"tyler," josh began, ready to apologize for stepping over boundaries.
"shut up!" the boy shrieked, going through his texts.
"woah," the blue haired boy breathed in response.
"my fucking family has been texting me this whole goddamn time but i had no idea because my fucking phone was fucking dead," the brunette shouted in anguish.
"oh! so you're like cool with what just happened?" josh asked, looking up at the ceiling nervously.
"shut up! i'm dealing with a crisis right now," the boy explained in aggravation.
"right." the older man nodded awkwardly. "is there anything i can do?"
"um, i don't know? do you know how to respond to any of these?" tyler asked, his voice high and distressed.
"let me see," josh mumbled in response, leaving the bed and joining tyler on the floor.
jay: tylerrrrrr
jay: tylerrrrrrr
jay: where are u
jay: tyler
jay: tyler what the fuck
jay: where r u
jay: what the fUck TyLer
mom: Tyler where are you?
mom: Please reply. We're concerned.
mom: Tyler it's been hours. Where are you?
mom: Your father is calling the police.
jay: it's been a whole day where the fuck are you
jay: this isnt funny tyler
jay: mom and dad are pissed
jay: u better come back soon
mom: Where the hell are you?! Come home immediately, me and your father are sick of your little games.
"it could be worse," josh noted, causing tyler to roll his eyes.
"josh! i'm freaking out, they called the police! what do i do," the brunette shrieked nervously.
"you could tell them you're okay and that you'll be back soon?" the older man suggested, a little upset that he'd have to take the boy back home.
"but when i get back they're gonna ground me forever, or send me to boarding school or something," the boy worried, feeling his chest grow heavy with hopelessness. "i can't go back."
"sure you can," josh attempted to comfort the boy.
"i won't go back," tyler added, his tone darker.
"are you sure?" josh asked. "i can take you back right now if you want."
"i'm sure." tyler replied monotonously, setting his phone back down.
"why," the blue haired boy asked, curious.
"i don't wanna talk about it." tyler stood up and laid on the bed.
"what do you wanna talk about," josh asked in response.
"nothing really. i don't really wanna do anything really. i feel," tyler paused, searching for the right words. "bad."
"that's a little vague," josh laid next to the boy. "are you okay?"
"people aren't usually okay after deciding to leave their family," the brunette explained with a deep breath.
