"They all love you, dude. They think you're adorable," he promised down the phone, smiling to himself now he assumed that everything was fine between them. In his eyes, he could spend the week enjoying himself, making sure to update his boyfriend a few times a day, and then he could return home and get on with their life together.
He didn't anticipate anything going pear-shaped to the degree it did, however. Through a mixture of dehydration, tiredness and the above average heat, Nyle fainted during the hiking trip. It was a brief moment, lasting mere seconds, but the friends he was with decided it was best to take him to the hospital just to get him checked out, which ended up causing more problems than Nyle could have envisioned. Once his records were pulled up by doctors, they immediately questioned him on the poisoning incident just a week or two before his travel to Philadelphia, which meant he had to lie on his feet and pretend (once again) that he had no idea how rat poison had even got into his system.
The friends that were with him were less easily fooled. They knew all about Leo, with one or two have spoken to him on the phone or been present during a video call. The only person they had heard Nyle mention was Leo, so it took all of five seconds before they were convinced he was the culprit. They didn't understand why Nyle was still with him, why he was preparing to go back to him or why he was even protecting him, but they were all under the impression that Nyle was in danger if they let him return... so, quite simply, they refused to let him. Once informing his family, Nyle had his passport taken while his family tried to talk sense into him. The police would have been called if Nyle hadn't reacted so vehemently against it as he continued to protest his boyfriend's innocence.
Even though Nyle's friends could call Leo and get answers that way, meeting with him face-to-face seemed the best option. That way, they could read his facial expressions and see if he was behind it, or if they had made a grave misunderstanding. In the end, Lewis, one of Nyle's closest friends, made the journey to the small town, which was a testament to how much he cared for his friend.
Once there, he couldn't really understand what Nyle saw in the place. It was derelict, quiet and secluded; a far cry away from the bustling city and buzzing social life that Nyle seemed to enjoy. Nevertheless, with only a backpack of essentials on his back, Lewis headed to the address he had scribbled on his hand and, with a brief moment to collect himself, knocked loudly on the door. "Leo? It's Lewis-- Nyle's mate. You need to open up, okay?"
