When Evan was discharged from the hospital, Oliver, his manager, picked him up in his black car. He won't have a car for a few days, which is something he was going to miss. Evan loved to drive; driving gave him a certain peace, certain freedom. He really loved driving alone through the big city.
Oliver's black car was still the same. Apparently, in that last year, that hadn't changed, and the route home was familiar to him, so he confirmed that he still lived in the same place. He could go to the same stores without a problem...
But he wouldn't be able to do the same with work.
"Yesterday... what had I done before the accident?"
"You had attended the first meeting with the rest of the cast. Do you remember your role in the new film project you'll be working on?"
Evan trembled in the backseat of the car. Losing his gaze in the window, he watched the buildings and trees blur with the movement, biting his upper lip.
"No. I don't remember anything."
"Relax. It was just the first meeting, so it doesn't matter too much. I'll send you an email later with the list of your co-stars so you can spot their faces. The only one you've met before is Dante. Do you remember him?"
"Dante?" The image of a tall, muscular guy with brown hair and tanned skin flashed through his mind, along with how awkward it was trying to have a conversation with him. "Is he the guy who was the lead actress's other love interest in the movie 'Between Two Roads' from two years ago?"
"Yes, that one."
"Yeah, I remember him. Is he in the cast?"
"Yes, he has a supporting role. Your scenes don't overlap, but you might meet him between recordings."
Evan leaned his face against the window.
"And what's the movie about?"
"It's called 'White Angel,' and you're playing the role of the angel. You're not the lead, but it's one of the most important roles in the project. It's about a girl who lost everything in a car accident and tried to commit suicide, but an angel saved her and prevented her from taking her own life. In your role as an angel, you have to help that girl move on, overcome her loss, and find the will to keep on living."
Evan smiled. He used to get cast as pretty boys who were just some girl's romantic interest. Just plain roles. At least this role sounded more interesting. But it also reminded him that everyone said he had the face of an angel.
"Did I audition?"
"Yes. I recommended you for the role of the angel because of your appearance and your ability to portray such genuine emotions and captivate through them. You easily got cast after playing one scene."
"Wow. I hope they don't ask me to do that scene again."
"Let's hope not."
The rest of the drive was silent, with only the mechanical sound of the vehicle for company.
They arrived at the apartment building where Evan had lived since he dropped out of college. He was relieved to see that he was still living in the same place.
"Here, Evan," his manager said, handing him his smartphone after they both got out of the vehicle. "Apparently, it had better luck than your car, and it only has a few dents. If I'm not mistaken, it has a lock with your right thumbprint."
"Thank you very much, Oliver," and the screen unlocked just as his manager had told him.
"These are your house keys, and my number is still the same as always. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call me."
"Sure."
"Then, see you in two weeks."
Evan was surprised, as he usually had a full schedule, and his blue eyes widened in surprise. Even though rehearsals for the filming hadn't even started yet, he also had photo shoots with various brands almost daily.
"You just had an accident on the way home from work. It counts as a work-related accident, so those are days paid by the company. You need to focus on your health for the time being."
"Oh, I see. Thanks for the vacation! I guess I'll crash my car on my way out of the studio the next time I want a free day instead of begging you," he said as a joke with one smile.
"Please don't do it. Be more careful," and Oliver got into his black car, waving goodbye before leaving him.
Soon, he was alone in front of the apartment complex. It was still the same place, with the same stairs and the same elevator. He rarely interacted with his neighbors beyond a simple "good morning" or "good night", so he hoped no one would say a word to him.
He recognized the keys, so he could open the door easily. Everything was the same, but it felt so different. Maybe it was just a few details, but such trivialities made him feel lost. Once inside, he headed to his room to throw himself onto his bed. His body still ached. He had no fractures or sprains, but the blow still hurt.
"So, two free weeks without work" he whispered, staring up at the ceiling.
So familiar, yet so strange at that moment.
Only a few things had changed in his room, so at least it still felt like his safe place.
But… It wasn't his safe place anymore. He didn't recognize the navy comforter he was lying on. His clock wasn't the same either. He used to have a simple white clock with a silver border and black numbers. Now, it was a black clock with silver dots and stripes instead of numbers, one of those minimalist clocks. The curtains, which had once been white, were now gray. His desk chair looked old, battered, but he barely remembered buying it recently. His shelves held many more books he remembered wanting but not buying.
And on the shelf next to his bed was a photograph of him with the same boy from the day before, with black hair and green eyes.
Everything felt different. This was no longer his home, his refuge, his safe place.
This was the room of another Evan Lloyd, very different from him. This wasn't his room anymore.
He was an intruder, an imposter.
He took his phone, with its cracked screen, out of his pants pocket. Would he find answers there? He could check his chats, his email, and his gallery. Even his browsing history should give him some answers, however small.
"Let's see what I've been doing these last few days," he whispered to himself, unlocking his phone.
The first app he opened was his gallery, and he felt his heart leap out of his mouth when he saw it was full of photos with that boy with black hair and green eyes.
He was again surprised to see that he chatted with a certain Liam most often when he went to his messages.
"Liam…"
It felt strange to read his own affectionate and close conversations with that boy he couldn't remember, but who still made him nervous.
Everything indicated that indeed he was in a romantic relationship with that boy. And... it must have been a good relationship, a happy relationship. There were no arguments. It was all just affectionate conversations and messages of genuine concern when they couldn't see each other.
He continued reading the messages until he found a conversation he would have preferred to ignore.
« Liam, idiot!
« For your fault, I can't sit down.
« Idiot!
» But you didn't say the same thing last night, cheap rom-com actor.
Had he really written that? He continued scrolling through the chat, driven by curiosity. And while they say curiosity killed the cat... in this case, curiosity killed Evan, as his chest almost exploded when he came across a photo of that guy in a bathroom mirror without a shirt over his torso, with his still-damp black hair falling in a devilishly sexy way over his face, brushing his shoulders, while a white towel around his waist covered a clearly visible bulge.
That's enough smartphone for today!
And with his face completely red, he closed the app and threw his phone to the other end of the bed.
.
.
.
Cat and Louis invited Liam to join them at their favorite coffee shop after school once Peter, a college classmate and Liam's friend, told them he'd seen him acting extremely strange and feeling down. Cat and Louis had known him since they were kids, so they quickly realized something had happened to their dear friend, something really bad that had him heartbroken. They were obviously worried about him and insisted him to go out with them so they could see each other and, if he didn't want to tell them what he was going through right now, at least show him they were there for him and help him regain his spirits a little.
"He's not telling me what's going on. And, knowing him, I don't think he'd answer if I kept asking him," Peter told Catherine as they walked to the coffee shop where they always met to chat and hang out.
"Yeah... That's the way he is."
Seeing her friend's face, Cat could clearly tell something wasn't right. From the sadness in his eyes —the same sadness she'd seen once when Liam asked if she and Louis had ever had a fight and how they'd resolved it— she could deduce it was something related to his not-so-secret partner.
Because, even though Liam thought his relationship with Evan was a complete secret to his friends who didn't know the blue-eyed boy with blonde hair in person, in reality, almost everyone in his close circle immediately noticed that Liam was in love, noticing without delay when he went from being "the nerd who isn't interested in anything other than science" to "a love-struck boy in his first relationship."
Even so, Liam would continue responding that nothing was wrong and that they should stop bothering each other, jealously hiding his boyfriend from the rest of the world.
Once in the cafeteria, his three friends began to talk about various topics, trying to distract him, which it worked a bit, as Louis's silly things and seeing him and Cat flustered whenever they got mushy always brought a smile to his face.
Louis had been his best friend since childhood, when he entered elementary school, and he met Cat in middle school when he asked Louis to find "passengers" for one of his drones he wanted to send to a robotics competition. His friend introduced him to the brunette girl, an expert in all things related to crafts and precise, detailed work. He'd known since then that the two of them liked each other, but just a year ago, they decided to confess their feelings, clearly mutual to everyone but them, and they became the sweetest couple that could exist. As for Peter, he met him just after entering college, but they easily became close due to their shared passion for medicine.
Even in his worst moments, his friends were always there for him and managed to make him smile.
Now he had mixed feelings. He regretted never having introduced Evan to his friends as his boyfriend, but she also felt like it was a weight off his shoulders now that they didn't know.
Because it wasn't that he'd had an argument with his boyfriend and they'd broken up, it was that the boy had simply forgotten about it completely, as if everything they'd experienced had never existed. Now they were just strangers again, when just a few days ago they'd been everything to each other.
"I'll get another coffee," Liam said, standing up.
Maybe that way, he could clear his head a little so he wouldn't ruin that afternoon with his friends because of his personal problems, which he still didn't know how to solve anyway.
"That's a lot of caffeine; it's going to hurt you," Louis told him.
"Nah. I need more coffee to finish this week's projects."
"Get me another one, Liam," Peter said.
"Sure."
He turned around and got in the long line while he searched for his wallet in his pants pocket.
Evan loved coming to this coffee shop… With his beloved caramel vanilla latte that he always ordered.
It seemed impossible for him not to think about that boy. He let out a sigh… He didn't notice when the person in front of him moved forward, and someone bumped into his back.
"Hey, you. Move on, you're not the only one in line."
That voice was so familiar…