Part 3
Paul stood in his bedroom, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were now freely rolling down his cheeks. He heard the front door slam and a short time later a car screeched out of the driveway. He looked down at the bed; the sheets still left in a tangled heap on the floor from their early lovemaking.
"You alright?"
Paul turned around to see Rich standing in the doorway. He quickly tried to wipe away the tears, putting on a brave face.
"Yeah I'm fine now that bastards gone."
Paul turned away from his friend, knowing that if Rich looked at his face he would be able to see the truth. But Rich already knew the truth, he knew that Paul and Tim loved each other more than anything in this world, no matter what they sometimes said or did. Paul pulled on a pair of jeans and began to hunt around for a clean shirt.
"He was out of line Paul, you both were."
Paul sat on the bed and looked up at Rich, standing in the doorway looking down at him. He took a deep breath.
"I don't know what hurts more Rich. Tim calling me a slut, or deep down inside me knowing that he's right."
Rich walked over and sat down on the bed next to Paul, placing a hand on his leg.
"Paul .. don't ever say that .."
"It's true Rich."
"Paul, look at me."
Paul forced himself to lift his gaze and look over at Richard, who smiled.
"Don't ever put yourself down like that Paul. You are a beautiful, talented, creative person, and the best friend I've ever had."
Paul smiled.
"Thanks Rich. So um, where did he go?"
"I don't know. He grabbed his clothes and took off. He was crying when he left."
"Trying to make me feel worse?"
"I don't think you need me to do that. Come on, you're coming to lunch with me. It'll take your mind off things."
Paul stood up off the bed and grabbed a black t-shirt, pulling it on over his head. He looked back at Rich with his best puppy-dog face.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes you do. Look all this will sort itself out. If you go after Tim now you'll just wind up saying more things you don't mean. The best thing right now is for both of you to take a time out. Now come on."
Paul sighed, knowing he couldn't argue with Rich at the best of times, let alone with the way he was feeling right now. He nodded, grabbing his leather jacket and following Rich out of the flat.
part 4
