pervorto | on hold

nine

travis | reina

i hear the erratic pounding of my heart in my ears, but that's probably the only thing i seem to be able to focus on now. my eyes are still glued to travis' latest message; i'm too scared to bring my gaze to his face and i feel as if every single one of my organs was slowly giving up on me.

don't make it obvious. just pretend we're having a casual conversation.

he turns the screen of his phone to me again, the frozen state of my mind barely noticing the action.

finally forcing myself to look up at him, i swallow hard before pressing my lips tightly together as i give him a tiny nod.

i don't know what to think about everything he just told me. in fact, i'm so confused by the events of the last twenty four hours that i can barely keep it all together. i can barely keep myself above. how does one go from being an average college student to having to fear about someone watching every single one of their actions?

i feel the bile claw its way up my throat but i don't let it sway me. instead, i reach out for his phone, cursing myself for smashing my own phone into pieces right when i need it the most. it would be thousand times easier if i could write my questions while travis typed his answers on the device of his own.

a brief thought flashes through my head. was my phone being watched by kaden, too? did he have access to every single one of my texts, calls, e-mails? does he still have the access to everything i do? how do i know travis is telling me the truth? how does travis even know?

how do you know about all of this, travis, and why are you telling me now? i shove the phone back into his palm, watching his face expression tighten once his eyes finish scrolling over.

"do you mind if i take a shower? it's been a few days since i had enough time to take a nice, long and relaxing one," travis asks me and my brows furrow in confusion at his randomness. is this some kind of game he's playing again or what?

i notice he's able to decode my jiggered reaction and in few seconds, his phone is back in front of my face. he's gonna know something's going on, reina. this phone shit doesn't work, we need to TALK without him knowing and the only way to do it is in the bathroom. now answer the question so it doesn't look suspicious.

i clutch the phone tighter, running my fingers through my hair as i breathe out "okay", before he reaches for my free hand and tugs me toward the direction of the bathroom.

once the door shuts behind us, travis moves the shower curtain, before he turns the tap on, not even bothering to switch on the light. "the water is muting the voices so he won't be able to hear us this way."

he explains in a whisper so faint i have to strain my ears to hear him. the shadow under his eyes looks even darker now, making my heart ache even more for him. i know i shouldn't feel this for him, but i do. knowing how big of a fuck up he's doesn't make me love or care for him any less. after all, he's still my brother.

"god, this is so fucked up, travis. what did you get yourself into this time?"

"i didn't get myself into anything, reina." he pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, his eyes closing when he sees my raised eyebrows immediately. "okay, fine. i did. but it's not in the way you think this time."