Forgive Me

Too Beautiful

Matt's POV

I woke up around 6 in the morning and went for a jog just to clear my head. Unfortunately it didn't work out the way I wanted. I began thinking of things to talk about. I had given him my number and I had given him a business card, he hadn't texted or called me, what if he didn't have a phone? What if I had scared him? I then began thinking all of the abuse he has possibly suffered and for how long.

I stopped to catch my breath and check how far I had ran. I had run for about five miles which is 3 more than normal. I began turning around. I sent a quick message off to Lucy letting her know I was going to stop at a bakery and snag some doughnuts.

I found myself wondering the last time that Luka had a doughnut or any sweets, he was super skinny so food might be scarce. I also wondered when was the last time he was given actual comfort. Before I knew it I was walking into a bakery. I had meticulously picked out two doughnuts for Luka. A chocolate one with chocolate sprinkles and a birthday cake flavored one. I smiled at my choices and had the lady throw some random ones in a box for Lucy, because she wouldn't care as long as she got some food. By the time I arrived home Lucy was dressed and ready for the day. Before I could say anything to her she had already ripped the box of doughnuts from my hand and began shoving them into her mouth.

Before we knew it we were in the car on the way to the coffee shop, we didn't know what time he worked but we had assumed that he started early in the morning. Figuring it was better to be earlier than him versus miss him completely. Pulling into the same parking spot from last night I turned the car off, grabbing the doughnuts I had brought for him. Walking inside we took our same seats at the booth and ordered one black coffee and one hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and sprinkles.

Our drinks came quickly but not by who we were hoping they would come from. I felt my heart start to drop and feel heavy until I heard the chime of the bell above the door and that soft voice apologizing for being late. I watched as he rushed into the back and hug his backpack up on a hook with his name above it, my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Until he turned my way and his whole left eye was swollen shut and completely black around the outside.

I felt my coffee cup slip from my hands but I couldn't look down at the mess I made, I kept my eyes attached to the scared brown ones and the near quivering and split lip once he locked eyes with me.

Luka's POV

(Trigger warning ⚠️ mentions abuse and starvation)

I woke up early and scoured the kitchen for a solid 20 minutes looking for something to eat that would tide me over until my break at work. Nothing for me in the fridge, he had marked the milk and juice jugs with a line and he would know, I had already tried where you replace the liquid but he quickly caught me and I had been forced to drink until I threw up and then I was kicked repeatedly in the stomach. I tried not to make any noise that could wake my father up.

Unfortunately I had managed to hit just the edge of the pots and down the stack came crashing. I stood still listening for his footsteps. When I didn't hear anything I quickly went about cleaning up my mess.

Once I was finished cleaning up my mess I began searching the food pantry and found a bag of fruit snacks on the bottom shelf in the far back. He wouldn't even notice it was missing. I stuffed it into my pocket and hurriedly shut the pantry door and started on my everyday chores.

My body shook as my dad kicked open the bathroom door as I was finishing scrubbing the bathtub. "You're gonna be late so hurry the hell up." He grumbled at me. I nodded my head scrubbing faster. Once I was done I scrambled into my work clothes and we started the short drive to the coffee shop.

Pulling into the parking lot my father grabbed me by my chin, "Tell them you slipped in the kitchen and hit your face on the fridge," I nodded to afraid to look him in the face. I was already beyond anxious, I couldn't control the fact that I wanted to just cry and I just wanted to lay down with my blanket and take a long nap at least until I feel better. A hard slap across my face brought me out of my train of thought. "If you don't snap out of it I'm going to snap you, so figure your shit out at work before I have to help you. And if that man in the suit comes back in don't talk to him, he looks nosey." My breath caught in my throat, thinking of his kind voice made my body melt back into the seat a little bit. I nodded not wanting to get slapped again.

Looking down at my watch I noticed I was five minutes late for the start of my shift. Grabbing up my back pack and my apron I quickly ran inside the building and began apologizing for being late. I slipped around the counter and hung up my backpack and tied my apron behind my back eager to start my cake project for today. As I turned to go out the door by the counter I locked eyes with the one man I was hoping to see. My lips couldn't do anything but quiver. I nearly cried seeing how his eyes spoke everything his words hadn't said yet and I just wanted to be wrapped up in his arms not worrying about what's going to happen when my father comes to pick me up. I ran to the bathroom being unable to control my tears that just began flowing from my eyes.