To everyone who has reviewed, thank you so much. It really means a lot to me when people review. Thank you for the tips about the I's and such, I really don't want this story to go to waste either. I'm going away for a few weeks so I'm going to try and get a few chapters up within the next few days but don't take my word on it. I usually say that I'm going to write a chapter and then I get writers block. Thanks again!
Here's the next chapter, this is a Collins chapter.
Collins slowly walked out of the graveyard. Everyone was gone, Roger had left for Sante Fe, Maureen and Joanne had left together and so had Mimi and Benny. Mark had wanted to stay behind with Collins but he finally left when Collins asked to be alone with Angels casket.
Collins didn't know what to do with himself anymore, he didn't know if he should go on and live life, he didn't want to. He would rather just die and be with Angel for eternity but Collins would have to wait. Wait for the virus that was flowing through his veins to finally take hold of him, like it had Angel. And then like it had done Angel take Collins away forever.
Collins walked the 26 blocks to Angel and his apartment and slowly opened the door.
Inside was everything that Angel had left behind, his clothing was layed out on the floor from when Mimi and Maureen had been going through it with Collins to decide on a outfit for Angel to wear in the casket.
Collins didn't touch anything, he didn't want anything of Angels to be out of place, he especially didn't want to touch anything that Angel had moved.
Collins sat down on his couch and closed his eyes, Angels voice echoed through Collins head, the voice was from a few weeks before Angel got sick. Angel was deciding to rearrange the furniture and he was trying to get Collins to help him.
"Honey, move the couch to the left. No not that left the other left. There. Perfect. What do you think?" Angel had asked
Collins stepped back from the couch and looked at its position in the room.
"Um...I don't know. It looks a little off centre." Collins said
Angel tilted his head to the side and looked at the couch.
"Do you really think so?" Angel asked wanting Collins approval on what he was trying to do with the room.
"Yeah. I mean it looks a little off, with the whole way the room is." Collins said a smirk spreading across his face.
Angel playfully slapped Collins's shoulder and looked around the room trying to find something else to move.
"The table. It should be more in the centre of the room, inline with the couch." Angel said instructing more then checking with Collins
Collins smiled at the memory. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the room. It was perfect, exactly the way Angel had wanted it.
After that week of rearranging, everything changed. Angel got sick, and he could barely get out of bed some days. He had no energy to do anything, except the times when Collins came home with some alcohol and then Angel perked up and would weakly jump Collins.
Collins tried not to see reality, he didn't want to see it. He was trying to stay in denial about Angels illness as long as he possibly could. Until Angel had talked about Collins loving again, and that was when Collins knew that Angel was going to leave him forever.
Collins closed his eyes again and let himself drift into the land of the dreaming, where Angel was all Collins could see. All the good times that Angel and Collins had experienced together came flooding back to him in that few hours of sleep.
Collins woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, he looked down at his clothing, he was still in the clothing he wore to Angels funeral. He looked around the room hoping that the funeral had been a dream and that Angel would be in the kitchen making him breakfast or getting them beers. But no such luck. Collins had to face the reality that Angel would never greet him again in the apartment they had shared for only a short year.
Collins got up and walked to the bathroom, he leaned over the tub and turned on the water. Letting it flow over his hand, until it got too hot for him to bare and he quickly took his hand back and turned on the shower head. He closed the curtain and slowly he undressed from his clothes. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.
His chest lifting and falling with his breathing, his muscles tensing. Collins slowly began to take off his hat. Once the hat was off he ran his hand over his head. Over his face, his facial hair felt rough and unwanted under his hand.
Collins turned from his mirror image and got into the shower. He closed his eyes and faced the flow of the water, letting it fall off his body. He began crying, his tears being washed away with the water.
"Oh God Angel." His voice cracking.
Mark looked at his watch, and wondered where Collins was right at this moment. What he was doing. Mark wondered if Collins was still at the cemetery, at Angels grave.
"Do you think he's okay?" Mark asked his friends who were sitting around the table at the Life Cafe.
Mimi shook her head. "I don't know." She answered, life wasn't occupying her anymore.
Mark looked around the table, there sat all his friends. but three. Roger, Collins and Angel were gone. Mark couldn't believe that Roger had really gone to Sante Fe. He couldn't believe after everything that their family of friends had gone through that he would be that selfish and just leave. There in Rogers place at the table sat Benny. Benjamin Coffin the third. A man that Mark hadn't wanted to see much of, but since Mimi was in denial about her feelings towards Roger, Mimi had ran to the only man that she knew would give her the pleasure that Roger couldn't. And sadly that man had to be Benny.
Mark closed his eyes and one by one his friends got up and left the table. After awhile Mark left a little bit of money on the table and walked out of the restaurant. He walked to the park and sat down on a bench. The night was slowly creeping up the days sky, and over taking it.
"We miss you Angel." He whispered the night air.
Collins walked out onto the roof, the roof of his apartment. The roof that he and Angel had shared some of their most memorable moments together on.
"Don't you love it up here?" Angel asked wearing all white and smiling at Collins. The moon lighting up his pale face.
"Yeah, and it just got a lot more beautiful." Collins smiled at Angel
Angel smiled and bent his head down. He turned to look over the city and Collins walked towards him. He walked up behind Angel and took the man in his arms.
Angel looked backwards to Collins, the two lovers faces met and Collins leaned down and took Angels lips in his own and they kissed. The held that kiss for as long as they could, not wanting to let go of each other, not wanting to let go of the moment that they were sharing.
After awhile Angel broke the kiss and stared out onto the city again.
"I love you." Angel whispered, closing his eyes and letting his head fall against Collins.
Collins wiped away his tear and walked to the spot that Angel had always loved. He sat down on the edge and looked out onto the city.
"I love you Angel."
A girl walked down the avenue. Her white mini skirt waving in the wind, her heels clicking against the pavement. She pushed her black hair out of her eyes and zipped up her red jacket even more. Trying to get the zipper to go higher, to help protect her neck. The wind was getting colder as the night began to fall and she needed to get to her apartment.
She ran across the street and reaching into her purse, she swore under her breath when the key she was looking for wasn't showing up.
"Fuck. Come on." She said to the key, trying to coax it out of its hiding spot in her purse.
Finally she found the key and opened the door to the apartment building, glad that her night shift was over and glad that in a few minutes she would be asleep on her bed.
I'm really sorry, I don't really feel like that was a good chapter. But it was a chapter and I hope you guys enjoy. I hope to get another chapter up tomorrow so check in. Keep reviewing it makes me want to write more for you guys when you do.
