26 – It’s Over (5)

 

Axel laid on Sebastian’s bed, struggling to overhear the muffled fight that broke out downstairs. Given Waylon had asked for his last name, Axel figured he must have done a quick search on him.

Would Waylon at least let Sebastian drop Axel off somewhere else? He supposed he could try for a hotel room, but there was no guarantee any would take him. Maybe Yannick had a couch for him.

Most likely, he’d have to crawl to Jake. But Jake was the last person he wanted to see. In fact, he planned for their next conversation to end in a breakup. Dating Jake was more trouble than it was worth. And for what? The occasional free shower and food? To not be single? Sex? All selfish reasons. Axel didn’t even like him romantically, and Jake was better off dating a woman- since he clearly did not understand how serious the consequences of getting caught with a man were.

But maybe this incident finally knocked some sense into him. If Jake showed he learned his lesson, maybe Axel would give him another chance. Maybe.

Footsteps approached the bedroom. Axel sat up as Sebastian entered the doorway.

“We’ve got spaghetti downstairs,” Sebastian said.

Axel hadn’t eaten since his pathetic ham sandwich in the hospital, though stress over his van kept his appetite at bay. Still, he wasn’t about to turn down a free meal. So, with Sebastian’s assistance, he got out of bed, and limped down the stairs, straight into the family room.

Waylon sat on the couch, watching a football game. Vipers vs Shepherds. Axel originally had plans to watch it himself, before he got assaulted. He stopped to watch Tim Bronski catch the ball, and run past the yard lines. Someone on the Shepherds tackled him. Axel let out a groan.

Waylon looked over his shoulder at him, but Axel barely noticed. He was too focused on the men lining up for the next play.

Sebastian tugged at his arm. “I thought you wanted to eat.”

“In a second.” A man on the other team threw the ball. Axel leaned forward as Tim Bronski caught it, and ran. He was close, so close to a touchdown, but veered off course. Axel rubbed his nose, as the commentators rambled on.

“You like football?” Waylon asked, with a hint of incredulity in his voice.

“Yeah. I’m a bit of a Vipers fan.”

“Huh. Well, I’m rooting for them in this one. I hate the Shepherds.”

“Me too.”

The game cut to a commercial break. Sebastian tugged at his arm again. This time, Axel followed him into the kitchen. Celine sat alone at the table, plate empty but wine glass full.

“We don’t have much left,” Celine said. “I would’ve cooked more if I knew you were coming.”

“You can have my plate.” Sebastian shoved a plate full of pasta towards Axel, then brought him a fresh fork.

Axel sat down. “It looks like you barely ate any.”

“I lost my appetite.”

The argument must have been bad, if both men left their plates practically untouched. Axel dug in. The food had grown cold, but it was still good. He made polite small talk with Celine, while wondering where he should go for the night. It felt rude to ask Yannick last minute. But would a hotel accept him?

Could he even afford a hotel? The inevitable medical bills were gonna put a huge dent in his savings. And he’d probably have to pay another bill to get his van back.

“Where are you gonna go?” Sebastian asked Axel, once he finished.

“I’ll think of something.” Axel got up and took his plate over to the sink to rinse it off.

“Don’t worry about that,” Celine said. “Just leave it there.”

Axel did. “Thank you for the food. It was great.”

“Your welcome. If it were up to me, I’d let you stay.”

“I appreciate it.” Axel gave her a friendly smile. “Goodbye.”

“Take care.”

Axel followed Sebastian to the front door. He thought they’d stop in front of it, but Sebastian kept walking.

“Decide where you’re going quick, because I’m giving you a ride,” Sebastian said. “I don’t care what my dad says. I want to do at least that much for you.”

Sebastian had already phoned in an ambulance to save his life, visited him in the hospital, tried to get his van back, picked him up from the hospital, drove him an hour to get his van- knowing that the tow truck company would likely be closed. Then, tried to sneak him into his room so he’d have a safe place to sleep. “You’ve done more than enough for me.”

They entered the family room, where Waylon continued watching the game. Axel slowed down enough to see the score. The Vipers were still winning. Good.

“Where you going?” Waylon asked.

“Taking Axel somewhere else to spend the night,” Sebastian said.

Waylon glanced at Axel. “What happened to your car?”

“Towed,” Axel answered. “I was rushed to the hospital.”

“What the hell even happened to you?”

A question Axel was not comfortable answering truthfully. “A couple of guys jumped me.”

“For no reason?”

Axel shrugged. His eyes wandered towards the TV. The Shepherds had the ball, but fumbled it.

“Sebastian,” Waylon said.

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t you be as interested in football as your friend?”

“I dunno. It bores me.”

“It bores you…” Waylon rolled his eyes, as the game cut to a commercial, and looked over at Axel. “You interested in any other sports?”

“Baseball and basketball, but I like football more. I used to play on my high school team.”

“Really?! You have no idea how many sports I’ve tried getting Sebastian to play. But no. Unless there’s a game controller, he’s not interested.”

Axel smiled. “Yeah, he’s never been interested in talking about it with me.”

“I’d say.” Waylon scooted over to the side of the couch. “Come sit and watch.”

Exchanging a look with Sebastian, Axel sat down on the other side. At the very least, it delayed the inevitable. Sighing, Sebastian took the armchair adjacent to the couch.

The three watched the remainder of the game- it had already been in the fourth quarter. Once over, and the Vipers had won, Axel decided he would try for a hotel room. If that didn’t work, well, maybe he could hide in Jake’s backyard. Any other yard ran the risk of someone calling the cops if he got caught. Jake would only invite him in for an awkward conversation.

Axel made a move to get up, but Waylon asked a question.

“Why can’t you stay at your own place?”

Axel rubbed his elbow. “My place was… towed.”

“You live in your car?”

“Van. Yes. I haven’t been able to get approved for housing because...”

“You’re blacklisted.” Waylon stroked his chin. “How’d that happen? You don’t seem like one of them.”

Axel gritted his teeth at that. What was a gay man supposed to seem like? And somehow he didn’t think Waylon would be moved by his past relationship with Marley. “Made a mistake.”

Waylon continued stroking his chin. “Well. I’ve made my decision.”

“I thought you already had,” Sebastian said.

“No I hadn’t.”

“You made it fairly clear earlier...”

“I did not. I said I’d think about it.” Waylon turned to stare at Axel. “I’ll let you stay over.”

Axel’s mouth nearly fell open.

“IF-” Waylon raised his finger. “You two sleep in separate rooms. AND keep the bedroom doors open. Wide. Open. Anything suspicious, and you’re out!”

Axel let out a breath. “Thank you!”

“Now go put on some clean clothes. You look like Halloween threw up on you. Hell, take a shower while you’re at it. Borrow something of Sebastian’s to wear.”

Axel wasn’t sure if he could shower- the doctors told him to keep the bandages on his side dry for 24-36 hours. But maybe he could wash his hair in the sink and wipe himself down with a wet towel.

"I've got to do my laundry anyway," Sebastian said, as they walked up the stairs, and into his room. "We can throw your clothes in with mine. I, uh, never did return your underwear you let me borrow..."

It took Axel a moment to remember the series of events that led to him handing over a pair of his boxer briefs. That turned out being a blessing. "Yeah, now's a good time to give them back."

Sebastian dug through his dresser drawers. "Are you gonna need help in there?"

For some reason, Axel grew flushed at the thought. "I'll be fine. I'm not supposed to get my bandages wet. I was just gonna wipe myself down."

Sebastian handed over a pair of sweatpants, an old t-shirt, and aforementioned underwear. "There's towels in the cupboard in the bathroom you can help yourself to. You can, uh, sleep in my bed. In case you need to get up later to use the bathroom. None of the spare rooms have one. I can sleep in the room next to here."

The thought of sleeping in Sebastian's bed felt weird, but limping around the hallway in the middle of the night to find a bathroom sounded worse. "Sure."

Did Axel imagine it, or did Sebastian's face brighten at his response? "Thanks, by the way," Axel added. "For... everything. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"Don't worry about it. What are friends for?"

At those words, Axel came to the realization that Sebastian was more than just a friend. He was the best friend he'd had since Marley.