I am yours. {#Wattys2016}

17.

I drove through the rained on streets in search of Avi. The rain blurred the windshield, making it harder for me to look for him. Thankfully, I got to the location.

I got out of the car and saw Avi sat on a step. His hair was drenched, his head was hung low into his lap and his arms were hugging his sides. As I slowly approached him, I could hear his breathing patterns. They were very irregular. "Avi?" I called out to him. I tapped him on the shoulder and felt that he was trembling. He was having a panic attack.

He got a lot of these when we were teenagers, especially when he was bullied. Apparently, only I knew how to calm him down. His parents always relied on me to help their son.

He looked up at me and began crying even harder. I assumed that he wasn't going to move out of his position, so I lifted him bridal style and laid him down in the back seat of my car. He still didn't stop crying. "Where do you want me to take you?" I needed to ask him. I couldn't take him to my house, Mitch wouldn't let me live it down. Which left the only reasonable choice, take him home. We could talk and get things out without anybody saying anything.

"H-Home, p-please" He tried to speak in between cries. If home was where he wanted to be, it was where he was going.

I drove through all the traffic, trying to get him home as quickly as possible. I would've of thought that his crying would have stopped, but it didn't.

Once we reached his apartment complex, I took him out of the backseat by carrying him bridal style again. I felt like I was carrying a baby. His head rested on my chest as his tears soaked my t-shirt. He gave me his keys and we began walking to his apartment.

"I'm so sorry, Scott" He repeatedly whispered while continuously crying into my chest. "I-I didn't mean anything I said"

"It's ok, Avi" We had finally reached his apartment and I opened the door. A cold gust of air hit my face.

I walked in, closing and locking the door behind me. I sat Avi down on his couch and then I also sat down.

I wrapped my arms around his trembling body and held him close to me. "Take deep breaths, Avi" I told him. I rubbed his back and soon his trembling stopped but his breathing was still irregular and his tears continued. "You need to take those deep breaths" I spoke softly.

"I-I'm trying" He sniffled. It broke my heart to see him cry so much. This wasn't the first time this occurred but it was one of the saddest ones.

His crying soon subsided and his breathing was back to normal. "What happened?"!I eventually asked.

"Some things weren't left in the past" He sighed.

"Want to talk about?" I curiously asked.

"Do I have a choice?" He asked trying to avoid actually answering.

"You do, but I really want to know since it affected you so much"

"I guess I could tell you"