Ben's P.O.V.
I shut the door behind me, leaving Jay alone in the apartment.
Of course, he SAID he'll be fine, but I know him well enough by now to know that it's more likely he's only saying that to reassure me.
I sigh and hurry along to the bookstore. If he's going to insist on staying home by himself, then I'm going to at least try to be back as soon as possible.
The bell chimes overhead as I walk through the door, greeted with the smell of musty paperbacks. Emerson's behind the counter, as usual, currently poring over the latest book on her reading list.
She looks up suddenly as I walk over, shaken out of her trance.
"Hey! Okay so, they think some gang is smuggling drugs along with the book shipments from the company. We're supposed to keep on as normal and sign for the shipment, but they have someone posing as a worker as well and they'll take care of things. We just have to set the bait." She explains.
"Weird but okay. Where's River?" I ask.
She frowns and looks around before calling out, "River?" Only silence returns. She hops off her stool and we search the aisles, but he's nowhere to be found.
"He was in here like 5 minutes ago. I don't know where he went." She remarks.
We search the back rooms but there's only the detective, who hasn't seen him in the past 10 minutes either.
I go over to the bathroom and rap on the closed door. "River?" A shaky voice responds with a small, "Yeah?"
I turn around to Em and gesture toward the bathroom door, mouthing a quick, "He's in here."
"Are you alright?" I ask. A hesitant voice responds, "I- yeah, I just need a minute."
I hear the sink run and turn back to Em, who simply shrugs and goes back to her stool and book.
I wait outside the door for a few minutes, and he finally comes out, looking quite pale.
He walks past me to the chairs by the window, and I follow.
"You okay?" I ask again. He nods but I can see his hands shaking on his lap.
I purse my lips and go behind the counter, preparing him a cup of tea. He sits wordlessly in the chair, staring out the window.
I walk over and pass him the cup. He smiles gratefully and I let him be for a moment, hoping that if he wants to talk he'll tell me. He looks really shaken up for some reason.
When he's looking away, I tap Em on the arm and gestured toward the back room. She follows me and I glance back, making sure he's not paying attention. I lower my voice. "What's wrong with him?"
She sighs. "I'm not really sure. He's been pretty quiet since he got back. I tried to talk to him in the car but he didn't really respond much. I think he's just in shock and still processing everything. I wish we could do more, but you know River, he likes to process and work through things on his own. For now, I guess we just let him be and do what we can. Give it a few days and he should be back to his normal self."
I nod with a grimace. "Yeah, you're right. Just keep me updated, yeah?" She nods just as the detective enters the room.
"Hey guys, they'll be here soon. I'll meet you out in the back alley." She says, crossing through the room.
"We should probably leave River be. We'll just go sign and help carry, and let him chill there." She recommends. I agree and we go out the back door to where the detective is standing.
A van pulls up after a few moments, and a short black-haired guy steps out. "Hey there, I'll just have you sign here and then I'll help you unload the boxes."
Em grabs the clipboard and scribbles a signature, handing it back to him. He goes back toward the front seat of the van to put it back away and the detective leans in to whisper, "I need you guys to distract him for a few minutes. Have him help you unload the books, whatever you need to do. I just need a bit to do a search and snap some pictures."
The black-haired guy comes back around the side of the vehicle and picks up a box, Em and I joining in.
We carry the boxes in and quickly manage to preoccupy him with helping us unpack the books. River is still spaced out in the corner and I'm not even sure he's processing what's going on right in front of him.
By the time we've finished unloading the boxes, the detective has what she needs and the van driver is none the wiser.
She thanks us and exits, leaving us in the store by ourselves again. I pull Emerson aside, out of River's earshot. "Should we just open back up without him?" I ask.
She glances over at him and grimaces. "He looks really out of it. Weekdays have been quieter, I think we should just send him home to recuperate for a while. Problem is, when he gets like this he's going to forget to take care of himself, so I don't really want him to be home alone."
I nod. "I can take him back to my place and he can hang out with Jay and I. Will you be okay running the place alone?"
She briefly looks at her phone, checking the time. "I'll be fine. Julie's coming in in a few hours."
"Something tells me that won't help you get work done faster," I say with a smirk.
She flushes. "Oh shut up. I'm not the only one who gets distracted when certain people are here." She says with a pointed look.
I sputter. "What- I- I just met Jay! I didn't say I was romantically interested in him!" I defend.
"And I didn't mention any names. Interesting how you filled that in so easily." She says with raised eyebrows and a knowing glance.
My face warms and I'm momentarily shocked into silence. I open my mouth and close it again, before abruptly changing the topic.
"Okay, I'm leaving now and taking River with me." She laughs. "Proof I'm right!" She calls as I go over to River. I purse my lips and roll my eyes at her before switching my attention to him.
"Em's gonna watch the store, Julie will be here to help in a few hours. We're gonna go back to mine and hang out there." He nods, getting up from the chair and following me out the door.
"I walked here," I inform him as we go out the door. Those words suddenly seem to switch on some semblance of attention in him, and he glances down at my feet.
"With the boot?" He asks.
I hesitate. "...yeah." He gives me a disapproving look. "Just because they gave you one doesn't mean you should be walking everywhere."
"It's not that far!" I protest. He shakes his head. "When do you get it off?" He asks.
"I go back soon. I can't just lay on the couch all day and do nothing. I'm gonna walk and move around." I argue.
"Oh, I know you can't sit around all day and do nothing. You're the one who's always moving in some way. All I'm saying is if you can drive somewhere right now then do it. Don't put that extra strain on your ankle."
I sigh. "You should be worrying about yourself, I'll be fine." I try to convince him.
He shakes his head and swallows heavily. "I- I just need some processing time." He says.
We walk in silence for a while, me deep in thought. What exactly happened while he was there that has him so shaken?
River's always been one to tuck his feelings away and focus more on others than himself, but I've never seen him in this much of a wreck. I catch his hands still shaking in my peripheral. I wish he'd drop some weight off his shoulders and just talk about it.
We finally get back to the apartment and I unlock the door to find Jay sitting on the couch along with Devon.
"Oh hey." I say, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
Devon turns and waves, and I take in the sight of them sitting together... pretty closely.
Wait why do I care? I shake my head a bit and dismiss the thought, shutting the door as River treks in behind me.
"Oh, Devon, this is River. River, Devon." I say, pointing at each of them as I move over to Jay and sit on the floor by his feet. I tap him on the leg. "Did you eat?" I ask.
He looks down at me, blinking blankly for a few seconds. "Yeah." He finally responds. "Okay good. Are you feeling any better?" I say, scanning over him.
I notice his face flush and put a hand up to his forehead. "You're kind of warm. I hope you don't have a fever again."
He avoids my gaze. "Uhh, I don't think I do." He comments, then suddenly frowns. I watch in concern. "You good?" I ask. His hand moves up and rubs his forehead for a few moments and he closes his eyes, face slightly scrunched in pain.
His eyes open again and he catches me staring at him. "What?" He asks in confusion. "Are you okay?" Devon repeats. Jay turns to face him and gives him a confused look. "I- Yeah, I just- oh, never mind." He says, stumbling over words. "What?" I ask.
"I don't know, I didn't realize Devon was over." He mumbles. Devon and I share a confused glance.
Devon turns to face him. "What do you mean? I've been here for a while. You invited me over here hours ago and we've been talking since."
Jay's face scrunches up in confusion and he rubs his head again.
"I don't know, I don't remember." He says. I frown. "What's the last thing you remember?" I ask.
He shuts his eyes and purses his lips, thinking for a while before letting out a sigh. "I don't know, everything's just foggy right now." He mumbles, holding his head.
I turn to look across the room. "River?" His head snaps up, his expression shifting out of the glazed-over look his eyes held when he was scrolling on his phone.
"Could you grab a Gatorade out of the fridge?" He nods and disappears into the kitchen, and I turn to Devon.
"Can I swap places with you?" He nods and moves to the floor. I take Devon's space on the couch by Jay.
River returns with the Gatorade and shifts around on his feet awkwardly for a moment, unsure how to help. I thank him and hold the drink out to Jay, who stares at it for a moment before sighing and taking it.
"I can get medicine for you, but I need to know what hurts," I say, running my fingers up and down his arm in an attempt to comfort him.
"Mostly head, chest just hurts from coughing still." He mumbles.
"Okay, I'll grab you painkillers. Need anything else?" I ask. He just shakes his head lethargically.
I bite my lip in concern but get up nonetheless to get the medicine from the bathroom cabinet.
As I go down the hall I catch Devon say, "You need to drink that." Jay murmurs something quietly back.
I come back with the painkillers and pass them to him, settling back down on the couch. Devon looks over at me. "Has this happened before?" He asks.
I sigh. "Something similar. He had broken a glass, so I had him lie down on the couch while I cleaned it up. He got up a little later and went to the cabinet, telling me he was buying a new one. He passed out on the floor and when he woke up again, he didn't remember any of it."
Devon looks at Jay. "Does he know?" He asks. Jay nods and pauses. "River doesn't." We all glance over at River, who is still sitting in the chair in the corner, currently staring at the TV completely spaced out.
"River." I say. He keeps staring. "River." I repeat, this time a bit louder. He continues to stare at the TV.
I shake my head. "He's not even listening, just go on."
"Do you think this has something to do with," He hesitates. "With his condition?" I grimace. "Honestly, I hope so. Otherwise, it means we've got other issues."