Who Knew?

Chapter 24:

POV- Wyatt 

My knee bounces up and down so hard I think the tendons might rip. It's been two hours and ten minutes. Ruben still has twenty minutes before I call the police and/or go find him myself. My patience is wearing incredibly thin, and all I want is for him to be safe and within my line of sight again. How long does a goddamn shower take? 

Kevin and Beth have both reassured me that he's probably fine, just taking his time, but I also saw their faces after they told me. The worried little glances they send each other when they think I'm not looking. 

As my thoughts go to places that haunt my dreams at night, the door opens and Ruben walks through. I'm on my feet in a millisecond and wrap him in a tight hug. He tenses in surprise at first, before melting into the hug. "You're lucky I didn't go after you, guns a blazin'."

He's silent for a moment. "I still had time. Where’s Kev and Beth?"

“Kev took Auggie to the park and Beth went home for a little bit, promising to be back in a couple of hours.”

I press my face into the worn leather of his jacket, and breathe him in. He smells . . . off. Like whiskey, cigarette smoke, and something else. Something that makes my nose twitch and my mouth cringe. Like burnt something, but not. 

I pull away slightly, my brow furrowed, and study Ruben's face closely. He seems different. He doesn't look at me, and his hold on me is still more tense than it's ever been. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask.

He slowly moves his head to face me, eyes distant and unfocused. "Nothing. Why would you think that?"

I shake my head, frowning. "You're just acting . . . I don't know, weird."

Ruben rolls his eyes, and steps back. "Thank's."

I cross my arms across my chest. "Hey, don't do that. Talk to me. Tell me what's going on?"

He rubs his face and I notice his gloves for the first time, one more puffy than the other. "Nothing, Wyatt. Nothing is going on."

I catch his wrist in my hand as it comes down and I gently pull the ridiculous glove off of his hand, revealing a white bandage. "What did he do to you?" I growl. 

He wrenches his wrist out of my hand and takes a step back. His face, blank and emotionless. A small piece of the anger I was feeling for his dad caves way to hurt. He's never acted like this towards me before. 

"Ruben. I am going to ask again. What is going on?" 

He purses his lips and he looks like he might cry. That look almost breaks me. He shakes his head hard, and swallows. "I can't. It doesn't matter. We're not worrying about this right now. You've got too much shit going on and I refuse to add to that burden."

I bite my lip. "Okay. First of all, you will never, ever be a burden. Never. Second, I know I can be a cocky, selfish dickhead a good portion of the time, but I also recognise that I am not the only person on this planet with problems. If you truly don't want to talk about this, then we won't. But know that if you ever need anything, anything, I am here. If you want to talk, or just sit there. I would gladly do so with you."

Ruben nods and bites his lip. "Okay. Thank you. I really don't want to talk about it right now, but it's good to know that you're there when I do. So thank you."

I smile and nod, pulling him close into a kiss. His hands frame my face and he holds me tight against him. The turns slow and emotional, all lips and not a whole lot of tongue. It's nice, this kiss itself at least. But I can't push away this nagging feeling as it's a kiss that says goodbye. 

A/N

Hi guys!

I know this chapter was incredibly short compared to some of the others. I just didn't want to make it too long, and I feel like this is a good stopping point for this chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!