Catch Me When I Fall

A Place to Stay

TW: This chapter contains mentions of self-harm

***Tyrone's POV***

That's the best question I can hear right now. 

Fuck yeah I do.

But then I remember my mom. She's probably so worried about me. 

Besides, I can't leave her alone. I need to figure something out.

"That sounds great, Khai. But I need to talk to my mom first." I inform him.

Idealistically, she could stay at Khai's house, too. But then Khai will definitely know something is off, and I really don't want him to.

"Can I... do you mind if... it's just that... well like..." Khai sighs, and I study him, patient but expectant.

"Y-you don't mind if I come with, right?"

Why does he need to come with? Does he want to inspect my living condition? Does he already know?!

"Why?" I ask, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Well, it's just that... I'm actually lost right now. I have no idea where we are and I'm pretty sure I met some guy who knows my mom... it's the same guy I dreamt about that one day, the dream with the wolves and the mushroom-" Khai stops himself, seeing he's going off track. "Well, to put it simply, he was being creepy and I think he wanted to kidnap me. He wanted to know where I lived but I forgot my address again. Maybe it's a good thing."

"It's okay, Khai. You can come with."

I'd rather risk him knowing about my situation than risk him being harmed or getting more lost.

Besides, I think I can work around it. I'll just ask him to wait outside, hope my dad's not home, and also hope my mom doesn't show her face. He'll know the whole story then, even if he is oblivious a fuck.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

Thankfully, I know where I'm going, unlike Khai. I find my house with no trouble, and relief floods me when I see that my dad's car is still not present.

I wonder if Ricca is still inside. I feel really bad for how I acted while she was trying to help me.

And I hate that I made her worry like that.

"You can wait out here, I'll be right back." I tell Khai.

"Oh, but I've never seen the inside of your house before." He protests.

I turn around to stare at him, incredulous.

"Sorry." His iconic but unintentional pout is replace with a smile that's equally as sheepish as it is apologetic.

I shake my head and slip inside, then close the door to make sure Khai isn't just going to follow me anyways.

Once I step inside, I see Ricca peering from around one of the corners. When she sees it's just me, relief floods her face and she rushes to greet me.

"Are you okay, mijo?" She asks as she stops in front of me.

I sigh, dissatisfied when I see her worried, bruised face.

"I'm alright. Now." I tell her, reaching out to wrap her in an embrace. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay... you didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"No."

"Can you show me your arms?" Ricca asks, unconvinced.

I roll up my sleeves to prove myself, and she smiles gratefully when she only sees the faint, barely visible scars from the past.