The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 20

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Josiah asked ten minutes after they got back to his apartment.

Carson shook his head. He was sitting in the center of Josiah’s bed. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and he rested his chin on top of them.

Josiah had to frown just watching the younger boy who was being too silent again. The black-haired guy hated seeing his friend like this. Silence wasn’t something instantly associated with Carson, and it was mildly upsetting to watch it gradually become more common of an occurrence.

As much as he hated to dig or pry at his friend, Josiah had to try one more time that night. “Are you sure?”

And it was safe to say that Josiah hadn’t been prepared in the slightest for Carson’s response. He actually hadn’t been expecting the brunet to respond at all; but he did.

“He’s a fucking asshole,” Carson spit angrily. His indigo eyes were trained harshly onto the bedspread underneath him and his mouth was twisted in a grimace.

Josiah had to blink back the surprise. “Who--”

“Jayden,” Carson quickly supplied, already knowing what his friend’s question was going to be. “I hate him. I hate him so much, Joe.”

Josiah’s face softened into sympathy and he sank down onto the bed next to the brunet. He scooted close, but didn’t try to touch the other boy yet. He could hear the animosity in Carson’s voice and it made him hesitate as to which move to make. He certainly didn’t want to make the wrong one. The alcohol in his system made his stomach churn a little and he was aware that he was still slightly drunk. After all, it had only been an hour and a handful of minutes since they had left the club.

“Like, I get it,” Carson continued, sounding annoyed by something. “I wasted over a year of my time on him. I let myself fall in love and I was blind to everything he was doing behind my back. I get that I was stupid for trusting him, but why is he still an asshole to me?” Without lifting his head off of his knees, Carson turned his eyes onto the curly-haired boy at his side. “Huh, Joe? Why?”

Josiah sighed and shook his head. He really didn’t have a good answer for that. “I don’t know. Because that’s who he is. That’s how he is.”

Carson stared back down at the blanket under his toes. “Well, it’s annoying as shit. I’m so done with people like him. Why is it that I always get involved with douches? Every guy I’ve liked has only ended up hurting me and acting like the biggest dick in the world. I’m so sick of it.”

Josiah bit his lip, and maybe it was the alcohol burning through his veins or the confusing thoughts muddling his brain that did it. But no matter the cause, he still opened his big mouth and said something without thinking that he knew he couldn’t take back.

“Since when am I a dick? You like me, but I don’t treat you like the others have.”

Carson’s hands started to sweat and he felt the nerves begin to eat away at him. He went so still Josiah thought he might have become petrified on the spot. But then those bright blue eyes went wide and they blinked slowly, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Josiah only wanted to drown himself in his kitchen sink. “Uh...” he said unintelligently as he watched Carson in horror. He had shocked himself by how careless he had been with his words.

Having similar thoughts about the alcohol he had consumed, Carson blamed that for how he eventually responded. In a quiet voice and eyes still downcast, he said, “How did you know?”

One of Josiah’s hands sought out those infamous curls and he said, “That one time at my parents’ house. And basically everything you do around me. The looks, the touches, the things you say and how you say them...honestly, I haven’t been able not to notice it all.”