How Do I Mend?

Chapter 8: What Am I Doing?

The pair drifted to sleep and shared the night wrapped in each other. Tharn was able to put aside his romantic desires and just enveloped Type in the protective security of his embrace. He did not let his thoughts linger on the possible aftermath that could possibly ensue; he just held Type through the night.

Morning arrived, and Type awoke. His first thought centered around how completely rested he felt. After a moment, he started becoming alert toward the warmth surrounding him. His gut reaction was to pull away while lashing out, but the memories of his confession reentered his mind. Type knew, though feeling uncomfortable, that he shouldn't react violently toward the man holding him.

Type was still frightened about his current situation and carefully pulled out of the embrace. He observed Tharn shift slightly but did not rouse. Type glanced toward the clock and yelled to his roommate. The realization that it was already past noon shocked him! No wonder he had been so rested; he slept for 14 hours.

Tharn's eyes opened and stretched as he watched a frantic Type run around the room. He should be more concerned but was running on a wave of happiness. Despite the gravity of why it happened, Tharn was still happy that he had at least one chance to sleep, holding the man he was rapidly falling for.

"A'Type," Tharn spoke, "I think you should rest. You need it." Type suddenly stopped moving and looked to his roommate. Type was not one to skip classes for no reason but could see the logic of the statement.

"But.." Type was cut off as Tharn approached and lightly placed an arm over his shoulder.

"You need rest, and we need to make a plan so we can keep Mark away from you."

Type froze after that statement. He turned to face the man speaking, looking directly into his eyes. Tharn turned away suddenly and grabbed his phone from the side table.

"We need some allies." Tharn started. "I know you probably don't want to, but she should tell No and Champ about what happened yesterday- at least Champ." Type shifted his weight before nodding. Type was noticing the increased comfort he felt near Tharn. It was making him more willing to admit at least some of his pains. Unfortunately, he could not wholly dismiss the feelings of disgust concerning his roommate.

Type was pacing around nervously throughout his time spent waiting for Champ arrived. He had agreed that he needed some support against Mark. He had turned down the idea of bringing both of his friends. Type thought it might be too much information for Techno, he was too pure to handle the horror of this situation. It's not that Type did not believe his friend would be unhelpful, or incapable of helping. Rather that he would lose the staggering innocence that made Techno the fantastic person he was.

After a bit longer, Champ arrived. At Tharn's request, he also brought with him some food for the two awaiting his arrival. He had not been informed of the reason for the meeting, only that it was urgent. He knew, with everything going on, that he should arrive as quickly as possible and expected terrible news.

To say that he made a correct assumption was an understatement. Champ had not been prepared for Types account of events. He had felt even worse after the realization that had he not been rushed to leave, the whole terror could have been prevented. Champ felt like an utter failure.

The room featured dread and relief as Type unraveled part of his pain to yet another person. Following the revelation, Champ sat slumped over with his head in his hands. The ordinarily tough and composed young man felt tears forcing their way out. Finally looking up, his tear glazed eyes looked upon the scene in front of him, he had failed to notice just how much Type had broken.

His friend was wrapped in the arms of the other room's resident. There was some semblance of life returning to his friend, though not enough for him to look back to normal. After all the time that had passed, Champ was just happy that Type was willing to accept some help.

"Should we tell him?" Champ questioned. Tharn looked at the young man in his arms and gave a slight nod. Type looked between the two with a confused expression gracing his features.

Neither one knew how to start the conversation. A silence fell over the room, and Type was beginning to feel restless. He looked back and forth between his two friends, more and more uncertain.

Eventually, Tharn spoke up. He brought Type up to date about the whole support system surrounding him. He informed him of their motivation and the deep compassion of his friend group. Most startling form this information was that Type had never noticed the efforts put forth by the army surrounding him. On top of that, he could not comprehend why three complete strangers had decided to join the cause.

After eating the food that Champ had brought, Type asked for some time alone to rest and process the new information. Champ dragged Tharn out of the room, and Type took a seat on his bed. It was true that he felt better after getting help and finding out about the "army" around him. He had never wanted to burden anyone. Moreover, he had not been able to open up about his trauma to another person until the previous night. There was a lot of trust he was passing on to others, but Type felt like he could start to relax slightly.

A lot was going on in his head. Type had to try and figure out his next steps. Notwithstanding, he was not ready to fully let his guard down. There were now six more people to protect him, but also six more to possibly face backlash from Mark.

What am I doing, he thought to himself. Type was acutely aware of how much he needed to change his current ways. He could not afford to pull back inside himself or let all of the others fight his battles. He recognized that they were there to help him, but he knew that he was not going to be able to entirely rely on them. He was not sure what to do next; it was probably not going to be pretty.

Type also needed to sort out his thought concerning his roommate. He could see that there was no malice in Tharn's action. On the contrary, his actions were protective and, dare he admit, loving. The idea of accepting some of those feelings was starting to seem more like a feasible option.

Type was beginning to understand more about himself after his long-needed confession. He knew he was nowhere near ready to admit this train of thought to anyone yet, but there was some comfort in his self-realization. Type laid back and contentedly dozed off while waiting for Tharn to come back to the room.