Secrets

Unsettled

When Jake came back, I could tell the news his parents had for him and his siblings was anything but good. There was tension in his body and a distant pensive look in his eye. I frowned at him from my spot on the couch, worry knotting in my stomach. 

"Hey, bro," I greeted him, voice level. "How was the dinner?"

He looked up at me, closing the door behind him and hanging his keys on the hook beside the door. He slowly shrugged off his jacket, laying it over the recliner before settling his hands on the back of it. "It was... interesting." I didn't miss the tightness of his voice, or the way his jaw was set. 

"Was it... bad news?" I asked tentatively. I didn't want him to think I was prying; I just wanted him to know he could talk to me. 

He frowned then, shaking his head- not in answer to my question, but as if to clear his thoughts. "I don't wanna talk about it," he said curtly, straightening up and stiffly starting to walk to his room. 

"Jake," I said, sitting up and moving to follow him. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Whatever it is- I'm here for you, man." I bit my lip, hoping I wasn't overstepping my boundaries. I mean, we were best friends; I could offer that, right? 

He reached his door, every muscle in his body tense as he wrenched the door open and stepped in his room, muttering a, "Yeah, I know," before closing the door with an air of finality that said what he didn't say aloud: Leave me alone. 

I breathed out a heavy sigh, trying not to let his rejection sting in my chest. I ran a hand through my hair, the knot of worry only growing bigger. Whatever his parents had told him was bad. He never shut me out like that. And as much as I hated to admit it, it hurt- a lot. I had to chide myself for letting these emotions get the best of me. It was just friendly concern- strictly friendly.

But that didn't stop me from looking longingly at the door for a moment before going back to the living room to wait until he was ready to let me in again. 

~

It took a while before Jake started acting somewhat normal again. He still wouldn't talk to me about whatever his parents had told him, but I didn't press the issue too much. I didn't want to lose him to that dark fog again. He had been a little like a zombie for a few days, just going through the motions of everyday life with a blank, monotonous air about him. I could honestly say I was terrified; what had been so bad to make him act this way? I couldn't help thinking the worst.

"Honestly dude, you're a fucking life-saver," Brad said as he retyped his midterm paper across the table. I grinned at him and rolled my eyes at his antics. He was lucky I was a tutor in the writing workshop and got paid for revising papers for other people. Not that I wouldn't have the skills to do so if I wasn't a tutor, but I was glad for the money that accompanied the skill. 

Next to me, Jake scoffed and crossed his arms, giving him a mocking glare. "You'd be able to do it right the first time if you didn't fall asleep in class all the time," he teased. 

Brad groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's not my fault the professor is so boring," he said defensively. "I can't help it!"

"Can't help what?" 

We all looked up as our friend Sam sat down in the armchair beside Brad. She was the only girl in our little gang of friends. She flashed us all a bright smile and tossed her curly brown hair over one shoulder, crossing her long, dark legs. 

"Falling asleep in Lorenzo's class," Brad grumbled, pouting at Jake. Sam gave a groan of agreement, rolling her eyes and reclining in the armchair.