Dusk (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 12 - Vanilla

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After my dad had gone, I sat cross legged on my bed with my head in my hands. Rowan couldn't have done anything... He wasn't that kind of person.

You don't know anything about him.

I knew a bit... But what I knew wasn't convincing me of his innocence. I knew Ray knew of him that night after the club... Ray was afraid of him. I knew Rowan had done something that terrified Ben.

And I knew Rowan had gotten a call exactly a week ago. One that had him leave my house late at night while I was asleep. The last day Ray Warner was heard from.

I let out a frustrated sigh and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. He had probably just run away. He didn't want to deal with the police, the lawyers, so he left. His threats to me had been empty. He was gone, and that was for the better.

I covered my face with my hands, a mix of emotions attacking me at once. My mind drifted to the edibles stuffed deep in my sock drawer.

My door opened and I turned my head, expecting to see my mom or dad. But it was Rowan. He was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, both black. His hair was faintly damp, as if he'd just showered and it was drying. My heart jumped and I quickly sat up, leaning back on my palms. I didn't expect him to be here so soon.

"Hey, sorry your mom told me to come in, said you'd be taking a test or something?"

"Yeah, no worries. I mean I'm done with that, but yeah." blood rushed to my face and I scratched my head, feeling stupid. Rowan's eyebrows rose slightly in amusement and he closed the door behind him. "I was gonna take an edible, want one?" I asked, getting up and heading to my sock drawer.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that..." I looked at him, surprised, but his face was serious.

"What about it?" I asked, feeling myself start to get defensive. I grabbed the bag of gummies and put them on my bedside table, but left the bag closed.

Rowan was silent for a minute as he looked at me, thoughts visibly swimming behind his eyes. I studied his face. There was nothing apparent in his expression of some extra hidden burden or secret. I sat back down on my bed.

"You can sit wherever." I muttered, and leaned back against the headboard. I wrapped my arms around my knees, feeling insecure. Rowan sat at the edge of my bed and leaned back on one arm. The atmosphere had changed since he'd walked in, as all my questions from earlier came back to the surface.

"Erik's been worried about you." I tilted my head back to look up at the ceiling.

"Why?" There was a pause before he answered.

"You know why."

I shrugged.

"So what am I supposed to do about that?" I asked. It was a rude response, but I didn't know what else to say.

I heard Rowan sigh and he stayed still for a moment, before standing up and walking to the other side of the bed. My eyes left the ceiling and followed him instead. He sat closer to me, his back facing the foot of the bed so we were face to face.

I stretched my legs out in front of me and crossed my arms, still waiting for him to speak. My gaze met his and this time, I'd try to hold it.

"Evan, listen. If you want to get high everyday and you find it fun, I think you should do it." I blinked, waiting for him to finish. The longer we held eye contact, the deeper my breathing got. "But if you're doing it to avoid thinking about something or feeling pain..." I looked away, "I think it's better to talk to someone."