Whatever Floats your Boat

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Kendal," I whispered. The noises stopped for a moment, like he just realised there was someone there, before they started up again. "Kendal..." I tried again. I placed a knee on the mattress, it groaned with my added weight but I ignored it, and Kendal seemed to ignore me too.

I crawled up the bed, in the space between the wall and his shrouded body. He didn't complain, didn't seem to have energy to do anything else but sob. I lay down by his side, turning to finally face him. His face was pressed to the cushion, open to see with a mandala blanket framing his face; tears ran down his face and his nose was red.

"Kendal," he looked finally. Instinctively my hand went to his forehead, my fingers tracing from his temple to his chin. He didn't move away, just opened his blood shot eyes and watched me.

"Lou," he croaked. I smiled, my hand resting on his neck that was only just visible.

"The guys wanted me to come see you," I told him. He nodded sadly and I realised why; "I wanted to make sure you were okay too."

Kendal laughed, his laugh deeper with tears thickening his voice. "Don't know why, I treated you like shit." I smirked, leaning forward and pressed my forehead to his. "I was wrong to do that," he added.

"You thought you were helping the both of us," I soothed.

He shook his head, snivelling as he did so. "Whatever my intentions I should have gone through with my deal; I should have made sure Beck wasn't on the higher footing." Silence pursued as I tried to find the nicest way to tell him to shut up. "I need to tell you, Lou. I didn't think about how it came across at the restaurant; I wasn't dating you to make Naiad jealous. I was trying to show her that I could be a good boyfriend."

"I know, Kendal." I placed a hand over his, which was tight around the blankets he was using as a veil. "The boys told me about it."

"The boys... you mean Kyle too?" Kendal laughed; "Why'd he do that? He hates you!" I tried to laugh it off but even in this situation, with the humour being anything but comical, the mention of Kyle's hatred for me tasted a little bitter.

"I think he was trying to tell me that you were a good guy and that I should get my arse over here."

Kendal laughed again, with more vigour this time. His laughter dies and he stared up at me, his smile slackening to a frown with passing seconds. "Why would you come and check up on me?" He says finally; "You should hate me, you should be pleased it didn't turn out right."

I shrugged. "I couldn't wish badly on you."

"But why not?"

I didn't answer, I just stared at him. I couldn't answer that, I didn't know how to. We stayed like that, his tears started to slow, my hand was relentless moving from his temple to chin. It was one of those bittersweet moments I had been craving all year; the peeling sunburnt skin satisfaction, the hot sun drying your skin after an hour in the freezing lake. I hadn't had a melancholy moment in a long time and here I was having one with Kendal Yates, of all people!

"You have a tattoo, on your ribcage."

Kendal's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

I smirked. He knew I had spotted it that morning after the party. It seemed so long ago, at that time I was only beginning to trust him. To see where trusting him led, I would never gone down that road to begin with.

A smile twitched at his lips; yeah, he remembered my gawping. "It's a bit floral for you, don't you think?"

It wasn't that his tat was of flowers and butterflies, it was the opposite of that; simple font with nothing to make it sparkle. It was just such a romantic idea, a romantic word that held so much power behind it.