Aiden [Book Two]

18

Jasper quietly rubbed at his chest as he backpedalled towards his friends, feeling Jago's hand slip onto his shoulder.

The ache from the impact didn't hurt anywhere near as much as his squeezing heart. He wanted to comfort his friend, but ended up making it worse.

"It's better to just leave him..."

Jago said, patting the blonde's shoulder as he readjusted his glasses and looked up at him.

He didn't want to just sit back and watch the heartbreak unfold, but the older boy knew what he was talking about. They'd been here before.

Nathan's tears flowed relentlessly, a never-ending stream of anguish and despair ever since they discovered Aiden, barely conscious and slick with his own blood, laid on the cold bathroom tiles.

The younger boy's eyes had a blank and empty expression, and every time he attempted to speak, a quiet, breathless gasp swallowed his words.

Initially, Nathan was inseparable from Aiden. Consumed with grief, he shoved anyone that came near. He didn't want anyone touching his boyfriend, that wasn't him.

It took a lot to convince the brunette to let Matt carry him out of the bathroom. Everyone knew that the smaller boy hated being touched after a panic attack and only wanted his boyfriend's comfort, so Nathan was protective and worried, but they had to help Aiden.

When the group made it to the hospital, they made the brunette stay outside until all examinations were finished, so he didn't get in the way. But as soon as he made it in the room, that dominate streak reared its head again, preventing anyone from getting close.

That was how Jasper ended up being thumped in the chest like Jago once had.

The blonde just wanted to comfort his best friend as he sobbed over his boyfriend's broken body, but Nathan couldn't accept it. He swiftly lashed out, striking his friend without remorse as he pushed him away.

Nathan was too distraught to know what was happening; to realise he'd hurt his friend through layers of building grief and crushing guilt.

"But I-" Jasper started, glancing between his two friends.

He wondered if this was partially his fault. That day he found Aiden crying in the bathroom because his scar became exposed; was that really why he was crying? 

The next morning, he revealed the fractures. Maybe, the reason Aiden took so long in the bathroom was because it wasn't an accident caused by falling over? What if someone assaulted him during that lunchtime too, and nobody knew?

Jago nodded in understanding, pulling the teen back as he tried to step towards the crying boy again. He wished he could take the pain away too, but it was impossible.

"-I know, Jaz. But he'll hurt you. Just let him go."

No one could console the brown-haired boy, his head resting against the tiny bruised hand, his shoulders constantly shaking like an invisible storm, threatening to destroy everything he had built. And that was how he stayed until Grace and Chris arrived.

The tiny hospital room reeked of hand sanitiser; its bright lights glared down onto the gaggle of boys waiting. The florescence battering the faces of the stricken boys and highlighting the tear soaked skin.

Everything was silent except for the occasional footsteps of anxious teenagers and the painful sniffles of a boy who couldn't hold in his emotions.

That was how the group knew the orange boy's parents were running down the corridor in search of their injured child.