Bed Sheets II

54. I Matter, Again

Author's Note: Happy New Year! Here's another chapter.

"Eric," Draven breathed quietly as he felt the sponge continue to scrub along his back. Eric had forced Draven into a hot bubble bath, not only to soothe him but because he also believed it caused alcohol to leak from his pores. And after a few minutes of resting in the bathtub, Eric asked if he could clean him, to which Draven did not reject.

Eric had asked him to raise one leg, then the other, and scrubbed his chest and stomach, and eventually reached for his back. They had not spoken much ever since they arrived to Draven's home, and the moment they had stepped inside, the stench of rotting food had made him nauseous immediately.

They were going to call cleaners in the morning, and he was focused on caring for Draven at the moment. Hence why he raised an eyebrow, "Mhm?"

"What I said to you, a few months ago when we were here..." Draven sighed, biting his trembling bottom lip, "I didn't mean it."

He felt Eric's pattern stop for a moment, before it continued, "I know you didn't."

"I was emotional and I was hurt and—"

"Draven," he gripped for his chin and met his gaze, "I promise, I'm alright. I didn't mean what I said either. I loved you with all my heart, that's why I'm here right now."

Draven slowly nodded his head, "Okay."

Eric reached for one of his arms, "I guess Kyle doesn't bring the best in us."

"I agree," he breathed quietly.

Then, Eric suddenly heard sniffles, to which he frowned and stopped scrubbing Draven for a second. When he looked over, he realized Draven had again started crying, and Eric smiled sadly, "You don't have to cry, Draven."

"I didn't think you'd come back to me..."

"I wasn't going to," Eric admitted, lowering the scrub into the water before reaching for his other arm. "I thought we said some things to each other that were way too hurtful to take back."

"I didn't mean any of it, I swear—"

"I know you didn't," Eric grinned, before his smile slowly faded. After a short pause, Eric added, "It still hurt, and I know I hurt you too. It took me a few weeks to battle it with myself, but I made it through, at least I hope I did." Draven turned to face Eric, and they met gaze. When they did, Eric lowered his eyes, "I'm fine now."

"Those things I said were not true."

"Draven," Eric chuckled quietly, "I know. And anything I said was not true either; I didn't come back for five years not because I wasn't in love with you, but because I didn't think I was good enough for you."

"And I didn't mean it, what I said about Melissa. I know how much you cared about her and how devastated you were after her passing." That caused Eric to lower his eyes; that was the most hurtful thing Draven had said that Eric had been battling with strenuously. Hearing Draven say this caused an ease on his heart that he had been fighting for in a long time, "I know how much you loved her."

Eric slowly nodded his head, his voice coiling, "I just...really needed to hear that..." After a short pause, Eric dropped the sponge into the bath, "Listen Draven, as much as I can say that Kyle has done a lot of me, he's brought out evil sides of us that we never even knew existed. And I know I was confused for a long time, about my feelings, but the only person that I can see myself being with for the rest of my life is you."

Draven inhaled sharply.

"I don't want to get back together right now because we both need to work on ourselves and figure our lives before we can be together. You need to focus on yourself right now, and I'm here to help you do that. But when we are ready...I really wish I could be with you."

"Eric—"

"I couldn't stand hearing all those horrible things about you because I know you and you're not those things people are saying." Eric tilted his head, "Don't feel forced to say anything back, I only realized what I felt and thought you should know."

There was a short pause and Eric added, "I know part of what I said drove you to become someone you're not. I just wanted you to know that I don't think your a monster; I loved you for a reason and I still love you. Regardless of what you said, all of it is in the past now and we shouldn't keep dwelling on it. Let's work on getting you your home back, how about that?"

Draven burst into tears, unable to see Eric's face as the tears blurred his vision. Eric was grinning, attempting to wipe away Draven's tears but they kept running past his thumbs.

"I don't mean to make you cry—"

"It's not you just..." he had a few hiccups before he added, "I just lost all hope and thought myself to be meaningless. But you're making me realize that I matter, again."

P.S—Even though I ship Kyle and Draven, I guess he deserves to be with Eric ;). Happy New Year Again! I won't be able to post for a few days but stay safe everyone!