I was scared of what would happen after talking back to Matt but I also was glad that I had brought up the courage to do it. However, I still had Alex sobbing besides me. It was clear that he was in no state to tell me what was going on. He was shaking, crying and just generally a mess.

I remembered the pills Matt had given me. Weren’t they supposed to calm people down? Seeing as Alex was so completely out of everything it might be best to calm him down, I thought.

I filled a glass with water and got one of the pills out of the bottle. I held it out to him.
“Alex, take this. It will calm you down.”

“What is it?” he asked, glancing up cautiously through his wet lashes.

“It is anxiety medication,” I answered quietly, praying he would accept it. The boy had reached his breaking point and I couldn’t cope with having to see him in such a bad state. He was one of the human beings I cared about most in this world although I might not have shown it to him enough.

Luckily, he took it out of my hand and eyed the pinkish pill once more before gulping it down. I sighed in relief. It was now a waiting game. The water had calmed his crying a bit so I asked him what was going on. But he was not ready to give me an answer yet so I just had to accept it reluctantly.

Half an hour later, he was very sleepy. I had spent the time rocking him back and forth in my lap. I decided it was time to tuck him in, so I picked him up and carried him to his bunk. I carefully wrapped the already asleep boy in his blanket and left for the kitchen.

I met Rian there. He was doing the dishes. I got myself a glass of orange juice.

“Uh, do you know where Matt is?” I asked him.

“He’s out drinking and he’s very angry. I’m worried about what will happen when an angry, drunk Matt comes here… I mean he could… hurt you or Alex,” he said hesitantly.

“Oh,” I whispered, fear hitting me hard. What if Matt would come home and hurt Alex? I didn’t care about myself as long as Alex was going to be okay (a thing I needed to think about at a better time).

I knew it wasn’t the best decision; Matt would be even more infuriated when he would be back, but I decided to stay nn front of Alex’s bunk tonight. I told Rian and he just said, “Maybe it would be even better if you stayed inside his bunk. Keep the curtains closed.”

I considered it for a bit before nodding. Alex was in no state to deny me access and he probably really needed protection. So I slipped on an old Greenday t-shirt and climbed into his bunk.

3 hours later I was woken up from my doze by heavy footsteps and slurred obscenities. That was Matt.

I kept quiet, not making a sound. I could hear my heart beat really loudly. Matt came closer, he was next to the bunk. I could smell cheap alcohol through the curtain. He was my boyfriend, but at the moment, I was there for Alex. I could not do everyone’s problems at once.

Just as I was thinking about what to do next, he opened the curtain and breathed directly into my face.

Notes

Oooh cliffhanger!

-Laura