Insufferable

Part 28

Alex felt off these couple of days since he came back to the university. It wasn't just because of a certain blonde British guy that he had been missing deeply and wished he could talk to at the moment but also the fact that he couldn't find James or Danny anywhere around the campus ground. He heard rumors among the students that they both took an extra leaves for some personal reason and he wonders if it's because they wanted to hide the fact that they tried to hide their broken noses or their bruised face.

He can't help himself walking around campus feeling like he is being followed although he knows how paranoid he's being since he didn't exactly know what to expect since the last time he saw them, he was running out after beating the shit out of those two. He spoke to Nora about everything that happened as soon as they both reunited and it worries her the most since Alex is practically digging into a hornet's nest for what happened and she couldn't express how sorry she was for what happened to Henry as well.

But the worst part of it all is when Alex's body had a certain memory reflexes of his own. That sometimes when he walked back to his dorm late at night from working out in gym or studying, he ended up right at his old dorm that he shared with Henry.

He remembers how he used to stay in that empty room staring at Henry's bed letting his tears runs down his cheek. He can't do that being in his own room seeing his roommate might wonder why a grown ass man crying like a child almost everyday. But today he decided that he wanted to keep coming back to that room to be alone with himself or sometimes, he would go to the empty barn that Henry loves to stay and reads.

His hand would scrolled through the picture of Henry and him studying in the room or hanging out with Nora or sometimes he would bring Henry's book with him and read alone while he cried again. He hated how his life had turned around, or Henry's but he was lucky enough that the room remained empty at the moment since no freshman intake yet and he hoped it would remained that way.

Alex stayed in the empty room again later that day staring at Henry's side of the bed while he sat on the chair by their study table. He scrolled through his phone for Henry's number remembering how he had call him that one time and Alex was still holding on the hope for him to call again. But ever since then, Henry never did call and each time Alex did, the number is no longer available.

So instead, he pressed Phillip's number and luckily it was still early that day since he had no class and he knows London is evening time when he called.

It took Phillip few rings before he answered and Alex stuttered when he heard his voice feeling pity at himself still lingering on the hope of Henry still want him to be part of his life.

"Alex?" Phillip asks since he remained silence after he answered and Alex didn't want to sound like a pathetic person. He cleared his throat before he answered to Phillip.

 "Hey. Uhm- just checking in." Alex said briefly and he can hear Phillip sighs before he replied. "Wait-" he said and Alex can hear nothing but silenced and he assumed Phillip covered the speaker muffling the sound and seconds later, he heard a door open and shut.

"I know how much you want to talk to him Alex. Trust me, no one else understood but I do. Each time I bought him a phone, he would ended up smashing those too pieces and I just wish he would talk to someone about it." Phillip said and Alex tried to hold on to his tears when he heard him.

"How is he?" He asks and Phillip sighed into the speaker again, "If I tell you, promise me you won't freak out." Phillip starts and Alex is practically sitting on the edge of the seat waiting for him to speak.

"Few days back, Henry,- he uhm- he'd try to kill himself. He slit his wrist in the bathroom." Phillip's voice almost like a whisper but to Alex, he could feel like someone just stabbed him in his stomach and he could feel it twisted inside of him. "Is- he?" He couldn't utter a word and feels like each word came out like a knife cut his throat.