Page 33 of Solo Stan

Elias

Elias went inside the bus station while Dakarai waited outside, leaning against a lamppost in the parking lot. Dakarai’s phone illuminated his face as he checked his texts and voicemails.

Approaching the locker room, Elias placed his hand on the doorknob, almost certain that it would still be locked. However, to his surprise, when he pushed it, it opened, and a soft breeze invited him inside.

Unfolding his wallet as he located his locker, he dug around for the receipt and entered the code printed on it.

Inside the bright red locker, his bag awaited him.

It was just a messenger bag filled with a bunch of stuff he didn’t even need, except for his house key.

But then again, if he hadn’t brought this big stupid bag—and if he had been smart enough to keep his house key in his pocket—the entire night never would have happened.

It was the first time in a long while where he could go out without worrying about whether his sister was home alone because his mom was at work, stressing about his mother eating something good after a twelve-hour shift, or being concerned about waking up early in the morning because he was always the one who had to get himself and William out of bed.

Yet, the freedom came with a sinking, guilty feeling, as if he was somehow leaving everyone behind.

He had faulted William so much for doing the same thing, but there he was in Raleigh with a boy he liked at four in the morning.

He hadn’t slept a wink, there was barely any food in his fridge, he had work in only a few hours, and his bed wasn’t even completely set up.

He threw the bag over his shoulder and rejoined Dakarai outside.

“Everything good?” Elias asked Dakarai as he approached, his house key dangling from his finger.

“Do we have to go back?” Dakarai asked as he picked at his hair. He had already loosened the braid that framed his face so much that it was unraveling. “My phone just started working again, and I have a million missed calls from my parents.”

“Take my phone, then,” Elias said, handing it to Dakarai. “Not a single person has checked up on me.”

Dakarai abruptly got up, his and Elias’s phones still in his grasp. Elias scrambled to follow him out into the parking lot. Broken glass and pebbles crunched under his feet as he ran to Dakarai, who had his arm cocked back, ready to launch both their phones into the trees.

“Hold up!” Elias shouted, grabbing Dakarai’s arm just in time. He wrestled his phone from Dakarai’s grasp and held it to his chest. His lungs were raw from the sprint. “You toss your own damn VCR. My phone’s the one with the bus tickets.”

Dakarai choked out a laugh. “Don’t make me smile when I’m trying to be sad.”

“When else would I make you smile?” Elias gently led Dakarai back to the bench. He slid himself up onto the armrest and motioned for Dakarai to come closer. Dakarai scooted over and rested his chin on Elias’s leg. “What are you really mad at?”

Elias started on Dakarai’s braid, unbraiding it and detangling with his fingers as best he could without the luxury of a comb or decent light.

“I think I’m glad Bobby’s gone,” he admitted.

Elias paused for a moment but then kept going. Separating the strands into three sections, he began redoing the braid.

Dakarai hugged on to Elias’s leg as he continued, “If we’d gone to Berkeley together and been roommates, we would have only hung out with each other, and I would have never met you or anyone like you, for that matter.”

Elias tied off the braid and pulled the rest of them back, securing them in a rubber band as they had been before. He took Dakarai’s face in his hands. Dakarai tried to shrug him away, but there was nowhere for him to go. “There’s no one like me.”

Dakarai pushed his leg away and laughed. “Man, you know what I meant.”

Returning the smile, Elias led Dakarai to the approaching bus. Hooking his finger into Dakarai’s back pocket, he playfully pulled him backward as he went to board. “Me first,” he joked, going ahead.

A chill ran up Elias’s back and neck when Dakarai drew him in by the waist while the driver scanned his phone.

His breathing became shallow, and he nervously picked at his polish-less nails as Dakarai wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.

They waddled together, still connected, down the aisle of the bus and chose a spot toward the back.

Elias settled in first, immediately lifting the armrest between them. Dakarai leaned his cheek against Elias’s hair as they waited for everyone else to take their seats.