He awoke from a dream about garden gnomes and shuddered. He stared at the room about him, lit slightly by the pre-dawn. He wiped his face and took a deep breath before flipping on his side.
His breath caught. The person next to him was far closer to him than he expected and the wrong gender and feeling of wrongness bolted through him.
That bolt turned to a familiar searing pain that he swore originated from his soul.
He always expected to turn and see him, but, even after 19 years he had trouble accepting the fact.
Fred was gone.