No, he definitely didn't realize how he helped Freddie. Unfortunately, he was a little oblivious when it came to things like that. But if he had known, he would've felt incredibly good for helping her out. Even if it was only a little bit of help.
Rhys relaxed at her touch. Those words alone filled his entire being with warmth. How many times had he imagined what it would be like for Freddie to feel the same as him? Now they were laying out under the stars and she was tucked close to him. He felt very lucky. Lips barely brushed against the hand that had touched his hair. He kissed the inside of her palm, the inside of her wrist, and then the top of her head before he took a deep breath. Every bit of tension escaped his body in that one exhale. How could he be stressed or tense when she was with him?
One day Freddie would tell him exactly how much he'd help her in the short time they were together. He deserved to know. For now, Freddie was getting more relaxed as well, which she welcomed. She smiled at his soft kisses even if they tickled her only slightly, but didn't stop caressing his curls. She was crazy about those curls. Hell, she was crazy about everything pertaining to Rhys.
The sigh he gave made Freddie give one exactly like it. At least for now, she felt a lot better than she had before, and hopefully with the camping trip coming up, she would be able to forget about it. Even if she kept coming back to it from time to time. Suddenly Freddie raised her head as if she had remembered something important. "Wow, I totally forgot, you know who I ran into this afternoon? Row! She's back!" Yes, happy thoughts. Thinking about good things like your good friend coming back from a mental hospital apparently safe and sound was a sure way to take her mind off her mother.
Having one's hair played with was always a good thing, in his opinion at least. It only managed to make him even more relaxed. If this kept up, he'd end up falling asleep out there too. Which is what he'd do anyways if Freddie planned on staying in her car for the rest of the evening.
Rhys perked up at the mention of Row. "Really? Is she doing okay?" He could vividly remember all the stories that went around about her after she was hauled off to the mental institution. It was pretty scary when it first happened and Rhys had a habit of snapping at people that sad anything bad about Row. So people realized pretty quickly that they should avoid the subject of the girl that was taken to the loony bin. Really though, it was good that she was back!
Shrugging as much as she could while lying down pressed tightly against Rhys (the backseat of a Mini wasn't particularly known by its ample space), Freddie turned her head to face him. "I don't know, I think she's as okay as she can be given the circumstances. We drove around a bit, joked around about this and that - and that, too - and she seemed alright. We all need to hang out together some time." She suggested as she moved her hand from his curls to his cheek, and brushed her fingers continuously over his soft skin.
Rhys nodded. "Yeah. Well, that's a pretty good sign if she's joking, right?" He looked down at her, a small smile on his face. Or that could be a not so good sign. It was easy to deflect one's real problems with humor, unfortunately. He still wanted to think that she was doing good though. His hand rubbed up and down her lower back as he spoke. "We do need to hang out together. It's been a long time since I last saw Row. I'm glad she's back."
Freddie wasn't so sure. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. She knew pretty well how to hide certain things from people by joking around, so she couldn't say for sure if Row was really okay or just faking it. But she intended on finding out, and if she wasn't okay, Freddie would try to help. "I don't know, I guess it is. She seemed resigned to getting a job and repeating the grade - we'll be in the same grade, by the way, which is pretty cool."