Non Verbal

17

I nodded listening.

"Then he got the diagnosis of OCD and they medicated him, therapy, the lot and he seemed to lose all his rituals, like he occasionally would stop talking and explain it was a head thing, but that was it."

"Oh." I whisper.

"Like he had friends, a girlfriend, he still was slightly a freak but like funny, it was funny the stuff he would say." Sutton mutters.

I guess it stopped being so funny.

"It shouldn't have ever been funny though," Sutton says before I could reply. "Like we should have noticed it had come back, like I know I am Fran's boyfriend, ha, or ok, was, but like we're mates, I care about him. I should have noticed."

"Sutton." I whisper and he pauses and I lift my hand up to his back to his shoulder, then I turn him around and he turns to me and with him now facing me I tiptoe and pull him into a tight hug.

"This isn't anyone's fault, stop torturing yourself."

"He was found on fucking train tracks trying to do a ritual, now he's probably dead frozen in-"

"You're being dramatic." We hear, off to the side, into the wooded area.

"Rowan?" Sutton says, turning the light to the area and we both see him. He just laid there in amongst the leaves on the forest floor. Just staring up at the moon, his body seeming unnaturally long.

Both Sutton and I sigh in pure relief. 

"Fucking hell Roe, are you ok?" Sutton says, jogging over to him and crouching down, his hand going to touch him and Rowan tenses, moving away slightly so Sutton doesn't touch him.

Sutton shines the light on his face and I climb over a branch to see them both, my phone in my hand, opening it up to try and text mum to say that we have him.

I don't have any signal and Rowan still hasn't said a word since the whole 'you're being dramatic' statement.

"We've been searching for you for hours you ass, what were you thinking? Taking off like that? You could have gotten yourself killed?" Sutton frets as he kneels beside him, shinning up and down the boy.

"Is he wet?" I ask gently.

"No."

"Okay good." I say. "I don't have any signal Sutton, do you?"

Rowan closes his eyes, he looks annoyed, defeated. He looks so tense.

Sutton takes his phone out and shakes his head. "Come on Rowan, let's get you back safe-"

Rowan doesn't say anything.

"Look you just need to get up for me- we'll-"

Rowan still doesn't reply, but he does turn his head away from us and I wrap my arms around myself in concern. He seems out of it.

"I'll go get help." I say. "like go back and tell them-"

"Lottie you don't know the woods, do you even know where we are?" Sutton says, looking up at me.

I shake my head sheepishly.

He stands up. "Stay with him. Please? Please don't let him go anywhere."

"Ok." I whisper, looking down at Rowan in slight awkwardness.

Sutton's gonna leave me? Us?

Ok. That's fine.

Sutton comes to me, hands me the flashlight and tells me again to please stay.

"Look you said it yourself, I don't know how to leave even if I wanted to. It's fine, go get his parents." I say.