||The Secrets We Keep|| - Salvis

Chapter III

      Everything goes silent, Travis's heart skipping a beat and him going immediately tense, Sal keeping nestled into him so Travis doesn't see him without his prosthetic on , his hands slowly going to hold the sides of Travis's shirt in case he does try to move, anxiety quickly filling him as a realization hits him. "D..Did you see my face...?" Sal asks slowly and meekly, hiding his face in Travis's shirt and holding onto him lightly.
Travis keeps his hands planted on Sal's back gently, palms flat as his eyes widen at the question, quickly shaking his head. "No, of course not. I kept my head up." Travis whispers to him, looking to the nightstand, where Sal's prosthetic lays, a digital clock reading Sunday, 9:43 AM on it.
Sal nods, reaching behind him with one of his hands and grabbing his prosthetic, Travis closing his eyes as Sal straps the prosthetic securely onto his mangled face, still laying close to him. "Thank you for not looking," Sal murmurs appreciatively, looking up at him once the straps are tight enough.
Travis meets his eyes, an involuntary smile starting to form at the corners of his lip before Travis catches it quickly, looking away and feeling butterflies flutter in his stomach, forcing away the smile. "No problem, you asked me not to." He mutters, removing his hands from his back, though not moving away where they are both laying together, just barely touching.
Sal doesn't move from his spot, slightly leaning into him and not saying anything else. Travis lets it stay quiet, telling himself only a bit longer as he holds him, seeing Gizmo laying by Sal's back, still asleep. Travis moves one of his hands to pet Gizmo, no reaction coming from the orange cat. After a couple minutes, Sal slowly pulls away from where he is comfortably laid against Travis.
Travis looks at him in question, removing his hands and running a hand through his own hair, already thinking about how his dad will react to him running away from home. Sal sits up, Gizmo now awake and alert, sitting up and meowing. "I'll feed you Gizmo one minute," Sal mumbles tiredly, rubbing his eyes through his prosthetic and sitting by the edge of the bed.
Travis stays laying down in the bed, it starts to hurt to move and stays still, keeping his eyes on the back of Sal's head, his blue hair frizzy and a bit tangled in the prosthetic straps. "If you need anything, Travis, let me know and I'll try my best to help. I'll be right back, got to feed Gizmo," Sal hums, the tiredness still clear in his voice as he stands up, Gizmo jumping off the bed as well to follow Sal.
Travis watches as Sal leaves the room, checking his phone the moment that the door shuts. Multiple calls and messages pop up from his dad, his anxiety instantly spiking when he sees the contact name for him, K. He checks the various messages, all threats to when he does return back home, and he sits up quickly, pain shooting straight to his head as he does so. He groans quietly, immediately moving a hand to his bandaged head, grimacing as he feels against the gauze. He moves to the edge of the bed, his vision blurring slightly, and he blinks away dark spots. He stands up, holding the nightstand and leaving the room, his phone going into his pocket. He stumbles to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and taking deep breaths, looking in the mirror and seeing his bandaged head and arms. A knock is heard at the bathroom door a moment later, quiet and just noticeable. "Travis? Are you alright in there?" Sal's voice is just barely heard, and Travis turns his attention to the shut door.
"Yeah, just a bit dizzy and stuff." Travis mumbles in response, and he sees the door open, Sal standing in the doorway, painkillers in one of his hands, the other hand still holding the door handle.
Sal moves a bit closer, Travis in return taking a step back. Sal holds out the painkillers to Travis, tilting his head to him. "Please take these, 3 of them, it'll help with the soreness and pain of it." he says quickly, Travis taking the bottle carefully from him and doing as he was instructed, dry swallowing them.
Sal gives a smile through his eyes in response, taking the bottle back once Travis is done, holding the door agape for Travis. "Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat and you can go back to sleep, it's still early anyway," Sal hums, and Travis gives him a nod, walking out of the room with Sal, following him to the kitchen.
Gizmo is sitting by the free space in the kitchen, eating his food from one of the two bowls on the floor. Sal leads him and Travis to where the kitchen table is, letting Travis sit down in one of the chairs and walking to where the toaster is, taking out 3 pieces of bread and spreading butter on them, putting them in the toaster, getting two plates meanwhile. Travis watches as he does so, tiredly though knowing he needs to get up and stay awake eventually, resting his head in his folded arms on the table. A minute or two pass before the toaster dings, the toast is ready, and Sal takes out the toast and cuts one of the pieces in half, putting equal pieces on two plates and passing one of them in front of travis. He taps by Travis's folded arms, Travis immediately sitting up and looking at him, before seeing the plate and giving a thankful smile. Sal walks away to get two cups, and Travis sits up properly, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes in prayer and saying grace, as he does every morning before eating. After a couple minutes, Sal sits beside him, setting down two glasses of orange juice, one beside Travis's plate and the other being by his own plate. Sal doesn't look over to Travis, in respect, his hands laying on the table patiently until he eventually hears Travis mumble, "Amen."
Travis looks up, meeting Sal's eyes. They both look at their food after, starting to eat, mostly in silence as Sal understands the tired energy radiating from Travis. Once they finish eating, Sal stands, taking their dishes and letting Travis go back to sleep, Travis not fighting it and complying, walking back to Sal's room and collapsing into his bed, hugging one of the pillows and closing his eyes, his brain unable to help but worry about what is going to happen soon, both when he gets home and in the near future, and reminds himself of how he needs to warn Sal as soon as possible.

||(Authors note:) Hello! This ending isn't supposed to make sense until a later chapter, so do not worry! I did provide that little moment for you guys, and if you were in my live on TikTok last night thank you so much for joining, I loved talking to all of you and I appreciate the support on my story! :) ||

Word count: 1218 words with authors note, 1131 words without