Ghost Guardian

Chapter 13

(I love these two XD)

Aaron's POV

Emery had a hand up to his mouth in shock as his wide eyes darted around the demolished room. The dresser's drawers were strung about, the small nightstand was littered with holes, and even the walls had dents in them. Shredded posters were laid on the floor and a few clothes were ripped. Other than the bed, which was a bit too big to break into pieces, nothing in the bedroom was left untouched.

Emery let out a choked sob when his eyes landed on the nightstand. I had no idea why he was crying at it, but he rushed over to the piece of furniture, his hand not yet leaving his mouth. He was looking at the glass shards that decorated the top. Well, I should say glass sprinkles, since the glass had been pounded into dust. 

When I saw the tears running down his face, I tensed. Whatever was smashed, it meant a lot to Emery. I haven't seen Emery cry yet, but he didn't seem to care that I was watching at the moment. He had curled up into a ball and rested his head between his connected knees. He shook as he cried, heavy sobs and intense sniffles. I had no idea how to deal with this situation because Emery and I hadn't gotten to that place in our friendship yet. Sure I saw him after a run-in with his cousin and he witnessed me after I had a nightmare, but we had never shown each other our vulnerable states, such as crying. I was frozen, unaware if I should comfort him by words or just hug him or something. I didn't know the situation, so I started off with that.

"So...do you want to talk about it?" I asked, waiting for him to emerge from hiding. At the sound of my voice, he lifted his head. I had never seen so much sadness in someone's eyes like I did Emery's; it was as if he had suppressed all of his vulnerable emotions, so no one could see, and I knew for a fact that was an unhealthy thing to do. He needed someone to talk to and...as his friend...I was willing to be that someone.

Slowly, Emery nodded and told me to shut the door; it was still open after we walked in and I'm sure he wanted privacy. I walked over to him and scooped him up in my arms- not very friend-like in nature, yes, but he seemed so fragile at the moment. I felt the need to care after him. Yeah, my sister openly acts like a mother to everybody, but I only look after those who mean most to me. And I'm pretty sure my only friend counts as one of those people.

I gently laid him on the bed and, for a second, looked into his watery eyes before releasing him. He looked at me with admiration, or something like that, as if I was a dazzling prince and he was the princess being courted by me. I ignored it, however, because I needed to focus on his feelings and not how my feelings for him were growing.

I gently placed him on the covers of his bed and sat down with him, looking at him with my head tilted. He was staring at me, half out of gratitude and half in caution. I understood where the caution came from. I was just as wary of talking about my weaknesses as he was. So, I waited patiently for him to start talking, mainly because I didn't know what to say.

"It was a glass flower," he said, glancing at the table where the shattered glass laid then back at his knees, "It was my grandmother's. She uh- She passed away when I was ten."

"I'm sorry," I said, but it seemed too worn out. Everyone says that. They say "I'm sorry," "My condolences," or something along the lines of that. But what else was there to say? No words could fix someone's death. Especially not an apology. "Were you close to her?" I asked.

"She was the only person who understood me," he breathed, "She understood everyone, really. She knew everything, as if she could read peoples' minds. But...She was the only person who knew all my problems before I would tell her. Who knew I was gay before I even knew. She was like the guidebook to my life...but then she left. And then my crumbling life started falling, and I didn't know what to do to stop it."