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Aaron was on the couch, half-slouched, controller in hand, the glow of Mario Kart flickering across the room.
He thought he was alone.
Kevin and Nicky were out.
Andrew had followed Kevin.
Which meant Neil had probably followed Andrew.
At least, that’s what Aaron assumed.
A door creaked open down the hall.
Soft footsteps followed.
Aaron glanced up, masking his surprise.
“Josten? Didn’t you go with the others?”
Neil startled slightly at the sound of his voice, lingering near the kitchen.
“Ah… no. I have an essay.”
Aaron nodded and turned back to the screen.
A new race had started and he was already losing.
A few minutes later, he groaned as his kart spun out.
Glass shattered in the kitchen.
Aaron froze.
Then turned.
“...Neil?”
No answer.
He stood, setting the controller down, and walked toward the kitchen.
Rounding the island, he stopped.
Neil was on the floor.
Blood everywhere.
Shards of glass scattered around him.
His hands cut open, trembling, slick with red.
His chest barely moved.
“Josten…?”
Nothing.
Neil didn’t hear him.
Didn’t see him.
Aaron’s stomach dropped.
He knelt carefully, avoiding the glass.
“Neil. Hey. Hey, breathe. Come on, breathe.”
He reached for Neil’s wrist.
The contact snapped something loose.
Neil gasped, then spiraled, choking on air, eyes wide and unfocused.
“Stop-please-stop-it hurts-please-!”
He scrambled backward, dragging his hands across broken glass, cutting deeper.
Aaron’s expression twisted.
“Neil-Neil, it’s me!”
He moved closer, slow but firm.
“Fuck-look at me. It’s Aaron. Andrew’s brother. You’re okay. Just-breathe.”
He grabbed Neil’s shoulders and pulled him away from the glass, pressing him back against the wall.
Neil stared at him like he didn’t exist.
Like he was somewhere else.
A child, terrified.
“Hey,”
Aaron said, quieter now.
“It’s okay. Just broken glass. That’s it. The blood doesn’t matter. You’re here. Breathe with me.”
He inhaled slowly.
Exhaled.
Again.
Again.
After a few shaky attempts, Neil followed.
His breathing steadied but his body still trembled.
Tears kept falling.
“Can you walk?”
Neil shook his head.
Aaron exhaled, then slipped an arm under his legs and lifted him.
Too light.
He carried him to the couch and set him down gently.
Neil didn’t let go.
Bloody fingers clenched into Aaron’s shirt.
Aaron glanced down, then sighed and sat beside him.
“I need to look at your hands.”
After a moment, Neil loosened his grip.
Aaron grabbed the first aid kit.
Empty.
“...great.”
He muttered under his breath, then reached for tweezers from a nearby basket. Not clean. Not ideal.
Didn’t matter.
One by one, he pulled glass from Neil’s hands, setting the pieces on the table.
Neil flinched but didn’t pull away.
Aaron worked quickly, jaw tight, ignoring every instinct screaming about infection and proper care.
When he finished, he wrapped Neil’s hands as best he could.
Then he looked at his face.
Pale. Eyes red. Nose flushed. Tears still slipping down over old scars.
Too much emotion.
Too raw.
Aaron swallowed.
Not broken.
Bent.
A tear slid down Neil’s cheek.
Aaron groaned softly and pulled him into a hug.
Neil pressed his face into Aaron’s chest, clinging.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Neil shook his head.
Aaron didn’t push.
He leaned back, guiding them both down onto the couch, one hand absently brushing through Neil’s hair.
Like he did for Katelyn.
Eventually, Neil’s breathing evened out.
They fell asleep like that.
-----------------------------------------------------
An hour later, the door opened.
Voices, low, casual.
Then silence.
Matt stopped cold, staring at the streak of blood trailing from the kitchen.
Andrew stepped past him, eyes narrowing as he took in the shattered glass and dried red pooling on the floor.
“...Who stayed?” Dan asked.
“Aaron and Neil,” Kevin said.
Andrew’s jaw tightened.
Matt followed the trail into the living room.
Then stopped.
“...What?”
Aaron and Neil were asleep on the couch.
Tangled together.
Bandaged hands.
Blood everywhere.
The others gathered behind him.
Aaron stirred, groaning.
“God, shut up…”
He blinked up at them.
Andrew’s voice was sharp.
“Explain. Now.”
Aaron sighed, glancing down at Neil before looking back at them.
“I don’t know exactly. I heard glass break. Found him on the floor, hands cut up, not breathing. I tried to talk to him, but…”
He hesitated.
“He wasn’t here. Not really.”
Matt’s face crumpled.
“I think he… went back. Somewhere bad. He was begging. Saying it hurt.”
Silence.
“I got him away from the glass. Got him breathing again. Cleaned him up.”
Aaron shrugged slightly.
“Then he crashed.”
Matt looked like he might cry.
Dan pulled him into a hug.
Andrew exhaled slowly.
Then, quietly-
“...Thank you.”
Aaron blinked, surprised.
Then scoffed.
“Of course.”