Chapter 9 – Evil illusions, conspiring with the lies

September 2014

The shadows, he has cast, radiating in the midnight air, a storm brewing, a pedestal above his head.

For every September, he used to play out in the rain, with nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

But now, he was playing with fire, feeling the flames, and letting them burn, saturating, disintegrating his golden worth.

The misinterpretation, floating around in his head, no one to explain, the dark and desolate contents of his mind, are evil illusions, blurring the truth, conspiring with the lies, forbidding his heart to release the freedom, desperately seeking escape, behind his eyes.

For he wants to travel beyond the depths of the planet, to a place, no one knows his name.

Aaron sat alone in the bar, signs of life contaminating the empty space. Waiting for the feelings to stop, the memories to fade like a flower, to slip away into the autumn moonlight.

Running down the time...before the inevitable.

The crowded lives merging together, swirling into one unidentified colour, engaging with the euphoric atmosphere.

It was clear to see, temptation was all around, surrounding the man, all alone, sat close to the bar.

...

He paced the floor erratically, unable to relax until the younger man was back home, resting here with him.

Maybe he can take the world tonight, magically transforming the wrongs to right, there is nothing that he would not sacrifice, to break through the distance of cold and ice... until they make it, back to the valley of crystal water, where sapphire sky's complement glorious light.

The argument, echoing inside his mind, haunting his vacant stare, reverberating against the empty walls, colliding with his every intake of breath.

How did it ever come to this?

Replaying the dirty words, that each of them said to each other, did they really mean them, did they now?

...

"Aaron just tell me for crying out loud", Jackson sighed inwardly.

"It's nothing, it's all in your head", Aaron replied, his body seething with rage.

"Just tell me, has something else happened?"

"Something else, what do you mean something else?" He said, his posture radiating fierceness.

"Erm, well, erm", stumbling over his words, not sure how to proceed, he vowed never to mention their trip to America again, until Aaron was ready to discuss the events that had transpired within the lost world he found himself in.

Instead, Jackson decided to drop that thought process.

"Just tell me", Jackson whispered softly.

"HOW MANY MORE TIMES", he shouted aggressively.

"I've hardly seen you lately, you make every excuse not to look at me, all your spare time has been spent down the pub, you've been drinking a lot lately..."

"You what?" Aaron interrupted abruptly "Who do you think you are, my dad?" He spat venomously, striding across the room, now glaring menacingly into his husbands face.

"Aaron, what are you doing?" Jackson whispered gently, trying to calm down his irate lover.

Aaron looked towards the floor, ashamed of his malicious actions, but defying to lose face.

"I'm going out", Aaron said, lifting his jacket from off the table.

"If you walk out that door, don't bother coming back here tonight" Jackson stated firmly, exacerbating the situation to sheer absurdity.

"Well, I guess I will have to find someplace else to stay...I'll go look in Bar West for alternatives", He said, his features obtaining an evil essence, like his body was possessed by a despicable spirit.

"If you do that...there will be no going back, you do know that?" Jackson whispered, the emotional hurt, burning a hole in his heart, represented through the loss of the golden tint, that forever shines so bright within his eyes.

"You drove me to this", his last words spoken, gliding softly through the air, like a thousand knives delicately piercing through his husbands chest, he turned and walked away, into the open wild, the door closing behind him.

...

The memory influencing the tears to come, enticing the water fall to flow into his core, crashing into his aching soul.

Jackson picked up his phone, needing to call him desperately, needing to feel the sun enrapture his skin to heat , calling...just to hear him breath.

...Call rejected.

...

Aaron, the turmoil blurring his eyes to despair, the thoughts inside his head, are begging him to move, to go home, back to comfort, back to Jackson.

But the stubbornness that elicits his irrationality, confuses the truth to invalid.

Upon opening his drowsy eyes, a tall figure is standing just inches away from him. Aaron absorbs his emerald green eyes, dark illustrious hair, his sincere beautiful smile.

"Hi, my name is Edward...what's yours?"

...

The door closing quietly, his home in darkness, an eerie atmosphere contaminating, corrupting the good vibrations.

Jackson remained unmoved on the sofa, patiently waiting to see him.

It was soon, before long...

"Hey", Jackson whispered solemnly, although he tried to force the control around his vocal chords, he failed to conceal his vulnerability.

"Hey, you waited up for me?" Aaron asked surprised.

"I'd hoped you would come home, glad you never gotta better offer", Jackson joked, but his eyes conveyed the sadness that represented the exacerbation of a ridiculous argument.

"Was chatting to a guy called Edward, nice guy, bent his ear for an hour, talking about our silly argument, and at the end of the conversation he asked me if I was ever going to shut up and come back to his place...but the thought of doing so, hadn't even entered my head, so I just thanked him for listening, and left," He chuckled softly.

Jackson rose from his position, closing the distance between them, but his hands were blocked, denying Jackson the chance to circle his arms, like towers, around his body.

The action, leaving the blood flowing, travelling to Jackson's heart, cold.

Aaron, water, brimming his soft blue eyes, looked steadily into his husband.

"I'm so sorry Jay, sorry for pushing you away, I never meant to hurt you. The truth is...I'm not alright, not at all, and it's killing me. I can ignore it, but only for so long. A lot happened in America, and it's time you knew the truth".

Aaron released hold of his wrists, allowing Jackson to caress his delicate features.

Jackson could feel him, falling like a leaf, into his touch, watching the determination of strength, form like fire, inside of Aaron, ready to let go of the black shadows, he subconsciously held onto.

For he was willing, to take stand, to step away from the claws, of the throne of lies.

TBC