Dramatic Child Stars

Twenty-Two

Percy,
July 27, 2021,
4:30 pm.

"Just leave me alone," Riley yelled. "Go get more of my friends killed or something.  Better yet, go pity fuck your whore of a baby mama so she'll stop trying to crawl her way up my ass when you aren't looking. Just leave me out of it."

I was properly stunned. I had no idea what to say to that, but it didn't matter because Riley immediately shoved forward, slamming his shoulder into mine as he went in a rather painful manner. He continued on despite my grunt of discomfort all the way out through the doorway into the waiting world outside.

I immediately turned to pursue him. I found myself stopped my Basil, who rushed to grab my arm.

"Don't," Basil said sharply. "It's pointless. Chasing him won't help."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I demanded. I felt hysteria in my voice. He'd reduced me to hysterics. I didn't know how else I was supposed to conduct myself in the face of that anyways.  "You keep telling me to just leave it be! How are you so content to ignore all of this?"

"I'm not ignoring anything," Basil said calmly, although the slow drawl of their voice was slightly abandoned for a more pressed tone. They kept looking past me out the door as if gauging how far Riley might have gotten. "I was the one at the hospital with him this morning. I'm well aware of what's happening here."

"And you're just letting him stay here in fantasy land with you, completely unchecked?!" I snapped. I could feel the harsh nature of my tone, but given what had just been screamed at me, I felt justified in being slightly escalated.

"He's safe here!" Basil replied loudly.

I shook my head. How could Basil not see the problem here? Wasn't it clear?

"He literally overdosed last night!"

"And I was prepared for the possibility of that, so I saved his life and called him an ambulance!" Basil said harshly. They blinked like they were surprised about their own tone. Their face softened down several shades. "I'm sorry Percy. I didn't sleep last night. I'm not normally like this. I'm... I need to go after him. I'll call you okay? Can you be patient with me? With the both of us?"

"This is insanity," I mumbled, although I stepped out the door to clear the way for them.

"Percy, he appreciates you," Basil said as they stepped passed me to exit the house. "I promise you that. He cares an incredible amount. This thing he's being right now... it isn't him."

"Who are you to be telling me what I should know about Riley?" I demanded. I'd been taking care of him for more than a decade, and if anything, I felt like the running expert.

Basil looked uncomfortable for maybe the first time.

"He called you his partner at the hospital," I said against better judgment. "Is that an actual thing?"

Basil stopped and actually allowed a smile to show my way, like my petty inquiry was amusing. Maybe it was. Maybe I was being ridiculous. Even in the chaos, they seemed to find amusement in it, so it had to be that ridiculous.

"Of course not," Basil laughed. "Sometimes people just say things because they feel right for a short moment, or because they are meaning to express love when they're overwhelmed and afraid. Riley can call me whatever he wants, but he didn't mean it like that. Not in the literal sense anyways. I know exactly where I stand with him. That's what matters."

All the while as they explained this to me, they continued slowly on their way down the path towards the sidewalk. They hesitated at the end, staring back at me as if I would offer more inquiries or complaints. When I didn't, they just nodded.