@containedxbeta moved from (x)
Isaac couldn’t ride his bike… not today. His joints were sore and his whole body still ached from being cramped in that godforsaken freezer. The walk seemed to have taken forever and the doors to the school weighed a ton.
Damn this wasn’t going to be a good day. ❝Danny❞ Isaac muttered the name under his breath still not making eye contact. ❝It’s fine I’m fine.❞ Isaac murmured not really wanting to get into specifics even if deep down he knew that it was clear he wasn’t okay.
❝Can we maybe talk about it later.❞ Isaac tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. He was in more pain than he cared to admit. ❝I need to go to the nurse. I think I pulled something during practice yesterday.❞ In the back of his mind Isaac wondered if Danny would call him on the fact that they didn’t have practice. That he’d spent most of his day over at Danny’s to avoid his father. But, instead of worrying about it too much now Isaac just turned and headed towards the nurses office.
As he walked towards the nurses office all Isaac could think about was being locked in that freezer. Being held there when all he wanted was to be in his own bed. The way he hurt now– from being cramped all night. How his throat ached from screaming even though he knew that no one would hear him. Instead of making it to the nurses office Isaac ducked into the bathroom and hide in a stall. He began hyperventilating and couldn’t stop. There was nothing to ground. Nothing to keep him from feeling trapped all over again.
When the door opened Isaac didn’t move. He remained still trying not to let the person hear him. But, the sniffle was something he couldn’t keep quiet. Letting his head fall against the stall door Isaac just hoped that the person would go away.
Danny could tell when Isaac didn’t want to talk and it was very obvious that this was one of those times. So he wasn’t going to push it anymore when Isaac asked to talk about it later. Even if he knew there probably wouldn’t be any talking about it later anyway.
He just nodded and let Isaac head off to the nurses, not bringing up anything about practice and just letting him do what he needed to do. “Yeah...I’ll just wait out here...” But of course he noticed that Isaac didn’t go straight toward the nurses office like he said he would. Danny really didn’t want to be too much for Isaac but he didn’t want him to have to deal with everything alone either.
When he stepped into the bathroom where he saw Isaac slip in on his way to the nurse he heard the breathing coming from the stall. Quietly he stepped over to the closed stall and placed his hand against it. “...Isaac,” he said quietly and leaned against the outside of the stall.
“I’m worried about you.” He just wanted his friend to be okay and knew that wasn’t going to happen if Isaac was left to his own devices. “I’ll leave if you want me to, but you know I’m here for you. We don’t have to talk, but if you’re hurt you need to see the nurse. Or at least let my mom check you out.” He knew that going to the nurse could raise red flags that Isaac probably didn’t want raised, and at least his mom could check Isaac over at their house instead. “Just -- try to concentrate on listening to me, okay? And then let me know you’re all right.”
