Narrator's P.O.V.
A few days had passed since the fateful beach bonfire, where many things seemed to have changed. Kael's relationship with Yuri wasn't the best, even though they inevitably ended up having several relapses. Because they still worked together, made the whole commute back home together... that practically prevented them from truly distancing themselves. Every now and then they'd sneak off at work to kiss without anyone suspecting, even though they shouldn't. Kael inevitably felt in sheer bliss when he finally had the younger boy in his arms again, even if the boy himself dragged him back to his sad reality as soon as they "finished". And so it went.
However, that day something was different. Yuri and Kael were walking together, talking about trivial things as usual, but at a certain point the subject became them. The younger boy said there was something he wanted to talk about, but refused to say what it was during the entire walk, despite Ávila's constant prodding. Farias was acting weird. More serious than usual. Talking less than usual. But nothing that alarmed the other man, given that this was the current status of their relationship: little. Very little.
When they finally arrived at Kael's apartment, the man was exhausted, so he decided to take a shower first. Everything was as usual: he took off his clothes, stepped into the shower cabin, turned on the shower, and let the hot water run down his body for long, good minutes, relaxing every little muscle. He wasn't in a rush. They were going to the movies with their friends that night, but there was time, and plenty of it! Ávila rested his forehead against the cold tile, feeling the shock of the icy touch in contrast with the hot water, so hot that steam was rising, filling the entire bathroom. He was relaxed.
That was exactly what he needed!
When he felt satisfied, he calmly stepped out, drying his hair casually, and headed to his bedroom. He didn't bother putting on anything other than his underwear; after all, it was just him and the younger boy at home. They were intimate enough for that. Surprisingly, Yuri wasn't there. Kael found it strange, so he started looking for him. He went to the second bedroom, to the kitchen...
When he finally found him, Farias was in the middle of the living room. He had already put on a clean shirt and slung his backpack over one shoulder. Yuri looked strange. He seemed to exude the impatience of someone who was dying to leave. He looked at Kael in an apathetic way. There was absolutely no expression on his face.
"This is it, Kael. I can't do this anymore," Yuri blurted out, adjusting his backpack strap. He didn't even look the older man in the eyes. He spoke with the same naturalness as someone announcing they were going to buy bread. "I don't want anything serious, you've known that from the beginning."
The air of finality hung heavy in the room, so thick you could almost cut it with a knife...
Kael sat on the armrest of the sofa, extremely confused. He didn't even have the strength to stand. His shoulders weighed a ton, absorbing the blow he already knew was coming, but which still hurt like hell. Instinctively, he thought of several ways to fix it. Even knowing he shouldn't, he wanted to fix it. He didn't want Yuri to leave for good.
"We were doing so well, Yuri..." Kael's voice came out choked, a torn whisper in his throat. He tried, for a second, to look for some humanity in the boy's face. "You know I don't mind if you don't want to have something serious with me. We can figure it out..."
"No, we can't," Yuri cut him off immediately, and the casual tone was replaced by a raw cynicism, completely unfiltered. He shook his head and spoke without caring how his words were wounding the other. "You know what it is? Knowing that you want to date, that you want something serious... it makes me lose all my desire for you. It killed the fun. I don't want to hook up with you anymore, my bad."
It was as if a dagger had been plunged into his chest without the slightest hesitation, without mercy or pity.
Yuri didn't wait for an answer. There was no goodbye hug, no "take care." He simply turned his back, walked to the door, and left. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the apartment's walls, sealing the end.
Kael stayed there, paralyzed on the sofa's armrest. The silence of the place collapsed on top of him. He blinked slowly, and a single tear, heavy and silent, rolled down his face, stamping the exhaustion of trying to love someone who had no heart. Yuri had no heart and made a point of destroying his, shattering it into as many pieces as possible. Without realizing it, Kael wept copiously, but in absolute silence. He didn't react. The tears just poured from his eyes like an open faucet, leaking water into the early evening, in silence.
The emptiness of the apartment was so dense that it slowly began to swallow him, but the sudden ring of his cell phone made Kael's body jolt, pulling him back to reality. He grabbed his phone and, looking at the screen, Samuel's name sadly illuminated his face. He smiled, even if only slightly, wiped away his tears, and answered the younger boy.
"Hi, Novaes..." he murmured softly, almost inaudibly. He seemed to lack the strength to even speak.
"Hi, Ka! Everything still on for the movies today?" Samuel sounded so excited that, to Ávila, it felt like a crime to infect him with his sadness.
"Of course, handsome. What time are you meeting us?" The man sighed. That boy seemed to be the spark of hope that would stop him from succumbing entirely and sinking into absolute sorrow.
"I don't know... I don't have internet on my phone right now..." he laughed a bit awkwardly. "But I live near the mall. If I let you know when I leave my house, can you wait about twenty-five minutes, give or take, and meet me at the subway exit?"
"Of course I can! That makes it even easier for you. Let's do that!" he decided.
"Perfect! I'm going to get ready real quick and head out."
"Already? Isn't it a bit early?" he questioned.
"Of course not, Ka. It's almost seven." Samuel's statement startled the man.
Looking at the clock on his phone, he realized that, indeed, it was only three minutes to seven in the evening. He and Yuri had arrived at his place around five-thirty, and he hadn't even spent fifteen minutes in the shower. His conversation with Yuri had lasted only seconds. That meant, without realizing it, Kael had spent over an hour sitting there, paralyzed, lost in his pain and his thoughts about everything that had just happened.
"I'm going to get ready. I didn't even notice the time passing," he murmured, a little lost.
"Don't take too long! I'm anxious to see you!"
"I won't take long, I promise." He laughed. "See you in a bit."
"See ya..."
And then, they both ended the call. Kael remained for a few moments looking at the device, paralyzed, not knowing where he should direct everything he was feeling. He kept a small smile on his face. A shy smile, almost imperceptible, yet present. It was there. The man felt as another tear, single, solitary, rolled down his face...
But, despite everything, Kael made no effort to wipe it away. He just stood up and went to get ready, after all, someone was dying to meet him...