I was tagged by my beloved @bidisasterevankinard, thank you Diana darling! So here are the initial sentences of chapter 4 of Sunny Days, which will be posted in full tomorrow:
Tommy stares at the words on the screen with such intensity that he's afraid he'll open a hole on his phone. After almost a week of complete silence, Evan finally texted him; and yet, it hasn't made Tommy feel better.
Realistically, Tommy knows his reaction is disproportionate. He and Evan have known each other for less than a month, and haven't seen each other for the last two weeks. Evan owes him nothing.
And yet… Tommy had foolishly thought they were building something. That their flirty talks at the café and when he walked Evan home were going somewhere.
Apparently, he was wrong. And it hurts way more than it should.
Especially because it seems to not even be about Tommy, really. Evan is struggling, and Tommy doesn't know with what. He doesn't want to assume that it's about Evan's leg, but it seems like the most logical conclusion; after all, from their conversations, he'd gathered that the amputation was relatively recent, so maybe something in the adaption process is being harder than expected.
Tommy feels the urge to help, to do something, but… He doesn't think it would be welcome. Whatever it is, it seems to have made Evan want to stay away from him, and there's nothing Tommy can do but respect it.
He doesn't have to be happy about it, though.
Some of what he's feeling must show on his face, because Sal raises his eyebrow at him. They're both sitting by the counter at Gina's Roast, just waiting for Gina to put them to work, and Tommy probably has been staring at his phone for too long.
"Who kicked your puppy, buddy?", Sal asks, and Gina glares at him with the force of a thousand suns. Then, she looks at Tommy with so much tenderness that he can barely take it.
"Is this about Evan, honey?", she asks softly, and Sal looks between them, a frown between his eyebrows.
"Evan? Does Tommy have a boyfriend? I'm busy for two weeks training a rookie and you get a boyfriend?"
"Not a boyfriend. He's just… We're friends, but. I don't know if he wants even that anymore", Tommy sighs.
Gina gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and then offers Sal a bit more of an explanation. "He's a guy that Tommy brought to the café a while back. He had some trouble with his service dog at Jolene's, but of course she was more than welcome here. The girls loved her"
"I see", Sal comments, looking more concernedly at Tommy now. "And I'm guessing something happened and he stopped coming?"
"I mean, I guess? He said he's having a hard time right now, so… I don't know, I'm trying not to take it personally", Tommy offers quietly, and Gina and Sal exchange one of those irritatingly meaningful looks of theirs.
"And you really shouldn't, honey", Gina suggests. "I mean, didn't you tell me that Evan's amputation is very recent? He's probably still adjusting to so many things"
Tommy nods, looking down. Objectively, he knows Gina is probably right, but that doesn't change the fact that, above anything else, he misses Evan something fierce.
"I mean, maybe you should -", Gina starts again, but suddenly Sal raises his head as if he's just realized something very important.
"Wait", he interrupts her, and that's how Tommy knows it's serious, because Sal never interrupts Gina. "…Is, um. Is this Evan guy missing a leg, by any chance?"
"Yes", Tommy says with a frown. He doesn't think Gina mentioned what kind of amputation Evan's had. And why does it matter anyway? "Why?"
"Right… Right" Sal pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes falling shut for a second. "This wouldn't be Evan Buckley, would he?"
Np tagging @frogsinflannel @corporatebanana @leashybebes @ambernotember @agentpeggycartering @unhingedangstaddict and anyone else who's got sth they'd like to share.
