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16-20 Recap (Volume 4)
Charlie finally chooses between Ben and Josh while Eddy fights for her life in week 4 of Volume 4. Volume 5 launches on 12/31!
CHAPTER 16 - NICE
Charlie had every intention of breaking things off with Josh but everything that evening went so well. It was a nice time. That was it, though. It was just... nice. Dinner was nice. The play was nice. Josh was nice.
"This is nice," Josh said, giving Charlie a quick kiss as they walked down Belmont from the train.
"Yeah."
"I don't mean to compare, I really don't, but everything with you is just so... easy. Uncomplicated."
"That's... good."
"I'm sorry. Really, I don't mean to... I don't want to negate what the past few years have been for me. You are just a nice change of pace."
It was for Charlie as well, truth be told. There wasn't the angsty off-again-on-again with Tom, the taciturn ambiguity of Hunter, the unfulfilling passion of a one-night-random. Josh was stable, he had a routine. They had so much in common, they looked so good on paper. And, really, as awesome as Ben's spontaneity was, how long would that last? At least with Josh, he knew what to expect. The dependability of dinner and a show was something Charlie could hang his hat on.
"Would you like to come up for a bit?" Josh asked, as they got to his door. "My roommate's out."
"Sure," Charlie said, noticing something oddly familiar about the building. There was something hauntingly familiar about the beige walls, the grey carpet, the walk up to the fourth floor. They paused at the door and before Charlie could say anything, Josh grabbed him and kissed him passionately, grabbing the back of his head, allowing his hands to find the suppleness of Charlie's ass. They were so in the moment, they barely noticed the door open behind them.
"Don't mind me," said a familiar voice. "I'm just on my way out."
Charlie broke the kiss and found himself face to face with Tom. The color drained from both of their faces. Tom's heart filled with a quiet jealousy while the sight of Tom did what it always did to Charlie: it broke his heart all over again.
"I've got to go," Charlie said, running away quickly. He ran down the stairs and ducked into some random hallway. His heart was racing: he felt like such an asshole on so many fronts. Only one person would understand. He picked up the phone and called Eddy.
Eddy's phone went straight to voicemail. That freaked Charlie out: Eddy NEVER turned off her phone. Ever.
###
CHAPTER 17 - EVERY SECOND
Forcing her eyes open in a haze, Eddy could make out a ceiling fan above her. When she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes, she discovered that she was handcuffed to a bedpost. The adrenaline of panic shook her out of her drug-induced lethargy and she began to struggle to break free.
"Now, now," said a voice hovering over her. "You're going to break the bed. And not in the good way."
"You... fucking... psycho bitch!"
"We'll have to work on your pet names for me. I was thinking ‘pookie' or... "
"Let me go!"
A fuzzy figure with badly, bleached blond hair stood over Eddy.
"But now I have you where I want you. With me forever."
Eddy felt her plant a sloppy kiss on her forehead. She mustered all the strength she could and spat in her face.
"Temper, temper," her captor tutted, wiping the spit off her face.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"
"I'm hurt, my love," her captor said, prepping a needle. "I was sure that'd you figure it out by now. But then, when you fuck around as much as you do... "
"Fuck... you... "
"Yes sweetie," her captor said, injecting her with a tranquilizer. "You did. And I loved every second of it. As did you. But the second you fucked around with my m... "
And Eddy passed out.
###
CHAPTER 18 - MOST PEOPLE
Nobody came into The Pitstop before seven at night, so the sound of the door opening at quarter past five made Hunter look up from his prep work.
"Isn't it a bit early for a night cap, Officer?" Hunter smiled as Fitz approached the bar.
"It's three AM somewhere," Fitz smiled back.
"I just happen to have some coffee brewing, would you like a cup?"
"Make it Irish. I'm off duty."
"You got it," Hunter said, pouring solid shots of Jameson and Baileys into the mug. "So I take it this isn't a visit to inform me that LaTrice's attacker was caught."
"Negative. This is purely a social call."
"Is that right?" Hunter asked, pouring himself an Irish coffee much stronger than Fitz's.
"I hope that's allowed. I mean, sure, we met pretty awkwardly, but... "
"It's not that. It's just... " Hunter took a long swig of his Irish coffee. "I'm probably not the guy you'd want to get social with."
"Aren't you? Let's see... you're pretty fucking cute... "
"Shut up."
"You seem a pretty stand up guy. Most people wouldn't have done what you did for that girl."
"I'm not most people."
"My point exactly. Look, you can tell me I'm way the fuck out of line here, but I just think that if you'd let me take you out some time... "
"I'm positive," Hunter blurted out, immediately turning red.
"Ah. Okay," Fitz said, taking a sip out of his coffee. "And?"
"What the fuck do you mean ‘and'?"
"Does being positive mean that you're also an asshole? That you're prone to run up my credit?"
"Um... no," Hunter said completely taken aback.
"Does being positive mean that you have less of a capacity to love? Or that you kick puppies?"
"No," Hunter chuckled.
"Well good, cuz that describes probably half the guys I've dated and they're all negative. I get that some ignorant assholes in your past may have... "
"It's just... when they find out... most people... "
Fitz kissed Hunter suddenly. Hunter melted in it and kept his eyes closed as their lips parted.
"I'm not most people," Fitz said, his lips still lingering close to Hunter's. "So why don't you give me the fucking time of day."
Charlie came bursting in, nearly knocking Fitz out of his stool as he approached the bar.
"Hunter!" Charlie said, nearly breathless from running. "Were you working last night?"
"Yeah. Why? What's up? Are you ok?"
"It's Eddy... she's missing. Her phone's going straight to voicemail and she missed work today for no reason. Her assistant said the last thing on her agenda was meeting someone here last night."
"I didn't see her... "
"I did!" said Tristan, as he came up from the basement with a crate of booze. "She was talking with some chick with awful bleached blond hair."
"Did you get her name? Did they leave together?"
"I barely had time to run her card for her drinks," Tristan said. "SOMEbody ," he added, with a glare to Hunter. "Left me to fend for myself all night."
"Do you remember what she had to drink?" Hunter asked, rushing over to the pouch with the credit slips.
"Yeah, let me see... it was whiskey and... gin and tonic. I remember, cuz I was all, ‘Girl, if you wanna impress Eddy, you gotta get Jameson Black Label, she bougee as hell' but she was all ‘nah, just give me well whiskey and well gin' and I was all, Oof. This is NOT gonna last."
"Monica Wilson." Hunter said, finding the credit slip.
"Omigod, Tristan, Hunter, you're amazing!" Charlie said, dialing Troy, Eddy's assistant.
"Let's all take a second," said Fitz. "Could it be possible that she just took off?"
"Not without telling Charlie," Hunter said.
"Monica Wilson is one of Eddy's clients," Charlie said, getting off the phone with Troy. "But that's not who she was supposed to meet last night."
"Who are you calling?" asked Hunter as Charlie picked up his phone again.
"This Monica chick's office."
"Whoa, whoa," said Fitz. "If you're absolutely sure that this could be a missing persons case, you have to alert the police. Give us her number, let us investigate. You could muck things up."
"Who the fuck is this?" asked Charlie, waiting for the answer on the other end.
"This is Fitz."
"I'm a cop."
"Are you on duty?" Charlie asked.
"No, but... "
"Then fuck off. She's my sister." Someone on the other end picked up. "Hello. Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to Monica Wilson. I'm calling about her project with Edwina Parker. Uh huh... " Everyone else watched as Charlie listened to the person on the other end. Slowly, his face began to drain of all color.
"What happened?" asked Hunter when Charlie hung up.
"Monica Wilson has taken an indefinite leave of absence from work. She is not to be contacted for any reason." Charlie grew weak in the legs and plopped down on a stool. Tristan poured him a glass of wine.
"All right," said Fitz, slamming the rest of his Irish coffee. "Guess I'm on duty now."
###
CHAPTER 19 - HIS LOSS
Tyler ran out of the apartment so quickly after dropping his work stuff off, he didn't notice Alex lurking in the foyer of the building.
"Have you been avoiding me?" Alex asked abruptly and pointedly.
"Whoa!" Tyler was completely taken aback. "Alex, what are you doing here?"
"I'll repeat the question: have. You. Been. Avoiding me?"
"I haven't... it's just... I gotta go," Tyler said as he rushed out the door. "I have a friend in the hospital."
"Well that's convenient," Alex said, chasing after him. "If this is about the high school thing... "
"It is weird, yeah," Tyler said, noticing for the first time that Alex was still in his prep school uniform. "You should've told me."
"I know. But think of it from my side. It SUCKS being a gay teen. All the guys my age, they don't care about anything real. It's all Hollister and Lana del Ray and ‘Real Housewives' and... "
"Hate to break it to ya, but it doesn't get any better outside of high school."
"But you... you were different. You don't care about any of that stuff. You're a complete sweetheart, you're... "
"Running late to meet my friend in the hospital. She was stabbed and has finally been cleared for visitors. I gotta... "
"This is important! This is you and me!"
"I'm sorry. We can talk about this later, but LaTrice... she needs me."
Alex grabbed his hand, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Tyler Drake, if you don't stop and talk this out with me now, it's over. Finished. I can't take this cat and mouse game of trying to get a hold of you. I'm a fucking catch, no matter how old I am. If you don't see that... "
Tyler pulled his hand away. He kissed Alex lightly on the mouth and looked at him sadly. "I have to go," he said and rushed off towards the hospital.
"Fine! Your loss, buddy!" Alex called after him, fighting back the tears. He took a breath and regained himself. Seriously, he told himself, his loss.
"Some people don't know how lucky they are," said a voice behind him. "To have the attentions of such a handsome young man."
"Thank you," sniffed Alex.
"You're right: his loss. But someone else's gain, I'm sure. Can I take you to dinner? Cheer you up?"
Alex smiled and turned to the handsome, older gentleman standing behind him. "That'd be nice," he said, offering his hand. "I'm Alex."
"Hi Alex," he said, taking his hand. "I'm Bruce."
###
CHAPTER 20 - SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
"So the police have no idea?" Ben asked, rubbing Charlie's shoulder as they sipped their hot cocoas outside Masonic.
"Fitz said there wasn't enough substantial evidence to issue a warrant," Charlie said, numb with cold and fear. "And if I try to find out this Monica chick's address and talk to her myself, I might muck up the investigation. Or worse, put Eddy in danger.
"I'm sure the police asked this, but did she have any enemies?"
"Well, Eddy was a piece of work, to be sure. You might think she was a bitch if you didn't know her well. But there's no way it'd be bad enough that someone would threaten her. Well, this one psycho chick that was obsessed with her, but her name sure as hell wasn't Monica."
"We'll find her. Don't worry." Charlie hated that this awesome guy that he just started dating had to see him in an abrupt emotional crisis. But as Ben put his arm around him, allowing him to lean his head on Ben's shoulder, Charlie felt okay about it. As Ben squeezed him tighter, kissing him on the top of the head, Charlie started feeling guilty about Josh, even though for all intents and purposes it was over.
"I have to tell you something," Charlie began timidly.
"Is it about Eddy? Did you just remember something?"
"No... it's... you're just being so awesome and I'm such an ass."
"I'm likely to object, but why do you feel like that?"
"Remember that guy I was with? When you were waiting for me at my front door?"
"Yeah... ?" Ben said, nervously.
"Well... it's a long story, but... basically... I started dating you both at the same time."
"Ah."
"And I don't usually... I mean, I've NEVER... but... on one hand, I hoped against hope that we'd meet again and on the other... the timing with Josh's break-up and... "
"So who did you end up choosing?"
"You, of course."
Ben kissed him lightly on the lips. "Alright then."
"You're not mad?"
"How can I be? You chose me."
"But I didn't tell you. I mean, it was kind of d-baggy of me... "
"See, but you just did. And you didn't have to. That says a lot more about you and what you feel about where we're going than if you hadn't. Plus, I imagine I'm much more adorable than he is."
Charlie kissed him back. "Much."
*
Ben barely had signed in but he could hardly wait for his rounds to be over. He didn't care that he wouldn't have had a chance to even grab a catnap: in just ten hours, he'd be having breakfast with Charlie and that was just awesome.
"Someone's all flushed," said a voice next to Ben as he put away his personal effects in his locker. "Is it the cold or this new boy we've been seeing?"
Ben blushed. "Evenin' Doctor," he smiled at his colleague.
"Evenin' Doctor," she smiled back.
"I've been meaning to tell you, I love what you've done with your hair."
"Thanks," she giggled, putting it back in a ponytail. "I've definitely been feeling more Marilyn than Ann-Margaret lately. But you still haven't answered my question."
"Yeah, alright, it's the new boy. It's just going so well," he beamed.
She smiled back. "I get it. I've kind of fallen head over heels myself."
"Oh yeah, who's the lucky lady?"
"No one you'd know," she said, as the microwave beeped that her dinner was ready. As she went to get it, Ben noticed pictures taped to the inside of her locker. Pictures of a beautiful woman who looked a lot like Charlie (but not as cute.)
Pictures of the woman at a bar.
Pictures of her hailing a cab.
Pictures of her having lunch with Charlie.
Ben realized in that instant: this was Charlie's sister. He remembered her from when Charlie was in his coma.
"Doctor?" Ben asked apprehensively.
"Yo!" she asked, salting her TV dinner.
"How do you know Eddy Parker?"
She grew quiet for a second. "You know Eddy?"
"She's the guy I'm seeing's sister You've got a picture of them... "
A chair came crashing against the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. As blood rushed from his forehead, he looked up to see his colleague standing over him.
"Why, Dawn?" he asked.
He never felt the needle entering his vein.
###
Volume 4 has been a blast! Stay tuned, as we launch Volume 5 (and the 100th Chapter!) on December 31! Ring in the new year with us at BOYSTOWN THE SERIES. And until then, happy holidays!
Volume 1 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
Volume 2 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
Volume 3 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
###
CHAPTER 16 - NICE
Charlie had every intention of breaking things off with Josh but everything that evening went so well. It was a nice time. That was it, though. It was just... nice. Dinner was nice. The play was nice. Josh was nice.
"This is nice," Josh said, giving Charlie a quick kiss as they walked down Belmont from the train.
"Yeah."
"I don't mean to compare, I really don't, but everything with you is just so... easy. Uncomplicated."
"That's... good."
"I'm sorry. Really, I don't mean to... I don't want to negate what the past few years have been for me. You are just a nice change of pace."
It was for Charlie as well, truth be told. There wasn't the angsty off-again-on-again with Tom, the taciturn ambiguity of Hunter, the unfulfilling passion of a one-night-random. Josh was stable, he had a routine. They had so much in common, they looked so good on paper. And, really, as awesome as Ben's spontaneity was, how long would that last? At least with Josh, he knew what to expect. The dependability of dinner and a show was something Charlie could hang his hat on.
"Would you like to come up for a bit?" Josh asked, as they got to his door. "My roommate's out."
"Sure," Charlie said, noticing something oddly familiar about the building. There was something hauntingly familiar about the beige walls, the grey carpet, the walk up to the fourth floor. They paused at the door and before Charlie could say anything, Josh grabbed him and kissed him passionately, grabbing the back of his head, allowing his hands to find the suppleness of Charlie's ass. They were so in the moment, they barely noticed the door open behind them.
"Don't mind me," said a familiar voice. "I'm just on my way out."
Charlie broke the kiss and found himself face to face with Tom. The color drained from both of their faces. Tom's heart filled with a quiet jealousy while the sight of Tom did what it always did to Charlie: it broke his heart all over again.
"I've got to go," Charlie said, running away quickly. He ran down the stairs and ducked into some random hallway. His heart was racing: he felt like such an asshole on so many fronts. Only one person would understand. He picked up the phone and called Eddy.
Eddy's phone went straight to voicemail. That freaked Charlie out: Eddy NEVER turned off her phone. Ever.
###
CHAPTER 17 - EVERY SECOND
Forcing her eyes open in a haze, Eddy could make out a ceiling fan above her. When she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes, she discovered that she was handcuffed to a bedpost. The adrenaline of panic shook her out of her drug-induced lethargy and she began to struggle to break free.
"Now, now," said a voice hovering over her. "You're going to break the bed. And not in the good way."
"You... fucking... psycho bitch!"
"We'll have to work on your pet names for me. I was thinking ‘pookie' or... "
"Let me go!"
A fuzzy figure with badly, bleached blond hair stood over Eddy.
"But now I have you where I want you. With me forever."
Eddy felt her plant a sloppy kiss on her forehead. She mustered all the strength she could and spat in her face.
"Temper, temper," her captor tutted, wiping the spit off her face.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"
"I'm hurt, my love," her captor said, prepping a needle. "I was sure that'd you figure it out by now. But then, when you fuck around as much as you do... "
"Fuck... you... "
"Yes sweetie," her captor said, injecting her with a tranquilizer. "You did. And I loved every second of it. As did you. But the second you fucked around with my m... "
And Eddy passed out.
###
CHAPTER 18 - MOST PEOPLE
Nobody came into The Pitstop before seven at night, so the sound of the door opening at quarter past five made Hunter look up from his prep work.
"Isn't it a bit early for a night cap, Officer?" Hunter smiled as Fitz approached the bar.
"It's three AM somewhere," Fitz smiled back.
"I just happen to have some coffee brewing, would you like a cup?"
"Make it Irish. I'm off duty."
"You got it," Hunter said, pouring solid shots of Jameson and Baileys into the mug. "So I take it this isn't a visit to inform me that LaTrice's attacker was caught."
"Negative. This is purely a social call."
"Is that right?" Hunter asked, pouring himself an Irish coffee much stronger than Fitz's.
"I hope that's allowed. I mean, sure, we met pretty awkwardly, but... "
"It's not that. It's just... " Hunter took a long swig of his Irish coffee. "I'm probably not the guy you'd want to get social with."
"Aren't you? Let's see... you're pretty fucking cute... "
"Shut up."
"You seem a pretty stand up guy. Most people wouldn't have done what you did for that girl."
"I'm not most people."
"My point exactly. Look, you can tell me I'm way the fuck out of line here, but I just think that if you'd let me take you out some time... "
"I'm positive," Hunter blurted out, immediately turning red.
"Ah. Okay," Fitz said, taking a sip out of his coffee. "And?"
"What the fuck do you mean ‘and'?"
"Does being positive mean that you're also an asshole? That you're prone to run up my credit?"
"Um... no," Hunter said completely taken aback.
"Does being positive mean that you have less of a capacity to love? Or that you kick puppies?"
"No," Hunter chuckled.
"Well good, cuz that describes probably half the guys I've dated and they're all negative. I get that some ignorant assholes in your past may have... "
"It's just... when they find out... most people... "
Fitz kissed Hunter suddenly. Hunter melted in it and kept his eyes closed as their lips parted.
"I'm not most people," Fitz said, his lips still lingering close to Hunter's. "So why don't you give me the fucking time of day."
Charlie came bursting in, nearly knocking Fitz out of his stool as he approached the bar.
"Hunter!" Charlie said, nearly breathless from running. "Were you working last night?"
"Yeah. Why? What's up? Are you ok?"
"It's Eddy... she's missing. Her phone's going straight to voicemail and she missed work today for no reason. Her assistant said the last thing on her agenda was meeting someone here last night."
"I didn't see her... "
"I did!" said Tristan, as he came up from the basement with a crate of booze. "She was talking with some chick with awful bleached blond hair."
"Did you get her name? Did they leave together?"
"I barely had time to run her card for her drinks," Tristan said. "SOMEbody ," he added, with a glare to Hunter. "Left me to fend for myself all night."
"Do you remember what she had to drink?" Hunter asked, rushing over to the pouch with the credit slips.
"Yeah, let me see... it was whiskey and... gin and tonic. I remember, cuz I was all, ‘Girl, if you wanna impress Eddy, you gotta get Jameson Black Label, she bougee as hell' but she was all ‘nah, just give me well whiskey and well gin' and I was all, Oof. This is NOT gonna last."
"Monica Wilson." Hunter said, finding the credit slip.
"Omigod, Tristan, Hunter, you're amazing!" Charlie said, dialing Troy, Eddy's assistant.
"Let's all take a second," said Fitz. "Could it be possible that she just took off?"
"Not without telling Charlie," Hunter said.
"Monica Wilson is one of Eddy's clients," Charlie said, getting off the phone with Troy. "But that's not who she was supposed to meet last night."
"Who are you calling?" asked Hunter as Charlie picked up his phone again.
"This Monica chick's office."
"Whoa, whoa," said Fitz. "If you're absolutely sure that this could be a missing persons case, you have to alert the police. Give us her number, let us investigate. You could muck things up."
"Who the fuck is this?" asked Charlie, waiting for the answer on the other end.
"This is Fitz."
"I'm a cop."
"Are you on duty?" Charlie asked.
"No, but... "
"Then fuck off. She's my sister." Someone on the other end picked up. "Hello. Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to Monica Wilson. I'm calling about her project with Edwina Parker. Uh huh... " Everyone else watched as Charlie listened to the person on the other end. Slowly, his face began to drain of all color.
"What happened?" asked Hunter when Charlie hung up.
"Monica Wilson has taken an indefinite leave of absence from work. She is not to be contacted for any reason." Charlie grew weak in the legs and plopped down on a stool. Tristan poured him a glass of wine.
"All right," said Fitz, slamming the rest of his Irish coffee. "Guess I'm on duty now."
###
CHAPTER 19 - HIS LOSS
Tyler ran out of the apartment so quickly after dropping his work stuff off, he didn't notice Alex lurking in the foyer of the building.
"Have you been avoiding me?" Alex asked abruptly and pointedly.
"Whoa!" Tyler was completely taken aback. "Alex, what are you doing here?"
"I'll repeat the question: have. You. Been. Avoiding me?"
"I haven't... it's just... I gotta go," Tyler said as he rushed out the door. "I have a friend in the hospital."
"Well that's convenient," Alex said, chasing after him. "If this is about the high school thing... "
"It is weird, yeah," Tyler said, noticing for the first time that Alex was still in his prep school uniform. "You should've told me."
"I know. But think of it from my side. It SUCKS being a gay teen. All the guys my age, they don't care about anything real. It's all Hollister and Lana del Ray and ‘Real Housewives' and... "
"Hate to break it to ya, but it doesn't get any better outside of high school."
"But you... you were different. You don't care about any of that stuff. You're a complete sweetheart, you're... "
"Running late to meet my friend in the hospital. She was stabbed and has finally been cleared for visitors. I gotta... "
"This is important! This is you and me!"
"I'm sorry. We can talk about this later, but LaTrice... she needs me."
Alex grabbed his hand, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Tyler Drake, if you don't stop and talk this out with me now, it's over. Finished. I can't take this cat and mouse game of trying to get a hold of you. I'm a fucking catch, no matter how old I am. If you don't see that... "
Tyler pulled his hand away. He kissed Alex lightly on the mouth and looked at him sadly. "I have to go," he said and rushed off towards the hospital.
"Fine! Your loss, buddy!" Alex called after him, fighting back the tears. He took a breath and regained himself. Seriously, he told himself, his loss.
"Some people don't know how lucky they are," said a voice behind him. "To have the attentions of such a handsome young man."
"Thank you," sniffed Alex.
"You're right: his loss. But someone else's gain, I'm sure. Can I take you to dinner? Cheer you up?"
Alex smiled and turned to the handsome, older gentleman standing behind him. "That'd be nice," he said, offering his hand. "I'm Alex."
"Hi Alex," he said, taking his hand. "I'm Bruce."
###
CHAPTER 20 - SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
"So the police have no idea?" Ben asked, rubbing Charlie's shoulder as they sipped their hot cocoas outside Masonic.
"Fitz said there wasn't enough substantial evidence to issue a warrant," Charlie said, numb with cold and fear. "And if I try to find out this Monica chick's address and talk to her myself, I might muck up the investigation. Or worse, put Eddy in danger.
"I'm sure the police asked this, but did she have any enemies?"
"Well, Eddy was a piece of work, to be sure. You might think she was a bitch if you didn't know her well. But there's no way it'd be bad enough that someone would threaten her. Well, this one psycho chick that was obsessed with her, but her name sure as hell wasn't Monica."
"We'll find her. Don't worry." Charlie hated that this awesome guy that he just started dating had to see him in an abrupt emotional crisis. But as Ben put his arm around him, allowing him to lean his head on Ben's shoulder, Charlie felt okay about it. As Ben squeezed him tighter, kissing him on the top of the head, Charlie started feeling guilty about Josh, even though for all intents and purposes it was over.
"I have to tell you something," Charlie began timidly.
"Is it about Eddy? Did you just remember something?"
"No... it's... you're just being so awesome and I'm such an ass."
"I'm likely to object, but why do you feel like that?"
"Remember that guy I was with? When you were waiting for me at my front door?"
"Yeah... ?" Ben said, nervously.
"Well... it's a long story, but... basically... I started dating you both at the same time."
"Ah."
"And I don't usually... I mean, I've NEVER... but... on one hand, I hoped against hope that we'd meet again and on the other... the timing with Josh's break-up and... "
"So who did you end up choosing?"
"You, of course."
Ben kissed him lightly on the lips. "Alright then."
"You're not mad?"
"How can I be? You chose me."
"But I didn't tell you. I mean, it was kind of d-baggy of me... "
"See, but you just did. And you didn't have to. That says a lot more about you and what you feel about where we're going than if you hadn't. Plus, I imagine I'm much more adorable than he is."
Charlie kissed him back. "Much."
*
Ben barely had signed in but he could hardly wait for his rounds to be over. He didn't care that he wouldn't have had a chance to even grab a catnap: in just ten hours, he'd be having breakfast with Charlie and that was just awesome.
"Someone's all flushed," said a voice next to Ben as he put away his personal effects in his locker. "Is it the cold or this new boy we've been seeing?"
Ben blushed. "Evenin' Doctor," he smiled at his colleague.
"Evenin' Doctor," she smiled back.
"I've been meaning to tell you, I love what you've done with your hair."
"Thanks," she giggled, putting it back in a ponytail. "I've definitely been feeling more Marilyn than Ann-Margaret lately. But you still haven't answered my question."
"Yeah, alright, it's the new boy. It's just going so well," he beamed.
She smiled back. "I get it. I've kind of fallen head over heels myself."
"Oh yeah, who's the lucky lady?"
"No one you'd know," she said, as the microwave beeped that her dinner was ready. As she went to get it, Ben noticed pictures taped to the inside of her locker. Pictures of a beautiful woman who looked a lot like Charlie (but not as cute.)
Pictures of the woman at a bar.
Pictures of her hailing a cab.
Pictures of her having lunch with Charlie.
Ben realized in that instant: this was Charlie's sister. He remembered her from when Charlie was in his coma.
"Doctor?" Ben asked apprehensively.
"Yo!" she asked, salting her TV dinner.
"How do you know Eddy Parker?"
She grew quiet for a second. "You know Eddy?"
"She's the guy I'm seeing's sister You've got a picture of them... "
A chair came crashing against the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. As blood rushed from his forehead, he looked up to see his colleague standing over him.
"Why, Dawn?" he asked.
He never felt the needle entering his vein.
###
Volume 4 has been a blast! Stay tuned, as we launch Volume 5 (and the 100th Chapter!) on December 31! Ring in the new year with us at BOYSTOWN THE SERIES. And until then, happy holidays!
Volume 1 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
Volume 2 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
Volume 3 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five
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Current Chapter
Vol 4.16-20 Recap (Volume 4)
Vol 4.16-20 Recap (Volume 4)
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