‡† The Unseen †‡

04 † Drooping †

Devon remained silent, his gaze distant.

Frustration and fear surged within Raven. It was all so frustrating he wanted to scream. He wanted to yank his heart out, just so the relentless pounding won't sound so audible in his ears.

"Why won't you let anyone in? If there isn't anyone at all, I'm here, damn it! I see you hurting, and I can't just stand by!"

Devon's clasped fists tightened , but he said nothing.

The rain continued to fall, masking the tears that mingled with the water on Raven's face. He stepped back, his voice barely a whisper.

"Please, Devon... let me help. You can't just keep.. Oh God..." his voice wavered as his mind shut down, rewinding what he'd just witnessed.

All those marks.. All those bandages..

But Devon remained a silent statue, blatantly refusing to explain anything, the storm raging around them.

————

Raven sat on the edge of his bed, the room dimly lit by the overcast sky that had now been completely emptied filtering through the window. His clothes were still damp from the rain, clinging uncomfortably to his skin, but he barely noticed, and his parents weren't in the living room to notice either. Although he was still worried about his mother, his mind replayed the scene over and over: Devon's expressionless face, the objects glinting in the rain, the blood dripping, the fresh cuts on his fingers.

He ran a hand through his wet hair, frustration and helplessness boiling within him. "Why won't he let me in?" he muttered to himself. "Why does he keep pushing me away?"

The silence of the room offered no answers. Raven's gaze fell on the blade and pocketknife he had taken from Devon, now resting on his desk. Staring at the objects, they felt like a symbol of his failure, a reminder that despite his efforts, he couldn't reach Devon.

He stood up abruptly, pacing the room. "I can't just stand by and watch him destroy himself," he thought. "But what else can I do?"

Raven knew he couldn't force Devon to open up, but he also couldn't ignore the pain he saw in him. He resolved to keep trying, to be there for Devon in whatever way he could, even if it meant facing rejection.

—————

The rain came down in sheets, cold and relentless, but Raven didn’t move.

He was back here. On a Sunday night.

He stood in the middle of the field, arms loose at his sides, soaked through to the bone. His hoodie clung to his skin. His shoes squelched in the wet grass. The sky above offered no light—just gray on gray, stretching endlessly. Why he always felt the need to come here, in the middle of a storm, to find reprieve, he would never get to understand.

He tilted his head back, eyes closed.

The water hit his face like a baptism.

Like a reckoning.

He didn’t know when the words started.

Maybe they weren’t words at first. Just thoughts. Whispers inside his chest that had grown too loud to keep in.

But then, quietly—his voice rough, barely more than a breath—he began.

“God, I don’t know if you’re even real.”

The wind tugged at his clothes like fingers.

“But if you are... I need you.”

He swallowed, trembling. The water traced down his cheeks like tears he refused to cry.

“I’m tired. I’m so... tired.”

His knees buckled slightly, and he dropped to them in the grass. He splayed his limbs wide, his eyes closed, the rain sliding down the bulk that was him.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” he whispered. “Pretending. Carrying on. Caring. Smiling. It hurts. Everything hurts.”

The rain fell harder.

“...and now Devon..”

He pressed his head to the ground, fingers grasping the mud and grass.

“Please. I don’t even know what I’m asking for. Just... let me breathe. Just got a second.” He paused, then continued, “Let me be seen. Let something—someone—give me a reason to stay standing. There are people I need to stand for as well, and someone I can't seem to stop studying, but I.. I need someone too..”

No reply came.

Just the sound of rain.

But somehow, that was enough.

Not an answer.

But maybe a kind of presence.

He stayed like that for a long time—sprawled out in the rain, skin cold, heart raw, the storm washing over him like silence that finally listened.

___________

Thanks for reading.

Please don't forget to vote, comment, follow and stay close by for my next update..

See ya.

~Anon.