Say Those Three Little Words

Ian walked the short distance from his apartment to the retirement home, whistling with his hands tucked in the pockets of newly bought trousers. He stepped through the wrought iron gate, taking in the sheer quietness of the place, and walked down the winding path towards the facility.

Unnoticed by staff, he slips in and turns to the right, following the familiar path to his mother in law’s room. He needed answers and was going to get them, no matter how long it will take. He needed to talk to Carol, to see her, to remind her how she ruined everything.

Ian stopped outside the door, lightly gripping the cool metal of the handle. He breathed in, suddenly nervous. What if she gets so upset they kick him out, and tell him to never come back? If that were to happen… he didn't know what he would do. His mother in law was the only connection he had to the rest of his immediate family.

He pushed down, hearing the promising click that the door was unlocked, and pushed it open.

Empty.

Making sure no one else was in the hall, he slipped in and shut the door. The space was small, similar to an average hotel room, with splashes of color and many symbols relating to the elder’s heritage. He sighed, already overwhelmed by the lingering feeling of her presence, and began searching the room.



Saturday morning came way too quickly for Oli’s tastes, and he felt almost sick knowing Josh was going back home in a few hours. Although he only lived across the street, it just wasn’t the same as waking up next to him every morning, seeing his brilliant smile light up the room or holding him close as they talked.

He was scared how attached he had gotten to Josh, and a small part of his mind was saying that they were moving too fast. He had never been in a relationship before, so he didn’t know when too much was too much.

It was like Josh transferred his own fear to his boyfriend. Now, the younger was more sure of himself and the decision to admit his feelings. Oli managed to make him feel safer, more cared for, and overall, like he belonged somewhere. In a few months, Oli did more than what anyone else has done in years.

Oli sighed, draping an arm around Josh’s waist. The teenager leaned into his chest, humming contently. They were sitting on the couch, watching as Oli’s mom graded papers in the middle of the living room floor. She looked frazzled and stressed out. Oli wanted nothing more than to ease her troubles as much as he possibly could.

“Seriously? What is this?” She groaned, waving a paper in the air. “Kaitlyn decided to, instead of doing the assignment, write me a very detailed letter about her latest sexual adventure. That girl has no boundaries, huh?”

She wrote a big, fat F on the corner of the paper and put it in the pile with the other graded work. Oli reached over and snatched it, eyes drifting through the florid penmanship. Josh grew increasingly uncomfortable as he read.

“Wow.” Oli mumbled, rolling his eyes. Kaitlyn was probably the person he liked the least in the class, besides Abigal (who still looks at him like she’s murdering him in her mind). He wanted to tell her he wished she were a bit more decent, but at the same time, he didn’t know if the impulse to expose herself was part of a mental condition.

Was exhibitionism even a mental condition, or would it be more like a fetish? Oli didn’t know.

He put the paper back and lightly massaged Josh’s hip. The 18 year old relaxed instantly.

Another loud groan erupted from his mom’s lips, and she got up and ventured into the kitchen. Oli planted a kiss on the side of Josh’s head. “This is gonna sound stupid, but I don’t want you to leave.”

“Then this will sound equally stupid, because I don’t want to go either.” Josh said. He curled up closer to Oli, moving his head to the crook of the elder’s neck. “I havent had a nightmare since the first day, y’know.”

“Yeah.” Oli chuckled. “I guess I’m a master at warding off evil spirits, huh?”

Josh laughed. “I guess so… but they’ll come back. Tonight… they’ll come back.”

Oli bit his lip, an idea forming in his mind. “This will probably be stupid, but I have an idea.”

He got up and told the teenager to stay on the couch, who obliged, pouting. The elder ran upstairs and into his room, grabbing his hoodie.

In the bathroom, he grabbed his favorite body spray, the one he always wore that smelled like cotton candy, and sprayed it all over the hoodie. He went back to the living room and dropped the hoodie into Josh’s lap. The smell instantly wafted into the teenager’s nostrils, and he smiled. “I don’t know if this will work, but you could sleep with that and pretend I’m there.”

“Hmm, it might.” Josh looked up at him. “By the way, you really shouldn't squash your own ideas. Nothing you've said so far has been stupid.” He clutched the hoodie to his chest, threw Oli a questioning glance, and put it on. Oli smiled. “Trust me, I’d tell you if you were being an imbecile.”



“There it is.” Ian whispered. He picked up a sheet of paper with a row of numbers on the top. Underneath it were the words Carol’s new number. He inserted it into his phone, put the paper back where he found it, and tip-toed to the door.

He peered out into the hall, breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t see anyone. Ian left the room, softly closing the door behind him, and exited the facility.

Once he was back at his apartment, he went to the ancient computer sitting in his study and turned it on. After it booted up, he opened the internet and typed a site into the URL bar. WhitePages showed up on his screen.

He checked the number again and typed it into the bar underneath Reverse Phone . It didn’t take long for it to load, and what appeared on his screen gave him the biggest smile he’s ever had in months.

“Exeter, Rhode Island.” He murmured, writing down the address and turning off his computer. “Thought you could escape me, didn’t you, Carol?”