Whatever, Cowboy.

You First_11

  "Hey, I get it. You just had an extremely horrifying experience, but you need to sleep." Austin suggested, losing his comedic tone.

  "You first, eyebags." Tyler retorted, shakily reaching for his lamp. There was no chance he'd fall asleep after a night like that. He was chuckling to cover up his guilt but it didn't last long, the light illuminated the room as he sat back up. His face sank again, his posture folded poorly when he'd sat up to bring Austin back. His eyes drifted up to Austin's and he saw it again. The dull color that he hated, where had the light gone? Was Tyler being selfish? How could he fix this? What happened to make his eyes so empty again? Did he see Jackson too? Jackson. Was he okay? Where would he go? Where would his body go? Why would Malorie do that so easily? Tyler looked down at his hand, analyzing the poor bandaging.

  "Oh my God!" Austin blurted out unwillingly at the sight of blood. "Was this what she meant about the cut?"

  "Probably."

  Austin readjusted his legs to sit closer to Tyler as he too analyzed his fingers. "That's so unsanitary. Did you wash it out? And why electrical tape?" He began gently removing the tape without expecting any answers for his rhetorical questions. He glanced up at Tyler's face for any signs of pain but instead caught his distracted gaze. "Are you okay, Tyler?"

  Tyler held his gaze of Austin's face, his eyes tracing the design of Austin's eyebrows, his lonely blue eyes, his smooth nose, and his still lips. Why did he feel the need to memorize his features? What was happening? Tyler didn't feel real, he didn't feel like he was in his body anymore. Where was he? Everything sounded fuzzy like an old TV. Then he saw static in the corners of his eyes, the world started spinning, his hearing continually switched between foggy deafness and the fuzzy TV static. What was happening to him? Was Austin able to see this too? What was he saying? What was happening? Austin's mouth was moving but Tyler couldn't hear anything. When the static reached the end of his peripherals, Tyler's vision faded to black and though he wanted to reach out for Austin, his limbs went numb. This had never happened before, what was happening?

  Tyler fell back, losing his grip on consciousness. Austin jumped to catch his head before it hit the wooden backboard. Once he'd caught Tyler, he didn't know what to do. Austin was holding Tyler's head and back with his left arm, his forearm supporting Tyler's head, and his right arm balancing them both as it rests on the backboard. Austin's chest is heaving at such rigorous movements this evening, had it been just running this never would have happened. If he had just stayed home he could've told Malorie he couldn't come over. Now if his parents were to walk in his room and see his empty room, then find out he was here... Austin didn't want to find out. He looked down at Tyler, or the husk of Tyler. He wasn't moving, barely breathing, and his skin was more pale than usual. Had he fainted? Austin maneuvered around to sit on the bed with Tyler at his waist. A much more efficient way to ensure Tyler was still breathing and to keep his head elevated. Austin got his phone out to text Arizona when he noticed 5 missed calls from 'HouseRRat 💕 and 20 uText messages from her.

  "Where are you?"
  "Austin?"
  "Did you go for a run?"
  "Why's yout window open?"
  "Your*"
  "Austiiiiiin"
  "Did you sneak out?"
  "Are you at Aaron's?"
  "The Cowboy dude?"
  "Austin!!!! Where are you!?"
  "Delivered: 12:20 PM"
  "Sir. It is midnight."
  "Where are you?"
  "What are you going to do when Mom finds out?"
  "What about Dad?"
  "Can you buy me McDics?"
  "How will you sneak back through the window?"
  "I want tea."
  "Aussssstiiiin"
  "Mom's awake! I just heard her cough."

  Austin turned off the phone and wiped his eyes. He finally looked back down and noticed Tyler was less pale and breathing clearer. He was asleep. He could stay like this, couldn't he?

  "Athlete Man, it's time to move this body." Malorie commanded from the floor level.

  "Damn it." Austin whispered under his breath. "On my way, Malorie." He replied as loud as she was. He articulately moved back out of the bed and thought of tucking him in before calling himself cringe for it. He wasn't mad at Malorie for asking about help but he was a little upset he had to move after what had happened to Tyler. Should he tell Malorie? What would she do? They have to move a horse and he's worried about him sleeping? "Where did he go?" Austin asked, completely bewildered that Jackson was no longer lying where he was.

  "We lost the trailer ramp awhile ago so we need to lift him into the back." Malorie pointed to the red truck with a horse trailer on the back.

  "Damn it." He dropped his shoulders in regret. "I'll take the rear."

  "Oh, aren't you a sweetheart."

  "Well he can't buck anymore so I think I can do it."

  "And you know the terms! Someone's been doin' their homework."

  Malorie's compliments made Austin very happy, he felt like he was finally doing something right that no one would see as ruining it. Her compliments lit something inside him that he didn't quite know what it was yet. Malorie and Austin lifted up the horse and stumbled toward the trailer. Filling the air with multiple curses and cross frustrations, mostly about how heavy the poor thing was.

  "Since when was dead weight so heavy?" Austin complained childishly.

  "Since it was dead." Malorie replied comedically as they set the horse down in the trailer. Austin couldn't help but burst out laughing, then the smell hit him. It burned his nose and tears crowded his eyes, not from laughter but from the pungent scent he couldn't relieve his nose of. "Already? Can you stay with Tyler? I gotta get this beast down to Lauretta's."

  "Sure!" Austin did it again. He replied to Malorie without thinking. Why does he do that so easily around her and Tyler? He'd do anything she told him to. Malorie closed the door to the truck and looked at the time on the dash.

  "Hun, I'll take you home after this. From what the Ari something with numbers online friend told Tyler, you snuck out of the house without telling her. She's more worried than a deer riding a hog."

  Again with these weird metaphors. "Oh, yeah..." He watched as Malorie drove away and headed for the door. He really hadn't told Arizona he'd left. How was he okay with that? It was selfish and dumb. What kind of person was he to just leave so easily? A mistake and a burden, that's the kind of person he was. He lifted his athletic shirt and glanced over the scar on his waist. A worthless body only needed for pleasure.

  "What is that?" A voice from inside called hinting anger and concern. Austin quickly turned his head upward to meet Tyler's scary gaze. His eyes seemed to almost glow. And his hand was bleeding again. "Tell me what happened."

  "You first."