Colors

Twenty Two

If you've read this far then you know what to expect. Nothing too much more, but there's drug use and conversations about those topics in this scene. 

I woke later than usual the next morning, the first thing I noticed being that Mitch wasn't in bed with me. I looked to the bag which contained my clothes, deciding I wanted to take a shower. That was until I tried to sit up and was met with tearing pain through my shoulder. I needed Mitch to look at it before I could consider doing anything else. I climbed out of the old but comfortable bed, struggling as I untangled my legs from the sheets and walked over to check my phone. No new messages. 

I watched my feet as I wandered down toward the kitchen first, my eyes giving up their focus on my footsteps as my head shot up, searching each room for a sign of Mitch. I wandered through the small house until I saw Mitch on the back step, something between his fingers that he was moving to his lips. Oh. I didn't know whether to go out and sit with him or pretend that nothing happened, so I just went and sat on the couch, not sure if I even wanted to be around Mitch when he was high. 

I just couldn't understand why he needed that stuff. He could just give it up, right? He had me if he wanted to be happy, he had Noah, his friends. He didn't need to do all of this and ruin his life. I just didn't understand. 

My thoughts were quietened when I heard the screen door open and then close, followed by a set of small footsteps. I couldn't help myself, quickly turning around to look at him and then suddenly wincing when pain shot straight through my shoulder. 

"Oh good morning... Shit Scott, be careful." He helped me to lift my loose t-shirt up and off my body as he uncovered and looked at the wound then guided me to stand up. "There's a little bit of swelling and blood, which is to be expected. But it seems like there's a possibility that this might get infected... We need to put something on it." He seemed a little bit out of it and I worried that he might not be thinking straight with the drugs in his system so I stood up. 

"Never mind, it's okay. I'll be fine." I assured, turning to pick up my shirt again. 

"No you won't. Come back..." He reached out and grabbed my arm, his fingers stumbling for a second before he got a proper grip. 

"Not while you're high." I said in a much more stern voice than I'd intended to, hearing his bitter laugh before he let go of my wrist. 

"That's what you're worried about? Mister Prince in his blue perfect fucking world can't deal with the fact that someone might smoke one joint to calm down? It's not that strong Scott! I can't afford anything that strong anyway. It's enough to calm my nerves if that's what you want to hear. It's not addictive and even if it was, I'm not some drug addict who lives in the streets and needs your help." He forced me to sit down on an old wooden stool and started applying antiseptic to a cotton pad. "Of course. Of course! Why didn't I see it before. They all say that you blue people have such a hero complex. You don't feel like you've done anything until you've fixed me!" He rolled his eyes and pressed the pad to my shoulder, the sensation stinging and burning. 

"Shit that hurts! Mitch! Fuck I don't know what you're talking about I just want to care about you and make sure that you're okay!" My eyes were stinging with tears and I closed them tightly, the silence I got in response forcing me to think and start to understand what he was saying for once. I'd been so focused on the idea of the red boy that I wanted to make him better, I wanted to make him okay. I wanted to clean him up and make him the respectable boy that I was supposed to want. But that wasn't the boy I fell for. 

"I can look after myself, you know. Clearly better than you." He said softly, his voice laced with bitterness as he removed the cotton pad and put a bandage over the wound, before covering it with some sort of plastic bandage. "Go have a shower. I'll make breakfast and we can look for your friends. I hope you don't mind that I checked your phone for any news from them. I've asked Ash and a few others and we can start looking once they reply."