"There's a word I found recently. Evanescence. It made me think of you. It made me think of us. Were we just a dream, Sebastian?"
TW : Key themes of suicide and trauma.
WARNING: This is Book Two. Please read "affluenza" first to avoid any spoilers...
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TW// Mentions of suicide
"MOM, PLEASE," I whine, tugging at her arm as she stares at the wall before her. "Please, just get up. Please!"
Her brown eyes stay fixated on the chipped paint in the wall and a heavy sob wracks my body. "Please, Mommy, wake up! I need you!"
I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand and press my fingertips against the hollowness in my stomach. I was hungry. I was afraid. And she didn't care.
I let go of my mother's arm and trek deeper into the darkness of the apartment—she must've forgotten to pay the light bill again. My feet pad against the floor silently until I reach the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, I don't see the scared six-year-old boy I'd been expecting. Instead, I see myself at the age of thirteen, complete with my terrible haircut and spots of acne on my face.
There's a loud crash and I jump, turning around to the noise. Suddenly, I'm in an empty hallway surrounded by lockers. Only, it's not empty. There are three boys in front of me. One of them was a boy named Nolan Walker.
"Just admit it," the first boy sneers. "You're gay."
I clench my fists against my side. "I'm not."
"Look at him!" the second boy laughs. "He's going to cry! Like a little girl!"
The third boy, Nolan, laughs even louder. "Poor, little Braylen. Should we call your mommy? Oh, wait. You don't have one."
"Shut up!" I whisper, tears streaming down my eyes. "Just shut up, please."
I shut my eyes tightly, taking deep breaths. "Braylen," a voice murmurs. "Braylen, it's just me."
I wasn't in the school's hallway anymore, but the boy's bathroom instead. I was locked in the furthest bathroom stall, the one I always hid in when I wanted time to be alone. Someone clearly didn't get that memo. "Go away," I mumble.
"If you don't come out right now I'm going to tell Mrs. Reilly that you fake your stomachaches to get out of PE. And that you don't actually have IBS," he says.
I wipe my tears and push open the door, staring up at Sebastian Grey. He'd always been taller than me. I'd always hated that. "You're evil."
"Why are you hiding out here? Your aunt came to pick you up after school, she couldn't find you anywhere," Sebastian says.
I roll my eyes. "Why do you care?"
"I care because she seems to think we're friends or something," Sebastian complains. "She's the one that asked me to find you. Now, why were you crying?"
