Chapter 4
The day was long and exhausting. A lot of high school kids coming in, buying copies of books they didn’t want to read for a school report or project. Reggie hated wasting the books, but he couldn’t exactly say no if he wanted the store to be a success, so he sold them anyway. At the end of the day, just before closing, Reggie heard the bell. When he came out of the office, he was face to face with Caleb. Luke and Alex had told Reggie about their break up, but it was, apparently, three months in to the memory gap. Three months before he met Nick. So the last things that Reggie actually remembers, other than the random recovered memories, all had Caleb in them. Reggie froze. Part of him was screaming to run away, but the other part was curious about what he was doing here. Luke had been helping him at the store, but he had to leave early to get ready for their Sunday dinner. Reggie was supposed to be Nick and Alex and Willie when he closed to head over. But now he was stuck. Staring at the dark haired guy that apparently broke his heart. He didn’t seem to notice Reggie yet, looking around the store with the soft grin that used to make Reggie weak in the knees. The bassist took it as a good sign that he didn’t feel like that now. He wanted to call Nick. And Reggie wondered when that became his first instinct. He took a step forward, watching Caleb catch sight of him and how his smile grew. “Reg!” The man stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. Reggie awkwardly patted his back.
“Uh, what’s up, Caleb?” Reggie asked as he pulled away, stepping back to put some distance between them.
“What do you mean, Reg? I just came to check on you.” Caleb stepped forward again, and when Reggie stepped back he found himself pressed against his counter. “We were together for like three years, Reg. I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Reggie liked to believe he wasn’t stupid. He had listened to Alex talk about how Caleb had been toxic, he heard Luke when he told his best friend that Caleb had cheated on him. But he couldn’t move. Not when Caleb looked at him like that. Reggie wanted to run but he couldn’t will his legs to move. The sound of ringing snapped him out of it, and he moved to answer the store phone, only for Caleb to grab his arm. “You aren’t gonna talk to me? After I came all this way just to check in on you?” Reggie squeaked, trying to pull his arm away. He felt like he was vibrating, like every sensation on his skin was too much.
“I just don’t understand!” Reggie screamed, “Why would you do this to me? Tell me you love me and then go be with someone else. Do I mean that little to you?”
“I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I made a mistake. It didn’t mean anything!” Caleb yelled back. Trying to get closer to Reggie. He knew that Reggie didn’t like to fight, so if he could stay close to him then he could push through the fight without resolving it.
“When did it not mean anything? The first time? The fifth time? You’ve been seeing this guy for months behind my back. If you wanted out, you should have just said so!” Caleb reached out, grabbing Reggie’s arm as the shorter man turned to leave.
“I don’t feel for him the way I do for you, Reg. Come on, please.” There was a knock as Luke left himself into the apartment, “Oh, of course. This is what it’s really about right?” Caleb scoffed, “You’re mad at me for seeing someone else but you spend all your time with him.”
Reggie came back to the present, shaking as he pushed Caleb away from him. The bell above the door dinged again as someone came in, “Caleb? What are you doing here?” Reggie looked through blurry eyes to see Nick standing there with Alex and Willie.
“Nick, hey, it’s been a long time.” Caleb turned his grin to Nick, but Nick didn’t seem phased.
“Reggie? Are you okay?”
“You know each other?” Caleb’s eyes widened, “I didn’t know my exes could be friends.”
“You’ve dated Nick?” Reggie couldn’t help but ask.
“Why are you surprised? We used to fight about it all the time.” Caleb shrugged.
“Nick was who you were cheating on me with!?” Reggie shouted. Nick looked shocked.
Reggie side stepped around Caleb, hugging Alex, who held himself between Reggie and the other men. Willie crossed his arms and glared at Caleb, “It’s time for you to leave. Shop is closed.”
Caleb held his hands out, placating, “I just wanted to check in with Reggie after his accident. I’ve missed him and thought he would like to see me again.” Reggie just cried into Alex’s chest. Caleb shook his head, “I’ll be seeing you, Reginald. Nicholas.” He left without another word.