I saw my parents shivering in front of a man. That man was Austin Parker.But why?
"Why would they shiver because of you, Austin?" Edwin asked before I could.
"I don't know." Austin shrugged, brushing it off. "Who are they?"
"They're my parents. They adopted me," I said.To my surprise, Edwin wasn't as shocked as I thought he would be.
"Oh." He shrugged again, as if it meant nothing.
"Why are you here?" Edwin asked.
"I messaged and called you, but you didn't answer. I was worried you'd… died. So, I came to check on you," Austin replied.
"Oh, my phone didn't notify me," Edwin said casually.
Austin's eyes narrowed. "I didn't expect Everett to be here… wearing your t-shirt. What's going on between you two?" he asked, pointing at us.
"It's none of your business, Mr. Austin," I said in a low, steady voice.
"Is it really none of my business, Everett?"
"Yes. It would be nice if you addressed me properly. We're not that close."
"We're not that close," Austin echoed, dripping with sarcasm. "How about you think carefully about whether we ever were?" His words carried both disappointment and mockery.
"I don't have time to think about it, Mr. Austin."
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Edwin smiling faintly, amused by the way Austin and I spoke.
Austin turned toward him. "So, what about your work? Do you still need my help? If you do, I'm all yours until it's done."
"No," Edwin said proudly. "The work is finished. Everett helped me."
"Oh. Then I'll go," Austin muttered, and left.
Edwin turned back to me. "Why do you see Austin as your enemy, Everett? He's a good guy."
"It's just… I don't have a good feeling about him," I admitted.
I lowered my head. "Sorry about my parents trespassing—and their behavior."
Edwin pulled me into a hug. That was enough to break me. Tears spilled down my face, uncontrollable. He held me tighter, whispering until I finally stopped crying.
Then, trembling, I asked, "Edwin… what would you do if I died? Or ran away from you? Or just disappeared suddenly?"
His voice was firm, unwavering. "If you were dying, I'd be beside your grave. If you ran away, I'd run right behind you. If you disappeared suddenly… I'd search the whole world until I found you."
"You're unimaginable," I whispered, pressing a small kiss to his lips.
"For you, always," he murmured, pulling me into a deeper kiss.
That night, I woke to a nightmare—or perhaps it was a dream, or a vision of some magical land.
I saw a younger version of myself, a child, playing in the garden with someone. The figure looked older, bigger than the child, but familiar. They called the child by a name—
"Andy."
I jolted awake.