“But–”
“I said no.”
“You’re back to hating me again, huh?”
“Yes.”
We sat in silence until Nathaniel pulled up in front of my apartment complex and I opened the door to climb out. I was halfway out of the seat when I felt Nathaniel’s fingers around my elbow, grip strong enough to bring me to a halt. I slowly turned to look at him.
“Augustus.” He said my name like a prayer, summoning my omniscience from a golden throne above the clouds, imploring me to listen to his earthly concerns. “I want to be friends.”
But I was no god. And I did not answer prayers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Weeping. Quiet, strangled weeping.
It greeted me within seconds of entering the apartment, my bag dropping to the carpeted floor as I followed the sound. I knocked on my bedroom door, silence swallowing the soft sniffles from inside. There was a pause, and then a barely audible ‘come in’ that granted me entry.
My heart shattered. Auden was curled up in my bed, knees drawn to his chest, rocking back and forth as silent tears trailed down his cheeks. He was trembling, uncontrollably, and I pulled him into my arms, whispering soothing words that failed to silence the sobs racking through his thin frame.
You did this to him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, voice cracking. “I didn’t realise the time and…and I got trapped in the library and my phone died and–”
“You forgot about me,” Auden cut me off.
I lifted his chin, expecting to see anger or hurt, only to be met with resignation. He looked as though he had beenwaitingfor this moment, as if it were inevitable.
“No,” I shook my head. “I didn’t. I couldneverforget you. I tried to call you but my phone died and I didn’t have a charger and security took forever to let us out.”
“Us?” Auden sniffled.
“I was trapped with…another student,” I explained. “I would never abandon you, Auden. It was an accident. It will never happen again.”
With tears glistening in his bright blue eyes, Auden studied me for a long, long moment before nodding his head and wiping at the tears that flowed down his cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I was just wo–worried,” Auden hiccupped. “I thought maybe…you didn’t need me anymore.”
“What? How can you think that?” I asked. “Auden…I’ll always need you. You’re my brother. You’re…my everything. Don’t ever think that, okay?”
Auden shook his head. “One day you won’t need me anymore. I know that. But I just didn’t want it to be today.”
"That's not true."
A sniffle was Auden's only response as he adjusted his glasses.
“Come on,” I sighed, rising to my feet and pulling him up with me. “I’m starving. Let’s have some noodles, yeah?”
He nodded.
We ate. We talked. We went to bed.
Everything was okay. But I couldn’t get his words out of my head:One day you won’t need me anymore.Why would he think that?
***
