When Hands Touch

26. talk me down

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

TALK ME DOWN

—

"So, is there anything that you want to talk about?"

Xen slowly shook his head, eyes closed as he leaned against the headboard of the bed. "I— I just need you t-to talk to me, please. I'm so scared," he whispered hoarsely, clearing his throat immediately after.

As usual, Milo didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do, because Xen was still trembling all over his body, and his voice was still hesitant and shaky, a complete contrast to his usual, everyday voice. And it hurt like a bitch to hear it.

But he spoke anyway, because he saw genuine tears leave Xen's eyes, and the sight of it was fucking heart-wrenching. "What are you scared of?"

"I don't know, Milo," Xen stressed, furiously wiping his cheeks. "I'm going to— I can't think— I feel like absolute fucking shit. I can barely breathe. Everything's setting me off." Looking around the room, Xen let out a heavy sigh as he sniffed, releasing another sob. "God, everything is so fucking overwhelming."

Okay, just talk. You do that a lot, just talk.

"So, I was thinking about this the other day," Milo began, taking Xen's hand in his and holding it close to him. "You know how everyone's going off to college and everything soon, right? And like— some people feel like they're gonna lose their friends when that happens, but I don't think we will. I don't think we'll lose anyone. Even though I've only been friends with Ray and Faiza for, what, three months? I feel really close to them, and obviously, we get busier as we get older, but I think that we can still make time for each other.

"Like, even if we don't talk for a while, we won't grow apart. I mean, Jude and I have been friends for over ten years, so... We're not going to grow apart, that's just not in the picture," Milo stated, voice merely a decibel above a whisper so as to not wake anyone up.

Xen didn't say anything for a moment. And then, "Tell me about your friends. Jude. Evangeline."

Milo bobbed his head up and down in enthusiasm. "Okay! Well, firstly, they're your friends, too," he reminded, smiling when Xen nodded.

"There isn't much to say, to be honest. I've known Jude since I was seven, I think? Eight? I dunno. Kids were picking on him because of his skin, and it pissed me off because I thought Jude had the prettiest skin ever. I still do, your skin is a close second. Anyway. I went over to the kids, and told them that I hated them, and that I hoped their parents wouldn't give them candy for a week.

"I was a really slow kid, still am, to be honest, but anyway. The bullies backed off, and Jude and I became friends. I didn't have any other friends because no one wanted to be friends with the stupid kid— this was before I got diagnosed with dyslexia, so everyone genuinely just believed I was fucking stupid. And no one wanted to be friends with anyone who looked different. Bastards, Jude is fucking beautiful. So yeah, Jude and I have been friends ever since."

Taking a short breath, Milo glanced at Xen, whose eyes were closed. But he knew that he was listening, because his lips were curved upward into a tiny smile.

"We did everything together. He's literally a part of my family, at this point. Lia pretends to hate him, but I know that she loves him, because he treats her like a sister. My dad adores him too, who wouldn't, right? He always helps with my migraines, my dyslexia. Everything. My dad will adore you as well, to be honest. Because you do everything Jude does, plus more. So yeah, Jude is a staple in my life. We rarely ever fight, but I remember this one time we got into a huge fight.