Painting the Ocean [BxB]

Chapter Three

A few hours went by, and Ezra found himself grabbing his laptop. He pushed open the door of his house and exited, not bothering to lock the door behind him. Making his way down the stairs surrounded by hundreds of tees, Ezra let out a sigh as he recalled what happened hours ago. Penitence ate at his chest, and inwardly, he winced as an image of the boy's face flashed through his mind.

"Dammit," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It wasn't long after that he reached the beach. His eyes fixated on the picnic table to his left, completely unaware of the figure to his right. Ezra sat down at the table, his back facing the ocean. He pressed the power button, his chin biting into the palm of his hand as he waited for the screen to flash the lock screen. His eyes shut, and he slowly inhaled, feeling the tension within him dissipate.

Opening his eyes again, his eyelids sank, and he raised an eyebrow, drinking the silhouette visible on the screen. Choosing to ignore the boy, Ezra promptly went to the app he usually wrote on and began typing. Remi's eyes never left Ezra's back as he gulped, debating on what he should do at that moment. Should he go to him? Should he make himself known? Should he turn his back and ignore the man? Should he return home? Even though a part of him wanted to, he couldn't. He wouldn't allow himself to.

"I thought you went home."

Remi's shoulders tensed at the man's voice, and he quickly turned his head in the opposite direction. His lower arm hovered next to his stomach, and his fingernails dug into his flesh nervously. He remained silent, and Ezra's fingers came to a halt. The man proceeded to get up and go to the other side of the table, finally looking towards the boy.

"Come here." Ezra jerked his head to the side.

Again, Remi failed to utter a word as he hesitantly shifted in his spot before slowly making his way to the table where he sat next to Ezra. Ezra's eyes followed his movements — a line etched between his brows.

"Why didn't you go home?" He asked, watching how the boy shifted in his space. Remi's thumbs rubbed together in circles, and he nibbled on his bottom lip.

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "You do have a home, right?"

Roseate painted Remi's face and the tip of his ears as he balled his fists in defense. "Of course, I do!"

"Then why don't you go to it?" Ezra questioned, a hint of annoyance in his tone. Remi picked up on it and awkwardly began rubbing his thumbs together again.

"It's not that easy," he murmured, barely audible.

"How is it not? Use your legs," Ezra blatantly said, pursing his lips.

Remi narrowed his eyes, still refusing to look at Ezra. "I can't."

"And why not?"

Anger stirred in Remi's chest. "Can you stop asking me all these questions?!"

Ezra's face held no emotion as he clenched his teeth. "Look, kid. I have a million other things to do than to talk to you right now. You're lucky that I'm calmly sitting here. I was seconds away from calling the cops. As a matter of fact, you're supposed to be in the hospital right now, but if you're strong enough to run away, you're strong enough to survive the day."

Remi stayed quiet, and his anger was replaced with shame.

"You better find a way back home, and don't let me ever see you here again trying to do something you know you don't want to do." With that, Ezra turned his attention back to his laptop.

Remi's body slumped, and he brought his knees up to his chest. He hugged them, his eyes fixated on the sand beneath him.

"What makes you think I don't want to do it?"

Those words forced Ezra to stop typing as he glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

"You saw it yourself; I entered that ocean like it was my home." The boy's voice cracked at the end of his sentence, and his eyes became glossy. "If you hadn't pulled me out, I would have been dead. So, what makes you think I don't want to do it? Because I want to so badly."

Ezra pinned him with his narrowed eyes. "Then do it."

Remi froze. "What?"

Ezra stood and made his way to the boy's side. He extended his hand towards the ocean and pointed a finger.

"Do it; the ocean's right there," Ezra said through gritted teeth. "Do it, and watch me pull you right back out."

A tear slipped from Remi's widened eyes, and the boy's lips parted. " . . . I-"

"You don't want to end your life. You want to end the pain that's molding your mind to believe that it's your life that needs to end." It took everything in Ezra to not come off harsh. He couldn't let what happened in the house happen here too.

"You don't want to die, do you? You want whatever it is that's bothering you to leave you alone. You want to feel like you have a purpose in this world, well, you do. You just can't see it." Ezra's voice softened on his last words, and a frown danced on his lips. Remi's hold on his legs tightened, and Ezra gently threaded a hand through the boy's hair.

"Do you know who's preventing you from seeing it?" Ezra asked rhetorically. His eyes subconsciously wandered to his left, and the corners of his lips tugged upwards.

"You," he finished his sentence.

Remi's head hung, and he wilted as tears slipped from his eyes and landed on his beige three-quarter jeans. Woe stabbed at his heart as he tried to stand up. He didn't make it over the bench before his knees turned to water, and he found himself falling back onto the bench, his fists clenching Ezra's vest.

"I-I'm sorry," he choked between sobs. His shoulders shook with every sob, and his body felt leaden.

"I'm so sorry. I sh-shouldn't have brought you into this . . . I didn't want . . . " he couldn't finish his sentence. He thought he didn't have the right to speak after what he pulled.

Ezra's eyes fell on the tree behind them, and his chest burnt with despair. He crumbled inside at the sight of the boy, and he couldn't help but allow his eyes to become glossy with tears given how real the situation felt."I-I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry," Remi repeated over and over again. When Ezra had about enough of his apologies, he lifted the boy off the table and engulfed him.