The Other Side (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 9

Waking up in Elijah's arms was borderline frightening. It took about 5 minutes for me to remember why he was naked and in my bed, and even then, it was still a little weird.

I thought I would be ecstatic about it and don't get me wrong, I'm really happy but...some part of me still isn't. I want to tell that part to just shut the fuck up and be grateful that he's here but, I also can't help but feel that it's valid in some weird way.

Ugh. This is annoying.

I pushed that weird, icky feel aside and focused on snuggling my mate. It kinda sucks that we didn't have sex but hey, I'm fine with this too. A tiny snort from Elijah made me look down and witness him waking up for the first time.

He's fucking adorable. First, his eyelids get all twitchy, then his breathing pattern stutters for a sec before he scrunches up his nose and slowly lifts his eyelids to reveal those soft, green eyes. A frown worked onto my own face when I saw that they momentarily widened with fear. It was for a second but I saw it and it hurt.

He's still scared of me, whether he realizes it or not.

It's okay, I'm determined to help him through this. That same icky feeling made itself known again, making my frown deepen even more. What the hell is going on with me?

Elijah gave me a lazy smile, to which I returned the same, however, no words were exchanged as he got up and went into the bathroom. I felt a wave of unknown emotion when he left. It was foreign and It was suffocating and I absolutely hated it.

"Hey, uh, you wanna go somewhere today?" I asked when he came back. My hand was rubbing at my chest, hoping to get rid of that terrible feeling. His eyes loomed over the room and landed on his clean clothes from yesterday.

"Not today. I have to go somewhere but I'll be back" He said curtly as he got dressed. The icky feeling spiked.

"Oh okay, where are you going?" I said, giving him a small nod. In two strides, he walked over and used one hand to lean down for a kiss. He ruffled my hair and paused by the doorway.

"I'll be back." He smiled once more and then was gone. I stared at the doorway as I heard his footsteps fade, then the door slam close. I was alone again.

The unknown emotion rose again, causing a lone tear to slip out of my eye. I quickly wiped it and took a shaky breath. It's common for people with trauma to be a bit distant, just have to be supportive.

I reassured myself three more times before finally deciding to get up and clean around the house. My room was pretty hard considering the fact that it was messy for weeks and I just shoved everything under the bed last night, but, it got done. I put on some music and got busy with the rest of the house.

When I reached my parent's room, I paused. It was hard going in there since they aren't here to lecture me or to tell me lame jokes anymore. I creaked their door open and their scent immediately hit me in the face. God I miss them.

I walked over to the far end of the room and picked up the photo album that was laid on top of it. I flip through the pages and see a picture of Santana and I, as babies. She was in a yellow blanket with Dad while I was in a green blanket with Mom. Mom's hair was messy with no makeup on and Dad looked like he hasn't slept in days. Despite them looking worn out, they still wore the happiest smiles.

I flipped through a few more pictures before stopping on a particular photo. Santana and I had on matching uniforms with our arms around each other. The first day of 4th grade. I remember because I lost a tooth this same day. Turns out, I accidentally swallowed it in my sleep.