Chapter Eighteen

Liam stared straight at the photo of Bryce and the water bottle. He wanted to ask Bryce about it, but still, he wasn't sure what terms they were on with each other. He looked back down at his food.

Bryce began scrolling up on the laptop, to see the conversations that Liam, Texty, and Owen had.

liam are you okay? you havent said anything in 2 days

liam?

nothing?

i understand

He scrolled down a bit.

i dont want to wake up

what?

i dont want to see the world again.

why not?

he hates me now. i was an asshole.

liam he doesnt hate you i can assure you that much

how do you know? hes gone. we dont even know if we'll see him again.

i understand that we can only hope that he comes back, but i think that the smartest decision would be to try your best to stay alive. he'll probably give up if you give up.

...

alright

Bryce held back tears. A million things were running through his mind right now, all of them incoherent and muffled. He held his breath, trying not to cry in front of Owen and Liam. He had to distract himself.

Bryce stared at his empty plate for a moment, then stood up and put it in the sink. "I'm gonna go drive around the area to look for places hiring. Either of you wanna come with?" He tried his best to keep his voice from cracking.

"Sure!" Liam stood up out of his seat. "Nah." Owen responded. "I'm pretty tired." He pretended to yawn. Bryce gave him a look. "Hey, Texty, you wanna come?" Liam asked, giving a friendly look to the computer. "nah, im good, i dont need a job"

Bryce and Liam walked out the door, saying a quick goodbye to Owen and Texty.

"Why don't you need a job?" Owen asked jokingly.

"bc im a stripper already"