Brush Strokes by E S Karlquist

Author:E S Karlquist [Karlquist, E S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945053221
Publisher: Interlude Press
Published: 2019-02-28T22:12:23+00:00

Chapter Six

Todd tries to focus on preparations for his classes, he really does, but his thoughts always return to Evan and the conversation he had with Daniel this morning. Now, it’s obvious that Evan’s been trying to get a hold of him. Mom and Dad have gotten involved during the last few months, and, if Todd’s honest with himself, he knows that Evan wants to talk to him. No one calls this often unless they want someone to pick up.

It doesn’t matter that he’s been trying to tell himself otherwise—he misses Evan. He has been for a while.

Closing the lid to his laptop, Todd scrolls through the contacts on his phone instead of searching, just to buy himself a bit more time. He hovers his thumb over Evan’s name before he puts one earbud in his ear and presses the CALL button.

His heart is racing. He’s about to cancel on the seventh ring, when he hears, “Todd?”

Todd tries to find his voice. It takes a couple of attempts, and he panics. “Yes,” he manages finally.

There’s a sound on the other end that he can’t place and then, barely more than a whisper, “You called me back.”

“Yeah.” He clears his throat, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. “Yeah, I did.”

Evan breathes on the other end. It sounds unsteady and strained.

“Are you crying?” Todd whispers.

There’s another sound, high-pitched, so, yeah, Evan’s definitely crying.

“Why are you crying?” he asks, trying to make his voice as soft as Daniel’s was earlier.

“I’m just really happy,” Evan says eventually, voice wavering, “that you called.”

That’s all it takes to make Todd’s tears roll too.

Evan’s happy that he called.

It takes a long, long while before they’re able to actually talk to each other. For almost half an hour, Evan starts sobbing as soon as Todd tries to say anything, and Todd’s heart swings between feather-light and aching.

“How are you?” Todd wipes his face with the hem of his T-shirt. His cheeks are stiff; the skin is dry from crying, but it doesn’t matter right now.

“I’m okay,” Evan tells him. “Better now. I’ve been trying to get to talk to you for so long.”

“I know.” Todd blinks at the ceiling, taking in the familiar sound of Evan’s voice. It’s as if they spoke just yesterday, because he knows it so well. The only difference is the slight change in his accent.

“I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.”

Taking a breath, Todd decides to be honest. “I didn’t.”

“I can understand that.”

“It would’ve been better if I had told you instead of shutting you off.” He’s known this all along, but whenever he gets hurt, it’s as if the grayscale disappears from his brain and everything is just black and white.

“I’m not sure I would’ve gotten it if you had. It took me almost six months to realize that we weren’t talking anymore. I was too busy with everything else.”

Evan’s voice is as easy to read as Todd’s face. It always gives him away and right now it’s so full of shame and regret that Todd’s stomach aches.

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