Herald the Night

Chapter Four

When Caleb Cohen-Williams put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. Elias knew better than to get in his husband’s way when he was on a mission. More often than not, the whirlwind of Cay swept Elias up like detritus in a tornado. Case in point, Elias found himself in the exceptionally uncomfortable position of making a casserole at his dearly beloved”s insistence. Bold of him to assume Elias had developed the cooking skills to achieve this task. There was a high chance that they”d end up with food poisoning. If not that, it was likely they”d be faced with a dish filled with something that would be better used as adhesive for one of Parker’s paper crafts.

“How”s it going in here, baby doll?” The object of Elias” rumination waltzed into the room before striking a pose, albeit subconsciously, and clapping his hands together twice. “We leave in an hour. Please tell me you”re almost done?”

Elias pressed the button to illuminate the interior of the oven before warily squinting through the glass at the infamous casserole. It burbled and jiggled as a result. The bubbling mass sent a shudder down his spine. Dante’s Inferno had a new level of Hell and it was discovered in the Pyrex dish occupying Elias” stainless steel oven. Just as he moved to stand, the glop bubbled over and he watched it pool menacingly at the bottom with an audible hiss.

“Ehhh.” It was the only response Elias could formulate as he backed away from the weaponized food.

“O. M. G. We need a casserole. I even got you a recipe. How hard is it to fuck up casserole?!” Caleb threw his hands in the air with a dramatic wail. “It”s impossible to find good help these days.”

Elias ducked out of the way as the small but mighty force of nature swished through the kitchen and flung the oven door wide. He made a point to reach over Caleb’s head to turn the exhaust fan on. The glop that had outgrown its containment vessel had become noxious as it vaporized on the bottom of the oven. He gave himself a mental pat on the back over the fact that he’d recently done the maintenance rounds on the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

“We don”t need a casserole. There’s no rule that says one must come bearing biohazardous foodstuffs.” Elias set a trivet on the counter and backed away slowly. He was genuinely wary about getting too close to the soupy monstrosity as Caleb pulled it from the hellscape that had once been a designer cooking range.

“Yes, there absolutely is a rule. When people are sad, bring casserole.” Caleb flourished his hand at the putrid yellowish dish. “Ta-dah. Casserole.”

“Casserole is for when people are dead, Cay.” Elias squinted at the burbling mass. “Likely because grief and mourning overwhelm the senses and the unfortunate recipient of said casserole can”t taste anything.”

“You’re really not a fan, are you?” Cay shed his oven mitts and stepped into Elias’ space, muscling him until his back hit the counter. Caleb’s compact form pinned him in place. “Talk to me. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“I don”t like casserole. Casseroles… bring up bad memories.” Elias relented to Cay’s needling and sighed. “When Parker’s mother died…”

“Oh, El,” Caleb shifted his hands higher, sweeping them over Elias’ chest before settling his palms around his neck. “You should have said something sooner.”

“It”s fine. It”s not like casseroles are triggering, I just really never wanted to eat another casseroled meal in my life.” Elias shrugged and tugged Caleb between his legs to chase a kiss. Once he had his husband thoroughly kiss-drunk and grinning that lopsided smile Elias loved so much, he leaned closer and brought his lips flush with Cay’s ear. “For that reason, I took the liberty of also sending in an UberEats order with something for everyone.”

“Mmm,” Caleb snuggled closer and laid his cheek against Elias’ chest. “That”s why they pay you the big bucks. El for President. The man has a solution for everything.”

Elias barked out a laugh of surprise, swatting at Caleb”s ass in retribution. “Do not even think those words again, let alone say them.”

“Mark my words, I see the title of First Husband in my future. First Gentleman? First Partner? Spouse? Mreh. We’ll figure it out later.” Caleb pulled back and tilted his chin up. “Kiss me, baby doll. You earned it.”

Elias did just that, swapping their positions so that he could bracket Caleb between his arms against the edge of the counter. He’d always cede the control to Cay in the bedroom, but there were times like these when he felt that niggling urge to take charge and sweep his partner off his feet. Things were just starting to heat up when a forceful coughing from the doorway interrupted their affections.

“Sorry to interrupt, Dad. Cay-Cay, we need to go over the plan again one more time. I have the basket packed.” Parker, unfazed by their hot and heavy kitchen make-out session, readjusted his glasses with a grim expression.

“Right-o, my man!” Caleb’s eyes darted back toward Elias’ face as he cleared his throat and readjusted his own glasses. “Give me one minute, ‘kay?”

“Yessir!” Parker mock-saluted and scurried away toward the family room.

“Christ,” Elias laughed, stepping back to adjust himself in his slacks as Caleb did the same. “He has the most innate ability to interrupt at the most inopportune time.”

“That he does,” Caleb quipped, flashing another crooked smile. “But he is also right. We need to be sure to have everything ready. You grabbed the wine, right?”

Elias jerked his head toward the reusable grocery bag on the counter. “Ready and waiting. Although I”m still not sure this is the best idea.”

“It”s a brilliant idea. Parker and I will run defense on the kids. You”re handling the pasty little emo boy. He needs to get drunk and sloppy and cry his heart out before we can move on to the next stage of the intervention.” Caleb ducked around Elias and moved toward the doorway. “We leave when your UberEats feast arrives. Be ready.”

Eyeing the casserole where it leered at him from the counter, Elias sighed and grabbed up his phone. The food would be arriving in fifteen minutes according to the app, so he pulled up his text conversation with Theo to send the requisite notice of their imminent arrival. He skimmed through their messages and saw all the red flags he had missed over the last week. Abriella and Lily had sent out the message alerting everyone to the trouble in Connor and Theo’s relationship, but every time Elias reached out to Theo privately, he’d been met with a haunting reminder of the version that existed before Connor. I”m fine. Everything”s okay. We’re good here. I”ll let you know if I need help. Deflection and denial. Distance and dismissal.

It was actually Parker who had alerted Elias and Caleb to the truth of the situation going on just down the street. He and Anna routinely texted and video chatted, and the sadness in his friend was enough to have him confiding in them. His empathic ability to understand those around him resulted in the revelation of how far Theo had sunk in the week since he and Connor had parted ways. He was there, physically. But it was clear to Anna and Toby both that emotionally, he was somewhere else entirely. The situation was troubling enough that Caleb was spurred into planning an intervention of love, as he liked to call it.

Twenty minutes later, laden with bags and baskets and blankets, the trio walked down the street and arrived at the doorstep of Theo, Toby, and Anna’s home. The Secret Service agents exchanged looks before begrudgingly allowing them to get close to the door. It was a blessing they were all familiar to the agents, otherwise Elias feared they might have had to have all their items systematically searched. It would have been truly difficult to explain the whole ordeal, especially if Caleb took point on detailing the elaborate planning that had gone into Operation Love Intervention.

No surprise, it was Anna who opened the door and ushered them into the entrance hall, looking over her shoulder like a criminal caught mid heist. Her and Parker immediately beelined into the living room and left Elias and Cay to take in the visible signs of Theo’s struggle. The living room to the left was littered with soda cans and juice boxes, paper plates and used napkins. To the right, the kitchen was darkened and cluttered with empty pizza boxes. The garbage can was overflowing with empty boxes that once held frozen meals. Standing front and center on the kitchen counter was the biggest red flag of all—dozens of plastic storage containers filled with cookies.

Elias’ lips flattened into a thin line as he stepped into the kitchen to dump his bags on the only available space on the counter. Caleb’s cheeks puffed out before he heaved a sigh. With a resolute nod, he grabbed his bag of supplies and turned toward the living room.

“Take what you need to the cave. I”ll keep the kids entertained.” Caleb paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Give him a hug from me. I get the feeling our emo boy needs lots of hugs.”

Elias chuckled despite the oppressive heaviness of the atmosphere as he dug through the bags of food. He”d been around Theo long enough to know he likely hadn”t eaten anything but cookies in days. His appetite was the first thing to disappear whenever he couldn”t escape the grips of his anxiety or depression. But there was one meal he would almost always devour if it appeared in front of him and that was macaroni and cheese. He dug the container out and grabbed a fork from the drawer. He hemmed and hawed before relenting to Caleb’s voice in his head. Armed with carbs and red wine, Elias left the kitchen with his sights set on the pitch black void he could see on the opposite side of Theo”s open bedroom door.

He knocked, albeit awkwardly, before pushing it wider and peering inside. Despite Elias’ slow movements, Theo flinched where he sat against the headboard. He recovered quickly, as if he could somehow make a convincing show out of being fine by turning on the bedside lamp and faking a smile that looked more pained than it did believable.

“Quit that.” Elias waved the bottle toward Theo’s expression as he padded into the room. “I”m insulted by this attempt to hide behind a fake smile. Not with me, Theo. Never with me.”

“Fuck,” Theo deflated, tugging his knees to his chest and dropping his forehead to rest atop them. “I”m a mess. Go visit with the kids. They need it more. I”m a total failure in the guardian department right now—”

“I”m sorry, I can”t hear you over the sound of all that bullshit.” Elias toed his shoes off and knee-walked across the mattress until he could sit cross legged in front of Theo. He set the container of macaroni close by with a pointed nod. “You”re allowed to feel. You”re allowed to wallow. You”re allowed to be human, Theo.”

“Fuck,” Theo whisper hissed again before roughly dragging his hands over his eyes. “It”s all so messed up, Eli.”

“Yeah, it is messed up. I hate to break it to you, but it”s going to feel messed up for a while.” Elias cracked open the twist top of the wine bottle and took a swig before holding it out. “You’ll work through it, though. Whether you two end up back together or stay apart, you’ll get through this.”

Theo snatched the bottle from Elias” hands and took a hearty gulp before sinking back against the headboard, clutching it to his chest like a lifeline. “I can”t think about that. I can”t even let myself go there. I”m just stuck here waiting, hoping, praying he comes walking through the door so I can pretend this never happened.”

“Have you reached out to him?” Elias propped himself backward on his palms.

“I”m afraid to. I”m afraid he won”t answer. He left and… and I”m too scared to do anything that would make it real.” Theo took another gulp of wine, albeit far smaller than the first.

“Theo, you can”t bury everything and pretend it”s all fine. Look where that got you with your mom. If I had to hazard a guess, I”d say the same thing got you here with Connor, too.” Elias arched an eyebrow and Theo”s downcast face confirmed his suspicions.

“You need to learn to ask for what you need,” Elias counseled, reaching out to grab the bottle. “And what you want. I know you’ve had a shit go of it, but you honestly can”t tell me you haven”t learned this about yourself. Has your therapist not said the same?”

“He has.” Theo’s shoulders sank even further. “I don”t know… it just all piled on so fast and before I knew it, we were walking on eggshells around each other. It became something so… huge. Daunting. It felt like he wasn”t here, but now that he”s actually not here…”

Elias set the bottle on the nightstand and tugged Theo closer by the shoulders. He was reluctant and resistant for all of thirty seconds before he gave up and fell against Elias’ chest. The position was awkward until he gave up the pretense and shifted Theo into his lap. A strange sense of nostalgia washed over him as he flashed back to a memory he”d misplaced in lieu of making newer, happier ones. He”d been here with Theo before. Ages ago, in a world full of grief and sadness and loneliness, a young boy needed a father’s shoulder to cry on and Elias had stepped into that role.

It was the same exact thing, just in a different place and time. Theo had always struggled to express his emotions. His needs. His wants. For as long as Elias had known him, Theo’s boundaries had been nonexistent because he”d always been forced to put others before himself. It was too much for one person to carry alone, but he simply couldn”t ask for help because he”d never been taught how. Elias knew all too well the devastating effects of not being heard in a relationship. He couldn”t imagine how difficult it must be to feel like he couldn”t even speak in the first place.

“We”re going to get through this, no matter what. I promise, it won”t feel like this forever.” Elias hugged Theo tighter and held him together while he lacked the strength to do it himself. He’d needed a father figure the first time they did this ages ago. The thing Elias neglected to recall was that the need for a father figure to lean on during hard times didn”t go away with age. In fact, sometimes the need grew stronger. He hugged Theo just a little bit closer. “I promise, I”m here with you.”