Taylor couldn’t explain the emotion that rushed through him when Garrett accepted his embrace so easily, but long after he felt his friend relax back against him, he couldn't make himself let go.
He needed this.
So badly.
He'd felt so overburdened with the weight of pretending to everyone that he was okay, that he didn’t put a chair against his door when he went to sleep at night, but he hadn’t dared to imagine what it would be like if he had someone to support him through it.
But now that he was here, holding onto Garrett as his friend cried for him, feared for him, and accepted him without ever being told what was going on, Taylor let his eyes close, tucked his chin into Garrett's shoulder, and let the warmth of Garrett against him heat him from within. Taylor felt something growing
