Smothered (bxb)

Phone Lines

The next day I convinced my mother to let me go back to school. I knew that I shouldn't have, I had a concussion and those things take a lot of healing time, but I needed to be able to show those football jerks that they hadn't gotten to me too bad. Gus said that he was going back today as well, when he called me last night. He said that my mother had helped calm Frank down when she walked him at the door yesterday and that he was okay. He didn't get hit but he said that Frank yelled and screamed at him for "running away". I was glad that he didn't get hit again, it made me have a little more faith in the universe that maybe Gus would get better, and not have to endure anymore abuse.

My mother drove me to school, it was the first time since she dropped me off on my first day. I got out of the car, stepping into the school's parking lot and waved goodbye to her. I gave her a reassuring smile to try and convince her that I was going to be fine. I was stocked up on medicine for my concussion so I couldn't feel the throbbing that had started to become a regular occurrence, but I was slightly off...

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Said a skeptical Gus as he jogged up towards me, heading to the elm tree before class.

"Fine, how about you? How was Frank?" I asked him back giving him a smile that he returned.

"Ugh, I'm alright. Just tired of having to deal with everything, you know?"

"Yeah, me too." I said zoning out, staring at nothing in front of me. My mind was super hazy and slow, I felt like it was hard to pay attention to anything, even Gus. He looked over at me with a wary expression and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Umm... Rain?"

"Hmm?" I replied, my mind making it feel like I was talking through water.

"Let's get you sitting down... You don't look so good. Maybe I should call your mum to come back and pick you up..." He said as he helped me sit down underneath the big tree. I looked up at all the leaves, fluttering in the light breeze, it was so tranquil.

"Nah, I'm good. Just... good." I said slowly. I could sense that Gus wasn't going to let this go.

"No... I think you're really high on your meds Rain..." He said with a worried laugh.

"I'm good, It's all good! Stop worrying about me Gus. It's not like you gave me the concussion. Stop worrying." I said exasperated. I felt no pain, the numbness that was flowing through my body was making me feel peaceful, for once in what seemed like a long time, I felt at peace. Gus heaved out a sigh and send a glare in my direction. We just sat under the tree together in silence for a while, Gus brought out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag as I stared up into the lush foliage of the elm tree until the bell rang.

"Here..." He started in a quiet tone as he helped me stand up, "I'll walk you to class." He smiled sadly and took my hand in his. I looked over at him, did he realize that people would see us holding hands?

"Gus?" I asked slowly, "Our hands." I stated to him. He looked into my eyes and nodded his head.

"Yah, good observation Rain." He rolled his eyes.

"What about people seeing?"

"I don't give a shit right now." He said in a stern voice. His forehead was creased and even through my foggy brain, I could sense his irritated mood.

"Oh." I tried to think about why he was okay to be public all of a sudden but my brain felt sluggish and after a few seconds I forgot my train of thought. Gus dropped me off at my English class and then said goodbye and left me without a smile on his face. Was he mad? Was he mad at me? Throughout class I could barely make sense of what the teacher was talking about, I could barely even make out my own thoughts. When the bell rang for second block I got up slowly but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the soft eyes of my teacher.