MENDED

twenty-eight

saylor

the door in front of me opened to reveal miguel, who tilted his head as soon as he saw me. he let out a puff of air.

"you know, you've gotta stop showing up here unannounced," he teased as he stepped aside to let me into his apartment.

"you love it," i sent him a look.

instead of walking into his apartment, i walked closer to him and let my head fall on his shoulder. i let out a deep sigh as i wrapped my arms around him.

"you okay?" he asked softly as he shut the door. he put an arm around my waist and moved us closer to it so that he could lock it.

i shrugged. "i don't really wanna talk about it right now. i just wanna lay down and cuddle."

"alright, come on," he murmured as he placed a hand on my back and started to lead me over to the couch.

we made our way to the couch, where we both collapsed onto it. i nuzzled into his chest, and i let out a soft breath. he held me close and rested his chin on top of my head. we laid like that for a while with neither of us talking. miguel didn't push me to talk about what was wrong or why i was over here; he just let me lay in his arms until i was ready to talk.

when i was ready to talk about it all, i sat up. he sat up as well and leaned back against the armrest, while i wrapped my arms around my legs, which i had pulled to my chest. i rested my chin on my knees for a few moments.

"so, yesterday, i left alex's apartment for a few hours, and when i came back, they were passed out drunk with a half-smoked cigarette on their shirt," i recounted, leaving out what happened before i had left alex's apartment. "then when they woke up today, i tried to talk to them about it; i told them that it's not good for them to drink so much and that maybe they shouldn't, but they got pissed and started raising their voice at me."

"so, i left, and i told them that we could have the conversation when they were sober, not hungover, and not pissed. i told them that i wasn't going to stay there and let them raise their voice at me and try to argue with me."

"i'm glad you did; i'm proud of you for setting boundaries and standing up for yourself," he gave a soft smile. he then frowned. "as for alex... i could've told you that, that conversation would've ended negatively. i mean, there's no light way to put it... they're a borderline alcoholic."

i frowned at that. with my legs still pulled up, i crossed my ankles. i hung my head between my now seperated knees, and i let my cheek rest against the side of my knee. i let out a deep sigh. "i-i know that," i mumbled out quietly. "but i don't know... i knew it would be a tough conversation, but i wasn't expecting that. i said that it wasn't a good coping mechanism, and they completely threw it in my face."

"i didn't say anything to you about your coping mechanisms."

they had been so caring, understanding, and patient with me after the night i saw arlo for the first time... was the way i was coping bothering them? were they actually annoyed by it?

sensing my mood sinking even further down, miggy reached over and grabbed my hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. "look, i'm sure alex will realize that they need to apologize. i'm sure they'll sober up and talk to you when they're not hungover and pissed."