Fears To Face

∞ Chapter 56 ∞

Kayley

I was still worrying about Sam when I walked up the steps at Rayne's house after school the following day. Sam hadn't told me what was upsetting him and it left me with a nagging feeling in my gut. Rayne opened the door before I could knock and closed the door behind him, hugging me on the porch. He hadn't closed it fast enough for me not to notice Reece sitting on the couch with a sad expression.

"What's wrong with Reece?"

Rayne grimaced as his arms tightened. "I found him on my porch after work. He said he had sat there for more than an hour." Empathy rung clear in his tone. My brow rose, not used to seeing Reece other than energetic and happy. "He said Sam's shutting him out. He doesn't know what's wrong, but as you can see, he can't cope with it very well. He also said Sam seems depressed, have you noticed anything?"

The worry took flight again, big time. I looked down and pressed my cheek against Rayne's warm chest in search of some kind of comfort. "Yeah, something is wrong with Sam and he refused to tell me." I looked back up again, hoping he may have said more to Reece. "But let's go inside, maybe I can help out a bit."

After a smile and a brief kiss Rayne opened the door again and we walked inside. Reece looked up and forced a smile on his lips, but he didn't come far. He wore a dark grey band shirt with a green/black print and a dark cotton jacket on top. Was I the only one who noticed he always wore a jacket or vest on top of his shirt?

"You're spending more time here than your own city these days," I said lightly, hoping to cheer him up.

He smiled faintly. "Yeah, well, here I have Rayne and Sam. Although I'm not sure about Sam anymore. In the beginning he was open in public and he seemed genuinely happy yesterday, but he ignored me all day today and the things he did say were short, like the last thing he wanted to do was talk to me. I don't know whether I should feel offended or worry my ass off."

I sat down next to him. "No, Reece. He really likes you. It's just... I don't know what's going on. I'm worried about him. But I know it's not because of you. He really was happy after you left."

Rayne came back from the kitchen with drinks. He slowly sank to the couch beside me after placing them on the table, pressing his hip into mine.

Reece's chest rose with a deep breath, but the exhalation ended in a slight smile. "Okay, I probably knew that. And I know it's not easy to get accepted in the beginning. It's just so frustrating. I wanna be able to show how I feel about him, everywhere. I mean, he's amazing. But at your place he's so distant. Like your parents can hear everything we do." The irony of his frustration wasn't lost on me. He had no idea how right he was. "Is it really unreasonable that I just want to able to be ourselves and not have to question every move I make? I don't want to hide how much I like him."

"No, Reece." I shook my head. "It's not unreasonable, but he's terrified my parents won't accept him for who he is. He's petrified that they will turn him down. That's why he still hasn't told them. You know what he's going through. You've been there yourself. Just give him some time." I squeezed his knee as an attempt to reassure him. He smiled, but it was more out of politeness than it was genuine. My mouth sank a bit as I realized I had kinda hoped Sam would have talked to Reece. "So, he didn't tell you anything either?"

He shook his head. "Nope. It was that I heard in his voice that something was wrong, because he didn't bring it up himself. When I asked, he said he didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to pressure him because I only know him for a week or something, but it took all I had not to question further."

My heart tightened. Reece really cared about Sam and Sam was building walls. Why? What was going on? I'd seen how happy he'd been when he talked about Reece. Had Greg abandoned him again? Or had Trevor found out Greg and Sam were friends again and did he have a fight? A hand on my shoulder pulled me against the back of the couch, my side pressed into Rayne's as his arm found its way around my shoulder. I smiled up at him and snuggled closer, but as I saw the clock on the wall just beside his head, I pulled back.