The Boy Next Door

Confilcted

Okayyyyy here is the rundown of the last chapter in case anyone needed to skip it.

Val's back and wanted to speak with (murder) Anthony.
Alastor and Elisabeth tried to keep him away from him but when Elisabeth's life gets up on the line Anthony surrenders in exchange for their safety.
Alastor kills the bastard, but not before Anthony gets hurt.
I'm pretty sure that all the important stuff.

!TW! Scars, body image (I think)

Alastor sat back as he finally got the last of the stains out of the floor. Looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath, the adrenaline finally subsiding. He could hear his mother walking around in the room just above him, which was his own. Standing himself up and walking to the stairs and to the second floor. Knocking on his door quietly, waiting for his mother to give him the go ahead before he entered. "Come in." She called quietly. Alastor opened the door, gently closing it behind him and walking to stand beside her. "How is cleaning going? Do you need help?" She asked, making sure to stay quiet. "No I'm done, how is he?" He asked, not even daring to look at the bed himself. "He's alright. I'm just worried about how he might react when he wakes up..." she said solemnly. Alastor nodded, bringing a hand to run through his hair. Elisabeth sighed, wrapping both arms around the brunette. "Mama thank you for helping us." He muttered under his breath, not wasting a moment to return the hug. Besides seeing his lover awake and okay, this was the kind of comfort he needed. "Of course baby...I just need to stay here until he wakes up. I think it's a bad idea to have him be alone when that happens." Alastor nodded, slowly pulling back. "Can I stay as well?" He asked, the woman nodded, walking to his desk and pulling out his chair and setting it not far from the bed. Alastor excepted the seat, keeping his eyes on either his mother or the floor. Still not allowing himself to look at Anthony just yet, yes he may have seen it already. But he didn't want to see it again just yet. Elisabeth walked over to the night table to pick up the rest of the basic first aid items she had been using the last while. What they needed was an actual hospital trip, but with nurses come questions. And due to circumstances they couldn't risk it just yet.

A few hours past, simply discussing what had happened. When finally Anthony started to stir. Shifting a little as he moved to sit himself up, Elisabeth immediately went to adjust the pillow so he could sit agains that headboard more comfortably. "Evening Angel...how are you feeling?" She asked nervously. Anthony kept still and hadn't looked at them, but upon finally opening his eyes something immediately felt wrong. He stared off into space for a moment. Raising a hand to his face and feeling the bandages over his left eye. "Guys...?" He called quietly. Elisabeth sat on the edge of the bed next to him, Alastor still couldn't look at him yet. Cleaned up or not, the image of the blonde only a few hours prior was almost engraved in his mind. Something in him feared if he looked at him he'd see it again. Anthony raised his hands to slowly removed the bandages from his face, gently placing them down. Elisabeth stood quietly, just allowing him to do so, she could put them back later. Anthony held his hand up in front of his face, staring at it blankly. "Elisabeth...what happened?" He asked nervously. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Alastor. "You were unconscious for a few hours, everything is taken care of I promise." She said simply, but the concern was there in her voice. "W-what did he do?" He asked nervously, yet there was a hint of confidence in his voice. Elisabeth took a deep breath. "Do you want to see it?" She asked nervously. Anthony nodded silently, watching as she got up and took a small mirror out of her bag, handing it to him.

Anthony was dead quiet, staring blankly at his reflection for what felt like eternity, even if it was only a few minutes. Bringing a hand up to feel what was left of where his eye once was. He didn't have any form of expression on his face, the shock simply running its course and as such resulted in his delayed response. Alastor finally mustered up the courage to look up. Seeing Anthony's shocked and almost confused look. And the un-ignorable wound over his left eye. Finally he put the mirror facing down in his lap, hiding his face in his hands. Both Alastor and Elisabeth weren't sure what to do, what he was thinking, any of it. "Angel..do you need some form of comforting?" She asked quietly. Anthony shook his head. "Just...leave me alone." He muttered. Elisabeth exchanged glances with her son before they both stood up. "Alright, if you need anything at all, just let me know." She said as she walked to the door. Alastor walked over to the bedside, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I love you Anthony." And with that, as requested, they left him alone.

Anthony waited until he couldn't hear them anymore, before he hesitantly lifted the mirror again, looking at his reflection for a second before he looked at the ceiling. He was glad he was alone in that moment, no way in hell did he want either of them to see him cry. And in that moment, he just couldn't keep his already overwhelmed emotions in check. Bringing his hand up to cover his eye as he just let the flow of tears start streaming down his face. What was he going to do now? He can't go home like this! He couldn't let his family see what's happened to him. Breathing was laboured as he bit down on his hand to try and keep slightly quieter if at all. He couldn't let anyone see what had happened to him. How was he supposed to explain this to his dad? 'He just let him win'? No way in hell could he say that. What was he supposed to do?!

Alastor sat on the steps. He could hear his lover's quiet sobs, and he wanted to somehow comfort him. But unfortunately for Alastor, Anthony wanted to be alone in that moment. And he didn't blame him for that. He would have wanted to be left alone as well. But that didn't mean it was what he needed. Elisabeth walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him. "Do you need anything Alastor?" She called quietly. The brunette merely shook his head. He planned on staying close to the room in case Anthony needed him. He intended to stay within earshot.

Two weeks went by.
Anthony wasn't even talking to them at that point. Neither of them took it personally, but that didn't stop them from worrying.
Anthony himself?
He didn't know what to think anymore, he didn't want anyone to have to see him at this point. He despised the way it looked, he despised the way he looked. He tried to avoid speaking to them as much as possible. Alastor occasionally would come in just to check on him, but he never gave any effort to say much. This was just something of a living nightmare. Valentino was gone, but so was his eye. And unlike the burns he can't hide this one. He had a birth defect that made his eyes two different colours! He liked that about his eyes. And now he's stuck like some fucking pirate! Why couldn't Val have just killed him and called it a day?! Anything but this.

Alastor lay in bed next to Anthony, avoiding them or not, they still shared the room. The blonde was turned away from him while he stared at the ceiling, sleep just not coming that night. "Anthony..." he called quietly. His lover merely pulled the blanket higher over his shoulder. "I...think I want to tell you something. And I never told anyone this, so please listen." He started, taking a deep breath before looking back up. "When I first summoned the shadow, it scared me. It made me do things against my own will, told me things I didn't want to hear. Overall it messed with my head." He stopped to take a breath. "With that fear, came a lot of very overwhelming emotions, and I didn't want anyone to see me in that moment of weakness. I stayed in my room, I shut my mother out of my life. I didn't eat, I never slept. I just remained isolated." Anthony glanced up at him before his eyes fell back on the bed. "So? Why tell me this." He asked. "I'm telling you this because I see myself then, in you now. And Anthony, when I finally let my mother back into my life I realized how badly I needed her to be with me through it. No matter how embarrassed I felt about her seeing me so weak." He explained simply. Alastor gently held the blonde's shoulder and pulled him to be on his back, staring down into his eye. "What I'm trying to get at here is, you can't remain alone forever. And it's okay to let people see you weak sometimes, you're aloud to feel things. You just..you can't let one bad thing ruin your entire life no matter how bad it is, because...then what's the point of living?" Anthony didn't respond, he simply brought a hand up to cover his face. Encouragement or not, he didn't want anyone to look at him yet. "I...I know Al, but I can't let people see me like this." He said quietly. Alastor sighed, gently taking his wrist and pulling his hand away from his eye. "Maybe so, but I still find you stunning." He replied quietly, cupping his cheeks with both hands. "You're the most handsome, strong, and brave man I've ever met. And before you try to protest, what you were willing to do for me and mama said it all." Anthony bit his lip, smile tugging at his lips and he sat up to pull his lover into a tight embrace. "Thank you smiles..." Alastor adjusted his arms alto be around his back, one hand gently playing with his hair. "You're welcome Anthony. I love you."