Will Someone Care?

So Loved

Year Three

Sonny and Pete had actually made things work, and they'd been together for a little while now. Pete had flushed away all the drugs, and trusted him enough to know he wasn't getting drunk whenever he wasn't looking. Pete had a more personal relationship with alcohol and its damage to a person than he'd like to admit.
Pete's father had been a heavy drinker, and a physical abuser. He looked like a unraveled, drunken Santa Claus with his mile wide beer gut, his fat nose, and snow white beard. His mother did her best though trying to raise him right, and he'd like to think that she was in a good place now, a better place. It made him feel like a horrible son for not knowing, but getting out and away from home was his best option.
He was only in middle school when he'd ran away from home. Pete had lived mostly with Abuela until he could get his own place. Now here he is. He'd have to try and visit his mother one of these days.
Right around time they first started dating Sonny had gotten Pete social media and had started taking photos of his work and posting them. They certainly started to gain some traction, as he eventually started to commsions, and offers to be put into a gallery. Sonny was proud of his boyfriend, but this quickly started a problem.
"I got a job offer in California." Pete said, looking up from the letter he was holding in his hands. Sonny dropped what he was doing.
"I d-" Pete started, getting cut off by Sonny.
"You should take it."
"But I-"
"This is good Pete."
"But Sonny, I don't wanna leave you."
"This has nothing to me, this is about you moving up in the world. If that means you gotta leave then you gotta leave." Pete could see through Sonny and the strong persona he tried to assume.
"Are you sure Sonny?" Pete asked.
"You shouldn't be asking me because I'm selfish. Ask yourself."
"I wanna go." Pete shrugged a bit, frowning.
"There. Then you're going. We'll just have to try a little harder to keep what we got going." Sonny gave a small smile before getting engulfed in a bear hug from his boyfriend.
"I love you." Pete whispered quietly.
"I love you too." Sonny whispered back to his lover, his voice quivering a little.
Pete had a month before his flight, paid by the company he'd be working for. Sonny wished that he could fit a million years within the month they had but he'd have to make due. Sonny attempted to ignore it, but with each passing day he'd become increasingly more aware of the time he had left. The time he had left before he'd be alone again.
They managed to fit in dates wherever they could, at a fancy restaurant, movies, skating rink, or a nice night in. One of their last dates was a casual stroll through Bennett park. They held hands as the street lights illuminated their bodies. Occasionally they shared a kiss, but they mostly just relished in the presence of each other.
Both of them were still afraid to hold hands or kiss in the daylight. Most people didn't know that they were dating yet, and they both felt way more comfortable that most didn't. Anti-gay attatcks are happening everywhere and often, most going under the ray-dar. Sonny and Pete really didn't feel like being the next couple on the chopping block.
It was officially hella late when they actually started to make it back to the apartment. Walking through alley ways for shortcuts home. As they walked the light hit just right for Pete to spot something off in the pile of black garbage bags. A big ball of fur. He signaled Sonny to stop, plugging his nose with his fingers and delving into the trash. It was a big, older looking husky. It had a service badge strapped around its chest, and appeared to just be sleeping. Pete found a thin, metal rod on the ground and gently poked the dog awake.
The dog awoke, gently taking the rod from Pete's hand and holding it in its mouth. The dog looked thin, like it hadn't eaten very much in a while, and it had grey hairs all over its mussle.
"Is that a..?"
"Service dog." Pete finished, eyeing the dog inquisitively.
"Where's the dude he's serving though."
"Dunno, maybe they died or something, honey."
"Don't say that man! That's like a jinx and shit!"
"I didn't know you believed in those bro."
"Thats not the point, man. Let's just put up some posters and try to find his owner or whatever."
And so they did. Posting found dog posters all over the city with no avail after days.
"Yo what the fuck are we gon name this dog, honey?" Pete asked, slamming down a plate of handmade nachos, with potato chips and queso dip on a box of packed items.
"Man, I don't know. Should we even be naming it? What if it's owner comes back?" Sonny asked, stealing a chip.
"After all this time I don't think their owner is coming back."
"It's only been four days."
"That's still a decent amount of time not to have your service dog."
"I mean, I guess, but like, what if we put the wrong number on there?"
"Man, you tripple checked that shit." Pete shrugged, scooping hella amounts of dip on his chips. "I doubt you got it wrong."
"I guess." Sonny sighed a little, patting the dog behind the ears while he reached for another chip. The German shepherd reached out to sniff the chip, and then promptly ate it out of his hands.
"I got it!" Pete exclaimed, Sonny looking down at the dog in betrayal. "We'll name it Queso!"
"That's a horrible name."
"Dip?"
"God, no." Sonny scoffed.
"Chips?"
"Chips?"
"You got any better ideas?" Pete asked, giving another chip to the dog.
"Nope."
"Then Chips it is then!" Pete said happily, giving Chips the rest of the nachos and chips.
Not too many days later Pete was about to board a flight all the way across the country. He was nervous about the flight, even more nervous about leaving his boyfriend all alone in el barrio. What if he found someone else? What if Sonny ended up getting hurt and he couldn't get a flight there to see him? What if he got tired of waiting for him and disappeared.
All these what if's coursing through Pete's mind, and Sonny's hand gently squeezing his hand reminded him that it was all in his head. Nothing to worry about.
They shared one last kiss before Pete left for greener pastures. A tacky, grandma couch floral print suitcase in one hand and the old backpack full of art supplies and miscellaneous objects Sonny gave him on his back. Sonny watched him slowly disappear into the sea of business people, vacationing familes, and suitcases. Chips at his side.
Benny drove Sonny back from the airport just the same as he'd driven him to the airport. Except the atmosphere was almost completely different. Benny wasn't told about them but he could sense it. It was almost a similar feeling of loss he felt watching Nina disappear but at the same time he almost couldn't relate at all.
There was not nearly as much risk in his and Nina's indevors, there was no family to rebel against or gain trust from bevause there was no family to rebel against. The similarties stopped at "lovers across the sea," but he could see the pain and feel it too. There was more uncertainty on wether or not Pete would even return, this was a job, a new life in a completely different place that didn't include him.
Benny let Sonny move in with him, but he didn't have a guest bedroom so he let him sleep on the futon. Sonny didn't have too many possessions so it was a relatively easy move. Benny did make Sonny get rid of his cup stacking collection though, but let him keep the gold set but only because it was an award for winning a cup stack challenge.
A few months down the line, Sonny was out walking for god knows what reason. Chips by his side in the low light of the street lights, the cold winter winds whistling in their ears. Chips was way fatter than he had been when he and his boyfriend had found him, and his service dog bage was nice and clean.
They walked together in unison through alley ways mindlessly. Well, mindlessly more so on Sonny's part. Passing behind some bar. Drunk girls clung to each other throwing up and scurrying out the alley way and home as fast as they could.
Sonny took his time, glass from old, broken bottles cracking and becoming displaced by his feet amongst the pavement. Some sappy love song was stuck in his head and he couldn't get it out, so he hummed it quietly. Filling up the alley way with his humming and the bass from the club accompanying him.
Suddenly some other, foreign noise was filling the alley. It was metalic and deadly, a gun cocking, ready to fire. There was a man, probably some sort of thug, standing behind the weapon with his cronies behind him as well.
"We finally got you where we want you." The leader said, a smirk on his hooded face.
"What do you mean?" Sonny whispered, hearing it echo through out the alley way.
"Three years ago, July Fourth you interfered with our bussines. Now you gotta pay."
"P-please I-" Sonny attempted to plead, his screams quickly getting drowned out by nine gun shots.