Page 134 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

No. He strolls into the café unwaveringly, sparing an easy 'Hey' to Cal and Dawson, before heading in Gabe’s direction and kissing him like they’ve been apart for months, not eight hours.

The first time Gabe senses confusion in him is when he asks Ellis to take a seat with the rest of them. Still, Ellis does, not asking any questions.

It hurts in a way Gabe never expected.

It hurts even more when Cal starts talking.

The silence in the café is choking, actually physically choking. Gabe feels it like a vice around his throat, crushing his windpipe. He hasn’t uttered a word since Cal started talking, none of them have. All of Gabe’s focus has circled around Ellis, taking in every miniscule change in his energy. There hasn’t been much change.Throughout Cal’s delivery, Ellis’ energy was one big flashing question mark.

“So, you’re saying you’re not actually Cal,” Ellis finally speaks, his voice scarily flat. “That you are a…reaperand you took over his body,Ghost Whispererstyle.”

Cal looks at Dawson askance, receiving only a shrug in response. “I don’t understand that reference. But yes. That’s essentially it.”

Ellis laughs, the sound bouncing off the walls in the empty café. When his gaze seeks out Gabe, waiting for confirmation that Cal is just messing around, it nearly kills Gabe to not be able to give it to him.

“It’s true,” he says, having to force the words out.

Ellis’ expression blanches. “What?”

It takes everything not to reach for Ellis’ hand. “They’re telling the truth. I know because…because I felt it.”

“You felt it.”

“Cal. Who he truly is. I didn’t put it together until recently, but it is the truth.”

More silence, then Ellis laughs again. There’s nothing amusing about it. It’s the sound of confusion and denial, of being at a loss for how to react because the truth is simply not acceptable.

Whatever he sees in Gabe’s face makes him stop, the first real trickle of fear and panic bleeding into his energy, tainting it.

“That’s bullshit. That can’t be—” He shakes his head. “It’s not possible.”

“You believed me when I told you about myself,” Gabe reminds him.

Ellis frowns. “That’s different. You… I felt it myself.”

“You felt it with Cal too. How different he is.” Gabe suggests gently, not wanting to upset him further, but needing for the truth to sink in.

He knows he’s hit bullseye when the fear and panic grow stronger. He’s not surprised that a part of Ellis always knew, deep down, that something about Cal wasn’t right. But denial is a powerful tool.

“It’s the amnesia,” Ellis says. Everything about him screams desperation.

“Is it? All of it?”

Ellis is a rational man. He must’ve done his research when Cal woke up at the hospital with both his memory and personality wiped clean. He must’ve talked to doctors. He must’ve learned that in the history of amnesia, no one’s ever got such a drastic personality transplant.

Ellis’ features harden, his jaw locking. He looks angry, but Gabe can feel it’s just a facade, can feel how scared he is.

Ellis turns to Cal, voice eerily calm. “If you’re telling the truth, then where is my brother?”

Cal, to his credit, doesn’t even flinch. “I harvested his soul. He’s gone.”

The next moment is the scariest of all. Ellis’ walls rise sky-high, pushing Gabe out. Despite the turmoil of emotions he could feel coming from him just seconds ago, there is only a void and coldness.

“This is bullshit,” Ellis hisses, the chair making a high-pitched noise as it’s forcefully pushed back. He storms out of the café, Gabe ready to follow him, but it looks like Ellis just needs to get some air. He stays outside, pacing back and forth, hands pulling at his hair.

Gabe just wants to go over and hug him until the pain goes away.

“I told you he wouldn’t believe it,” Dawson says, dejected.