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Chapter Eight opens with distraction—and follows it through.
Still in Charleston, Rhys reaches for what has always been reliable: anonymity. A Grindr conversation unfolds slowly, unexpectedly different from his usual transactional encounters. Words come first. Precision. Curiosity. The kind of connection that sneaks up on him before he realizes he’s already invested. Against his better judgment, he goes.
The encounter itself is explicit, physical, and unguarded. It delivers exactly what it promises—release, sensation, the temporary quieting of everything he doesn’t want to think about. And yet, even in the middle of it, Rhys becomes aware of what’s missing. The body is present. The history isn’t.
Later, he returns to the public face of the weekend—reunion events, conversations with classmates, shared memories smoothed over by time. He participates. He performs. He lets himself be seen in all the ways that are safe. But the private truth lingers underneath: the things he reaches for when he’s trying not to feel, and the things that refuse to stay buried.
Chapter Eight is about substitution—what we use to fill the gaps, and how even the most effective distractions leave a shape behind.
🎧 Content note: Explicit sexual content; adult themes.
