STICKS, MAYBE STONES TOO

Doubt

George

Something was different about Brandon. He did not know what was different, he could not pinpoint it, but he knew there was something.

Watching Brandon after he settled back to sleep, softly snoring in the bed, he could not stop the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Deep inside he could feel a difference, he just could not put a finger on it yet.

When he recalled the sound of Brandon calling his name, he could not stop the tiny shivers crawling down his spine. Then he recalled one of the things that was different about Brandon. He had called him by his name, 'George'. Something that simple, something George had heard over and over again in his life. After all that was his name, everyone addressed him like that, his parents, employees, newspaper articles, you name it. But because Brandon had said it for the first time since they met, it suddenly felt special.

Talk about being crazy. Alexa play crazy in love.

He was whipped.

Brandon had looked him in the eye without the fear and disgust he usually had on his face, he had even smiled at him.

The sun had definitely risen in the West today!

“Did failed suicides make people suddenly agreeable to things? Did the lack of oxygen in the brain change a person's character? What about a change in personality?”, he thought to himself, his mind buzzing with questions.

None of that really mattered anyway, as long as Brandon accepted him, he still had doubts because Brandon had already tried to end his life just to get out of the marriage. At least that is what the note he found beside the swimming pool said.

"This is not going to work, we have nothing in common between us and because you and my father will not let me go I have no other choice." the note had droplets of what George had assumed to be tears.

“I'm not Brandon..." suddenly he remembered the words Brandon had uttered earlier. It felt like somebody had splashed cold water on his face. His mind sobered up really fast.

‘Had Brandon forgotten who he was? Was it amnesia?’ The doctors did not say anything about memory loss being a side effect or was the trauma too much?

The whole thing sounded like a badly written TV drama, they always added amnesia. He did not want to live the amnesia trope in real life.

The friendly smile on his face was it because he did not remember him anymore? He was sad just thinking about it.

Panic! That was the only thing George felt. All the joy he was feeling suddenly swept away in the blink of an eye. Couldn't he just have a good thing for once?

“But wait, he did address me by my name when he woke up the second time," George thought out loud, feeling even more confused than he was earlier. The more he thought about the more confused he became, the whole thing was starting to give him a headache.

With the urge to scream and punch something becoming even stronger, he tried breathing techniques not to wake Brandon up from his much-needed rest. Screaming into the throw pillow, he tried to get the anger out of his chest.

Last night had been terrible for both of them. Maybe that was why they were both feeling confused?

"Brandon will not forget me just like that, we are supposed to get married for crying out loud" he tried to console himself brokenly. Finally deciding to go back to sleep, a cry jolts him back into the present.

"Elvis...Elv... don't do this to me. I lo... please" Brandon's cries filled the room. He sounded like he was in so much pain, "please, don't...don't go", so much agony in that voice had George almost in tears.

Brandon was tossing and turning in the small hospital bed with tears and snort covering his face, which was twisted in obvious pain.

George rushed to his bedside only to stop short.

"Elvis? But who was Elvis?" he thought. Not once had he heard that name before, but from the way Brandon called for him in his sleep, in his dreams he realized that this Elvis must mean a lot to Brandon.

A sudden burst of jealousy and possessiveness suddenly hits him so hard in the chest that he is forced to take a step back. Who was Elvis? What had he done to Brandon?

He had to find out who Elvis was! But first, he had to take care of his Brandon. Yes, Brandon was his. He just did not know it yet.

Turning on the bedside lamp, he finds Brandon drenched in sweat, extremely pale with tears and snort running down his face. The sight nearly tore him apart. He had to calm himself down, not let his emotions get the best of him. Brandon needed him. Taking a deep breath in, he gets into bed beside him and gathers him in his arms.

"Shhhh! It is going to be OK. I am here." He pacified the trembling man in his arms. George hated seeing Brandon in pain.

As if feeling safer with someone next to him, Brandon cuddles into him, whimpering softly. George's heart breaks at this, he still can not get over the sadness of hearing his beloved call out the name of another man, even if he had done it subconsciously.

Taking out his phone and calling his secretary, he growls out, “Check for any Elvis that has even been around or been in contact with Brandon at any point in his life. I don't care whether he was 3 years old then or if he knew him yesterday. If Brandon has been in contact with any person, pet, or anything named Elvis, I want to know. I expect the report on my desk first tomorrow morning."

He ended the call without giving his poor secretary a chance to respond. That was how angry he was.

I guess that is what you get for working for the big boss, random demands at 3 am with no way out of them.

George was a no-nonsense employer. He always demanded the best results possible from his employees. Now imagine what it was like for the man he was interested in.

No excuses were accepted and punishment was meted out in cases of lackluster performance. Deadlines always had to be met. George was meticulous like that. No wonder he owned a business empire at his age.

Making sure everything is sorted out, George uses one hand that Brandon is not lying on to cover themselves up with the blanket Brandon had thrown off during his nightmare episode.

With a vow to find out the root cause of the weird happenings of the day, George hugs Brandon as close to him and as tightly as possible, with the fear of losing him if he lets go of him lurking in the back of his mind. Was he being paranoid? Maybe, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

Darkness swallows George, the events of the previous day and this night finally taking a toll on his already overworked body.

George can almost swear he hears Brandon apologizing to him just before he is pulled under, but he is too groggy to hear anything clearly as he finally stops struggling and giving in to sleep.

Tomorrow will bring its own challenges and, with Brandon by his side, he was ready to tackle anything.

“...”