Sincerely Yours

Thīrtėêñ

Nate

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hello?"

"Um, h-hey," I tried hard not to sound pathetic but my throat was tight with distress and worn from screaming. I heard shuffling from his end, and he cleared his throat. "Nate? Are you okay, you sound upset?" He sounded like he had just woken up from hibernation, but there was something about the the raspiness of his voice (that really wasn't that deep) that managed to send shivers down my spine even in my current slightly derailing state.

I sniffed, twisting locks of my hair between my fingers. I didn't know what made me call him, but Finn said to do what my body wanted and I wanted to try it. "Um...n-no. I'm really not, Aiden," I croaked, tears brimming my eyes again. I glanced at my alarm clock, it flashed red across the screen: '2:34 AM'.

He was silent for a moment, and I heard shuffling again and what sounded like a bed creaking. "Okay. Do...you want me to come over there? Um, Nate?" He called my name after I spent a while hesitating. "Yeah." I whispered, fidgeting with my comforter. I heard footsteps, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

I felt a small smile spread across my face. "Okay. Bye."

He returned the phrase and I hung up before getting up and opening the curtains enough for the moonlight to lighten up the room. I also left the door unlocked. I debated sitting on the couch or getting back into bed. The living room was too spacious and empty, being there for even a minute right now would make me feel worse. I sat back in bed.

Soon enough, the front door could be heard being opened and closed, after the doorknob was tested. "Nate?"

"I-In here." I couldn't stop replaying it in my mind. I fucking hated crying, especially in front of other people, but every time I wiped one tear, another fell. I played with my fingers and watched myself do so, more intently as his footsteps grew nearer and finally my bedroom door opened. My eyes slowly drifted to his, which were shifting between different shades of blue.

"Hey," he hesitates too, but he came over and sat next to me, his shoes were off and he was in a white t-shirt and some basketball shorts. He had a strange sorrow in his features when he gazed at me, he held my chin gently and wiped my face with his other hand. "What happened?" I could see clear concern in those eyes, and I faltered to wallow for a moment in doubting question, why did he care about me, if he really did? He could've just come over out of pity, or just to be nice.

I was silent. I didn't know if I wanted to talk about it, if I did, there'd be a risk of him telling Caleb or someone else. I think he saw that I wasn't too open to talk about it because he smiled gently. "It's alright. Where's Tristan, you..." His voice trailed off in surprise when I laid my aching head on his shoulder after bringing him closer, "you could've called him?"

"You were the first person I thought of." I mumbled into his neck and shirt, it smelled clean and had traces of his scent mixed in it. It was a calming mixture, I closed my eyes. "I was?" I could hear a little smirk in his voice, I felt my cheeks grow a little warmer and I buried my face in his neck, "shut up."

He laughed quietly, like he'd wake Bear or something, who was sleeping near his food bowl in the kitchen snoring like an actual bear. "I like that you think about me." He murmured as his arms pulled himself snug against me. After a few minutes, I spoke up. "I can't help it." My voice cracked slightly due to my previous crying and dry throat.