Bleed, Patch, And Keep Moving - An Apex Legends Story

Chapter 107 - Stuck In A Loop

"C... Ch... Che... Che..." Octavio's staggered voice sounded stifled and muffled; like she was hearing him from beneath a blanket of water. Ajay pushed the heavy weight of sleep from her body as she forced her eyes open. She felt something warm drip down onto her face followed by a soft breeze. "Che..." Octavio's voice was weak and still staggered but it wasn't muffled anymore. The crack of lightning nearby lit her room for a few seconds and as it did Ajay took in Octavio's grief stricken face. His eyes were red and swollen. His face glisten from what she assumed were a mix of rain water and tears.

Her heart ached as she listened to his sobs between the pouring rain outside of her open bedroom window. It wasn't a surprise that he was in her room and she was usually happy to see him but on this particular night she was worried. He was usually more playful when he came over and he always made his appearance known as soon as he entered but not this time. This time something was different.

"Silva?" She whispered his name but she was unsure if he had even heard her over his own sobbing and the rain outside. She tried to sit up but the weight of his body kept her pinned against her mattress. She gently reached up towards his face with her left hand but froze in place when he let out a small whimper. It was a weird scene for her to observe. In all of the years that they had been friends she had never once seen Octavio Silva cry. Not once. Not ever. In fact, she had never even seen him sad.

More water dripped from Octavio's face and other parts of his rain soaked clothing. She blinked water out of her eyes. "Navidad..." Octavio paused and took in a sharp breath as though he had been mortally wounded. Ajay waited for him to say more but Octavio said nothing else. His silence was soon drowned out by the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Her heart sank as she thought about Octavio's rabbit Navidad. She didn't bother to ask what had happened because she knew it didn't matter. Octavio didn't need to say anything else for her to know that Navidad gone.

"Silva..." She whispered his name again but this time she was a bit louder and she knew for sure that he could hear her over the rain. No sooner than he heard his name Octavio collapsed, face first, next her and sobbed into her pillow. Ajay pulled the blankets from her body and gently replaced them to cover up both herself and Octavio. She laid there next to him and listened to him cry into her pillow.

She felt awkward just lying there next to him in silence but she didn't know what to say. She knew that nothing she would say could take away any of his pain. She had never really seen him or anyone else close to her cry. Her parents never cried; crying was for the weak. Ajay was weak, at least that was what she had been told by mother repeatedly on a daily basis.

Ajay closed her eyes and swallowed hard to choke back her own empathic tears. She opened her eyes when Octavio pressed his wet, cold body against hers. A chill spread across her body and caused her to shiver but the feeling was quickly replaced by warmth that crept from her toes all the way up to her cheeks. She was relieved that the room was dark because her face was bright red.

Her mind wandered to places that it shouldn't have during this type of situation. Ajay quickly pulled herself back to reality as soon as Octavio rest his head against her chest. Her heart raced and pounded against her chest cavity. She was worried that her heart might exploded if she didn't get her shit together quickly, but it was proving difficult with this boy splayed across her body. She thought for sure that Octavio could hear her pounding heart but if he did, he didn't make it known to her.

Ajay pleaded with her brain to slow the pace of her rapidly beating heart but her attempts were thwarted because her brain seemed to slip back into unwholesome thoughts about her best friend. She really didn't know why she was thinking about him like this and why she was thinking him like this now, especially now when he needed her the most. She wanted to be there for him and she most certainly did not want to ruin their friendship over thoughts of being more than just friends. "Calm down and get yuh shit togetha. Yuh only 13 years old. Yuh have plenty of time and plenty of boys."