Eventually, the party came to an end and everyone went their own way. Now all that was left was cleanup. Miller was filling the dishwasher while Austin was bringing him more plates and glasses.
"They won't all fit," Miller saw.
"I'll wash the others. You go take a load off," Austin told him.
"I'm not letting you do that," Miller said indignantly.
"You did most of the work until now. Let me take over," Austin said and cupped his elbow to draw him away from the sink. The touch only made Miller freeze up as he gazed at Austin, lost in him.
Austin seemed to have forgotten what he was doing too. He held onto Miller, staring deep into his eyes. Miller held his breath, waited but he didn't know for what. Finally Austin moved, took Miller's other arm and pulled him against his hard, muscular body.
Miller grunted at the contact then shut his eyes as Austin kissed him. His tongue parted Miller's lips, slid over his tongue and Miller sucked on it and moaned.
The kiss took over all his senses. It felt so good, his whole body trembled from it, surged toward Austin. He caressed Austin's bearded face then threaded his fingers through his hair. Miller's arms wrapped around him as he felt Austin press him against the kitchen counter.
Nothing existed except Austin kissing him, grinding into him until Miller heard a crash and then a loud bang. They pulled apart.
The crash came from upstairs so Austin rushed up taking the steps two and three at a time. Miller had only reached the top of the stairs when Austin started coming back.
"Something hit the window in one of the empty bedrooms," Austin said, out of breath. He went past Miller and down the stairs to the front door.
"Remi?" Miller asked as he followed him.
"He's fine. Still asleep." Austin flung the front door open and looked outside.
There was no one there. Cautiously he went out and Miller caught up to him when he reached the driveway and stopped. Right in front of Miller's car there was a stain, a dark splatter.
Austin was looking up where the window must have been broken, but Miller was still staring down. Whatever had hit the window fell and spilled over the driveway. Some kind of can was rolling nearby. Austin nudged it with his foot then crouched for a closer look.
"A paint can. Red paint," Austin said as he checked it out.
That didn't mean anything to Miller. The dark stain splattered on the driveway was all he could see. It made Miller feel sick and he doubled over.
"Hey," Austin said as he rushed over to him.
"It's like blood," Miller rasped.
"No, no. It's just paint. Come inside. Come on." Austin wrapped him in his arms and took him into the house.
He locked the door and settled Miller on the living room sofa. Austin sat next to him, called his name like he was far away.
And he was. Miller didn't even know how hard he was shaking until Austin clasped both of his hands in his own and told him, "You're cold as ice."
While Austin's hands were so warm and steady, Miller's were numb.
"Who did that?" Miller asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Just vandalism, I think. Probably some kids swiped a can of paint from that house under construction across the street and decided to mess around with it," Austin said. "I'll call the cops to report it, OK?"
"No. I can't..."
"It can wait until morning," Austin said. "We just won't touch anything."
Miller nodded. He knew his reaction was crazy, but he couldn't help it. "I never saw her. I never looked down," he whispered.
"Your mother," Austin said and Miller nodded.
He could see his mom, her fear, hear it in her voice. "Edgar wasn't supposed to be there. He wasn't supposed to come back. Mom was screaming at him to leave. When she tried to call 911, he slapped the phone out of her hand. He shoved her and she ended up on the balcony. I don't know if that was his plan, but once he had her out there, he wouldn't let her come back inside." Miller was speaking like in a trance, seeing the past playing out again, not able to stop it. "Mom tried to fight him off, and I tried to get him off her. I was too weak, too small. He kicked me away like I was nothing. Then he... He picked her up and..."
Miller couldn't say any more. He couldn't breathe but he still saw it. How he lifted her while she screamed and threw her over the railing. Miller remembered he was screaming too, calling for her, his screams so loud they almost drowned out the sound of her body hitting the ground.
Miller started speaking again so that sound wouldn't be the only thing filling his ears. "Then Edgar came to loom over me and he told me, 'She jumped. Your mother jumped. You say anything different, and you'll end up just like her.'" Miller remembered how meaningless those words were to him. "I didn't listen. I wanted to be with my mom. I even thought about jumping too. But I was too slow. The neighbors were there, pulling me away, then the police. Then... Then just nightmares."
Miller shuddered hard enough to hear his teeth click together, and that was when he noticed how tightly Austin was holding him, almost crushing him.
Breathing against his shoulder, Miller wanted Austin to crush him even harder, get rid of all his pain, all his memories.
"I hope he's in prison," Austin said in a harsh voice.
"He is. I testified against him," Miller said and allowed himself a tiny bit of pride. "He kept insisting that she jumped, that I was lying, that they were fighting, and she jumped to spite him. He was so twisted. I contradicted all his lies about what happened. My testimony put him in prison."
"Good. That's something," Austin said, still holding him but not crushing him.
Miller nodded. It wasn't enough for what that man did, but Miller at least did that much, spoke the truth, got some justice for her.
He stayed in the living room, and Austin stayed with him except for when he went to check on Remi. Miller was ashamed of how anxious he was whenever Austin went up.
Back sitting next to him, Austin sat sideways and opened his arms. "Lean on me."
Miller hesitated, but he needed him too much so he did it. They were both lying on the couch with Austin wrapping him in his arms. As Miller snuggled against his big body, he felt Austin flinch. "Oh man, your feet are cold."
"Oh, I took my socks off. Sorry," Miller said and he sat up.
"Give 'em here. I'll warm 'em up," Austin said as he pulled Miller's legs over to him. Miller's feet were now in Austin's lap and he was rubbing them. "You have nice feet. I didn't even know guys could have such nice feet."
Miller didn't know what to say to that and Austin chuckled at his confusion. "Get back over here and lie down," Austin told him and Miller found himself back in his arms, surrounded by his strength.
Even with Austin there giving him a feeling of safety and security, Miller didn't know if he closed his eyes all night. He was fully awake when Austin went to Remi in the morning.
Reliving what happened to his mother had shaken him and he couldn't recover. Even in the light of the morning, he was haunted.
After a little while, Austin brought the baby down and put him in Miller's arms. "He wanted to say good morning."
Holding him, the tiny, sweet thing, looking into his clear blue eyes, Miller wanted to cry. He looked up at Austin and whispered, "Thank you."