The lights flicked on in the lavish Los Angeles apartment as a figure walked in. The man was holding a bag of groceries, leaning his ear to his shoulder as he listened in on the conversation. Green eyes flicked around, trying to find a place to set his groceries down, trying to find anything to do to occupy himself during this call. It was a small phone conference with his managers, and they just have him on the call to interject with anything. This was the less glamorous side of being a famous Hollywood actor, but Raymond Chase wasn’t complaining- at least not right now. “…very nice to be working with Raymond Chase himself!” Raymond’s attention moved back to the phone at the sound of his name. “Pleasure’s all mine.” Was his response, just wanting to hang up and sleep. He had been talking with all sorts of studios about potential roles. He had just got done shooting a recent film, and rewarded himself by doing something “human.” 

While many celebrities get engulfed in the luxurious life, Raymond did try to treat himself to just doing something normal like get his own groceries or drive himself somewhere or even just take a weekend to camp or fish or something like that. Sometimes he wished that he was back in his hometown sitting on the lake with a beer just… relax. His mind started to wander back to Rhodes, which wasn’t too rare for the man. He often thought back on his youth and the days worrying about school and what he and his friends were going to get into. Jimmy would probably steal some beer from his dad’s bar, Austin would shake his head in disapproval while Leigh would laugh and peer pressure Austin while he and Val—

“Raymond, you there?” 

“Uh, yeah, sorry. It all sounds great! If you just want to send Ryan the details and we can look it over…” Suddenly he felt his phone vibrate against his cheek. Pulling it away, he looked to see a name that send chills down his spine. “hey, guys, I’m really sorry but I gotta go. It’s an emergency.” Before he could even get a response he hung up and answered the other line. “Hello?” Ray asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “Ray… buddy.” A familiar yet older voice filled his ear; Jimmy Hayes was on the other line, and he didn’t sound like himself. Normally the two would talk every now and then, but it was rare to not have it on a holiday or something. “How’re you doing, man?” Ray asked. There was a pause on the phone and then a sigh. “I… uh, not good. Ray… I don’t know how to tell you this but—Austin died.”


———————————

Raymond rubbed his eyes with one hand while the other was on the wheel of the rental car. It was late at night. He was driving down the old rural roads he knew all too well as a kid, but now it seemed to haunt him. Ever since he got the call, he tried to immediately fly out of LA and to the closest Airport to Rhodes. Unfortunately Atlanta was a few hours away. He had eaten, hadn’t slept, all he could think about was getting back home… He was angry, scared, confused, frustrated, but more than anything: guilty. He should have visited at least once. He should have called Austin more, be more present to his friends and family- god, he hadn’t even seen his parents in over ten years! He slammed his hand against the wheel, frustrated with himself. If he had just put his damn pride away… He sighed and looked on, thinking about the reasons why he left. He wanted to do more than just sit in Rhodes his whole life- or so he thought to himself. He would have been completely happy with doing that if he just had that one person, and suddenly, the realization came in.

He would have to see them all again. He was scared of what they would think of him, how he had just ran off without a word… and he was terrified of seeing Her again. Valarie Johnson. He smiled slightly at the thought of her and their last night he had, but then it turned to bittersweet resentment. It didn’t mean a damn to her… If it did, she would have called at least once- or maybe he should have. He didn’t know. He was exhausted, and it wasn’t long before he saw the welcome sign into his hometown.

He rolled the windows down, taking in the views of corn fields, woods, and small streams that littered the town. His mind flashed back to his younger days where he would drive his old truck, challenging the other kids to a race before the cops chased them off the road. He remembered sitting on that corner with his friends eating candy and planning their weekend adventures. God, he had forgotten how much he had missed this place… but did Rhodes miss him?