Tenacious Sky

Chapter 6

"You're really good. I wasn't even holding back," Sawyer said as he unstrapped me from the jacket. I

set it aside before unstrapped his jacket.

"Thanks," I replied. We went back to the locker room and took off the knickers, putting our gear back in

our lockers. I left my gym clothes on and put my uniform in my backpack.

"You're not going to shower?" Sawyer asked. I shook my head as I put my backpack on.

"Im just going to shower back at the dorms so I can wash my gym clothes," I excused myself. He

shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Hey you're at dorm one right?" He asked. I nodded. We exchanged numbers before I

started walking back towards the dorms. I pushed my hair out of my face as I sighed and watched the

sky.

"Leo! Would you just wait a second!" I heard someone yell. My shoulder was bumped from behind as

someone walked past me. I stared at Leo's back as he stalked towards the dorms. I felt an arm go

around my shoulder as someone panted as they hung onto me. I turned my head curiously.

"Easton?" I said in surprise. Easton sighed and shook his head before standing up straight.

"Leo's having another one of his episodes," he rolled his eyes.

"Episodes?" I tried to follow along. Easton nodded.

"Almost at least once a week, Leo's inner diva surfaces and he ends up throwing a major fit and

running out of the pool," Easton said as we walked towards the dorms. Something told me that his

accident was nothing simple.

When we got back to the dorms, I went up to my room and walked inside. The entire room was dark

and all I could hear was heavy breathing. I flipped the lights on and saw Leo curled up in a fetal

position on the floor near the couch.

"Leo?" I asked cautiously.

"Just leave me alone," He panted. I grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a quick shower.

When I came back, Leo was still curled up and panting on the floor. I sat next to him and put a hand on

his back.

"Leo?" I asked cautiously.

"I said, leave me!" He yelled. He was hyperventilating. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and

rubbed his back gently.

"Leo! You're hyperventilating. If you don't calm down, you're going to pass out," I said quickly. He

hesitated before his arms went around me in a vice grip.

"Now breath in... and out... in... and out," I instructed calmly. He tried his best to follow my instructions

until his breathing finally calmed down. We stayed there a moment longer before he pulled away and

sniffled. Without thinking too much, I brushed away his tears with my thumbs.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked. He looked at me like he were just realizing that I was there before he

pushed me away and stood up. His legs wobbled as his eyes closed briefly. I stood quickly to catch him

and sit him down on his bed.

"I didn't need your help," he snapped at me. I just felt sorry for him. For a moment, I forgot I was

supposed to be a boy.

"You're sick. How long have you been doing this?" I asked angrily.

"Why do you care?" He snapped at me again.

"Because no one else does!" I yelled back. I sighed and took a second to calm down.

"I know I haven't been here even a day, but it's clear what you're doing. You're pushing everyone away

when you need someone the most. I don't know what happened to you, but it's clear that it was

traumatic. And instead of leaning on the people around you, you're pushing everyone away and dealing

with it by yourself. And if you didn't know, panic attacks indicate that you're not dealing with it very

well," I explained. He only glared at me.

"Stay out of my business," He seethed before he locked himself in the bathroom. I sighed and decided Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

to let it go. I grabbed a mug and filled it with water before setting it on his bedside table. I grabbed my

dirty clothes and took them to the laundry room to give him some space.