Page 19 of Social Sinners

Chapter Seven

I grew restless not hearing anything. Three weeks have gone by since Easton left on a gurney and neither Sal nor I had heard anything since the day after. The only time I left the house was to run out and purchase a gun safe. Otherwise, I just kept to myself. My mood was sour and not one I wanted to subject my friends and family too. The safe I purchased not only had handprint recognition, but a secondary security code programmed into it as well. Two-part authentication was the securest way to go.

I was downstairs in the workout room, beating the hell out of the punching bag when a way to ease the pain and show Easton how much he meant to me presented itself. I’d been thinking of him nonstop. We’re both flawed, no human is perfect, but our flaws were part of our character and served as a binding agent for the basis of our relationship.

I remember the day we finally gave in to the attraction we’d been fighting. It was the day that will forever encompass love and loss, and the bane at the helm of our current situation. It was the day of the bus crash. Easton, Mickey, and I were the only three to walk away from the carnage. Somehow, we’d been spared, and after being checked out at the hospital, we were released. Sal had flown in shortly after and had hotel rooms booked for us, and a car was sent to pick us up at the hospital. Our clothes were a mess of blood of debris, but in true Easton fashion, he had new ones ordered and delivered to the hotel before we even got in the limo. I was restless that night, and while Mickey was fast asleep, I roamed the halls, which was where Easton and I ran into each other.

Neither of us wanted to be alone. We were worried about our friends, especially Joey. The plan was to go to his hotel room and order room service, letting Mickey sleep. Once we entered and the door was closed, something possessed me. Before I knew it, I had him pinned against the wall, taking his mouth in mine. I didn’t want to fight what was building between us any longer. Life was too short and that day’s events had more than proven that to meto both of us. That night I spent in Easton’s room. As the sun rose, we fell asleep in each other’s arms after agreeing to give whatever was brewing between us a chance. Nothing had ever surprised me more, nor felt so right in my life before.

With that memory still fresh in my mind, I bolted from the weight room and straight up to our bedroom. Grabbing the notebook off the nightstand, I started jotting down the words to the song I’d wanted to write for Easton for some time as they offered themselves to me. It’ll be his to do with as he sees fit. If that meant it never got to see the light of day, then so be it. Lyrics were a poetic means to free your soul of troubling thoughts, releasing demons as well as an ideal way to share words of love and wisdom. Even if shared with just one person.

I spent the better part of the week tweaking it, and just as I’d finished editing Easton’s song, the phone call I’d been waiting for finally came.

“Diamond,” I answered in my usual way.

“It’s me,” Easton shakily replied.

“Oh babe, I miss you so damn much. How are you? When can I see you?” I rapidly fired off.

He laughed; the sound was music to my lonely ears. “I’m glad to hear that. I miss you too. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

His declaration both stunned and filled me with a sense of sadness, “Why would you think that?”

“Because I broke my promise to youagain.”

“Well, that’s a discussion for another day. We’ll work through it. For now, I just need to know that you’re alright.”

“I am. I actually called you for a reasonwell other than the fact the I’m miserable without you. Dr. Linden is scheduling a session for the hypnosis. I told her I’d only agree to it if you were here with me when she did. Will you come?” he sounded nervous asking the question, and I didn’t understand why. I knew he had a lot of issues to work through, so I’d let him handle things his way.

“Tell me where to be and when.”

“Thank you.” He sounded relieved.

“There’s no need to thank me East; you know I’d do anything for you.”

“That, my love, I do know.”

We spent a few more minutes on the phone before he had to go. Sal called shortly after that telling me he had a jet waiting at SeaTac for Dr. Linden and I to fly out this afternoon. East must’ve called him to let him know what was going on. I was packed, and in the car he’d sent an hour later. When we pulled up in front of the facility, security was there to take us through the sign-in process. Once that was done, I was escorted to a guest area where I found my man nervously pacing.

As soon as our eyes locked, he launched himself at me, and we became a tangled mess of lips and limbs.

“Fuck, East,” I touched my forehead to his, “I miss you so fucking much.”

“Me too. Imagine my surprise when I woke up in a strange place, and the only familiar face was my therapists,” he tried to smile when he spoke those words, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I couldn’t fathom how uncomfortable or scary that must’ve been for him.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I had Mickey call your dad while I just held you. I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself. You had my gun in your hand… your father and Dr. Linden came in and took over from there. The last I saw of you was when you were being carted away from me. It was one of the hardest fucking things I’ve ever been through,” which was sayinga lotconsidering the shit storms that included my dear old dad.

“Come on, let’s go outside. There’s a great view of the ocean, we’re so close you can hear the waves crashing. Plus, we can talk more privately out there.” We walked hand in hand and sat on a bench that was facing the Pacific. He was right, the view was amazing, and I could feel the tension easing away. Buildings and doctors… they weren’t my thing. Now, the outdoors and water– that was and having my man with me made it so much better.

“Up here,” I said, patting my lap. I needed to have Easton closer, and sitting beside me wasn’t close enough. He hopped up and wrapped his arms around my neck. “Much better,” I mumbled, burying my face in his neck, deeply breathing in the familiar scent I’d missed. I’d asked Mickey’s housekeeper to not change Easton’s pillowcases. Curling up with them tucked in beside me helped get me through the lonely nights. “What have the doctors said?”

He blew out a breath. “I’m sure you heard about the Molotov cocktail of meds I had in my system.”

I groaned, not pleased with finding that out. “That, I did.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first with this. I was so tired and beyond afraid. I just wanted it to end,” he whispered that last part, filling me with a sense of dread as the sight of my gun in his hand hit me like a ton of fucking bricks.

“Has it?”

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