When I was drowning that's when I could finally breathe

Chapter 2

El's POV

I froze, a mixture of confusion, pain and sadness flowing through me, why was Theo here? The bruises and tears daring to slip from his eyes were like a stab to the heart, which broke even more when I noticed the cut across cheek that was partially hidden with his hair. I felt guilty, he had been hurt. I should of made more of an effort to find him, we were barely friends, and yes I tried to reach him but I was worried and I should've trusted my gut and not stopped trying to reach him.

He stands still, his mouth in a crooked frown, guilt flashing through his eyes. I snap away from my thoughts "oh god you're soaking, come in, let me grab you a towel" I say with a small smile, and grab his hand pulling him from the rain, into the house closing the door.

"I- uh thank you" he manages to reply as I turn around and rush down the hall to the laundry room grabbing a fresh towel and jogging back over to him, I hand it to him but immediately pull him into a hug, ignoring the fact he's quite literally dripping water, my dark green crewneck turning almost black. "El I don't want to get water all over you" his voice trembles as he speaks, despite his argument the second I wrapped my arms around him he did the same, very clearly needing this hug.

"don't worry about it" he pulls back slightly "I'm sorry I just, I didn't know where else to go" he stops to think for a moment "I- I'm sorry, I should go, you probably hate me after this summer" I frown and step back while he uses the towel to dry his hair, "don't apologize, I'm glad you came here" he gives me a confused look, making me realize he genually believed there was a chance I would tell him to go. "I don't hate you Theo, I missed you and I was worried, but I don't hate you." he wraps the towel over his shoulders and offers me a small smile before it turns into a frown after making eye contact with me "oh my god I'm such an asshole, you've been crying, are you okay? I can go, really, I'm sor-" I cut him off with a smile "dont you dare finish that word, I'm okay, really it was a while ago"

He nods but I can tell he's not 100% sure he believes me. I swallow before speaking again "what happened?" He freezes "I uh- it's a long story, its worse then it looks, I swear" I frown, "Theo, I have time, you dont have to tell me everything, just what you're comfortable with" his eyes soften, a thankful smile flashing on his face. "That cut really need to be cleaned, come on you can borrow some of Jack's clothes, and I can put yours in the dryer and then lets clean the cut, okay?"

His whole face softens this time, another tear escaping his eye, quickly brushing it away "Are you sure?" I tilt my head in confusion "Of course, come on, Jacks at a friends but I'm sure he won't mind you borrowing his clothes" I start walking upstairs with him following behind "Are you sure about that? I remember last time I was here he yelled at you for stealing his shirt" he laughed and flashes a small smile when I laugh "Oh yeah im like 99% sure thats just because I'm his sister, his brain is wired to be mad every time I breath" I say with a smile "Plus he has a ton of stuff he doesn't wear so he won't even notice"

I push open jack's door and point towards the dresser, "there's socks and boxers in there" I say and then silently debate if its weird to offer my brothers boxers, but judging by the fact his pants are still soaking his boxers are probably soaked too. he smiles and opens the top drawer while I walk to the closet, squating to grab a stack of clothes from the bottom of his shelf that I know he hasn't touched in years. I riffle through there under I find a pair of black sweatpants that look like the right size, a plain oversized white teeshirt and some old grey crewneck I swear I've never seen. Then turn around and hand them to him, "I think these should fit, but if not I swear this kid has more clothes then he'll need for a lifetime" he laughs and follows me out the door and in the hall, "you can change in here" I say pointing to the bathroom "I'm just gonna change my sweatshirt and grab my phone" He nods with a small smile and slips into the bathroom