There Really is Life on Mars - An Adopted by Yungblud Story

Chapter Four - Comfortable Cussing

TW: MENTIONS OF ABUSE, MENTIONS OF SELF HARM, SLIGHT MENTIONS OF BULLYING AND SEXUAL ASSAULT, MENTION OF INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS

Dom's P.O.V.

    Oh my fucking hell. God, they're a lot worse off than I thought. Bruises and cuts littered the small amount of their skin that I could see (considering they were wearing long sleeves and what I was assuming to be long pants), including their face. Their skin seemed paler and their hair was definitely messier in comparison to the last time I had seen them. They were visibly trembling and refused to even look at their phone. Their head was tilted slightly down and they were chewing on their nails anxiously. Seconds passed before either of us spoke; they spoke first, seeing as I was a bit busy with taking in their clearly unhealthy state.

    "...Hi," They spoke, their voice barely above a whisper; their parents must be home.

    "How recent is all of that and how much of it wasn't done by yourself?" I asked hesitantly, matching their volume to make sure I didn't overwhelm them. I needed full honesty of them if I wanted to get anywhere with them; that meant I needed to be prepared to hear the worst, thus why I, unfortunately, included the possibility of self harm.

    "A few hours ago, I think, everything you can see right now wasn't me, some parts that you can't see were, uh, done by myself, I guess," They answered, somehow making their small voice impossibly smaller.

    "If you're comfortable, could you, um, roll up your sleeves for me, love?" I hesitated; I really don't want to make them any more uncomfortable than they already seem to be.

    They nodded in response, rolling up the sleeves of their plain, black sweater. I was barely able to hold back a gasp as they showed me their nearly stick-thin arms; they were littered with scarred and scabbed over cuts along with both semi-old and very new bruises of varying colors. I felt my eyes start to burn as tears pricked at them before rolling down my cheeks, landing on the hand that had been covering my mouth. They, unfortunately for me, noticed my red, splotchy disposition and quickly rolled their sleeves back down, muttering quick, pitiful apologies as they wrapped their arms around themself, tears now falling down their own face as well. I shushed them cautiously after wiping my face, hoping to stem their heartbreaking apologies. Luckily, I was successful.

    "Where are you from? If you're in the UK, tell me where and I'll come pick you up right now," I asked, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. My heart broke a bit more as they shook their head.

    "You can't, I live way too far. I'm in C/N" They whimpered out, resting their chin on their hands as they leaned closer to the camera, still looking downward.

    "The moment I'm back in C/N next summer, I'll- oh fuck," I facepalmed at myself as I realized I accidentally just leaked a R/N tour, but quickly felt better about it when I saw a huge, hopeful grin grace Y/N's complexion as they finally looked at my directly.

    "Did you just say what I think you said?" They asked me, their voice finally losing that fear-edged tone.

    "Yeah, I did, but shush shush! Don't tell anyone," I smiled back, leaning a bit closer to my camera as I placed a finger in front of my lips.

    "I don't exactly have anyone to tell, dumbass! You think my parents let me have online friends? No! And school friends are pretty much a lost cause now, so like, who am I gonna tell, dipshit?" They replied, giggling a bit at the end; I grinned impossibly wider as they actually cussed at me, they were finally getting comfortable.

    I laughed quite loudly, causing them to make a panicked face and quickly reach for their phone, likely to turn the volume down. I immediately quieted myself, a smile still on my face.

    "Sorry!" I whispered, slowly comprehending what they said.

    "Wait, what do you mean 'school friends are pretty much a lost cause now?'" I asked, concern worming it's way back into my system. Their face fell as they looked back down.

    "I, uh, had someone do some, not too nice things to me earlier this year, and people from my school decided to take what he did as an opportunity to ruin what little reputation I had. Basically, everyone just kinda thinks I'm insane now," they gave me a short explanation, sighing a bit at the end.

    "Ew. Your school sounds like ass," I commented in response, hoping to lighten the mood again; I was happy to see a small smile return to their face as they let out a small chuckle.

    "Anyways! We never got to finish talking the other day. Wanna catch up a bit?" I asked, overjoyed when they nodded excitedly and began talking animatedly.

    We stayed on the phone for hours, them doing most of the talking as they told me about themself and showed me things they had made for me over time. I looked over at the hotel alarm clock; 4:26 AM.

    "Shit, I've got a show tomorrow, I'm really sorry love, but I should probably get some sleep. I'll talk to ya again soon, alright? I love you and I'm here for you, please don't forget that," I smiled at them, happy to get a smile and a nod back.

    "Thank you so much again. Break a leg tomorrow!" They whispered enthusiastically. I smiled at them, waving a bit and allowing them time to wave back before hesitantly hanging up.

    Dear god, am I glad that they called me back. I didn't get as much information as I had hoped, but it's a start. It's absolutely a start.

Y/N's P.O.V.

    I smiled impossibly wider as the call came to a close. Plugging my phone in, I snuck to the bathroom to get ready for bed, surprised to see how I looked with a genuine grin stretching across my cheeks as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I quickly looked away, doing what I needed to do before rushing back to the security of my bedroom. I unceremoniously flopped into bed, falling asleep practically as soon as my head hit the pillow.

    For once, I was able to fall asleep without a single intrusive thought entering my head.

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word count: 1063

finally something other than angst! please vote and comment if you enjoyed <3