Ben's P. O. V.
I drop my phone in shock and scramble to pick it up again. "What do you mean they've taken River into custody?" I exclaim. "I mean they've taken River into custody. What the hell could that possibly mean other than what I just said?"Â She retorts.
"Okay okay. Should've seen that coming with your usual sass levels. But seriously, what's going on? Why?"
She sighs heavily. "I'll explain when you get here. Just hurry if you can." "Okay, I'll get there as soon as possible. Bye." "Bye."
I move quickly back to my dad's office, almost falling over. "Whoa, slow down." He says when he catches sight of me.
"I can't. I need to get down to the bookstore as fast as possible. Emerson called and said the police took River into custody. I don't know what's going on and she told me she'd tell me when I got there."
His eyebrows raise. "Geez. River's a good kid; it's probably just a mix up." "Well either way I need to hurry."
He nods as Dave walks in and hands him the x-rays. He looks them over. "No break. I'll drive you down to the bookstore after I wrap it up, but you need to ice it as soon as you can to bring down the swelling." I nod and drum my fingers as he wraps it up, grimacing a few times.
"Let's go." I say as soon as he finishes. I hurriedly crutch out to the car and he drives me over to the bookstore.
A couple police cars are parked outside, and an officer is outside talking to Emerson. I struggle out of the car, and rush to crutch over to her.
Her eyes widen as she sees me. "Holy crap Ben, what did you do?"
"As I said before, it doesn't matter right now; I'll tell you later. Tell me what's going on." I pause."Actually though, can we sit down? I need to elevate my ankle and my arms are sore from holding myself up."
She nods and we head into the bookstore, waving to the remaining officers as they drive away.
We settle in the chairs by the window, watching the sky darken as we talk.
"Okay here's the short version. The people that manufacture and deliver most of River's books he sells at the store are highly suspected of running a side gig smuggling drugs. They took him in because they suspect he's involved and the bookstore is a front to sell drugs."
My jaw drops. "Goodness sakes. Well, when are they releasing him?" I ask.
"They're questioning him tonight and tomorrow they're searching the bookstore. This whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. I would think I would know River well enough to know that he wouldn't be involved in anything like this." She hesitates. "Right?"
"You're thinking about your dad, aren't you?" I say quietly. "I mean, yeah. How can thoughts of him not come up anytime someone mentions drugs? For him to be addicted like that, to hurt my mom like he did, that hurts like hell. And then leave us to fend for yourselves? She didn't even have a job then." She shakes her head. "He just up and left. Never gave the life he once had a second glance. Didn't matter that he had a wife and child; the drugs were the most important thing to him." She shakes her head again.
"For River to do that, knowing everything I went through?" Her face contorts to an expression of pain.
"He wouldn't." I say, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"He sure as hell better not have." She laughs, wiping away the tears that have run down her cheeks. "I'll beat his ass into the next millennium." She says. I smile. She grins back at me. "Now tell me what you did before I beat your ass too."
Jay's P. O. V.
The sun's bright rays usually peek through the curtains and tickle my face to wake me. But today is different.
I roll over groggily to find the clock reading 11:30 AM and dark clouds covering the sky.
I sit up slowly, not feeling quite right. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and recognize a now familiar throbbing ache occupying my head. I stand and the room goes out of focus as I'm hit with a wave of dizziness. I stumble, catching myself on the dresser.
"Okayyyyyyyyy. Won't be doing that again." I mumble to myself, sitting back on the bed.
I open my phone, scrolling through my text messages. There's 3 from Ben that I don't bother to open, and one from Devon asking what I'm doing today. I open it up and text him back. 'Staying home, not feeling great.'
'Dang, I'd say let me know if you need anything, but the restaurant has some fancy high class snots reserving the place for the day and I'm going crazy on work overload. Was gonna ask if you could come help, but stay home if you aren't feeling good.'
'Just not up to it today, sorry. Have fun with that though.' I say, smirking as I reply.
'Will do ð I'll check in with you again late tonight, gtg.'
I set my phone down and run my fingers through my hair. It's almost lunch but I'm not hungry; if anything I feel a bit nauseous.
At this point it's probably suspicious that I'm not downstairs by now. I make my way down the stairs very slowly, pausing when my vision darkens.
Alexa is on the couch as usual, typing away at something. She glances at me then does a double take. "Whoa, you don't look so good. You're really pale. Are you alright?"
I simply shake my head and plop near her. "What's wrong?" She asks.
I lay my head back and close my eyes. "Headache, dizzy, little nauseous."
"Well, mom's off at work as usual and dad had a meeting he had to attend, so for now I'm your slave. Let's get you back upstairs to lay down."
I shake my head. "I'll stay here." She frowns at me."Hate to break it to you, but you might very well be sick, and I don't want to catch whatever you've got. Therefore, you go upstairs."
I sigh. "I'm not sick. I just need medicine then I'll be fine."
She scoffs. "Sure sure. Get your butt up there. Do you need help?" I shake my head and inch along with a hand on the wall for support.
Lex follows soon after and puts medicine and a cup of water on my nightstand. "Take this then we'll see."
She leaves and I'm left with only the sound of my head throbbing against my skull.
The succession of slamming doors downstairs makes me sit up and wince, holding my head.
I pull out my phone and text Lex, annoyed. 'I just told you I have a headache, and you go slamming all the doors?' 'Not me, Dad's home and he looks pissed.'
"Great." I mutter to myself. I decide to nap for a while and try to sleep off whatever's wrong with me.
I wake with a start with shouting echoing in my ears. A set of footsteps thunders up the steps and my door is thrown open by my dad.
His face is bright red and it seems like steam should be pouring from his ears. The scariest part is he doesn't even shout.
I watch as he stalks across the floor and grabs me by the shirt, leaning into my face. "Get the fuck out of my house you fag. You're no longer welcome here."
He pushes me off the bed and I land on the floor with a heavy thump. I hold my arm in shock, processing what just happened.
He pulls me off the floor roughly, this time forcing me down the stairs. The front door is thrown open and he shoves me to the sidewalk that's covered in rainwater.
"Don't even think about showing your face here again." He growls, the door slamming closed behind him.
I sit up slowly, my head spinning. The rain pours down around me but I feel like I'm in a haze. I stumble down the sidewalk to the bus stop before realizing I have only my phone, and no money.
I plop onto the bench, panting. The air has a defined chill that whispers across my bare arms and legs, and I can't help but shiver.
I pull up my contacts, wondering who I should even call. How did my dad even find out?
A notification answers my question. 'Even your dad will never love you. Why? Because you're a fag. I did you a favor by telling him.'
I swallow back tears and go back to my contacts. Who can I even trust? I hit Devon's phone number, but he doesn't pick up.
Tears start to fall down my face and blur my vision. I hit the screen again with the same result. I turn off my phone, staring out into the pouring rain.
My phone rings and I quickly pick it up. "Hey." A voice says. It's not Devon, it's Ben.
I break down into sobs, his voice reminding me of how much I've actually been missing him. "Jay?" He says softly. "Are you alright?"
I take a few shuddering breaths. "C-can you come p-pick me up?" I manage to say through chattering teeth. "Of course." He says with concern. "Are you alright? Where are you?"
"At the b-bus stop-p by my h-house." "Okay I'm coming as fast as I can, I'm going to keep you on the line on speaker phone okay?" "Okay." I whisper.
"I can hear your teeth chattering. Aren't you wearing a jacket?"
"N-no." I shiver, curling into a ball to retain any remaining warmth. My head spins and I grip the edge of the bench.
"Ben?" I gasp out. "I'm only a few blocks away. Hang in there." He says in a worried tone.
I shiver again, holding my throbbing head and letting my tears intermix with the freezing rain. I look out through the downpour, waiting for his arrival.
Ben's P. O. V.
The sheets of rain are so heavy it's hard to see. I can hear Jay's teeth chattering from the other end of the phone and wish I could go faster. The puddles of rain on the street are splashing up against the sides of the car, and there's lightning in the distance.
"I'm almost there." I reassure him. I finally pull up to the bus stop and he stumbles over to the car door. He climbs in, absolutely drenched in water and shivering violently.
"Oh my gosh. We need to get you warmed up." I turn the heat on full blast and pull one of my sweatshirts from the backseat. "Here, take off your wet shirt and put this on. I'm going to see if I have a blanket in the trunk."
I open the door and step out into the pouring rain, deciding not to bother with my crutches even though it's a decision I immediately regret. I clench my teeth and limp to the trunk, pulling out a thick blanket and bringing it back to the car.
Jay's still shivering but his teeth don't chatter quite as badly as before. I lean over and wrap the blanket around him, receiving a soft smile. "Thanks." He says quietly. I move a soaked strand of hair out of his face and smile. "No problem."
I awkwardly place my hands back on the steering wheel but instead of driving, I talk, staring out the windshield.
"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry about the other day." I say, looking down. "It wasn't right of me to do that and I invaded your privacy. You don't have to forgive me, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry."
I shift the car into gear and start driving through the rain. Jay's looking out the window, avoiding my gaze.
My brow creases. Why was he sitting out in the rain? I glance over at him.
His eyes are closed now with his elbow propped on the car door, holding his head up. He looks exhausted and sad. I know he'll tell me what's wrong when he's ready, but it does nothing to ease my concern.