Thalassophile (Billy Hargrove)

I freaking care for you so much

Chapter 11
Unedited

Billy quickly let go of me and made his way towards the kitchen.

"What happened tonight?" I asked, walking up behind him. He shrugged, picking up the chair and sitting down.

I went over to the skin and wet up a washcloth before handing it to Billy.

"For the lip," I said, walking back to the skin and leaning against it.

Billy dabbed his bloody lip and winced in pain. Watching him struggle was like seeing a child trying to understand how math works.

"Just give me the towel," I said, and he put his hand out, handing it to me.

I rolled my eyes before I began to wipe the blood off his lip softly.

Billy cleared his throat and started to talk
"I'm going to go away for a few days." I looked up to meet his eyes before looking back to his mouth.

When the blood was mostly gone, I stood up and walked back to the skin in an attempt to wash out the rest of his cuts.

"Aren't you going to ask why?" He asked, his voice low and almost as if he wanted me to ask him.

"Why?" I asked without turning around. The chair squeaked against the floor, letting me know he had stood up from his seat.

I closed the tap and held my breath as I turned around to meet his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me why you came in here today the way you did?" I raised a brow, and he clearly seemed irritated with my question.

"Why do you care?" I rolled my eyes almost out of my head before nearly giving up on the question entirely.

"God, all I've been trying to do is care about you because it seems that no one else does, and I don't know why I do it or why I feel obligated to do so, but-" I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"You know what? I actually do know why I care; getting to know you in the past few weeks has been amazing. So, yes, I do care because you're my friend."

I said nearly.

I couldn't read his expression; it was blank.

"I don't need you to be my friend Nadir, I never asked you." I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at him in utter disbelief.

"You didn't have to; action speaks louder than words."

He rubbed his hands across his face and sniffled, looking anywhere but me.

"My-" he cleared his throat before looking back at me.

"My uh da- Neil he um he hit me again tonight about where max was and why I was going on a date like a normal high schooler rather than sitting home and babysitting my teenage stepsister."

I unfolded my arms; Billy hadn't had an abusive episode with his dad in the past few weeks since we've been hanging out. He had done his best to avoid his father, but tonight, he couldn't escape.

"I didn't mean to get so angry, but I felt so powerless and helpless I needed to know I could still be strong even if that meant beating up on little kids." he chuckled before whipping the tear off his cheek.

"Look, Kai, you are a great friend, but if you feel obligated, then you don't have to be."

I felt like the biggest jerk in the world for what I said, and I didn't feel obligated to care for him; I just did because I wanted to; everything just came out wrong.

"And I know people don't care for me, and I'm not exactly the nicest guy around town. Girls see me as a fun Saturday night hook up, and the older women in this town see me as a sex toy for when their lazy husbands can't please them." he sniffled before quickly wiping the tear that ran down his cheek.

"I'm an ass of an older brother to max a man child to Susan and a punching bag for Neil." my heart shattered at his last words. I nearly run across the kitchen to hug him to hold him and support his body as he started to break down in my arms.

"You are so much more than anything you just said, Billy, and you're not a hookup, your not a punching bag or a sex toy, you a bit of an ass from time to time." I let out an airy laugh before both our bodies slowly fell to the ground, and he hugged me by my waist, burying his head in my chest.

"But your so much more; I picked his face up that went red in an attempt to hold his tears back. I placed both my hands on his cheeks, making him meet my eyes.

"You are a survivor; you are a strong, beautiful young boy Billy Hargrove and you have so much to offer to this world than what you make yourself out to be."

"Those things I said just a few minutes ago came out of anger, but Billy-" I took a deep breath to collect myself, "I freaking care for you so much, your one of my best friends regardless of your moody ways, I think you a fantastic guy you just need to give yourself a chance."

"Why do you still want to be my friend? I beat up on kids, and I just almost killed your crush." I rolled my eyes playfully at billy.

"Hey, Steve held his ground." now it was Billys turn to roll his eyes. "You can do so much better than Harrington." he said, letting out a deep breath before dropping his head back in my chest and hugging my waist."