Chapter 6

"You're really good. I wasn't even holding back," Sawyer said as he unstrapped me from the jacket. I set it aside before unstrapped his jacket.

"Thanks," I replied. We went back to the locker room and took off the knickers, putting our gear back in our lockers. I left my gym clothes on and put my uniform in my backpack.

"You're not going to shower?" Sawyer asked. I shook my head as I put my backpack on.

"Im just going to shower back at the dorms so I can wash my gym clothes," I excused myself. He shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Hey you're at dorm one right?" He asked. I nodded. We exchanged numbers before I started walking back towards the dorms. I pushed my hair out of my face as I sighed and watched the sky.

"Leo! Would you just wait a second!" I heard someone yell. My shoulder was bumped from behind as someone walked past me. I stared at Leo's back as he stalked towards the dorms. I felt an arm go around my shoulder as someone panted as they hung onto me. I turned my head curiously.

"Easton?" I said in surprise. Easton sighed and shook his head before standing up straight.

"Leo's having another one of his episodes," he rolled his eyes.

"Episodes?" I tried to follow along. Easton nodded.

"Almost at least once a week, Leo's inner diva surfaces and he ends up throwing a major fit and running out of the pool," Easton said as we walked towards the dorms. Something told me that his accident was nothing simple.

When we got back to the dorms, I went up to my room and walked inside. The entire room was dark and all I could hear was heavy breathing. I flipped the lights on and saw Leo curled up in a fetal position on the floor near the couch.

"Leo?" I asked cautiously.

"Just leave me alone," He panted. I grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a quick shower. When I came back, Leo was still curled up and panting on the floor. I sat next to him and put a hand on his back.

"Leo?" I asked cautiously.

"I said, leave me!" He yelled. He was hyperventilating. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and rubbed his back gently.

"Leo! You're hyperventilating. If you don't calm down, you're going to pass out," I said quickly. He hesitated before his arms went around me in a vice grip.

"Now breath in... and out... in... and out," I instructed calmly. He tried his best to follow my instructions until his breathing finally calmed down. We stayed there a moment longer before he pulled away and sniffled. Without thinking too much, I brushed away his tears with my thumbs.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked. He looked at me like he were just realizing that I was there before he pushed me away and stood up. His legs wobbled as his eyes closed briefly. I stood quickly to catch him and sit him down on his bed.

"I didn't need your help," he snapped at me. I just felt sorry for him. For a moment, I forgot I was supposed to be a boy.

"You're sick. How long have you been doing this?" I asked angrily.

"Why do you care?" He snapped at me again.

"Because no one else does!" I yelled back. I sighed and took a second to calm down.

"I know I haven't been here even a day, but it's clear what you're doing. You're pushing everyone away when you need someone the most. I don't know what happened to you, but it's clear that it was traumatic. And instead of leaning on the people around you, you're pushing everyone away and dealing with it by yourself. And if you didn't know, panic attacks indicate that you're not dealing with it very well," I explained. He only glared at me.

"Stay out of my business," He seethed before he locked himself in the bathroom. I sighed and decided to let it go. I grabbed a mug and filled it with water before setting it on his bedside table. I grabbed my dirty clothes and took them to the laundry room to give him some space.