lavender //dnf//

16

TW: abuse, angst.

"PLEASE! WHAT THE FUCK YOU CAN'T DO THIS, PLEASE!" George screamed at his step dad, who had just snatched his phone from his cold hand. "I'M NOT A CHILD, YOU CAN'T TAKE MY FUCKING PHONE!" He continued, his throat was burning and his voice was slowly going from all of the screaming and constant arguing.

George's step dad stormed into his room from the hallway, before grabbing the collar of George's shirt and punching him a few times in the head, and eye. He threw him onto the ground and stared down at his beaten face.

"Oh George, you do this to yourself," he chuckled, "I'm not stupid. If you and that stupid boyfriend of yours have the ability to text each other, he'll just help you out again!" He spat at George, who flinched at every word that was said.

But his step dad wasn't done yet, "just look at you. Pathetic, aren't you? You have no strength whatsoever, George. And don't even get me started on the fact that you're dating another boy. I mean, you're gay. you're fucking gay-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE MY ROOM! JUST GET OUT! FUCK YOU!" George screamed, but his voice broke half way through. His step dad laughed, he laughed at him, but finally exited the room; slamming the door behind him.

George stayed on the ground, blood slightly dripping from his lip and his head extremely weak. His left eye was bruised and swollen and his shirt was teared. He sobbed as quietly as he could to himself, completely broken inside. He wondered whether he would be there for the rets of his life- it was a painful thought- but it wasn't exactly unlikely.

"I can't fucking stay here," George muttered to himself, his head lolled to one side of his shoulder, leaning against the wooden floor.

He had most definitely had enough. He didn't care how many times his step dad found him, he would keep running away until he could no longer be found. George heaved himself up from the ground, and ran to his window. He didn't bother packing anything, he just wanted to get out. He slid open the window slowly, as quietly as he could, before hanging one foot out into the cold air. Just before George lifted the rest of his body out of the window, his bedroom door creaked open. He spun his head around, preparing himself for the worst, but all of his panic went away when he saw his mom standing in the doorway.

She looked broken. Tears begun to stream down her face when she saw George sitting on the edge of his window. George felt so terrible for leaving her. His mom walked up to him, and sat beside him. She brought him in for a hug, and didn't let go for a while. They cried on each others' shoulders, before his mom pulled away. George was scared that she was going to stop him from leaving, but she did the complete opposite.

She stood up, and walked to George's wardrobe, where she pulled out a warm coat. She returned to her position next to George and wrapped the coat around his shoulders. She lent over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Be safe, please, George. Try and contact Clay as soon as you can, he'll help you. I love you so much and I'm so sorry this has been your life for so many years," she said, trying to hold back more tears from spilling.

George placed his face in his hands, "what about you, mom? Why don't you come with me? You can't stay here-"

"I'll be fine. I'll make it out of here sooner or later, and when I do, I'll come and see you. I love you, now off you go," she forced a smile and jerked her head towards the open window.

"Love you too," George kissed his mom on the cheek before the rest of his body climbed out of the window. His mom shut the glass behind him, and they waved one last time. George turned around for the final time, and begun to run. He didn't head towards the beach this time, but he ran to the opposite end of the city's outskirts.

*

George had been running for about thirty minutes now, taking many breaks in between to catch his breath. He had no water- which was something he greatly regretted not bringing with him. George continued to run until he reached the outskirts of a forest near an old parking lot. He wished he could run straight to Clay and Nick, but it took an hour to drive there, so God knows how long it would take to walk. Anyway, he had no clue how to get there from memory.

George didn't run into the forest, he thought it would be too dangerous, but he still wanted to get as far away from his step dad as he could. He strolled around the completely empty, dim parking lot, until all he was surrounded by were a few flickering street lamps and empty parking spots. He slumped against an old brick wall as it started to rain. George readjusted his coat, trying to warm himself up, but it was almost useless.

He was shivering intensely, and his hair and exposed skin was drenched in a matter of seconds. He was much further from home than he had been the first time he ran away, so he felt safer. George wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do next, but there was one thing he knew for certain, and that was that all he wanted right now was to be in Clay's arms.

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Clay laid wide awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. He wondered where George was now. In the basement? His bedroom? Or what if he had escaped? Clay missed him so much, and couldn't help but completely cry himself to sleep. Every single last ounze of his energy had been taken from crying, he didn't even have enough to pull the covers over his shaking body.

He stared at the chipping white paint above him and his body shivered. He wondered where George had gone if he had escaped. If he was outside, he could get badly hurt. Plus, it was absolutely freezing inside the house, so fuck knows what it was like outside. Regardless, he knew that anywhere and anything was better than being in the same house as George's step dad.

Clay wished that they were together, even if they were freezing to death in the middle of the ocean- he wanted to be with each other. He wanted to hold George closer than ever before to show him that he genuinely cares about him, and always will.

He had a dream about George that night, it wasn't a very detailed dream, but they were on a ferris wheel together. Clay's arm was resting behind George's head, supported by his shoulder, and George's head was snuggled into Clay's chest. The ferris wheel wasn't moving, they were stuck at the top. They weren't scared though, because they were together. They stared up and looked at the stars, trying to find different pretty constellations. Clay swore that he saw one that looked just like his cat from his hometown, Patches.

God did he wish the dream was real.

hi! thank you so much for reading this chapter! things will get better i promise LMAO
another chapter WILL be out tonight, i know i always say this and then don't post it for ages but chapter 17 will be out in the next hour!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALMOST 10K READS OMFG

remember to eat something, drink water and take care of yourself, i love you <3

1305 words.