• Troublesome • Rhett x Reader •

• Chapter Twenty Two •

"Link left?"

"Yeah, he didn't want Christy worrying."

"Ah."

I lay across the couch, flicking through channels on the television. Rhett settles himself at the opposite end, against the armrest. I rest my legs beside each other, a slight soreness oozing from my bones. That, and a faint linger of nausea are all that remains from the events from earlier today. Well, Rhett too, I suppose. 

"I'm sorry about what happened the last time I was here." His voice is low and shameful. My eyes dart from him and then to the wall in an attempt to look nonchalant. "And everything after it."

"It's whatever." I make sure that my voice is a controlled monotone. 

"I can't explain why. I just got freaked out. I feel terrible about it."

"Freaked out? Like, because of me?" I ask.

"Not like that." He leans his chin into his hand and switches his absent stare over to the TV, clearly paying it no mind.

"Okay." I stuff my inquisitive nature down my throat and aggressively open a tin of wafers from the ottoman. "Want some?"

"Sure."

I sit toward and extend the container to him, and his scoops out a few. Changing the subject was the only way to avoid unneeded awkwardness. I especially do not feel like dealing with such a thing tonight. Relaxing with a friend sounds significantly better to me. Plus, I'd really like not to get worked up again. There's still a chance I'll vomit all over the place.  

The silence is a little less comfortable than before, though. I can tell that something is on his mind, and I don't blame him for not wanting to voice it. I would probably make everything worse.

"I dreamt of my mom." I stare intently at the screen of the TV. "I dreamt of her jumping from a building."

"So that's why you were crying." He takes his hand off of his chin and rests it on the surface of the couch, close to my legs. His eyes radiate empathy. 

"It actually happened. I was 10,  walking home from school, and my neighbor started screaming. When I looked up, I saw her standing on the ledge." I wipe a tear onto my sleeve and look away from him in fear of crying again.

"Oh, fuck..." He whispers. I've never heard him curse like that. "So, she..."

"Committed suicide, yeah. My eyes were covered. I didn't see it."

I pull my legs away from him and under me as I sit upright. 

"I had a buddy in school who killed himself, but, uh... I know that's nowhere near comparable. It just messed me up a lot, and I can't imagine how bad it must be for you."

"It's gotten easier to deal with. But, please, can we talk about something nicer? I don't want this killing my vibe." I force a joke to lighten the mood, but the vibe was brutally slaughtered the second I decided to open up to him. 

"Here." He stands up, brushing crumbs from his shirt before gesturing for me to stand up as well. I stand.

"What're you doing?" 

"Let's go for a drive."

"Your car is here?" I ask, but stop myself in my tracks. 

"Yeah, Link dropped me off at my-"

"My car. My car keys. I couldn't find them at the party." I start searching for my shoes. "My phone's in my car, too. So if someone took my keys, I'm screwed."

"If someone took your keys, they're screwed." Rhett clenches his fists in an unspoken sense of urgency. 

Rhett lets me use his cell to call Nicky and let her know we're stopping by. She tells me about how she'd been calling me repeatedly since we left, and that she has some news for me. Great.