A third of the key

A Calming Voice

Albert's POV

I leaned agianst Spot's chest and suddenly it all felt better. I could feel my chest opening up agian, like I was able to breath finally. Seeing Racer kiss Spot was more than enough to break my heart but seeing him bleeding from the skull made me feel even worse. Obviously I was mad at him but I didn't want him to die! Certianly not when we weren't doing the best in our relationship.

Spot's arm tightened around my waist and my breath evened out agian. Something about the way Spot held me made my mind stop racing. Everytime Spot moved it grabbed my focus and pulled me out of my head. I had never been alone with Spot before, and I didn't ever want to be. Admitidly I was kind of scared of Spot Conlon. Looking at him from the outside world made him seem cold and rude. Which... Yeah. That's what Spot was best known for. But I've spent less than five hours alone with him and I've seen him tenderly wrap Race's head and clam me down more times than I could count. He wasn't mean or rude. He was actually kinda super nice. He genuinly cares about people. I could tell. I geuss no matter how you look at things everything is always going to be different depending on your vantage point.

Spot rubbed my back agian and I came back into my own body. I looked up at Spot and realized what was actually going on. I felt my body chill as I looked back up at Race. I started to breath heavier. I teared up and tried to go to Race's side but before I could get up the rest of the way something stopped me. I knew what it was Spot before I saw him move. I looked back at him and his only respose was to shake his head and try to pull me back down where I was. I sat down and huffed a small bit. I did have to thank Spot for stopping me. Looking at Race like that would have made it worse.

"He's going to be okay..." His soft, charming voice filled the silence like it was a give. I slowly came to the realzation that I wanted to hear him speak more. I really didn't want him to stop. Something about his tone of voice was extreamly calming, his voice was something I needed to hear to calm down,

"I know..." I whispered after long enough. I really only responded in hopes Spot would talk more.

"It's not your fault..." he reminded. Every word he said was like a wave of relief over my entire body. The only other time I remeber feeling like this was when Race would talk about the stars during late night conversations. I loved hearing Racer talk about the stars. It was weird to feel that way about anyone other than Race, but I couldn't help it. I know I probably shouldn't want this but everything about Spot made me feel oddly safe. That feeling has been ripped away from me a lot in my life. I have a tendency to run to it now. Being with spot made me feel relaxed and calm. I wanted more of that. Like, I really wanted more.

I scooted in and leaned up agianst Spot. I just wanted to be closer to that feeling. It wasn't like I liked him, he just made me feel comfortable. I felt my limbs getting heavier. I knew I was falling asleep. My eyes closed and the world morphed into a strange adaptation of my imagination as I drempt of something that I had seen sometime in my life.

I woke up what seemed like five minutes later but Spot wasn't there anymore. I heard the faint sound of voices and felt a small soft item under my head. After a few moments of just sinking in my surroundings I desided to open my eyes. There was a faint glow of a candle next to spots bed where Race was laying. Spot was crouched next to the bed with a book in his hands. The softness of his voice was enough to lul me back to sleep. Despite how inviting that sounded I sat up. The small noises I made caught Spot's attention for a moment before he continued reading to Race.

I stood up and walked over to the bed. Race still looked passed out, or at least asleep. Considering Spot was taking the time to read him a book I assumed the latter. I crouched next to Spot and took Race's hand in my own. I brought it up to my lips and left a gentle kiss on the taught skin of his hand. His hands were always a bit rough and calloused just showing off the hard work that the love of my life did to keep people alive. I can't recall the amout of times Race did something for someone else that put his life at risk. He really was an amazing person and didn't deserve to be laying here like this.

"How's he doing?" I asked Spot, making sure to keep my voice down. I heard Spot sigh and immeidetly knew it wasn't good.

"He woke up crying about an hour after you fell asleep, He told me he had a really bad headache and asked to see you. I tried to wake you up but you didn't move and honestly you deserved that rest." He had a gentle smile on his face, trying to tell me that it wasn't my fault but I couldn't stop myself from feelimg bad. Racer needed me and I wasn't there for him. That is literaly my one job. to be ther for my boyfriend in his time of need. Racer was always there for me. If I had a bad dream he was awake enough to hold me and tell me it would be alright and I couldn't even return the favor.

Spot grabbed my hand in an attempt to try to calm me down but I stood up harshly and walked out of the room. I just needed some time. Time to think, and breath. There was too much in that room, the air felt thick and harsh. I needed cleaner air. I walked to the bunk room and sat on the first empty bunk. The boys were starting to get ready for the day. I didn't realize that it was already that time. I dismissed anyone who tried to talk to me as I sat there in thought. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the bed. I laid there for about 20 minuets.

I heard a familiar pair of footsteps.