mute [r. tozier]

thirteen

warm water coasted down mays skin as she reached for her body wash. the bathroom was filled with steam and soft melodies played from mays radio.
half way through running shampoo through her hair, may heard the bathroom door open. at first, may thought nothing of it. she thought it was most likely just henry.

"hey, henry im here," the voice mumbled out as they walked into the bathroom.
may scrunched up her nose and stuck her head out of the curtain. there stood patrick in front of the mirror. he wiped it down so he could see clearly in it.

"p-patrick?" may asked, waiting for him to turn to her. patrick looked in the mirror to see the shower behind him. quickly he twisted on his heels to look at may.

her hair was slicked back with shampoo and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. patrick smiled as he scratched the back of his neck. "may—im sorry i didn't know you were home."

the boy was flustered. the fact that he stood in front of his best friends little sister in the shower caused the redness in his cheeks. he wasn't used to hearing her voice yet. since may had started hanging around richie, she saw patrick less and less.

richie and may had been dating for two months now, and it seemed like all was going well.

"wh-where else would i be?" may laughed a little, pulling the shower curtain tighter around her body.

"i was driving through town and i thought i saw you with richie," patrick explained. he watched her smile fall a little.

"oh— maybe it was beverly," may whispered to herself as she ducked back into the shower so she could wash out the rest of the shampoo sitting in her hair.

patrick sucked in a breathe. he knew the girl he saw with wasn't beverly. she didn't have red hair. she had golden blonde hair like may.
what patrick also saw was the two holding hands as they walked down the street. then he watched as the boy planted a kiss on the girls lips.

anger bubbled inside of patrick. he was calm about the situation because he thought the girl hanging around richie was may. now he knew it wasn't. what he had feared about may seeing richie was coming true.

"may?"

"yeah?"

"it wasn't beverly," patrick spoke quietly. he heard the shuffling that came from inside the shower stop.

"how do you know that f-for sure?" may asked, running her fingers through her tangled hair.

patrick took a breath, trying to figure out how he was going to tell her. "because—because richie wouldn't kiss beverly."

may felt her heart sink. the shower turned off. patrick watched as her small hand reached out of the shower curtain for the white towel she had hanging up. she took it into the shower for a moment before she pulled the curtain back.
may stood with the towel wrapped around her body as her hair dripped onto her shoulders. she had a thin layer of wet mascara under her eyes. she stepped out of the shower and stubbled her way over to patrick.

he caught her as her eyes prickled with tears. she wanted to asked patrick if he was lying. she wanted it to be a lie. "he... he kissed someone else?" she mumbled quietly.

patrick sighed and held may tightly in his arms. "may im sorry-" he tried to say but may buried her head into his chest and started to cry. may wasn't normally an emotional person but the more she opened up the more her emotions came out.
the boy bit down on his bottom lip as he swayed may in his arms. he knew her heart was hurting. the hurt of heart ache is too painful to imagine, but it hurts more when the heart is pure. may had such a innocent and kind heart. patrick knew that.

he looked down at the girl that had cradled herself in his hands. patrick sighed as he guided her to the floor of the bathroom. "here," he muttered gently as he sat with his back against the bathtub. patrick placed may in between his legs and scooped her up in his arms. he placed one of his hand gently on her back while the other was cupping her head.

may started to cry harder. she was mad at herself. she allowed herself to let down her walls that took so long to build to someone who wasn't worth it. he was poison in a pretty glass bottle, and she got distracted and took a drink. she was mad at herself because she still wanted him. she still wanted to be held by his arms and breathe in his scent. she was a game to him and yet she wished he would press play again.

"patrick? you here?" henry shouted down the hall as he exited his bedroom. the bathroom door was open since patrick hadn't closed it. henry walked past the door and barely glanced in. then he turned his head fully to take in the scene in front of him.
his baby sister curled up clutching the shirt of his best friend. he noticed the tears and the soft hiccups.

"may?" he asked quickly and rushed to his knees to get to her. "what happened?" henry asked looking up at patrick. he sighed and gazed up from may.

"richie," patrick mouthed quietly, trying not to upset may more. henry's eyes twisted dark as he clutched his fists tightly together.

"ill fucking kill him!" henry growled under his breath and started to stand up. patrick grabbed his arm quickly before henry could walk out. henry twisted his head toward patrick.

"he can wait," patrick mumbled and looked down at may, "she needs us right now."
henry took a moment to think and calm down before he nodded his head. he left the bathroom and quickly returned with a pair of his sweatpants, patrick's grey hoodie had left at their house and clean undergarments for may to wear.

"you ready?" henry asked patrick, knowing the day ahead of them was not what they had planned. patrick nodded and helped may to stand up. her hands still connected to patrick's shirt.

"okay may," he mumbled as he rubbing her shoulders gently, "let's get you dressed."