Lifelike - Peter Robinson (Chapter 1)
Barrie Corwin needs a break.
Between the stifling corporate job and his recent break-up with his boyfriend, the Hare thought the quaint coastal town of Little Point would be the perfect cure to his woes. Little did he know he'd get more than a break.
Part of my anthology collection (Did you see the T.V glow?) focussing on gay, neurodivergent, or slice-of-life furry originals. Each story is based on each song in a self-curated playlist and may consist of several chapters or just one.
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gHBMoTCFCghrD2zuB2JCn?si=03b70f5dd8e645ba
The drive to Little Point Resort took much longer than Barrie Corwin expected.
The Hare absentmindedly tapped on the steering wheel with a lazy paw. The right paw he leaned on, aimlessly staring outside the window whenever he came to a stop.
There was only so much a bored city Hare could do to occupy himself on this drive to his little impromptu trip. Barrie cursed the damn car mechanic that quoted such a large sum for repairs. That convinced him to skimp on the radio and just listen to burned CDs instead.
If he had to listen to his ex-boyfriend’s mixtape filled with nothing but Radiohead one more time, he’d lose it. He could hear Rob’s scrappy voice in his right ear now.
“You don’t get it. This song speaks to me,” The Wolf would say. Then the casual speciesism would get a round in the sparring ring of whose life was worse off. Offhanded generalizations were just one of many things Barrie was tired of when he decided to end the relationship. “You’d panic if you’re alone. Rabbits caught in the headlights, am I right?”
Rob would spend the next 10 minutes nudging Barrie to laugh with him. Then, he’d act hurt and go on and on and on about how sensitive the Hare was.
Just thinking about it made the Hare roll his eyes. He did not miss spending the rest of the night babying Rob’s fragile ego.
Barrie groaned as the fourth version of Creep lamented at him from the car speakers. It was one thing to have several albums lined up back-to-back in the shittiest sound quality he could manage. But to have the Original Album Recording, the acoustic rendition, the live version and the radio edit play one after another?
“Ugh, Rob…,” The Hare groaned, talking to himself. He sighed and turned off the music player.
Barrie looked at his phone, the graphic of a black car driving along a long stretch of road. The GPS signal was wonky in the middle of nowhere. He lost his connection to the internet a few miles back.
The Hare knew he was going to be miserable. While the whole reason this road trip was happening was to get away from Rob, the city and the noise that penetrated the walls of his apartment with its cacophony of car honks and people shouting. Sure. But it was also to prove a point.
The point was that he could certainly spend a day or two alone.
Why did he have to choose a Coastal Town with a Seaside Resort on the first page of Google?
It had good reviews.
5 stars.
A hunky-looking Stag had called it ‘life-changing’.
God, did he think a night at some tourist trap was going to fix him? Just sweep everything he hated about himself under the rug?
He passed by a furniture store on the way to the town. Maybe they sold a quaint, spacious closet for him to climb back in. He’d stay there this time.
“Turn left.” His phone barked at him.
Panicking, Barrie quickly grabbed the steering wheel and veered left. He swore his heart practically jumped into his throat as the car slightly wobbled.
Right.
Barrie let out the breath of air he had been holding in.
This was another thing Rob would always make fun of him for.
One: overthinking.
Two: not paying attention.
The Hare paid attention for the rest of the two hours it took him to reach the resort.