That one exception

Part 36

I know we'd only been seeing each other for less than a week but this felt like torture,  letting go of him was the hardest thing I'd had to do in a very long time, it was definitely the most painful thing I'd experienced so far in a relationship. It was then that I realized that I didn't know for sure if all the crap with that bitch was finally settled.  Was he even going to be safe going back to LA?  Had I just let him go back to a situation where he could be seriously hurt? I pushed that thought out of my head quickly if I kept thinking about it I would be driving myself crazy with worry,  end up kidnapping Mini from the airport and holding him captive for the rest of his life, which lets face it would piss him off and end our relationship very quickly.

I grabbed my phone ready to text Evan and ask him to keep an eye on Mini, then I hesitated for a moment, Evan was talking with Delirious and it was obvious the two of them had the same separation anxieties as I was having, did I really want to ask a favor of someone who was emotionally stressed right now, because that's what we were...stressed to breaking point.  

"Tyler" Cartoonz sounded like he'd tried to get my attention a couple of times,  I looked over at him and saw concern on his face. "you look like someone just died"

"I hope not...what if that stuff with the bitch isn't done?...Luke did I just send him back to get his ass kicked?...or worse" I closed my eyes and tried to swallow the lump in my throat that was trying to choke me, I was not going to cry, I had to hold this together, I could not let my imagination run wild.

"Evan's keeping an eye on him" Delirious stated in a matter of fact tone "Don't start on that train of thought Tyler you'll drive yourself crazy"

he was right, I know he was right but I still couldn't get the feeling of dread that I was going to lose him.  Should I text Mini and tell him my fears or should I just keep them to myself?, I don't want to be one of those boyfriends that smothers their partner with worries and fears.  Why am I finding this so damn hard to handle? I must of been lost in my own thoughts again because the next thing I knew my phone was vibrating.

M - luv ya 2 ya dufuss

M - And stop fucking worrying you're scaring the kids ;)

T - I don't trust the bitch to leave it alone, you're mine, I don't want her touching you.

M - I'll be fine stop worrying

T - I can't...maybe you should come back and sooth my nerves

M - don't tempt me...Evan's pretty much dragging me through the airport as it is.

I felt a curl of happiness roll around my chest, he wanted to come back as much as I wanted to go get him but it was quickly replaced with the disappointment of knowing we couldn't actually be together for a while.

T - give him the slip I'll come kidnap you

M - lol I'm so close to agreeing to that, but I guess we need to go through real life to make sure we are meant to be together

T - are you sure you want to find out what a reunion with me will be like after a couple of months apart?

A couple of months sounded far too long and the heart ache began eating away at me with a vengeance at the thought of it.

M - it won't be that long will it?

T - I hope not...it depends on money though :(

M - Evan's pushing me onto the plane, I will text when we get to the other end

T - ok...I think our cell phone bills are going to be expensive for a while.

M - Yup

I sighed and looked over at Delirious as he put his phone in his pocket and lent back against the wall.   We looked at each other for a few moments, neither of us saying a word but both of us understanding the struggle with emotions that we were both going through.  Cartoonz seemed to understand too because he wasn't trying to get us to suck it up and carry on like nothing was hurting us.

I knew this feeling wouldn't last forever and I was looking forward to the day when I could think about Mini and not feel like my insides where being ripped out through my chest.

"how long do you have till you have to head out yourselves?" I asked for something to talk about.

"Cartoonz is coming back with me...we can pretty much leave whenever we want seeing as we don't have deadlines for traveling" Delirious smiled and looked over at Cartoonz "what about you when do you have to go?"

"I got about half an hour before I have to catch a cab to the airport"

"you got everything packed up?" Cartoonz asked looking around the room

"I think I got everything...I should do a final sweep before I leave though just in case" I looked around the room and tried to remember what I had already cleared out.

We spent the next twenty minutes checking every crevice in the room for anything that might of been dropped, Delirious even went as far as to check behind the mattress and under the bed.  I felt my face fill with heat as he stood up with a mangled cardboard box with one condom packet hanging out the side.  Had we really gone though all of those?  Delirious seemed to be thinking the same thing, he cocked one eyebrow inquisitively at me as he threw the packet in my bag and the empty box in the trash.  Thankfully he said nothing and just cleared his throat as he turned his attention back to the floor around the bed.

"So are you guys like...official or secret...or just a one time thing?" Cartoonz asked genuinely curious

"We agreed we were dating but we're not telling anyone yet" I mumbled trying not to think about Mini too much.

"all right...I'll make sure it's just kept between the six of us"

"six?" I asked hearing the alarm in my voice

"you, Mini, Delirious, Evan, me and that poor bed" Cartoonz chuckled as he moved towards the bathroom.

"oh" I coughed and felt myself blushing again "it's time guys I gotta head out"

"you might want this" Delirious handed me a small key that he'd found beside the bed, I looked at it in confusion until i realized it was from the little padlock off my bag, the one I'd used to collar Mini last night. "I'm on the other end of the phone if you need an ear" he raised an arm and moved towards me for a farewell hug which I gladly returned, he and Evan had done a lot for Mini and I over the last few days and I felt like we'd gotten closer as a result.  It sucked that I had to leave everyone, I mean it was painful letting mini go but leaving the guys was always sad.  We should make more of an effort to get together during the year when we weren't going to a convention.  I finished up sorting my stuff out, said goodbye to Cartoonz and Delirious then headed down to the lobby to hand my room key back and meet the rest of the guys to say goodbye.  heading to the airport on my own was a bad idea, there was nothing to distract me from thinking about the distance between Mini and I now , I forced myself to think about how I could get money quickly so i could be with him again rather than the hole he'd left behind and how much I missed him.  Problem solving that was the solution.

Not much happened over the next few weeks, we were all back on the you tube video grind.  mini and I spoke every night and sometimes we talked so long that we would fall asleep on each other in the middle of a conversation.  Everything was carrying on as 'normal',  we still got the comments about us flirting or being a couple but we were pretty confident that none of them had guessed that we were officially dating each other.  Like I said everything was normal...Until I woke up one morning and found that I wasn't in my room, I wasn't even in my house.  and my confusion just got worse when I saw Delirious asleep in a chair next to my bed.  

What the hell had happened to land me in hospital and why was Delirious here?