The love that binds us

Untitled Part 4

His hand gripped my wrist tightly so I couldn't pull the string any further, keeping the apron on.

'I like.' He said and I felt my face warm.

'Y-you're dirty... you've got dirt on you.' I said and he pulled his hand back looking at himself as I pulled the apron off. 'I should really get home.' I said and Tate nodded. Tyler looked up and watched me as I hung the apron up and stood there a littler nervous, they were going to let me leave right? All this talk about the family business...

'Tyler, take him home, both of you be careful. It was nice to meet you, and please think about what I spoke to you about earlier.' I nodded and Tyler took my hand leading me out, I grabbed my school bag on the way and he dragged me along until we were past the tree line and then slowed his pace so we were walking normally, but he didn't let go of my hand. My heart thumped again, and my chest felt warm but I didn't say anything.

'You talk with Tate?' He asked as he looked ahead at the ground.

'Yeah, he talked to me about a few things, what did you and Titus do?' He groaned and frowned at his feet.

'We... angry talk?' He muttered.

'Argued? Were you arguing with each other?' He grunted and I took that as a yes.

'Ar-gued.' He muttered. 'Then we fight, why dirty.' He said rubbing his free hand on his chest, he's a bloody primitive, but I couldn't help watch his hand spread across his chest. Scars were scattered across his body, and I couldn't help but wonder had that come from his time alone? What caused those scars? All those years alone and he turned out like this? Wait, no, this is after being back with humans, I wonder what he was like before.

'Tyler?' I asked stopping just by the tree line near my house. He grunted and looked at me, holding my hand tightly so I wouldn't let go. 'Why do you like me?'

He frowned at me before frowning at his feet and making weird noises, his face contorting to the harmony that was his weird noises.

'I like... you...crying.' He said touching his face showing the crying motion like before.

'You like it when I cry?' I frowned tugging at my hand a little but he refused to let go and he frowned back at me.

'No... I not know... how to say.' He frowned back at his feet. 'I not know...' He started growing angrier. 'I not say...' I reached my free hand over to grab his free fist and he calmed a little. Okay, so the touching makes him calm, sort of?

'It's alright, but I need you to tell me why.' He nodded and I smiled. 'I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow? You're going to come to school right?' He nodded.

'I want see you. I come again tonight, like before-'

'No. Don't do that, you can't do that, if my dad is ever home and he see's you do that he'll shoot you and then me. I'm not kidding, he has a gun.'

'He hurt you.' Tyler growled, it was fierce and I felt his hands tighten into fists in my own hands. 'He make cry, make hurt.' He motioned to the left side of my face and I smiled sadly.

'Yeah, but it's okay, he hasn't done that in a while.' I could take most of the verbal abuse but the physical was a bit different.

'I hurt him, show him not hurt you again.' I smiled, no one had ever offered something like that before but I shook my head.

'It's okay, really, I have to go, I'll see you later.' He gripped my wrist and pulled me back.

'Kiss.' He said and I looked at him a little shocked. His face was that pale pink colour but he seemed confident in his demand.

'What?' I whispered, a little nervous that he had actually meant to say it.

'I want to touch.' He touched his lips. 'I want to kiss, goodbye.' I felt my face heat up rapidly and I looked down at our feet.

'I... that's not... we...' Taking a deep breath I moved quickly, pecking him on the lips before running away and over to my house across the road from the woods. I walked inside to mum in the kitchen, dad at the table with the paper and my sister in the living room doing homework. I headed upstairs, dropped my things, showered quickly and then raced down stairs to have dinner. Everyone was seated and I knew that tonight wasn't going to go very well, I could just feel it in my gut.

'So what happened with the football tryouts?' Dad asked before pushing a forkful of food into his mouth, I hated when he did that, or talked with food shoved in the sides of his cheeks like he were a chipmunk.

'I made the JV team, at running back and I'm back up full back for the SV team.' Dad took a deep breath in, everything around us seemed to slow and I knew this was where everything was going to go bad.

'That's alright, maybe you should have worked harder and you could have gotten the SV team position.' He was calm as he said this, and I felt nervous.

'But I'm only a junior.' The words came out before I could stop them and I flinched at the realisation that they were now floating across the table to his ears.

Oh boy was that the wrong fucking answer.

'Are you fucking talking back now?' He roared and I swallowed hard.

'No dad, I just... Coach wants to try and let the seniors play as much as possible, for scholarship purposes.' I tried to cover my mistake but he definitely wasn't having that tonight.

'And what about you? If you were better you could have had two years worth of scouting but because you're a lazy shit you'll only have next year.' I swallowed and looked down at my plate. 'That's right, look at your fucking plate, contemplate how fucking lazy you've been recently, and where the fuck were you this afternoon?' I felt my whole body stiffen, he didn't know, obviously he didn't know that I was interested in men, I'm not stupid enough to watch porn or have gay magazines laying around, and I sure as hell wasn't stupid enough to actually date a man... until now.

'I was no where.' I said quietly, how was I supposed to explain everything that was happening with Tyler? He would just call me a fag and be done with it, he'd be done with me, I'd be in so much trouble if he ever found out.

'We'll you were fucking somewhere, you didn't just fall off the planet now did you?'

'Dad-' Smack. I fell back in my chair and winced at the sting that ran through my cheek from his opened palm slap. Jeramiha Fletcher was a man that used open hand combat as his form of corporal punishment, unless he was drunk or I did something to really really piss him off.

'Fucking lazy, useless bastard.' He muttered as he stood over me before stalking towards the door, he slammed it and I lay there in my chair looking at the ceiling

'Zach-'

'Don't.' I said quietly and my mother quietened herself, my sister sitting there awkwardly as I stood up, put my chair back into place and went back to my room. I locked the door and lay out on the bed. I didn't understand that man, only I seemed to anger him, and he only ever beat on me, which I mean is good, obviously I wouldn't want my sister or mum to take a beating but this isn't fair. I lay in bed watching the wall for a long time until I start falling asleep, but I feel the bed dip and turn quickly to see Tyler laying there, he was shirtless again and the window was open.

'I know you say no come but-' I hugged him tightly, pushing my face against his shoulder fingers digging into the soft skin of his shoulder blades. He didn't say anything, just held me tightly and I tried not to cry, falling asleep quickly instead.