Gold And Coal (Ryden AU)

1.16 ◇ My Demons

I snuggled into the blanket, pulling it as close to my body as possible. I was going to miss this.

Brendon had gotten up about 10 minutes ago and I was doing my best to slow down time.

Unfortunately, the more I tried, the faster it seemed to pass.

When Brendon reappeared from the bathroom, I sighed and threw the blanket off, sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Good morning," he smiled and tossed me some clothes, "Wear those."

I nodded and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

I stepped into the shower one last time, and washed my hair one last time.

The clothes I had been given were similar to the other ones, and I was quite skeptical about the white shirt; it wouldn't stay white very long.

After doing my best to dry off my hair, I went back into my room. Brendon was waiting there for me, his eyes travelling down my frame. I wish he wouldn't do that, it made me very uncomfortable.

I followed him downstairs and into the kitchen, where the table was already set.

"Good morning, boys," Diana smiled, serving us delicious smelling food. The last I was going to eat for a long time.

About half an hour later I was standing infront of the door, ready to leave. Brendon joined me shortly after, carrying a backpack in his right hand.

"That's for you," he grinned, handing it over to me with sparkling eyes, "Open it when you get home."

I gave him a confused look but smiled nonetheless.

Just as we were about to leave, Diana stopped us by calling my name. "Ryan! You weren't gonna leave without saying goodbye, were you?"

When I turned around I saw that she too didn't come empty handed. She was carrying two blankets and a pillow, which she pushed into my arms.

"I...um... thank you," I stuttered, totally taken aback by this act of kindness.

"Take care of yourself, kid."

After giving her one last smile, I followed Brendon to the carriage, careful not to trip over anything, because I couldn't really see where I was going due to my baggage blocking my sight.

The ride once again consisted of me staring out of the window, watching people walk their dogs or head to work.

"Thank you for everything."

We were close to our destination when I decided it was time to say my part. Brendon gave me a small smile and shook his head, gazing at me with big eyes.

"Happy to help."

The carriage stopped, and we stepped outside. It wasn't where Brendon had dropped me off before, but closer to my home, so luckily I didn't have to walk that far.

"Mind if I tag along?"

I may have nodded way too eagerly, but I honeslty didn't care; I wanted to enjoy his company for as long as I could, because soon the only people I would interact with would be trying to kill me or beat me unconscious.

"How is your family?"

Great. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to let him come after all.

"Um. You know, alright, I guess."

Okay, that was terrible, I really needed to work on my lying skills.

"I mean, alive, you know. Nobody is 'great' around here."