The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 30

“Ayden goes home to her parents tomorrow,” Josiah said. “We gonna go see her?”

Carson shrugged his shoulders and opened the cupboard for the cups. He had to walk around the other man who was leaning back against the sink. His light-brown hands were gripping the edge of the counter on each side of his body. Josiah was the only thing standing in between Carson and the dishwasher that the brunet was now emptying.

“A shrug isn’t an answer,” the older man quipped.

“Sure it is. It’s a non-verbal answer. It’s used to show indifference to a situation or a question. Therefore, it’s an answer.”

Josiah rolled his eyes. “Alright that’s it,” he said as Carson maneuvered around him another time to put coffee mugs on the top shelf. “It’s been four days since we talked to Walt. I apologized for walking out, but come on, Carson. That was a lot of shit to take in.”

The brunet’s movements became stiff, but he never stopped working on the task at hand. He went back to the dishwasher, completely avoiding having to look at his boyfriend’s face.

“And I told you, I forgave you for it. I wasn’t mad, just worried about you.”

Josiah took in a heavy breath. “Why have you been so distant lately? Our conversations are just a bunch of bullshit. It’s like you don’t give a crap about me anymore.”

Carson felt a pain in his chest for a brief moment but forced it to go away. He grabbed a handful of glasses and took them back to the cupboard. When he was done, he shut the door and went to the other side, further away from Josiah, to put away the plates.

“Maybe I don’t.”

Josiah’s head snapped up and he stared straight at his boyfriend. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or hurt. Either way, he saw through the words and he didn’t believe them for a second.

“Don’t fucking say that,” he snapped.

The brunet turned to glare at him. “Why are you swearing so much? Jeez, you’re not a trucker or a pirate so cut it out.”

“Because you’re stressing me out! And when I get really stressed, I swear a lot. Fucking sue me if you don’t like it,” Josiah grumbled.

“I would, but you’re broke. You should get a job.”

Josiah laughed humorlessly. “Whatever. Why don’t you get one?”

“Fine,” Carson said, still not looking in the older man’s direction. “I will.”

That hadn’t been what Josiah wanted to hear. In fact, the entire conversation so far wasn’t what he wanted to hear. It was just more bickering, and they had both had enough of that in the last few days to last them a lifetime. He sighed.

“Why did you sleep on the couch last night?” The darker man asked.

Carson slipped and almost dropped a plate. He caught it at the last second and put it away. “I didn’t, I just got up early. I told you that this morning.”

“It’s Saturday, Carson,” Josiah stressed. “You never get up early on Saturdays and you most certainly don’t get up before me.”

“Today, I did.”

Josiah slapped his hand angrily against the counter and pushed off of it. “Stop lying! I woke up at one thirty because it was cold. You weren’t there, Carson. I saw you sleeping on the damn couch. What the hell did I do that’s got you so mad at me?”

Carson squeezed his eyes shut as he faced away from his boyfriend. It wasn’t really Josiah that he was upset with. It was himself. He hadn’t been able to stop his mind from going crazy with thoughts the last few days.