When Hands Touch

25. unravel

WARNING: heavy mentions of abuse. mentions of blood. anxiety attack, vomiting.

this is a heavy chapter, and it deals with topics that could be triggering to some people. if you need to skip the chapter, please do. put yourself first. i'm willing to give you a recap if you need it, so scroll to the end and comment if you would like a brief recap of the chapter. stay safe <3

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CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

UNRAVEL

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"Xen, what the fuck is going on?"

Stumbling into Milo's bedroom, Xen just set down his duffel bag and let out a short laugh, wincing. His eyes were bloodshot, red-rimmed, and he was limping, taking in sharp, ragged breaths, ones that were painful to even listen to.

Hands fumbling around the wall for the light switch, Xen finally managed to turn off the lights, before crashing onto Milo's bed; still sitting up, but his eyes were gradually closing. Thankfully, Milo's lamp was switched on, he wasn't sure he'd be able to see anything without the faint purple light.

"Don't do that," Milo muttered, kicking Xen's shin. "Stop closing your eyes."

Humming, Xen cracked one eye open, glancing at Milo. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know what the fuck happened to you, Xen, what happened?" Milo hissed, holding Xen's face by his jaw and inspecting the gash on his forehead. He needed stitches, Milo was certain of it. He'd seen Jude get into enough fights to know when someone needed stitches. But even after all those fights, Milo still didn't know how to stitch someone up, and he wasn't sure Xen could talk him through it. He needed to take him to the hospital.

"I need stitches," Xen admitted, lazily glancing up at Milo. "I also need fresh clothes. Because of— well, the blood and everything."

Milo blinked once, then twice. "Xen. You walked here?"

Xen nodded, coughing again and groaning at the pain that followed. "I'm sorry. That I woke you up. I just needed to— fuck, it hurts."

Hunching over, Xen massaged the back of his neck, fingers tracing slow circles on his own skin. "Sorry. If you have some of that— you know, that balm shit? That numbs your body when it's bruised? Can you hand it over, please?"

Tell me what happened. Stop avoiding all my fucking questions, Milo wanted to say, but he complied anyway, pulling out an old, probably expired bottle of balm that was supposed to work for bruises, one that he only had for when Jude needed it. He handed it over to Xen, but Xen just shook his head.

"It's my back, I need you to do it for me," he muttered, lifting his t-shirt up slightly, standing up for Milo to apply it. "Sorry about this, I didn't have anywhere else to go. I just needed to get out."

There was a massive discoloration on Xen's back, but it didn't look too bad. Yet. Milo knew that bruises took a while to show up, so he was sure that it would look— and feel— worse by tomorrow. And by the look on Xen's face, it hurt. So, Milo took a tiny bit of it in his hand, and began to rub it on the bruise, feeling a sharp, iron rod smash into his chest every time Xen's body tensed up at his touch.

"Can I switch on the light?" he asked once he was done, coming around to look at Xen's face again. What the fuck is going on? I need to get Dad.

Xen just shook his head, closing his eyes for a second. Milo patted his face to make sure he wasn't falling asleep— or worse, passing out on him— causing Xen to blink his eyes open and groan, whispering, "I'm so fucking tired, Milo. Let me close my eyes."