Theo (Boyxboy)(Trans)

Chapter Twenty

When the pastor finally steps down after giving us all a moment to bow together in prayer, everyone takes to praying on their own, or mingling with the others. Amidst the movement, I tell Carter I'll be back and hurry out of the room and down a hall towards the washrooms. Sighing at the little pink symbol over the door I enter, I march to the sinks and splash my face with some cold water, trying to calm down. I need to pull myself together, but I'm a wreck and I know it's not going to get better anytime soon. As long as my aunt is in that hospital bed, and I'm a damn liar, my mind and body will be fighting against me and I know it. 

Taking a deep breath, I lift my gaze to the mirror and force myself to face myself. I swear in the short time since summer ended, I've aged. It's a ridiculous notion, seeing as I'm only seventeen, but there's something haggard and worn about me. My eyes look dull and tired, my skin pale and I've probably lost weight since I've been too stressed to eat very much. 

"Theo," I say, trying to see myself, not associating myself with what my eyes see, but shame strikes me down when I realize I'm talking to a damn reflection. "You're such a fucking mess."

With a groan, I push myself back from the counter and walk out of the bathroom. Just as I'm rounding the first corner, I run smack into a chest and stumble back so hard I almost fall flat on my ass if not for the hand that reaches out to catch me.

"Whoa," A familiar voice chuckles, making me sigh internally. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," I brush off, not making eye contact as I go to walk around him, but his hand lands on my shoulder as if to ask me to stop, so I glance back.

"Theresa... you know, you can talk to me about it," Reed says, nothing but honest concern in his honey coloured eyes.

My heart races at the implication of the words, my eyes widening slightly as I search for words, "Talk about.. it?"

He nods, grasping my hands in his, "Yeah, about your aunt? I know you don't get on well with your family, and shit's rough at school. Just thought I'd remind you, you have a friend in me whenever you need it."

Of course, I think to myself in relief. "Thank you, Reed. That means a lot to me."

I think I'm in the clear, until he speaks again, "Of course. Hey--uhm, I dropped someone off at your house earlier tonight, but I didn't see them in there. Did he not come with you guys?"

Panic seizes me, and it should be an easy thing to lie around, but my mind just isn't producing words for me to say and the guilt is practically screaming at me to just tell him the truth, and I swear I'm about to have a melt down on the spot when suddenly, another voice comes from behind Reed.

"Are you talking about Theo?" Carter asks, causing both Reed and myself to turn to him in surprise as his now dry eyes blink at us questioningly. "He's not really a church-goer, so I dropped him off at his place on the way. Did you need him for something?"

Looking up at Reed, I notice his cheeks turn pink as he glances quickly between Carter and I, "No, nothing in particular I guess. I was just curious... could you tell him to call me soon?"

Carter avoids looking my direction when he says, "I'll be sure he does."

Reed starts to walk back through the church doors to return to his family, when Carter calls out again to both mine and Reed's surprise. "Just so you know, Theo really likes you, man. He just... tends to get overwhelmed easy and sometimes avoids things when he's not sure how to handle them, but he'll come around. Just give him time."

"How did you--" Reed looks stunned that Carter had so easily read into the situation, and honestly, I'm just as surprised that he understood what happened between Reed and I tonight without me telling him.