The Sight (bxb)

Chapter 34 - You Owe Me

In the morning, Evan was surprisingly subdued. His mind was blank, his emotions gone as if he had exhausted them all the night before, and all he felt was the tiredness that made him want to stay in bed. However, he was not allowed to do that, as the next second his mom appeared at the door of his room to make sure he was on time to go to school.

Evan automatically got up and started to do his normal routine in a learned manner. Basic hygiene, clothes, hair, everything was as usual. On the outside, no one could tell that something was wrong with him. Inside, there was confusion, but a subdued confusion. Maybe it was because for the second time in the last few weeks, he had completely broken down, and he got all his emotions out of him until he had none left.

This time he didn't check his phone to text Kieran, and in fact, he didn't check it at all, so he didn't even notice that it was almost dead. He put it in his pocket, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left for the bus stop without breakfast or goodbye. And although his mom was stressing about whether he would make it, he ended up getting there even earlier than usual and even caught an earlier bus that, although it didn't stop at his school, stopped close enough for him to take it. And so, for the first time in the last three years, he sat alone on the bus without his friends, leaning against the window, trying not to fall asleep.

He was jolted out of his half-sleep by the rocking of the bus that went over a bump in the road. He looked out the window to see where he was and to his surprise, the bus was approaching the stop where he wanted to get off. He stood up automatically and walked to the door. It didn't take long, and he was standing at a stone stop, where mostly people working in a nearby factory got off.

His shoes touched the pavement, following one after the other in a regular rhythm. Again, Evan went to school on autopilot. Everywhere was still quiet, since school started in almost an hour, so Evan decided to put his things in the locker and sit on the bench where he usually sat with his friends.

It was strange. His head was once full of thoughts that screamed over each other, but now he felt as if he had amnesia. He knew he should be unhappy, he knew he should panic, but even though his mind knew it, his emotions were almost zero. He wasn't even looking forward to seeing Kieran, and he wasn't angry at Angie. It didn't matter to him. Just like everything.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Evan automatically took it out and unlocked the screen. Kieran wrote to him, asking when he would be at school. Apparently, he wanted to go and wait for him at the bus stop. Evan read the same sentence over and over but didn't feel like answering. He knew he would probably regret it later, but his fingers just weren't cooperating.

With a sigh, he put the phone down and went back to looking ahead. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, nor was there really anything interesting. In front of him were only trees, a sidewalk, and another bench, the same as the one he was sitting on.

However, his peace was interrupted. His phone vibrated again, but this time longer, signalling that someone was calling him. He hesitated for a moment as to what to do, but finally decided to pick up the call without even looking to see who was calling.

"Everything is alright?" Kieran's worried tone came from the other end the second he put the phone to his ear. Evan paused, thinking about his answer, not realizing that he had actually answered without meaning to.

"Where are you?" This time his voice sounded even more worried.

"School," he answered simply. Just saying that one word cost him more energy than he expected.

"I'm on my way." Immediately after that, a sound came from the phone announcing the end of the call. Surprisingly, even the knowledge that his boyfriend was on the way did not cause any reaction in him. No joy, no remorse, simply nothing.