Chapter Thirty-Three - Unmoored
Ah, damn, it was raining. Carter didn't exactly feel like going out in the rain, but Taz could care less about that and needed out like five minutes ago. Well, it wasn't like he was the one depressed, right? There was no point for him, as a dog, to mope around the house, in slippers and pajamas.
Could dogs feel depressed? He wondered.
"Wanna go outside?" he scratched the dog's fluffy ears.
Taz placed his head on his master's knees and stared up, right into Carter's eyes. He whined.
"I suppose you can feel sad, too," Carter said. "Do you miss Aron, buddy? Because I do."
His brain didn't care to bother him with suppositions and whatnot. Maybe he wasn't in the mood to listen. Also, he had Taz to talk to. Sort of.
Aron hadn't called. They had not seen each other since that day. And, from that day, Carter could say that a new chapter of his life had started. One that was not nice at all.
"Couldn't it be just a filler?" he asked Taz, while continuing to scratch the dog's ears. "You know, like those episodes in the middle of the season that are a bore to watch, but you watch anyway, and the producers know that you won't skip, because you're already in love with the characters and ..."
He trailed off.
"Let's just go outside," he finally found enough power of will to get up from the sofa.
Taz was quiet as Carter put on the leash.
"Not so happy to go outside in this kind of weather, huh?" Carter said. "It's raining cats and dogs. Like it's raining others like you. Like it's raining you."
He tried to chuckle to himself. He was attempting to tell his own dog a joke. And he was bad at it.
"He'll call," he said out loud.
Taz moved to push his head into his master's hand.
"Glad we're on the same page, buddy," Carter patted the dog's warm head. "We're trusting Aron, right?"
Funny how lonely he could feel. Even with Taz around. It was like a portion of space, the shape and weight of Aron, had been displaced from his shoe box like apartment. When sitting on the sofa, watching TV, he often turned to his right, like he was expecting Aron to be there and laugh at his shitty jokes.
Or when he was having dinner in the kitchen, and he just stared at the empty place across from him.
Or when he was in his bed, and there was no heavy arm thrown around his waist. That was the worst part. How much of a movie cliché can he be, waking up in the morning, and searching blindly with his hands for the one who was supposed to sleep on the other side of the bed? He kept to his side. Aron said it clearly to wait for him. There was no point to get used to having the whole bed to himself again.
At least he had his work. And, of course, the TV. Which he got stuck on the local entertainment channel, in hopes of hearing of Aron's and Alex's divorce. Of course, he could just call Aron and ask what the hell was going on. But there seemed to be a code of silence Aron had imposed and he felt he needed to abide by it, as well.
It wasn't like him to be left with nothing to do like this. What the hell was going on?
Maybe Alex convinced Aron they're good together and he's never coming back.
Shut up. I told you I can talk to Taz if I feel lonely.
It's not about that. It's about stating some facts.
There's only one fact I care about. Aron told me to wait for him. So I'll wait.
There was no point to be doubtful. But waiting like this was the worst torture he could imagine. Most probably, that douchebag Alex had imposed Aron not to call, or else ... something.
He didn't have the mind of a diva, to imagine what 'else' could mean in Alex's vocabulary. Was the guy still keeping it up with that lie? Aron should have just ignored the bastard. And let the police come and investigate him or whatever.
Aron would never do that to you and you know it.
I just wish, this time, he would not care so much. I wish he was here already.
He put on the raincoat and began descending the stairs. Taz was whining softly while following him.
"Sorry, buddy," Carter murmured. "I'm not the best father right now, am I?"
Maybe he could call someone else. Maybe he could talk to Aron's parents. But something was telling him Aron didn't want his folks involved. And he could respect that.
***
He went to the park, even though the rain kept pouring. Taz needed the exercise, regardless of weather. There was not a soul in sight. The only noise was the rain hitting the pavement.
The weather had been bad for several days now. It wasn't making him feel any better, although maybe seeing too many cheerful people around might have just pissed him off, right now.
He was lost in thought, when Taz started to bark. As he raised his eyes from the pavement in front of him, he noticed that he wasn't, after all, the only living soul in the park in that kind of weather.
Slowly, he approached the guy, and took a seat next to him. Simon sighed, but said nothing. He wasn't wearing a raincoat, and he still had his normal jogging clothes. Water clung from his hair, and his garments were wet. But he didn't seem to care.
"Hey, man," Carter made the first attempt to speak.
"Hey," Simon said back, in such a dejected voice, that Carter could swear the guy was even more depressed than he was. "What's with you here?"
"I need to walk the dog," Carter pointed at Taz who had taken a sitting position right away. "What's with you?"
"You know," Simon shrugged. "The usual. I'm out jogging."
"Seriously? 'cause I see you're sitting," Carter said.
Even Simon's laugh was apathetic.
"What the hell is happening? Do you have any idea?" Simon asked.
The man half-turned to look at Carter with his beautiful puppy eyes. Carter could feel his heart breaking a little.
"No, none. But you're the one working with Alex. What is he telling you?" Carter pointed out.
Simon cast his eyes down in defeat.
"He broke it off with me. No explanations, no nothing. He just told me that he needs to put his marriage in order. But I don't think that's that."
Hmm, even puppy eyes knew something was not okay with that bastard.
"Have you talked to Aron? What is he saying?" Simon asked.
"No, we haven't spoken. I think Alex forbid him or something," Carter replied.
"I can imagine him doing that," Simon blew hot air into his cupped hands. "So they don't have an open marriage, after all?"
Carter sighed.
