Back in the Saddle

A Little Brotherly Advice

Karl's POV:

"What is going on here?" a stern voice asks from behind us.

I spin around, gratitude seeping through my bones as my eyes land on Wilbur. But Wilbur isn't looking at me, he's staring at Alex and Nick, who look terrified for their lives. I can't bring myself to speak, because I know if I do I will burst into tears, and that is the last thing I want happening right now. I see George lean over to whisper something into Wil's ear, and the more George talks the angrier Wilbur grows.

When they're done, Wilbur looks at me, saying, "Karl, do you want to go home?"

"Yes please," I say quietly.

He doesn't wait for anything else as he comes forward and grabs my hand, beginning to take me in the direction of his car. I hear Nick shouting apologies at me, but I don't look back, because if I do I will go running back to him and express every feeling I've ever had for him... which wouldn't be great. Honestly, I can't do anything right now without it ending badly.

"Find your own ride home," Clay says to Nick before taking George's hand and going to his truck, Ranboo, Tommy, and Toby trailing behind.

That just leaves the two of them alone in the grass. Most of the others have gone inside upon seeing that the excitement is over, but those that remain are gossiping amongst themselves about the drama they just witnessed. I'm sure it was the highlight of their dull lives.

===

The car ride is silent: the only noise is the sound of Wilbur's furious breathing as he glares at the road, fuming. I'm scared that if there is one more inconvenience, he will literally explode.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles after a long period of silence.

"For what?" I ask quietly, eyes flickering over to his face, which is still concentrated on the road.

"I should've listened to you and let you stay home from this damn party, but I didn't, and now I've gone and broken my promise to you. I didn't do everything in my power to help you. I failed you, just like I did a year ago, and I'm so sorry."

With his face lit up in the red light from the stop light in front of us, I can see a singular tear run down his cheek. He's referring to how he was supposed to come up to North Carolina after Dallas died to keep me company, but couldn't because of school and other obligations. I didn't blame him back then and don't now, but clearly he hasn't forgiven himself.

"Wil, it's okay. You haven't done anything wrong: in fact, you've been there for me more than most other people in my life. Your whole family has, actually, and I could not be more grateful. You don't have to blame yourself for what happened tonight; it's all on me. This was gonna happen at one point or another, and it just so happened to be tonight."

"Karl, you don't really blame yourself for those boys' feelings, right?"

"Of course I do."

He sighs and looks away from me as the light turns green. But, instead of going straight like we were originally, he switches lanes and goes left, pulling into a small shopping center.

Before I get the chance to question what he's doing, he parks in front of a little coffee shop that is, for whatever reason, open until midnight. After a minute of staring, it registers in my mind that this is the same coffee shop where Nick offered me a job at the ranch. That feels like forever ago, though it was only about two weeks ago.

The sound of Wilbur's door closing brings me from my sad thoughts of nostalgia, and I quickly get out of the car after him. By the time I catch up to him, he's waiting on me by the door, holding it open patiently. I've learned better than to question Wilbur in my brief tenure of life, so I enter the door without saying a word, and head to the booth that Wil points out.