“Let go of him!” Ben growled, adrenaline taking over. “I said let go!” When neither man paid any attention to him, he pulled on Tim’s shoulder. Tim rounded on him, eyes blazing before his face crumpled.

“That’s right, show him how you treat me,” Ryan yelled, lifting the sleeves of his black concert T-shirt. His arms were bright red where Tim had gripped him, but there were also bruises. “Did he do this to you, too?” Ryan demanded. “Is that why you left him?”

Ben turned to Tim, jaw clenching, but his former boyfriend couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I’m going to kill myself,” Ryan bawled, heading for the door. “I’m going to kill myself and leave a note blaming it on you!”

The door slammed, the glass shaking in its frame. The silence that followed was filled only with Tim’s heavy breathing. Ben could smell alcohol on his breath, much more than the theater would serve.

“I guess I should go after him,” Tim said.

“I guess you should.”

Tim turned when reaching the door.

“La Maisonette, tomorrow. Seven o’clock?”

Ben hesitated.

“Please?”

“All right.”

Tim slunk into the night wearing a burden of shame. Ben was tempted to lock the door after him, but he didn’t. He still trusted Tim, still knew him. There had to be a reason for everything he’d seen tonight, and he wouldn’t be able to rest until he found out why.

* * * * *

Tim was already at the restaurant, seated at a table and waiting. His appearance was better than it had been the day before, face clean shaven and hair freshly cut. He still didn’t look as though he’d slept recently. Ben sat, not knowing what to expect and warily noting the half-empty bottle of wine on the table.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Tim said, lifting the bottle. “Drink?”

Ben nodded. He didn’t plan on drinking but he figured it was one less glass for Tim.

“Is your boyfriend okay?”

“Ryan? Yeah, he says stuff like that all the time.”

“And do you react like that all the time?”

Tim’s expression was miserable. “No! I never hit him. Nothing like that. We had a fight last week, and I grabbed him just like last night. I don’t know my own strength sometimes, and he really knows how to push my buttons. Those were the only two times, but I’m afraid of what might happen if things don’t change.”

Ben didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know Ryan or his history with Tim, and part of him was unwilling to ask. If Ryan caught them here things would only get worse. Jace wasn’t thrilled with Ben being here either, but at least Ben hadn’t kept it a secret. What could he do, walk away? Let his last memory of Tim be of the broken man before him?

“All right,” Ben said. “Tell me everything.”

Tim had met Ryan at a bar a year ago and they had everything in common. Both came from well-to-do families with distant parents. Ryan’s had turned their backs on him when he came out, eventually cutting him off from his college tuition. Tim had supported him, but eventually learned that Ryan never attended the expensive classes he was paying for. Ryan had little interest in anything other than partying, and Tim had indulged him, joining in and feeling like a teenager again.

“For a while things were good,” Tim said. “Well, maybe not good, but entertaining. Then the lies started. First my wallet was stolen. I didn’t care about the cash, but the credit cards were a hassle. Part of me suspected, so I didn’t cancel them right away. Sure enough, they were used at Ryan’s favorite clothing store. The brat even showed up in a new outfit the next day. It’s not like he has a job or any other source of income besides me, so it couldn’t have been more obvious.

“Then a friend of his turned out to be much more. I put an end to that, but it wasn’t pretty. I suppose it was karma for what I put you and Jace through. Every time I try to rein him in makes him act out that much more, usually by partying. Last week Ryan ended up in the ER to have his stomach pumped. All he cares about anymore is drinking and drugs.”

“Looks like you’ve been indulging a bit yourself,” Ben said.

Tim moved his hand away from his glass and nodded. “Ryan is your opposite. You always brought out the good in me, changed me for the better. With Ryan, I just don’t know. I used to see myself in him. His parents are just as cold as mine, and I saw the pain hidden behind that pretty face of his, but he has a mean streak. Ryan turns his hurt back on the world, and I don’t know what I can do to make him better. Sometimes I think he’s who I would have become if I had never met you.”

Ben listened, mentally searching for an answer to Tim’s problems. Tim had tried to do right by Ryan, but the anger Ben had seen last night still concerned him. If something didn’t change, Tim might do something he would regret. In any case, Ben didn’t like to see him suffer like this.

They soon asked for the check. Neither had touched the appetizer, and Tim had already finished the wine. Ben insisted on driving Tim home, imagining for the briefest of moments that the man next to him was a teenager with an injured ankle.

“This isn’t how I meant for it to be,” Tim grimaced. “How I wanted us to meet again, I mean. I had this dream about you being on stage. Isn’t that crazy? I had no idea you did theater, but I dreamt it anyway.”

Ben glanced over at him. “And that’s how you found me?”

“Well, that and some Google-powered stalking.”

Tim still lived in the same architectural mess as before, but the driveway was overflowing with cars. None of then were sporty enough to belong to Tim. Heavy bass pounded from the house, accompanied by a babble of voices. A forlorn howl occasionally cried out above the din.

“I told him not to leave her out back,” Tim complained as they got out of the car. “She hates being alone at night.”

“Chinchilla?”

“Yeah.” Tim smiled. “Come on. She’ll be glad to see you.”

Ben didn’t expect Chinchilla to remember him, but her whole butt wagged at turbo speed when she saw him. The puppy Ben had once known was gone, replaced by a stout dog who was all smiles as Tim kissed and pet her. Her leash was tangled around a tree, Tim casting angry glances toward the house as he unclipped the line from her collar.

“This happens almost nightly,” he muttered.

“I don’t mean to state the obvious,” Ben said, “but why don’t you just break up with him? I know, I know, you said the sex is really great, but things are only going to get worse.”

“You’re right, but I don’t know how. You heard him last night. He always threatens to kill himself. The night he overdosed was because I suggested taking a break.”

Ben thought about this while squatting next to Chinchilla and rubbing her belly. “Here’s what we’ll do. You send Ryan on a trip, a long one, somewhere in Europe. Tell him it’s your way of apologizing. While he’s gone you sell the house and move somewhere new. When he comes back you never contact him and he won’t be able to find you.”

“Think so?”

“Yeah. You guys will get some distance between you and things will cool off. Not only that, but wherever you send him, make sure it’s a gay resort.” Ben chuckled. “Or hire an escort to pick him up from the airport. He’s young and hot. I’m sure someone will snatch him up soon. Then he’ll be somebody else’s problem instead of yours.”

Tim laughed. “You know, that’s just crazy enough that it might work.”

Ben laughed too, but he knew that this wasn’t the solution. Tim had put up with Ryan for so long because of more than just his suicidal threats. There was emotion there, no matter how unhealthy it was.

Glass shattered inside the house. Judging from the way the music grew louder, most likely a window had been broken. There was a brief chorus of laughter before the party continued raging.

“All right,” Ben sighed as he stood. “Time for me to make everything better. Come on.”