Kea's silent retreat was unexpected. But it wasn't completely out of the ordinary. I'll let him have his peace.
Time passed throughout the day, and I ate lunch, dinner, and even snacked on a few treats to keep myself company. But not once, not even once, did I end up seeing Kea.
I'll wait, I guess… The time said otherwise, though, I should have gone to sleep quite a while ago at this point. I typically don't stay up past 11 if I can help it. But it was already 12 in the morning.
The handle on the door rattled for a moment, followed by Kea, leaving his room. He walked over to the kitchen in the dark, taking an apple from the small fridge.
"Kea?"
"I'm fine." He said as he closed his door and re-entered his room.
"This… It's not fine, Kea. I don't know what you're doing and why, but… please tell me."
No answer.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," he sighed.
Yes, I am worried. It might not even be anything; I could be making a fool of myself, but I'll take that risk because I selfishly dislike it when Kea seems down.
I opened the door with confidence, expecting the worst, but Kea was just sitting on his bed, back the the wall, blankly staring at the door.
"Hello." He said, not looking at me directly.
"May I sit down?"
No response…
I sat beside him on the bed. Making sure to leave space between us. The lack of light in the room made it hard to see his face clearly.
He swallowed. "Do you really want to know?" His words were not as steady as they usually were when talking to me. He clearly wasn't fine, and that feeling… It hurt me too in a way that I couldn't describe.
Should I have given him more time?
Just seeing him sad makes me sad, it makes me want to comfort, help. But I don't know what I could realistically do, I have never experienced something so dreadful before.
We sat in silence, my words hiding themselves from me. Things like this make me understand… I have fallen for him without realizing it. I… I really like Kea, and that's exactly why I won't just let him burden himself alone.
"Kea, can you look at me for a second?" I whispered.
Surprisingly, he complied. Looking at me for the first time the entire night.
"I'm sorry," I said, pulling him into a hug.
This is the best I can think of right now, it's probably not what you want right now, but it's the best I can do other than keep you company.
His heart beat was fast, but his breaths were deep. Before I could catch my breath, he hugged me back, letting himself leak emotion.
"I probably should have told you. I'm sorry." He said in slow, deep breaths.
My face shamelessly burned; never would I have expected him to return the hug… I shouldn't be the one being rewarded; whatever possible, I should be the one giving…
"I'm mostly over it by now, but the confusion I feel… It still hurts." He whispered. "I got a call from my mom yesterday. It's about… I'll just cut to the chase… My Grandma died."