Disjointed Heart

Chapter Twenty Six

It had been a long time and Mike still wasn't there. At first, Chester thought it could be a normal delay, maybe he had stopped by some place to get food, or maybe the job interview took longer than it was supposed to, but after a while, the anxiety overcame his senses and he couldn't stop shaking.

His sister was trying to calm him down by saying that things were okay but he wasn't listening. He couldn't, everyone's voices seemed to be far away, until his mother touched his shoulder and he jumped.

"Son... you need to calm down, just breathe, okay? What about trying to call him?" She offered, still holding Chester's shoulders.

"Y-yes." He stuttered and shakily went to the phone that was outside the room.

His mind was so fuzzy and he couldn't stop thinking the worst. Mike had taught him that having those thoughts was toxic and bad, but still, sometimes he couldn't help them from invading his head.

He dialed the number and brought the phone to his ear, hoping to god that Mike would pick up at the first ring, but of course, he didn't.

And at each ring, Chester's heart seemed to jump out of his chest, his breathing so irregular and his lungs so tight.

It went to voice mail.

The young man hung up and put another quarter in before he dialed Mike's number again.

"Come on, pick up Mikey..." He said, under his breath.

Even if Mike's interview had run longer or he had decided to stop elsewhere, he would have been here by now... so if he wasn't home...

The sound of the voice mail message made itself heard again, and Chester let out a shaky breath as he spoke after the beep.

"Mike, where are you? I'm really worried... Maybe it's nothing, but p-please... please come by soon?"

He wanted to speak some more, making his lover known that he was more than worried, that he had all these awful thoughts plaguing his mind right now, but he didn't have the courage to do so... The half Asian would surely come in soon, with a sorry look in his eyes, and the blonde man didn't want him to know that he had been close to calling the police on him.

He sighed again and hung up before he made his way toward the room, when he stopped.

Fuck it. He was worried, and he needed to check up on Mike. Now.

Chester got into the room before he walked to his sister.

"I'm gonna go to Mike's place, now, but I'll be back later." He told her before he leaned close to Amber to kiss her on the head, closing his eyes as he smelled her familiar scent. A rush of memories came back to his mind, but he tried to push them away, he didn't have time to reminiscent about the past now. "I promise." He smiled faintly and the young woman smiled back at him.

"Alright. Say hi to Mike for me."

He nodded, squeezing his sister's hand, before he let her go and walked toward the corridor, but Margaret stopped him before he could do so.

"Do you need a ride? You look really worried, Chester, but I'm sure it's nothing-"

"No, it's okay. T-thanks, mom."

And without adding anything else, he finally exited the room, feeling his whole body shake with anxiety as his stomach twisted in knots. Without knowing how, he knew that something terrible had happened to Mike.

He managed to get a cab and tell the driver the address, not minding much that he was interacting with a stranger as his mind was clouded with thoughts of Mike. The most horrendous thoughts... he shook his head when the driver called him for the third time.