Page 13 of Disarm
Caleb
No, it’s okay. I’ve got to get to my last class and then to practice.
Hesitating before I type out the next part.
Caleb
Uh… can I stay with you tonight?
His response is immediate.
Miguel
You never have to ask.
I want it to be your home too, Caleb. You have a set of keys for a reason, baby.
The words feel like a lifeline. I stare at them for a long moment, letting the comfort of his presence wash over me, even through text. He doesn’t demand anything from me, doesn’t push me. He just waits, patient and steady, exactly what I need.
Caleb
Okay, I’ll see you after practice then.
Miguel
Just remember to breathe.
I tuck the phone into my pocket and walk across campus, steps slow but deliberate. The fog rolls gently around the quad, softening the edges of the world. I don’t feel completely whole, not by a long shot. But I feel like I’m surviving instead of just existing.
I may be broken, I may be messy. But I’m not alone.
FOUR
MIGUEL
The sound of the drill fills the room, drowning out my thoughts until my phone buzzes against the tile floor. I kill the power and glance at the screen. Caleb’s name.
Caleb
Therapy sucked.
Two words, but they’re enough to twist something in my chest. I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the back of my wrist and stare at the text for a long beat before I type.
Miguel
Shit, that was today. You okay?
His reply is slow coming.
Caleb
Not really.
I grip the phone tighter.
Fuck.
It’s always hard to read that, even harder when I can’t be there to pull him out of it. I tell him I can take lunch, but he brushes it off like he always does, promising he’ll get through the rest of his day. Then the last message hits.
