The Boy's of Westbrook

~Bold~ Chapter IV

Chapter IV

Reese locked himself in his room that night. Despite Cameron's constant knocking and empty handed threats, the bedroom door stayed shut. He tried to sleep, but all he could do was lie there in bed. There were times he slept, periodically, but thoughts, memories of him kissing Aden always found a way into his consciousness.

Aden kissing him back was a surprise in itself, but Reese should have noticed the signs. He fought with himself nonstop about that and over his dynamic screw up. There was an attraction, no doubt about it. Even Reese realized he'd been giving off mixed signals for a while. How he always had to find a reason to be in the same room as Aden when Cameron left the kitchen or living room. They never said anything to each other but the feeling, that lingering feeling, the need or the want (he had no idea which) to touch Aden again.

It was driving him mad.

Reese had no idea what do with himself. His mother never came in that night. That meant she wouldn't be coming back until the next day, often in the middle of the night where she'd sleep the next two days of her life away. Maybe. He managed to get himself out of bed, despite the fact that it was a few minutes before 7 o'clock. Reese didn't get much sleep between the hours of 1 in the morning and 6.

Two days old, boneless fried chicken was still in the refrigerator neatly wrapped in aluminum foil. Cameron cooked it. Reese remembered the good time they had while she made it. They decided to have a flour fight. Flour covered the cabinets, floor, counter, table and their heads more than it did the chicken. They still managed to keep laughing even during the cleaning process.

Cameron wasn't just his baby sister. She was also his best friend. His hope. His crutch, if she knew it or not.

This went against his eating habits, but Reese nuked it in the microwave and ate some for breakfast anyway. For most people, ice cream or potato chips were their go to food after having a rotten day or night. For Reese, his go to food was greasy foods.

He was still mad at himself and at a loss at how to fix things when a whole hour passed by. The only thing Reese accomplished was by sitting his head on the kitchen table and seethe at himself. He felt like a volcano, ready to erupt. Another half an hour went by. Wasted.

He felt useless, powerless, against his own feelings. Reese began to realize, he'd been in love with more than one person. He just didn't know it until recently, until he lost Aden.

Maybe I haven't.

The weather looked crappy, like his mood.

When his phone started to ring from his room, Reese felt like ignoring it. When it started to ring again, Reese seldom felt a sense of alarm. He started moving like a sloth but gained speed as he drew closer to his room. What if it was his mom calling? Did she end up with someone worse than Cameron's ex? Was she stranded and needed a ride to get away from him?

These weren't things he looked forward to, but it was his mom, so-

The name: Damien Barraza. Reese suddenly felt like he'd rather get stuck with the alternative. He was trying not to approach this bitterly, but he couldn't help himself. Is that what this has come to? You're going to play the blame game?

He flicked the screen to answer the call.

Damien wasted no time. "He hates me. He really hates me now. I know it." There was an edge of desperation in his voice. It sounded like he just went out on a run. It could have been a mixture of both.

Reese wished he could say he knew the feeling. At least Reese knew he wasn't alone in this.

"I know I messed up big time."