Linger

“Why?” Riley asked Dylan as tears streamed from his grey eyes. Dylan was stood in the door way of the apartment awkwardly. Clearly he hadn’t expected Riley to be home when he had let himself into the flat that they shared. That they had shared Riley reminded himself sadly.

“Why what?” Dylan asked, clearly confused which made Riley laugh, because really? How many things about the situation were there for him to be confused about?

“Why did you do it? Any of it really?” he asked angrily wiping away some of the tears that had fallen down his cheeks.

“I don’t know,” Dylan answered shaking his head. “It just sort of happened.”

“It just happened? How does something just happen for three months?” Riley was frantically waving his arms as he spoke, tears falling faster. “How could you let it go on, let it linger for so long?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Dylan explained reaching a hand out to Riley only for the other boy to take a step away from him. “By the time I realised how deep into it I was getting it had already been two months. And then you were so happy the last month, I didn’t want to destroy that so I just went along with it.”

Riley shook his head in disbelief, “so you want me to believe that you did that to keep me happy? How was cheating on me meant to make me happy?”

“Because you didn’t know at the time,” Dylan told him honestly before frowning slightly in confusion. “How did you find out anyway?” he asked.

“I saw the two of you together one day. I was coming home early and I stopped at the shop to get some more milk because you’d finished it that morning. The two of you were holding hands,” Riley laughed bitterly. “I actually didn’t think anything of it until I mentioned it and saw your reaction. Then it all sort of just clicked into place for me.”

Dylan nodded sadly, almost to himself. “If it means anything I am sorry. I never meant for you to find out like that.”

Riley shook his head. “It doesn’t matter how I found out. It would’ve felt the same and no, it doesn’t mean anything to me. Not really any way.” He stopped to let out a sigh, “I don’t get why you didn’t just tell me. I thought you knew me well enough to know that I would have done anything for you. Including leave you so you could be with someone else if that was what you wanted me to do. I was such a fool for you I would have done anything.”

Dylan nodded slowly, “I’ll just get what I came for and then I’ll go and leave you in peace.”

“I think that would be best,” Riley agreed, moving out of Dylan’s way so he could walk past him and into the room that the two of them used to share.

When Dylan came back out of the room a few minutes later he paused and opened his mouth to say something but Riley interrupted before he could get the first word out. “Don’t,” he said as a warning. “This is already hard enough; you don’t need to make it any more painful than it already is for me. You don’t need to make it last longer than it needs to.”

Dylan nodded again just as his phone stared to ring in his jeans pocket. He pulled it out and checked caller ID before giving Riley a tight smile that he didn’t return. “That’s him now,” he murmured softly as he answered the call. “I’ll be out in a minute okay? I just need to grab something else and then I’ll be back down.” He hung up again and looked over at riley who had his eyes squeezed shut as a tear trickled down one cheek and his hands were clenched into fists by his side. “Riley?” he asked softly taking a small step in the other boys direction.

Riley shook his head and took a step back, his eyes still shut. “Don’t. Just don’t say anything and get out.” When Dylan didn’t move from where he was stood riley opened his eyes and frowned, “Now!” he shouted and pointed to the door.

Dylan nodded and muttered another sorry before turning and walking out of the door that riley had pointed at and let it click shut gently behind him.

Riley slid to the living room floor slowly once he heard the click and buried his face in his knees which were drawn up to his chest as more tears fell. His shoulders shook with quiet sobs as the man he loved walked out of the flat to go and live with another.