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7 - pas l'ange

7 - pas l'ange
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Edwin was dressed in a stiff suit once owned by his now-deceased paternal grandfather. He quietly wondered how his mother had come into possession of the awful thing in the divorce, but no answers were definite.

He was standing in Lilith's living room and awkwardly greeting her family members, occasionally making very low quality small talk. This was a pseudo-family reunion, and Lilith had practically begged him to show up and pretend to be her boyfriend, because she knew that her grandmother would pester her about not having one. He had reluctantly agreed, and now here he was. The grandmother in question treated meeting Edwin like meeting God, falling to her knees with emotion, thanking him over and over, and even crying. It was possibly the most awkward situation he'd ever been in, and Lilith had been forced to stand there all the while, listening to her grandma thank Edwin a million times over for 'taking pity' on her 'poor misshapen' granddaughter.

After nearly two hours of getting unenthusiastically shown off like a piece of meat, Edwin was finally able to escape to the bathroom. He stood beside the counter, just catching his breath. It was surprisingly exhausting to be a fake trophy boyfriend, especially when the fake trophy boyfriend in question was quite literally the human equivalent of a participation award.

He jumped slightly when he heard the bathroom door open.

"Oh, sorry!" The person at the door replied, backing out.

"It's fine, I'm not actually using the bathroom," Edwin disclosed.

The person edged back into the bathroom, and Edwin quickly guessed that he was one of Lilith's brothers, but he couldn't be sure which one.

"I'm Neil," the brother told him, quickly solving the dilemma. "Guess it's tiring to hang with my sister?"

Edwin opened his mouth to try and fumble out a response, unsure how much Neil knew of the situation between himself and Lilith. Neil sensed this, and interrupted him before he could speak. "It's fine, I know what's actually up. Our grandma's kinda difficult, but she told me you're gay, and so is she."

This comment took Edwin aback. He'd had no idea that, for one thing, Lilith had told her brother that he was gay, and for another, that she was, which even he didn't know. "W-what?"

Neil's face went white as a sheet. "O-oh, my god... she did tell you, didn't she?"

Edwin shook his head. "I had... no idea."

"Man, that sucks," Neil told him sympathetically, still standing awkwardly by the door.

"It's not your fault," Edwin said, not really meaning it. Of course, he was logically aware that Neil had nothing to do with it, but his heart wasn't as sure.

Neil excused himself, clearly feeling a very icy atmosphere between the two.

Edwin jumped again when his phone, sitting on the sink, sounded with its text tone. He picked it up to check the notification, and immediately his throat felt as if it was being pinched off.

Fabio : Hey sexy. U haven't been by the hut in a while. R U avoiding me or something?

Everything following the moment he read that felt like a blurry memory from someone else's head. As graphic images of bruises and pain flashed through his mind like ghosts, Edwin stumbled backwards and wedged his body between the toilet and the sink, heaving in the desperate and panicked attempt to breathe correctly, tears squeezing from his tear ducts like from a hose. His head felt as if it was underwater. He felt as if he was dying. He was dying. There was no doubt. This was it. No more Alexander Edwin King. He was going to die.

He could vaguely sense Neil bursting back into the little tile room and racing to his aid, despite clearly having nothing close to any knowledge of what was happening in that moment or what to do about it.

Neil was saying things, so many things, frantically asking him questions, but Edwin couldn't understand any of it. Eventually, the boy kneeled down next to Edwin on the floor, placing a hand on his shoulder, and whispering to him generically comforting things that took no knowledge of the situation whatsoever.

Slowly, slowly, Edwin found it easier to breathe, and to hear what Neil was saying. "Everything's gonna be okay," he whispered. "You'll be alright."

Edwin nodded slightly, his chest and throat loosening to allow more breath. He still felt incredibly shaken, and very very afraid. He looked up to Neil as he regained his breath. The boy had Lilith's pale white skin and tight brown curls, but his hair was much shorter than hers. His eyes were a hazel color made up of many different browns. Neil noticed Edwin's gaze, and very slowly leaned in and kissed him.

Memories with the toxicity of a bottle of poison cams back to Edwin, and immediately he catapulted back into his fit, his throat seeming to close up.

Neil sprung upward, taken aback by Edwin's sudden relapse. Edwin tried to wheeze out the words to tell Neil to get his sister, but the attack wouldn't allow it. Instead, he wildly motioned towards the door, hoping he'd at least just leave.

Neil seemed to take the hint after a few moments, fleeing from the small room and running down the hallway. Edwin almost thought he heard a loud noise in the distance, but it was muffled enough that he could almost be sure he'd imagined the incident.

A few moments later, Lilith entered the room, immediately squatting next to her friend and placing a hand on his waist. She leaned in very close to his ear and said, "Close your eyes. Go to a happy place." He did as told, and Lilith leaned against him, moving her hand around his skin in circles. His breathing slowed, and he leaned into his best friend, utterly exhausted from the stressful events of the day.

"You're alright now, buddy," Lilith whispered. "What happened?"

Edwin sucked in a large breath and explained everything to Lilith, from Fabio's text to Neil's kiss.

"So," Lilith sighed. "He told you."

Edwin nodded. "Why didn't you tell me you were gay?"

Lilith shrugged. "I guess I was a little... scared, or something?" She chuckled lightly. "It's dumb. You know, it's just hard to say sometimes."

Edwin nodded. "I know." He leaned his head against hers. "Thanks, Lilith."