Interpersonal Chemistry

Taking a deep breath, Mitch suppressed the temptation to look back at Calvin. He undid the key from his keyring and set it down on the counter, fingers curling tightly around it before releasing it from his grasp. Once he stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him, the surrealness left him…

“Can we not be mad at one another?” Calvin requested after Avi left, taking Mitch’s hand into his own and linking their fingers together. Being put into the position where he was on the offense was so unfair, since he had no agency in the matter. Then again, playing the victim was Calvin’s specialty, and…

“Everything should fit in the car!” Avi cheerfully confirmed with a clap of his hands. “That’s great.” Mitch used the interruption to take a step backwards, and nodded when Avi mouthed ‘Are you OK?’ at him. Giving a quick thumbs up, Avi then grabbed more bins, and commented that it’d only be one more trip…

“Mitch,” Calvin’s tone suggested that being ignored displeased him. “What?” mumbled Mitch, throat already raw though nothing had happened yet. He kept his gaze focused out the window and on the bay. It was his favorite part of living here, and he wanted to savor it for one last time. Several minutes passed in silence,…

Though Mitch had only been away for a few weeks, the loft already felt alien; hostile, even. The interior featured a color scheme of black and white and chrome, sterile without much trace of personality. There were a large few paintings hung up -likely worth thousands of dollars- but their compositions were made up of…

“Everything alright?” inquired Avi. His expression communicated the self-awareness of what a dumb question that was. “Fantastic. Let’s get this over with.” Mitch unbuckled his seatbelt without issue, but the passenger side door was still a challenge with his limited range of motion. “Do you want some hel-” Avi started to ask, but Mitch cut…

“It’s up here on the right.” Mitch pointed to the tall building that he once called home. Avi nodded, but his attention was fixed on the bay across the street. “Wow, you were right next to the ocean, huh?” he asked. “Yeah, views are pretty good,” admitted Mitch. He would rather not acknowledge any of…

Avi adjusted the rearview mirror and cleared his throat. “Hey, so,” he started in a fragile tone, the type that Mitch absolutely loathed, words made out of delicate crystal that were on the verge of crackling. But then the cadence kicked up as he continued. “For what it’s worth -and it’s probably not much- but…

Up until they reached the Mass Pike merger, they made good time. Then came the slowdown. “How is there traffic on a Saturday?” Mitch complained. “This was always my least favorite part of staying over Jodie’s, having to get through this.”  “Don’t know why, this is superb,” Avi said flatly. Yet, they were still in…

Mitch coughed to break up the droning noise that permeated throughout the car. “Hey, so. The whole ‘you don’t know me‘ garbage? That…was shitty of me. I do appreciate the ride, though. You didn’t have to do this.” “Don’t mention it,” Avi gently replied, then followed up with, “I uh, sort of panic offered-“ “UGH,…