Steam just about rolled out of Thomas' ears as he tried his best not to hear what was going on in the room just next door to his. The grunts and squeaking of springs echoed around the apartment since the paper thin walls did nothing for sound proofing. Returning his focus to the stack of bills in front of him, Thomas attempted to try to prioritize what needed to get paid first to keep their lives running for at least another month. Rent would eat almost every penny Newt and he had but if it was late even by one day after months of being late by weeks sometimes, it would result in an eviction for sure. And Thomas' anger and Newt's debauchery in the spare bedroom would be in vain. The click of the door unlocking brought Thomas out of his head again and the voice of another man made Thomas' blood boil again. The front door slammed shut, signaling that Newt was alone in the living room. Hesitating, Thomas approached Newt with the similar caution one would use when trying to pet an angry tiger.
"I'm going to take a shower, Tommy. The $50 is on the kitchen table, that should top off the rent fund I hope," Newt said blandly. There was no life in his eyes; the spark had left them the first time he has to lay out to pay for their weekly grocery run. Tomas' stomach clenched in knots as he watched his boyfriend trudge into the bathroom. Thomas leaned against the door as he listened to Newt run the water, unsure of where he wanted to start.
"Newt, there are other ways we could make this work. I want you to stop picking up random guys because this is tearing us apart," Thomas croaked. Whatever Newt's reaction was, he didn't voice in protest or agreement to the idea. "Maybe we should make in with our parents until we can get back on our feet? I'm going to to try to pull as many doubles at the restaurant that I can get and see about getting a second part time job. I'll save every penny I can and pay off every debt between us, and then we can start over sometime next year." The water shut off and a moment later and Newt reappeared with a towel slung over his hips. A sour expression colored his normally beautiful features, indicating to Thomas that he'd hit a nerve.
"I'm not moving back in with those people that I used to call a 'family'. You know what they tried to do to me when I came out and they'd do it again. I would never see you again, Tommy, and we've worked too hard to lose this now." Newt choked on his words while his body slumped forward so far that Thomas to hold him upright.
"Okay, Newt, you win for now. I just don't know how much longer we can keep this up. At this rate, I'm losing you fast enough on our own." Newt smiled weakly as he was lead back to their bed and curled up into a ball under the thinning blankets.
"You can't get rid of me that easily."