Conflicted. That was only one word to describe Brik's feelings. Numb was another. He was back to his distantly emotionless self. He did, however, missed his short-lived (no pun intended) high. He simply blinked blandly, giving Tristan and Jaylene an empty stare. In Brik's mind, there was nothing but resentment towards Kaleb. He couldn't blame the guy, if their roles were reversed, he probably would have jumped into the water too, but he couldn't help the faint annoyance he felt about being saved. He could have been taken away from all the pain and the worries. He could have finally broke free of his chains, but Kaleb just locked him back down and hid the key, without even knowing it. He listened to Tristan rant, but said nothing, simply blinking once...twice...three times. He might have looked indifferent, as if he didn't just try to commit suicide, but in his mind he was weighing the pros and cons of telling them all the truth.
The truth: That he was just waiting to die and was simply using a less painful method to speed up the process. He doubted they would take it well. He was aware that each of them had their own lives, issues, sins, and because of that knowledge, Brik didn't want to add to their baggage. Lung cancer was seriously not a load that anyone should have to carry, whether they are diagnosed with it or not.
He sighed, pulling off his wet shirt and pants. He was soaked to the bone and he was getting cold. He slowly stood up, using Kaleb's shoulder as support. He felt a tad woozy, but he just finished drowning so wooziness was to be expected. Slowly and steadily, he went to the stack of clean, dry clothes on the other side of the cave. He still wasn't answering Tristan's question, in hope that he might give up. It was best if they didn't know...He was saving them all from grief. Clad in his soaked boxers, Brik pulled them off too, just as Summer entered the cave. He was glad she was taking their minds off of his little stunt. He could have snuggled her again, which is saying something since he was now sober. Naked, Brik searched for a dry pair of boxers. He didn't care if they saw his body. He had no shame. He picked up a pair of super man boxers, slipping them on along with a pair of black jeans and a gray hoodie that said: 'OBEY' on the front. He sat next to the fire in silence as he warmed himself up. He didn't look at anyone, just watched the flames with no expression on his face. When Summer stopped talking, he waved them off and nodded in agreement, but didn't say a thing. He concluded that the less they knew, the better off they were. He was doing this for them because he loved them all. They were family and he didn't want to see his family hurt because of him.
"I'm fine..." he said hollowly, his eyes still on the fire. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay." He usually wasn't a liar, but today was an exception.