With a grin that split his expression in two, Henry led Aden deep into the densely forested park; an arrow through the narrow gaps of the looming green giants. Aden followed a step behind at his own pace. His mind turned over the last few days and he wondered what rambles he might have after the first few puffs.

The crazy part? There wasn’t much to ramble about. Just a confusing nothingness that made Aden’s stomach hollow and achy.

“No need to be lookin’ like that,” Henry chided as he skipped down a shallow embankment and settled on a large, smooth rock. He flicked the cylindrical, thick joint in between his fingers and lifted a lighter from his pocket. “Lassie Mary Jane will make it all go away.”

Aden couldn’t suppress a chuckle as he dropped down beside his friend just as Henry let out a steady stream of thick smoke. When Aden reached for it, Henry passed it without hesitation, patiently waiting as Aden mirrored his movements.

Silence cast a soothing shadow over the small clearing. The sharp, distinctive smell of cannabis mingled with the fresher scents of pine and the bubbling water a short ways off. All of it drizzled with the soft note of citrus and lilac from Henry’s shampoo Aden had borrowed. A comfortable quiet.

Aden mindlessly rolled the joint between his fingers before passing it. Must have been a good strain, though, as he felt the immediate effects soothing his nerves and loosening his constricted heart. Halfway through Henry’s second hit, the rambles he thought nonexistent began.

“They told me 24 hours,” he started, reaching for the joint and taking his turn, “up to 48. He-it wasn’t something he wanted me around for so he asked for space.”

“Mm.”

“I thought it was mostly because he had a lot to think about, you know? Like, all of this was so fucking sudden even I wasn’t sure what to do. Honestly, if it wasn’t for his lawyer—or his friend, I think? Doesn’t matter. If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have even offered. I’m-I don’t think I could have been that bold.”

“Debatable,” Henry muffled around the smoke filtering through his lips.

“Whatever,” Aden waved the remark away, “my point is, I thought he wanted time. And then he just…shows up that night.”

“Aye. You’ve said as much already, about how amicable he’d been.”

Aden troubled his lip and Henry passed him the joint. Despite the burn, this hit was longer, and he let out a cough that made his lungs scream in protest.

“Dude, he hasn’t said a damn thing to me since that night,” Aden finally said after recovering from his fit. “I’ve barely even seen him. So, what does any of that mean?”

“Have you asked him?”

Aden stared at his friend as though the question baffled him. “Uh. No. How would I ask him if I barely see him?”

“Barely seeing is still seeing. Maybe stop being a coward and nab him one of these days. Ask ‘im what he thinks about all of this, what his intentions are.”

“And what if he’s still angry?”

“‘Bout?”

Aden reached for one last hit. He made sure this one was shorter than his last. “About everything. About how I literally turned my back on him when he was taken. How I pushed him away at his most vulnerable. How I stopped looking—even if I only convinced myself that I’d done it in the first place.”

“You were a wee child,” Henry argued with a frown as he stubbed out the filter into his travel ashtray and folded it up to dispose of in a more appropriate way later on. “And, if I’m being frank, ‘e shouldn’t be blamin’ you for any of that.”

“You don’t get it.”

“Then explain.”

Aden lowered his head in shame. “Henry, I purposefully stopped looking for him.” He paused and took a deep breath. “We made eye contact once. Shortly after I got to Blue Fields. It was at the Evergreen Station. There were people fucking everywhere, but the second my train pulled up and he walked through those fucking doors, I saw him. And he…he saw me, too. We locked eyes, Henry.”

He let out a shuddering breath and Henry held up another with an unspoken offer. Aden nodded, and Henry passed him the lighter so Aden could light up this time.

After his lengthy draw and another—though far less vicious—set of coughs, Aden continued, “But it was the entrance ceremony. My train was about to leave and I had stairs to climb to get to it. There wasn’t time, but I figured, you know. Fuck, he lives here! I could find him again. So, I left. I fucking left, Henry, and he got to watch me disappear. He got to watch me turn my fucking back on him again.”

Henry seemed to turn Aden’s words over as he took a draw. Sometimes, a wizened, almost ancient expression replaced a far more carefree one, and now was one of those times.

“Why do you insist on pinnin’ the blame on yourself when you’re not the one to blame?” he asked, more curious than scolding.

Aden snorted. “Because I’m fucking guilty of the crime.” He took another hit.

“How?” When Aden only replied with a blank stare, Henry continued, “If a close friend of yours—me, for example—told you that there was an important social occasion that they needed you for, right? And they said it was going to be on the day of an important meeting you knew of before your friend asked you to do their thing, would you be a shite friend for choosing your livelihood over them?”

Aden shrugged. “Depends on who you-cough-ask, I guess.”

“Well, I’m the one answering—give me that—and I’m saying no. Maybe there’s an angle where guilt could be assigned to you, but none of them should. You aren’t at fault for this—for anything that boy went through. And I won’t hear you say that you are.”

Aden could understand where his friend was coming from; his heart wouldn’t hear it. He nodded anyway, knowing nothing he said would convince Henry otherwise. But the knowing look Henry attempted to hide behind the smoke assured Aden that the Irishman didn’t believe him.

“Fine,” Henry conceded and he passed to Aden. “I know none of this will be a deterrent for you in the end, so what’s got you all bothered?”

“The radio silence, man,” Aden replied around the smoke that was making him so honest. “Like, you’re kinda acting as though I don’t want to communicate with him. But, how'm I s'posed to do that when he doesn’t want to talk to me? When he doesn’t want to see me?”

“You’re gonna be leaving your car tonight,” Henry commented after Aden’s sluggish explanation. “I’ll grab us a ride.” He clipped the rest of the roll and stood to his feet as he made the call.

Aden didn’t bother objecting to Henry’s lack of answers to his questions; he knew Henry tended to drop important conversations if he believed himself to incoherent to continue them properly. Instead, he waited for Henry to secure their ride before being helped to his feet and following Henry back the way they came.

“Thanks, Henry,” Aden said after some time. “I…I think I really…really needed that.”

Henry looked over his shoulders, a smile brightening the crisp blue of his eyes. “Course. I don’t want my one friend moping every second he’s with me. Don’t got the patience for that.”

Aden scoffed. “You don’t give yourself nearly 'nough credit. I swear, the amount of times you—”

“You’ve gotta be shittin’ me,” Henry interrupted with a low growl to his voice. He slowly turned toward Aden and said carefully, “Ignore him. Our ride should be here any minute.”

Aden’s high started to dissipate with sudden alarm. “What are you-Henry, wait—”

Oh. That’s what he meant—ignore him him.

“Yo Henry! What’s up?” Kyle’s eyes zeroed in on Aden as though he’d only just realized his presence. “And Aden’s with you, too!”

Aden’s high dampened further as Kyle took swift, long strides toward them. Some may unknowingly believe his rhythm to be one of confidence, but scrape just under the surface of Kyle’s personality and his bold arrogance would be unnoticeable.

“He’s not here to chit-chat with the likes of you,” Henry seethed.

Kyle rolled his dark eyes, focusing once more on Aden. “Still letting him make decisions for you, eh? It’s not a good look on you, friendo.”

“Is it really that impossible for you to know when to speak and when to shut up? Don’t-don’t make a scene. I don’t want anything to do with you,” Aden said, desperately attempting to loosen his clenched jaw.

Henry moved to stand in front of Aden, a protective hand risen. “You heard the lad, Kyle. Beat it.”

Kyle spread his arms in a show of innocence. The predatory gleam of his eyes gave away his facade. “Relax! Relax. I just wanna talk.”

“Go,” Henry insisted with a sharp edge to his voice.

Kyle looked at Aden, perhaps to inspire leniency.

“Leave,” Aden managed to say with the same grit that came so naturally to Henry. “I have nothing to say to you.”

Kyle’s smirk faltered for the briefest moment before he fixed it back into place. “We don’t have to talk now. Just-come ‘round mine sometime and we can—”

“Any more of this and there’ll be less of it, you miserable little pox,” Henry seethed, his entire body tensed.

The smirk fully dissipated, falling to a hardened scowl. Kyle didn’t say anything else, merely pivoting and striding away to whatever hole he crawled out of. Aden watched on with relief flooding his veins. Henry’s relief came only once Kyle had entirely disappeared from sight.

“That was some shit,” Henry scoffed, his shoulders finally slumping. He lead Aden away from the forest line and toward a set of benches while he called for a ride. “S'pose I could have driven,” he said after checking the ETA for their ride.

“Kyle kinda killed the high,” Aden agreed with an aggravated huff. “Still probably feel better than I would have, though.”

“Aye…” Henry looked back at his friend. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”

Aden had never had a reason to lie to Henry and he still didn’t really see any point in doing so. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

Gentle silence slowly crept in around them as dusk turned to night. Amber headlights signaled their ride and, still, the duo remained quiet. Aden didn’t really know what to say. He thought he already said everything that needed to be said, so why say anymore? Maybe it should have felt awkward, but it didn’t. Henry’s presence didn’t often allow for it, for the discomfort.

Almost as though reading Aden’s mind, Henry cracked the windows so Aden could listen to the rustling of the fall leaves and whistling wind. It was no surprise, Henry always somehow knew what was best.

By the time Aden’s apartment came into view, his high had significantly dampened, most of his agitations fleeing with it. He felt his mind floating in a sea of calm waves, lapping warmly at the blissful blaze that encompassed him. Maybe it was just the phoenix, but Aden didn’t really care. It felt good.

“I know you answered this already,” Henry said, stopping Aden before he shut the car door to ascend his apartment stairs, “but are you going to be alright? Tonight, I mean?”

Aden still couldn’t confidently said that he would be. “I’ll try,” he replied. “Thanks. For this evening. It…it’ll help, I think. Goodnight, Henry.”

“Mmm,” Henry hummed. “G'night, lad. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Aden smiled and shut the door, giving one last wave before turning toward his building with a tender fondness blooming in his chest. No matter what was going on around him, Aden knew there would always be someone consistently—persistently—by his side.

In Earthly Delight