Homebound (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 28

I run my hands through Javi's hair, which is still wet from his shower, getting the front of my shirt soaked, not that I care. He's sitting between my legs with his back against my chest, staring at the TV even though he's definitely not watching the Netflix show. Both of us are a little too preoccupied with our thoughts to focus on anything else.

After Javi got back from everything with his family, it's been a pretty quiet day and a half. He came back and barely said anything, but from texting with him while he was there, his family and he stayed inside for 24 hours with Lita and they celebrated her life. Then, they did the velerios thing to kinda act as the wake and after that, he came back here. Even if the whole time, it was supposed to be a celebration of Lita's life, Javi didn't seem to enjoy it as much.

And, now that he's back, it's even more depressing. He's been quiet and hasn't said much to me. He had a little moment where he asked to talk to Nathan and when they walked out, Nathan looked overwhelmed, so I don't think that went well. I forced him to eat a snack and shower, but that's all that I can do for him. I can't force him to talk and I don't know what to say, so I've let him be lazy and calm down from the past few days.

He called work and took a two-week leave of absence, but unfortunately, I can't just drop out of school when I'm so close to graduating. I have to go back tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I'm worried to leave Javi alone, so am I supposed to ask one of his roommates to stay with him? The last thing I want is to burden them, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do in this situation and it's not like I can ask my parents since they're still not talking to me.

Paige has texted me once to make sure I was okay, but that was it. Liza and I stay in contact regularly in a group chat with Jackson, but since we're all so busy, we don't talk much. They've told me that Wynter's still being stubborn and talks bad about me daily, so that situation is still the same. So all-in-all, life's not the best right now.

I lean down and kiss the top of Javi's head before continuing to run my fingers through his hair. "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten much today."

"I'm not hungry," he whispers, continuing to watch the TV, even though nothing's playing anymore since Netflix thinks we're not watching. I put my hand under his chin and guide his head to look at me.

"You need to eat," I remind him in a gentle tone. Javi struggles to hold eye contact and eventually, he turns his eyes down to look at the comforter. He sighs before running his hand over his face, looking exhausted. "how about you eat a tiny bit more and then nap? Is that okay?"

He doesn't look me in the eyes as he nods his head. I kiss his cheek quickly before sliding out from behind him and making my way to the door. I open it slightly, but I freeze when his soft voice penetrates my ears. "I'm sorry."

I turn towards him in confusion. "For what?"

He doesn't say anything more, just stares at the TV with emotionless eyes again. I wait for a few moments to see if he'll answer my question, but when it looks like he won't, I leave the room with a sigh. I make sure to close the bedroom door before walking down the hallway and into the living room. As soon as I walk into the room, I stop to look at the boys sitting in the living room with worried expressions.

Nathan sits in the middle of the couch, both of his knees bouncing up-and-down as a nervous tick. Next to him is Dom, who started watching me the moment I stepped into the room. And Chris? Well, he just sits there with his eyes cast downwards, exactly how he's been since we found out about Lita. Amanda's been staying with him since we found out, but she had to go to work today, so Nathan and Dom have been looking after him. "What's going on?"