AJ

Day 4 - Part 4

Fuck, why did I say that?! 

He meant to tell Ash to stop being so apologetic, but it came out all wrong. It was perfect and was supposed to sound something like:

“You’re an adult; you should stop running away from everything. Stop apologizing so much. You’re worth more than you think.” 

Something along those lines anyway, he really wanted the kid to stop being a doormat.

AAAHHH— Why did I bring up his face? What the hell is wrong with me??

For some reason, the flawless phrases in his mind always came out jumbled and screwed up when he was around Ash. 

But now, he was worried, not about the stupid shit he just said, but about Ash. 

As if AJ had actually struck him on the head seconds ago, Ash’s eyes were hazy and unfocused. He heard some soft noises coming from Ash. Then some mumbles. It sounded like he was listing some things.

A thick shroud of guilt draped over him while they stood there, the cloth folding on itself until AJ couldn’t bear the weight anymore.

"Hey, did you hear what I said?" asked AJ as he cupped Ash's face in his hand to bring him back to the present.

His sudden grasp must have surprised the boy.

Ash fell into AJ.

Their faces collided, and AJ fell back onto the cold concrete. His world went black for a few seconds. 

Blurry stars now filled his vision.

Not this shit again—

AJ released Ash’s face and pushed him to the side. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and glanced around, not focusing on anything. 

Panic painted his face from the attention that two men falling into each other drew from several passersby. Every man, woman, and child stared at their compromising position.

Where the hell did all of these people come from—

After his eyesight returned to normal, he sat up and nudged Ash, who was still lying next to him. Worried that Ash might have hit his head too hard, he gently scooped up Ash until he was sitting upright.

“Hey. Wake up,” he whispered to Ash as he sat on his knees by his side.

Nothing.

Deeply unnerved at what he saw, AJ stood up to create some distance between them; he wasn’t sure if there was something seriously wrong with Ash. The kid was silent and frozen. He sat with his legs stretched out and stared straight ahead, past AJ’s legs, into the parking lot.

After a few deep breaths, he somewhat collected himself and tried to pull Ash up by his arm, but he wouldn’t budge. He reached under Ash’s arms and slowly brought to his feet. When he was sure Ash wouldn’t fall, he snapped his fingers to wake him from his stupor. 

Ash blinked a few times and made some small sounds. AJ snapped again. Ash made more small sounds. Something about smells and taste.

How odd, yet familiar.

AJ blinked away the thoughts. “Hey, you okay?”

Ash mumbled that he was alright. At least AJ thought that he did. 

“I’m leaving, alright?” 

“Okay…bye,” Ash responded vacantly.

That was good enough for him. 

AJ left.