The door opened, Joshua peered out with bleary, sleep heavy eyes, into the hall at his best friend, a blanket wrapped around his reed-thin body. His hair was long, curly and un-brushed. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and obviously hadn’t showered either. “Oh geese Josh! It’s true then?” Joshua stood back and let his friend of the past five years, into his apartment.
Joshua slumped down on his sofa, his legs curled up under him. “Josh for god’s sake say something.”
“He’s gone Lance.”
The green eyed blond slumped down next to his distraught friend. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry.” Joshua buried his face in the younger mans chest and wept bitterly.
Lance held Joshua, letting the older man cry his heart out. When his sobs had reduced to soft hiccups, Lance kissed his head, what happened darlin’?”
“When I got back he’d gone. Emptied his closet and emptied my back account. He’s not only left me, he’s left me destitute. I don’t even have the rent for this month.” Joshua began to cry again. “Aren’t you going to say I told you so?”
Lance sighed. “No, I’m not.”
“You told me not to trust him. You said he was a con man.”
“I wish to god I’d been wrong Josh.”
“I’ve been such a fool; he made an idiot of me, a mockery of my feelings.”
Lance hugged him tightly, wiping the constant stream of tears that fell from Joshua’s pale blue eyes. “It’s not you that’s the idiot honey. You have a loving, trusting nature. Nathaniel, took you in, he took everyone in.”
“He didn’t fool you.” Joshua looked up at his friend his huge eyes rimmed red from days of weeping. “What am I going to do Lance? I’m going to loose my home. He maxed out my credit card. He took everything Lance. Everything.”
“Oh Josh!” Lance’s heart went out to his best friend. Inwardly he seethed; Nathaniel had robbed Joshua blind and crushed his love under his boot heel.
“I’ll have to sell my jeep. I’ve got no choice, and my computer. It still won’t come close to what I owe.”
“How much Josh?”
“$25,000”
Lance jumped off the couch and started to pace tearing at his hair. “Twenty five thousand!”
Joshua started to cry again harder this time. “He’s ruined me.”