"Adriel? You okay?"
His throat tightened instantly, fresh tears burning behind his eyes. He pressed his face into the pillow and willed himself to be still, to disappear into the mattress and never come out.
The door opened anyway.
Jenna stepped inside and stopped short when she saw him.
He must have looked terrible. He knew he must have; could feel it in the way his skin felt tight and raw, in the ache behind his eyes, in the heavy drag of his limbs. He was naked, wrapped into his old blanket. His hair was a tangled mess, still damp from theshower he'd taken who knew how many hours ago. His eyes were red and swollen, evidence of tears he couldn't hide.
Jenna didn't say anything right away.
She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under her weight, pulling him slightly toward her. Her hand came to rest on his shoulder, warm and solid through the blanket.
"Hey," she said quietly.
That was all it took.
Adriel broke. He turned toward her, the sound that came out of him somewhere between a sob and a gasp. The words tumbled out before he could stop them, before he could think, before he could try to make himself sound less pathetic than he felt.
"I saw him. Zach. He was there. He was with Landen. They were… they were standing together, laughing, and he saw me and he…"
His voice cracked. He kept going anyway.
"They know each other. They have to know each other. And I kept thinking… what if this was the whole thing? What if Landen only… what if they planned it? What if I was just a… a joke to them? Something to laugh about?"
The words dissolved into sobs before he could finish them.
"I'm so stupid," he gasped. "I should have known. I always know. This always happens. Why do I keep letting this happen?"
Jenna pulled him into her arms without hesitation. He went willingly, collapsing against her, pressing his face into her shoulder. She was warm and solid and she smelled like home.Her arms wrapped around him tight, holding him together as he fell apart.
She murmured nonsense sounds; soft and steady. Her hand rubbed slow circles into his back, grounding him, reminding him he was still here, still real, still breathing.
When he finally quieted enough to breathe, she pulled back just far enough to look at his face. Her eyes were wet too, he noticed dimly.
"Hey," she said again, firmer this time. "Slow down. Start from the beginning."
Adriel wiped at his face with the heel of his hand. It came away wet. He took a shaky breath, and started over.
When he was done, when the words finally ran out, Jenna exhaled slowly.
"Oh, Adriel," she said. She pulled him back into her arms and held him tight. Her hand found the back of his head, cradling him against her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
He clung to her like a lifeline.
The anger was still there, churning beneath the surface. But Jenna's presence dulled the edges just enough that he could breathe again. Just enough that the weight in his chest felt slightly less crushing.
He didn't know what this meant yet. Didn't know what came next. Didn't know if he would ever talk to Landen again, if he would ever get answers, if he would ever stop feeling like his chest had been hollowed out.
He only knew that whatever he'd thought he had was gone.
And the hurt felt bottomless.
∞∞∞
Landen