mute [r. tozier]

sixteen

patrick laid up against mays wall as he sat on her bed. may was collapsed in his lap with a soft blanket thrown over her.
her eyes were barely open, and when they were, patrick could see how blood shot they truly were.

may's well-being since the break up had gone down a significant amount. she wasn't eating unless henry or patrick reminded her to. she had lost some weight, making her collar bones stick out more than they should.
may also wasn't as active as she used to be. she used to hike and garden but lately she had been locked up alone in her room.

school had been let out for thanksgiving break so she luckily had a few days to herself without having to face everyone at school.

may was starting to worry patrick and henry. every time patrick would come over, he found himself holding may, though—she didn't cry over richie anymore.
may enjoyed being held, something about the action made her feel safe. so the older wrapped his arms around her small frame every chance he got.

patrick knew that everything that had been happening to may wasn't just because of richie. the poor girl had obvious parental issues to deal with along with rather bad social anxiety. the break up simply was a breaking point for may.
she needed to be babied and to be held, though she didn't like to admit it. may loved being independent but she couldn't always be. her body was too weak at the moment to take care of herself, and that's where henry and patrick came in. they were the glue to put their girl back together.

"baby do you wanna watch a movie?" patrick asked, running his fingers through mays wet hair. she had just had a bath. patrick knew they calmed her down.
may shook her head no, and started to pick at the loose strings on patrick's jeans. patrick sighed and gazed down on the girl. "then what do you want to do?"

"sleep," may replied, sniffing her nose in the process. patrick ran his hand through her hair once more before running his fingertips delicately down may's spine. he painted soft patterns through the thin material of the over-sized, white t-shirt she had on. it was patrick's.

"you can't sleep your life away, may."

may sighed, and tighten her grip around the boy's hip bones. she was laying with her face toward his stomach and had her arms thrown around his waist. the small action resulted in may cuddling further into patrick's lap. she had done this many times within their friendship but every time she did it, it still managed to take his breath away.
the back of patrick's neck started to glaze with heat as he stared down at the tired girl. patrick continued to run his fingers up and down may's back as he tried to contain his smile.

"why not?" may asked quietly, blinking her eyes a few times to wet them.

"it's not good for you."

"but the hurt goes away," may whispered.

patrick felt his smile slip off of his lips as the words fell from her mouth. he was quick to scoop the girl up into his arms as he sat her straight up. she had her legs on either side of his legs. "what?" patrick murmured, holding his hand to her left cheek.

"im hurting right now..." may babbled, keeping her eyes away from the boy in front of her, "and sleeping helps."

"what hurts baby?" patrick asked in a soft tone as he started to rub his thumb up and down mays cheekbone.
she sighed gently and placed her hand on top of patrick's. the warmth of his larger hand almost made may crack a smile.

"everything."

patrick gasped at mays answer. may closed her eyes as she leaned into his touch. she was afraid of what patrick might say, or the way he would look at her. she didnt want any pity. she wanted to be understood.

may was extremely close to patrick and she had been for years now. he was gentle with her, and he knew that he needed to be. patrick knew this from the start of their friendship, which is why may clung on to him so fast.

the older nodded softly to himself. "we can sleep babes," patrick coed, making may open her eyes. her baby blues found their way to his deep brown eyes. they weren't filled with complete empathy, but reassurance. "we can sleep for as long as you want to."

patrick kicked off his sneakers, and his shirt then scooted fully onto the bed. he knew may always slept on the side near the wall so he sat near the middle and waited until she was situated. he watched as may pulled her hair back into a bun and then as she crawled into her bed.
she collapsed onto her side and she nuzzled her head into one of her many pillows. patrick slid next to her and threw two blankets over the two of them. he placed his hand around her waist slowly and softly, making sure the action was alright with may.

patrick pulled the girl close and gently kissed her temple. "good night may."

"good night," she yawned out very quietly and let her eyes flutter shut. "i love you."

patrick felt his throat run a little dry at her words. it wasn't like she hadn't told him she loved him before, but she always wrote it to him. this was the first time may said it to patrick. he took a breath as pulled her closer to him. "i love you too."

the older boy sighed deeply to himself as he nuzzled more into her neck, burying the fact the he was in love with his best friends little sister, and he always had been.