Memories to Burn a Broken Soul

Chapter 11

Present Day
10:25pm

The three best friends park in a lot close to their favorite bar. The place they go when they want to just let go. They can drink their hearts out and dance the night away.

"Ready to get shitty?" Murr asks, wrapping his arm around Sal.

"Duh." Sal responds, leaning his head on Murr's shoulder.

They let go of each other as they reach the door. Joe leads them in, right over to the bar to order the men their drinks. They both love fruity mixed drinks. James and Sal sit down at a table near the back of the bar. The bar is split into two sections, a dining section with tables and chairs, and a club side, where all the dancing takes place. The actual bar is in the center of the two.

Joe walks carefully over to the table carrying three mugs, one full of water for himself, and two shot glasses.

"If you guys are gonna get shit faced, might as well go all out. First rounds on me boys." Joe says, setting the glasses in front of their respective drinkers.

Murr and Sal clink their shot glasses and pour it down their throats, feeling the burn. Sal shakes his head, quickly chasing the shot with his mixed drink. The two drinkers never had to worry about finding a ride home, as Joe was always the designated driver.

Sal and Murr quickly down their mixed drinks, ordering themselves another as well as two shots each. Sal hasn't gotten drunk in a while, so he knows this will get him wasted.

After an hour of chatting, and four shots later, James and Sal are completely drunk. Joe drags the two boys to the dance floor, grabbing Sal's hips instantly to dance with him. Sal never wanted anyone to pick him up at a bar or dance with him, so Joe always hung onto him, making it look like they were together. Joe has a girlfriend he loves, and he's extremely comfortable with his straight sexuality, so he doesn't mind.

A young brunette comes up to Murr and begins dancing with him. Murr loves the ladies, so of course he starts grinding on her, instantly forgetting his friends behind him. Sal looks Joe in the eye before removing his hands from his waist. He gives Joe a small nod, as if to tell him that he's comfortable if someone comes up. The two dance together for a while before a tall red-haired girl comes up to Sal.

"Hey, wanna dance cutie?" She asks him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Sal shakes his head, giving her a small smile, "Sorry, I play for the other team." He shouts over the music at her. She smirks and walks away, quickly returning with a blonde-haired blue-eyed man who looks to be around Sal's age.

"Dance with him then." The girl says before walking away.

Sal looks over at Joe, who nods back at him. Sal's heart is pounding out of his chest as the other boy, who is much thinner than Sal, pulls him flush against his chest.

"I'm Clayton, call me Clay." The smaller boy says, keeping his lips close to Sal's ear. Sal can feel his warm breath, making him shiver.

"Sal." He tells Clay.

The boys dance for a few minutes, sloppily hanging onto each other. Suddenly Clay pulls his head away from Sal's shoulder and kisses him on the lips, immediately pushing his tongue into Sal's mouth. Sal is stunned to his spot for a second, before pushing the young boy away from him and looking over at Joe who saw the whole thing.

"I-uh. I have to p-pee." Sal stutters out, quickly pushing through the crowd towards the bathroom. Once he reaches it, he stands in front of the mirror staring at himself. He feels tears starting to burn his eyes, so he reaches up and rubs them hard.

"If you keep rubbing your eyes like that, you're going to go blind." Sal hears a soft voice say behind him. He looks up as the stranger exits the bathroom, but he catches a glimpse of the side of his face.

"Brian?" Sal gasps, reaching for the door to chase after the man. He spots him a few feet away in the middle of the crowd and begins pushing his way through.

"What are you doing bud?" Joe asks Sal, grabbing his arm.

"I saw him. Joe let me go." Sal shouts, ripping his arm from his best friend's grip. Sal looks around widely, not seeing the stranger anywhere. He continues to tear through the crowd, looking at every single face, but not spotting the one he knew he saw.

Joe barges through a couple dancing to wrap his arms around Sal.

"Salvatore. Look at me." Joe yells, trying to turn his friend's head. "Look at me!" He yells even louder, this time Sal turns his head. "He's gone. You're drunk. Your mind is playing tricks on you."

Sal stares at Joe before tucking his head into his shoulder and beginning to sob.

"I know it was him." Sal chokes out. Joe rubs his back and pulls him through the dancing crowd to exit the bar. He sits Sal down on a bench outside and cradles him while the black-haired man sobs loudly.

"I'm so sorry Sal." Joe repeats over and over. He kisses the top of Sal's head, hoping his love can calm him down.

After what seems to be an eternity of crying, Sal finally lifts his head to look at Joe. "It was him, Joey. I promise." Sal says, willing the other man to believe him.

Joe sighs, hugging the heartbroken boy beside him. "Let's get you home and in bed. Come on," Joe pulls Sal to his feet, grabbing his hand and leading him to his car. He buckles Sal into the passenger seat before getting into the other seat and driving back to Sal's house.

Once they get there, Joe sends a quick text to let Murr know that he'd be back to get him as he leads Sal into the house and to the bathroom. He knows a bath will relax Sal enough to get him to sleep.

As the tub fills, Joe helps Sal strip his alcohol drenched clothes and sits him down in the bath. The boys have all seen each other naked, so this doesn't faze him. Joe runs into Sal's room to grab a lavender candle, depositing his clothes into the hamper as well. He comes back and lights the candle, setting it on the counter, out of sight from Sal.

"Love you Sal. I hope you know that. I'm always here." Joe says, sitting on the floor next to the bathtub and grabbing Sal's hand. Sal, with his eyes closed, nods slightly. You can see the heartbreak on his face. Joe just wishes he could take the pain away from his best friend.

An hour later, Joe's phone dings, signaling Murr is ready to leave the bar.

Joe takes Sal's hand and kisses it softly before raising the man up and giving him a towel to dry off with. He blows out the candle before Sal notices it's there. Sal hates fire, even if it's as small as a candle.

Once the man dries off, he follows Joe into his own room, grabbing a pair of boxers and pajama pants from his dresser. Joe watches carefully from the doorway as Sal gets settled into bed.

"Joey... Y-you're coming b-back, right?" Sal asks, his throat sore from crying

Joe nods, "Murr and I will be back soon. I'll get him blankets for the couch, then I'll be laying with you in no time, okay?"

Sal makes a soft noise, indicating he's fine with that. Joe silently leaves the room to pick Murr up from the bar.