."

"Well, um, where does Tom live?" asked Tyler. "Maybe that could... "

"Stop," said Hunter. "Don't even bother. Why should we be accountable for something that... this is crazy Charlie. It's not like Andy or Scott, where we all knew who it was, this random guy that you only talk about in code and whispers, how are we supposed to know who he is? Can't we just... "

"No," said Charlie. "I'm always the logical one. I'm always the one who is completely sympathetic or empathetic or... I know it makes no logical sense. I get it. But the fact of the matter is, one of you hooked up with the one guy in my whole life that completely broke my heart. The one that I wish I was still with. Whether you knew it or not, it happened. And I just... "

"You're overreacting," said Hunter. "You're being crazy."

Charlie laughed, exhausted with emotion, drained of all logic. "I am. Both of those things. And for that... I just can't trust either of you again. Sorry." He walked off to his room and shut the door.

"Omigod," Tyler said. "What do we do?"

"You don't worry about it," said Hunter. "I have a feeling that was more about me than you. And above it all, it was more about Charlie than us."

Charlie lay in his bed, still irrationally fuming. Part of him felt remorse for blowing up at his roommates. Most of him felt jealousy and hurt. And neither of them had been in love before, not as he had been with Tommy. They couldn't possibly understand how deeply this hurt.

And fuck, he bolted so quickly, he never got Ben's number.


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