Tonight <|tysh|>

1

(edited)

Josh's ankle was wrapped up and he was given crutches as he followed Tyler out of the hospital after checking out.

Tyler looked over at Josh with a warm smile that faded as he saw the fear within the others eyes.

Josh's eyes darted around, obviously frightened as he also tried to focus on walking with the crutches that were pushing against his still healing ribs.

"F-fuck."

Josh stuttered as he felt coughs begin to clog his throat.

Tyler quickly supported Josh, gently of course.

The boy dropped the crutches as a hand went to cover his mouth and the other holding his side.

Tyler kept Josh supported, reaching to rub the boy's throat but stopping when Josh flinched and his eyes obviously widened with fear.

Tyler felt his heart crack,

The fear that shone in Josh's eyes was like when an animal gets cornered and it's so painfully obvious that this is it for them.

Josh's eyes always shown as if he were looking at the most gut wrenching creature that struck fear down his spine and chills over his limbs.

This was gonna be the longer and more challenging recovery process.

The boy's got home from the hospital, heading to Josh's house so he could collect his things and then to Tyler's where he would then live.

Josh opened the door with trembling hands, scared to see what was behind it.

"Hey, Alex is in jail and I'm right here, you're gonna be okay."

Tyler assured with a soft smile.

Josh weakly nodded, limping into the apartment that still smelled of liquor and Alex's cologne.

Josh winced from the smell burning his nose and making his heart rate spike.

Tyler noticed and frowned but knew trying to touch the boy to hug him or anything similar would just cause him to panic even further.

Josh nodded a little to Tyler before heading to the room he rarely went in, grabbing the limited amount of clothes he had that fit in two grocery bags, aside from the fluffy jacket Tyler had gotten him.

The boy set the stuff down by the entry way, looking over at Tyler who was going through the fridge to see if there was anything worth saving.

Josh went to the bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush, comb, pre-bought hair dye, and all of his other stuff which still wasn't much.

The boy made sure to grab his medication until he got distracted with a safety pin.

The boy took it, looking at it reflect in the yellow hues of the lights in the bathroom.

It seemed so small and insignificant but Josh knew what damage he could cause.

The boy sighed and flushed the object down the toilet, exiting the bathroom and shutting the door behind him with slight difficulty.

Tyler was leaning against the wall, holding three store baggies full of food.

Josh rubbed his tired eyes and showed that he was ready by holding the bags up a little bit as to not lose the crutches from under his arms.

Tyler smiled softly and nodded, opening the door again and heading out with Josh a little behind him.

Distance and space have become a huge thing for Josh and it was breaking Tyler.

He just wanted to hold the boy, whisper comforting words and show him what it feels like to actually be loved.

Josh couldn't bring himself to even receive a hug from anyone despite how desperately  he needed it.

Tyler knew that the boy would eventually come around, at least he hoped.

Josh would get better, right?

This shouldn't be permanent and he'll get his best friend back in no time.

It was simple.

So

So

Simple