Clouds and Rain

the time to breathe. “You feeling guilty yet? I wasn‟t good enough for you with my bum foot, was I? Well, it‟s worse now. You and Calley finally got your way and now you have me where you want me. But I‟m not going to be taken for a ride by the two of you. It‟s bad enough she has every man wrapped around her finger. I didn‟t think she‟d get you to help her too.” Flynn couldn‟t quite follow Gable‟s train of thought; in fact, he didn‟t feel like his lover was making any sense at all. “Gable, please calm down.”
    “Just leave,” Gable demanded. “Be a good boy and run upstairs for that beat-up backpack you came with and shut the door behind you when you leave. You can take the old truck, since it‟s not like I‟ll be doing any driving anyway.” He tried to close the door, but had to back up and didn‟t quite succeed. “Fucking hell!” In his frustration, Gable 107

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    knocked his fist into the wall, which happened to be adorned by a mirror, and the glass fell to the floor, shattering into a million pieces.
    Flynn wanted to come inside to pull Gable away from the shards, but Gable shut the door with a bang, effectively shutting Flynn out.
    “Gable, you‟ll hurt yourself.”
    “ Leave . I never want to see you again.” Flynn felt the words sting. Even if he wanted to, he couldn‟t leave, he just couldn‟t. “Gable….”
    “ Leave! ”
    Flynn sank down to the floor, not daring to repeat Gable‟s name.
    He knew Gable was going to have to calm down and come to his senses eventually, but he could only hope that Gable wouldn‟t hurt himself before then.

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    Clouds and Rain

    Chapter 15

    FLYNN didn‟t know how long he sat on the floor outside the bathroom, listening to the sounds inside. He heard Gable curse and hit things and mutter and swear. Then the sounds died down, which made him even more worried.
    Eventually, he knocked on the door.
    When Gable didn‟t answer, Flynn slowly opened it and looked inside. It was half-dark, the room only illuminated by the light coming from the corridor, and he saw Gable look up at him from the other end of the room. The broken glass cracked under Flynn‟s shoes and he was grateful that, for once, he hadn‟t come into the house through the mudroom, where he would have taken his boots off.
    “Can I come in?”
    Gable looked dazed and confused and didn‟t answer.
    When Flynn came closer, he saw blood on Gable‟s hand, and when he tried to turn on the light, he noticed the light bulb was shattered as well. Flynn quickly wet a washcloth and slowly walked toward Gable. When Gable didn‟t react, he sat down next to him, keeping a minimal distance without letting their bodies touch.
    “Can I clean up your hand?” Flynn asked tentatively. “Will you let me check if it‟s okay?”
    Gable didn‟t nod, but he held out his injured hand and let Flynn gently wipe off the dried blood. Besides a few superficial cuts, it didn‟t look too bad in Flynn‟s eyes, and he held onto Gable‟s hand. Gable‟s position was a little awkward. His bad leg was tucked under him and his side was leaning against the wall. Flynn wanted to try to coax him off the floor and into the living room, where it was also warmer.

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    “Are you feeling a bit better now?”
    “Why are you still here?” Gable asked. Although the question sounded harsh, there was no longer any recrimination in Gable‟s voice, as if he simply wanted the answer to a less laden question.
    “Because I couldn‟t leave you. Not when you were sick and certainly not now,” Flynn replied truthfully. “I want us to be together, Gable, and I think you know we could make it work. Deep down, you know.” Flynn wasn‟t as sure as he sounded, but he wanted to make sure that Gable understood that he‟d made up his mind about this a long time ago.
    “You should have let me die.”
    Flynn closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to be overcome by the emotions Gable‟s flatly spoken words caused him. “I couldn‟t do that.” He rubbed his thumb over the fleshy part of Gable‟s palm. “I wouldn‟t have been able to live with myself.”
    “Well, I can‟t live with this.”
    Although Gable hadn‟t actually spoken the words, Flynn knew that for the very first time he‟d acknowledged the amputation. “I know it‟s hard right now, but it will get better. Once you‟re stronger and you‟ve learned to walk with the prosthesis, there‟s no reason why you wouldn‟t