The next morning, Toby asked Helen if he could stay at his house for the night. Helen agreed, but he at least wanted his parents to know about their sleepover. So, they told Toby's mother, and she agreed, saying it wasn't safe at home right now.
At this point, Helen was sure that Toby was living in an unsafe environment at the least. Helen drove Toby to his house, where it was safer for him.
When Helen parked the car, he and Toby went out of the car, going to the front door. Helen unlocked it, letting Toby in first. Once they were in, they took off their shoes and Helen locked the front door. Helen's parents didn't seem to care much.
"Who's this, Helen?" Helen's mother asked.
"He's a friend of mine." Helen says, smiling.
"Oh okay," his mother said, "Enjoy."
Helen motioned Toby over to his room, going upstairs. They sat on the bed, then laid down.
"How come y-your p-parents let you d-d-do pretty much a-a-anything you w-want?" Toby asked, turning to Helen.
"Like I said before, they don't really care much about me since I wasn't born as their daughter." Helen said, "It's sad, but at least they care enough to care for me."
"Th-That sucks." Toby said, "S-Sexist parents."
Helen laughed at that, "But don't say that to their face, they'll get real mad."
"I'll t-try." Toby says, "If I-I'm not in a-a shitty m-mood."
Helen chuckled at that.
"Helen, y-your drawings a-a-are good," Toby says and Helen blushed, "C-C-Can I s-s-see some more?"
"Er," Helen blushes, "S-Sure..-"
Helen hands Toby his art books, Toby looking through them all. He found the one with the heart, realizing that Helen had finished it. It was a heart, with a picture of Toby in the heart. Toby looked at Helen in confusion.
"Wh-Wha..?-" Toby stuttered.
"I-It's not what you think.." Helen said, hiding his face, blushing in embarrassment.
"Explain." Toby firmly demanded, confused.
"It.." Helen starts, "I.. Uh.." He stutters, "I cherish you a lot as a friend.."
Toby laughs, "Th-That's i-it? You c-could've said s-so!"
Helen hid his tomato-red face in his hands, Toby playfully laughing at him. Helen then hid his face in his pillow as Toby looked through more of Helen's drawings, who was completely embarrassed. Toby finds a drawing of him and Helen, looking at its details.
"Helen!" Toby said, "H-How are you s-s-so good at d-drawing?"
"I practiced a lot.." Helen said, lifting his head off his pillow, "I've been drawing since I was a kid."
"Ohhh," Toby says, "P-Practice makes p-perfect, huh?"
Toby smiles and Helen nodded, smiling as well.
The two boys hung out in Helen's room for the rest of the day, having lunch and dinner at his house. They had fun together of course, the perfect opportunity to help Toby move on from Lyra's death and his home life. Helen wanted Toby to feel safe and be happy, everything that Toby couldn't be at home. He tried his best to help Toby, without reminding him of his trauma.
That night, they sat at Helen's desk, drawing together. They doodled in Helen's artbook before going to bed. To them, it wasn't really awkward sleeping on the same bed. They had done this the day before.
They peacefully fell asleep in the silence. Luckily, Helen's parents don't fight in the middle of the night, unlike "sOmE pEoPlE." (Toby's parents.)
YOU ARE READING
Lemon and Lime
HorrorTobias Erin Rogers and Helen Otis used to be friends in Highschool, March of their senior year. Within a month of their friendship, they had separated. After school was out, they had walked down their own separate paths. They've been away from each...
