Tell Me You Need Me [bxb]

C28: Tell Me You Make Me Better.

. . . 

Henry had fallen asleep hours ago, and according to texts on Henry's phone, their dad was doing overnight at the medical plant. I was left in the Lowe household alone with my thoughts. It was now almost 2 a.m, and I still haven't heard anything back from Eric regarding the Logan situation. I had decided not to call L.J or Avery and get them all rattled for no reason, but the suspense was killing me.

Looking through the pet clinic's brochure pamphlet Eric was going to start working at, I sighed. Our last few months before college was going to have to be split with this job. We already spent half the year at odds. I thought things were going to be smooth sailing from here. It seems like every time I blink, something in our lives is going wrong. 

Spotting a picture of Emily with her family on the back, I got the brightest idea. Why don't I work with him? I'm sure they could use more help. Eric wouldn't mind either. I'm sure he wants to see more of me too. It's a win, win situation if you were to ask me.

Grabbing my phone, I shot Emily a text about it, not even realizing she might not even be awake at this hour. That thought was quickly forgotten as my phone buzzed in my hands moments later. Emily responded that she could, for sure, get me a spot, no worries about it. 

I do need to hang out with her more.

Making myself comfortable on the living room couch to put something on T.V my heart stopped when I heard keys jiggling in the lock. I hadn't heard any cars pull into the lot, so of course, my mind's first thought was, this is how you die, Darren. Hopefully, they leave Henry alone. He doesn't deserve it. 

Ducking behind the couch, so I was out of view of the killer's sight, I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon: a pillow, a book bag, and a phone charger. Maybe I could get closer enough to strangle them with the cord. They never said don't bring a cord to a gunfight... I might win.

I'm not going to say I peed a bit when the door flung open, but I am glad I changed into a pair of Eric's pajamas. 

"Shit," I heard Eric grumble, which made me stick my head up a bit higher. Wait, duh, Darren, you heard keys. Why would an intruder have keys? We all have dull moments.

As my heart rate began to reset to normal, I realized Eric had a very drunk Logan attached to his side, which prompted me to get up and help. We both carried him to the couch and put him down safely. 

"Why were you hiding?" Eric asked, taking off his best friend's shoes. Eric's eyes were red and his cheeks a bit puffy. I could tell he had been crying. The conversation between Logan and him must've been extremely heavy. 

"Hiding?" I laugh jokingly. "I had dropped my phone. I wasn't hiding," 

Plopping down on the chair next to the couch, Eric exhaled loudly. "Henry asleep?"

I nodded my head before going over to him and bending down so I could engulf him in a hug. It seemed as though he needed one. I didn't know if he was going to talk to me about what happened between them, but I knew if I had just talked Avery off a cliff, I'd need several hugs. 

He didn't hesitate to hug me back and place a sweet kiss on my cheek. We stayed embraced in each other's arms for a solid 5 minutes before I pulled away and saw that a few more stray tears had found their way down his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, taking a seat on the floor next to his feet. I watched as he looked over Logan, probably still scared. I know Eric gives off this tough persona, and it takes a lot to break him, but this was more than enough. I couldn't possibly imagine having to spout out reasons as to why someone should want to live because saying the wrong thing could be the last straw. That's enough pressure to break anyone, especially if you've known the guy your whole life.