Bab 125: Chapter 122
" The jerk planted drugs in my locker and then tipped the principal off. I had already gotten suspended like three times....so he expelled me. "
That wasn't surprising. Actually, him and I had gotten suspended together a lot. At first it had been because we fought against each other, then somewhere along the way things changed and we ended up on the same side. And we mostly also ended up in the same school afterwards. His doing.
" And? That can't be it. "
" I was angry.... furious. You know how I get when I'm like that, I really just wanted to teach the guy a lesson.."
" What did you do Chris? "
His hand was shaking and I noticed. He drank more of the coffee, then he finally looked up at me and I could see that his green eyes looked even more tired.
" We got into a fight outside a club I followed him to. We argued after I confronted him and he started calling me names. Homophobic assholes can be real trash! And I wasn't going to let him get away with calling me a ' cock sucking fag'...so I picked up this brick and kind of smashed it on his head a few times. "
I was too stunned to speak. That was a limit I had never expected him to get to. I mean, I had always known he could get there if he wanted, I had just never believed he'd actually let himself lose his cool like that. And I finally understood why he had come all the way to Boulder in search of me. It was because he knew no one else would understand him the way I did. Others definitely thought he was an unhinged psycho, but I knew how it felt to not be in control of how you felt.
" Please tell me you didn't kill him. "
He shrugged.
" I'm not sure. But with my kind of record... Austin the cops were after me! I was scared and I didn't know what to do or where to go. My brothers didn't wanna see me either, Jack even threatened to turn me in himself, " he sounded shaken. So I walked over to the bed and sat next to him, placing my hand on his back and trying to get him to relax. It was more serious than I would have suspected.
Chris lived with his four siblings, his two older brothers and one younger one. He had never talked about his parents and the one time I had dared to ask, he had shrugged the question off.
" Don't think about it too much, " I advised him. I wasn't sure whether I'd even be able to help him out, I couldn't think of anything, but I felt as if it was my duty to do anything I could to help him out. I wasn't saying what he had done was right, but if you thought about it from my perspective, the guy had deserved it. I just hoped he was unconscious in a hospital somewhere and not lying in a casket. There was no way I was going to be an accomplice to murder. I had a racing career to think of.
" We have to find out whether Phil is okay, "
He nodded and rubbed his hands together as if seeking heat. I knew he was actually just trying to stop them from trembling.
" I didn't wanna actually hurt him...I mean, I did, but not that badly. I just got pissed off and the brick was the first thing I saw and I just ended up-"
" You don't have to explain it to me, you know that I get you. "
" I'm gonna go to jail, aren't I? They'll lock me up in there. Phil's brother-in-law is a goddamned judge!"
" I told you to quit thinking about it. You won't go to jail. "
I was just trying to get him to calm down, there were chances he could actually get locked up if the case was serious, but his devastation was bringing out that protective part of me that used to exist at a certain point when it came to him. He was tough, I couldn't deny that, but for some reason, whenever he was with me he turned into this vulnerable person and I felt like it was my responsibility to ensure he was okay at all times.
" Just finish your food and get some rest, you clearly need it. " I saw some bruises peeking from beneath his zip up and I narrowed my gaze in inspection, then I reached out and casually pushed it to the side.
" Those from the fight?"
" Yeah, it's no big deal though. "
" Dude, those are literally turning dark! Why didn't you say anything?"
I could have just brought him some ice. I was sure he has more of them but just didn't want to mention it.
" Eat, I'll go get you those clothes so you can shower. But sleep before I get back, "
" I don't think I can, "
" Just try. "
He clearly hadn't gotten any rest for a while. It must have been the stress of being on the run. I casually tapped his thigh and went to stand, but then he held my arm and kept me in place before he moved closer.
He told me how thankful he was for all my help, and I assured him it was nothing.
" I had really missed you. You completely cut me off after you guys moved. "
True, I had. But I had done it for his own good and deep down he knew it. It was the bitter and sad truth but it had also been for his own benefit. I suddenly felt his hand on my crotch and the other in my hair. My eyes widened and I looked down before looking up at him again.
" I like really missed you!" He added and I shot up immediately. The first thing that came to mind was Kyle, and how wrong it felt to have anyone else touch me so freely.
" Don't get confused Chris, I'm just helping you out. "
There was no way we were ever going down that road again. It was such a 'been there done that sort of thing. And the wisest choice I had made was to put an end to whatever we had had going on between us. But I feared that despite how long it had been, he was still hang up on the past.
" I just want you to know that if there's anything I can do to thank you--"
" You mean you want me to fuck you in exchange for my help, "
" You don't have to think of it like that. But I wouldn't mind whatever you call it. "
As I had mentioned, him and I were alike in so many ways. Neither of us saw the need to beat around the bush, if we wanted to really say something we just went ahead and said it. Same to our actions. And at first, it had been good. We were teenagers, he had chosen to come out to me first which had meant he had cared more about me knowing than anyone else. Plus we used to spend most of our time together, wrecking havoc and all....and when he had suggested a no strings attached relationship, I had accepted the proposal. It was supposed to have been fun and casual, but I had sensed something was off when he had bought us these matching necklaces. I had taken the gift because he had cared so much, but after that I grew weary and started to pay closer attention. All it had taken was a few hours of being alone with him to realize that we had never been on the same page in terms of how we felt. And there was no way I was going to keep having fun and carefree sex with someone who wanted much more.
But over the course of our relationship I had grown fond of him, he was okay I suppose. Fun to be with. The perfect type of bad influence I had needed in my life. Him and I had done some pretty wild things together. More than half of them were illegal but that's what had made them all the more fun. They had indeed been good times, it's just that him falling for me had made me grow cautious.
He hadn't denied it when I asked. It hadn't been a confrontation, not in the slightest, I had just casually brought it up and he hadn't been scared to admit that he liked me in the way I didn't want him to.
So I had broken it off, and we had gone back to being friends with no benefits. But naturally, things hadn't been the same as before. And I realized that the more time I kept spending with him the more I was hurting him. I knew that type of hurt and I didn't want him to experience it, which was I began to keep my distance. But a month afterwards, we moved and I didn't have to avoid him anymore.
" Don't get your hopes up Chris, don't raise them in the slightest. "
" Harsh,"
He didn't sound hurt or anything, but I felt his confusion through that one word.
" You know, you were the first person that came to mind when I wondered who I'd turn to for help. "
" And I'm glad you came here instead of doing anything else to harm yourself. "
" You still like me, right Austin? Not romantically, but you still care about me, right?"
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair,then I took a step back and after thinking things through quickly, I nodded. It's what he needed to hear.
" Of course I do. I wouldn't be going out of my way to help you if I didn't. "
That constant need for reassurance was an aspect of him I had learnt to get used to. I found it weird at first but I grew used to it with time. Some people just needed that extra verbal assurance. I wasn't going to deny it to him. He smiled and nodded, then I watched as he took the food I had bought and began eating it with more interest than before.
I stayed there a few more minutes, and just when I was about to tell Chris I was leaving, my phone rang.
It was Kyle. And for the first time I contemplated whether to answer the phone instead of quickly picking up like usual. But since it was him and I was burning to hear his voice, I picked it up.
" What's up?" I asked, facing away from Chris because it gave me a false sense of privacy. And the first thing Kyle asked was...
" Are you out of your fucking mind?!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone