side job

11

⚠️ TW: pls do not read if you are capable of being triggered by any sort of mental/physical harm. you have been warned, so please read at your own discretion. ⚠️

Jonathan spent the rest of his night cleaning the glass and food from the dining room floor and walls. Ezra had left to "get some air" so Jonathan thought he'd clean the house in hopes it'd make Ezra feel better. He was still crying as he wiped up the last of the food, little sniffles escaping his lips.

After around thirty minutes of silence, Jonathan pulled his phone out to check Ezra's location. His heart thumped as he realized he could no longer see the mans location.

Typically Jonathan would bring this up to Ezra as a valid concern, but he was already in so much trouble that for right now he'd just have to suffer in silent concern. He closed out of the app, and eventually caved into deleting it.

Even though the couple were fighting, Jonathan had the hope that Ezra was just out getting food or walking around the mall mindlessly to clear his thoughts. Concern about Ezra cheating still lingered in the back of his mind despite his efforts to pretend that everything would be fine and Ezra loved him.

Stalking social media accounts was something that Jonathan despised and promoted against but he found himself wondering how his two ex best friends were doing. He had made a secret account yesterday, but he was too scared to actually look at their socials yet.

Just as he was typing in Ted's username, Ezra walked through the front door. He had a hoodie on, pulled up so it was covering practically his whole face. Jonathan jumped as the shorter man stomped past him, examining where the mess used to be.

"Thanks for cleaning up, J." Ezra grumbled. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

"I love you." Jonathan whispered, too scared to speak up. He was scared that Ezra seemed to be still in a pissy mood.

Ezra seemed to only shrug his shoulders as he gulped down half of his beer. Jonathan's heart sank, not used to Ezra not vocalizing his love back.

"I think I might stay at a friends place for a few days." Ezra spoke after a few minutes of silence. Jonathan found himself sinking to the floor, his knees weak and his heart starting to shatter. "You're toxic, Jonathan. And I don't think I want that right now."

Tightness spread all across Jonathan's chest as his breathing paused for a second. Complete panic waved through his body as Ezra took a long swig from his beer. Tears were fully dripping down Jonathan's face.

"Ezra, I have done everything to keep you happy. I forgot the whole cheating thing. I moved homes and got rid of my friends. What more do you want from me?" Schlatt finally broke down.

Everything that had happened had finally broken him down. His life was in ruin and he had no motivation to make any content, and his only source of content had blocked him on social media. He had nothing, because he had given up everything for Ezra.

Jonathan covered his mouth as he fought the urge to sob loudly. Ezra let out a burp before throwing the bottle towards Schlatt, only narrowly missing. Jonathan fell back onto his butt, gasping as Ezra stomped towards him.

"Don't fucking raise your voice at me. You're pathetic, Jonathan." Ezra grabbed Jonathan by the collar. Jonathan was shaking, his cries becoming silent as he stared into Ezra's eyes. "I've stuck with you for so long. You're so emotionally attached to everything and you turn everything into the end of the fucking world."

Jonathan pushed Ezra off of him and stood up. "Don't give me that bullshit, Ezra. There's nothing wrong with having emotions besides anger and horniness."

A crack filled the room as Ezra's fist collided with Jonathan's eye. Jonathan let out a cry as he fell backwards, clutching his eye that seemed to be throbbing. Panic bubbled through his whole body as Ezra climbed on top of him and continued to land blows all across his body.

His eyes were scrunched shit and his hands were whipping back and forth as he tried desperately to stop the pain. Ezra was fully screaming at Jonathan. Every possible insult he could think of was flying out of his mouth, as if the physical hurt wasn't enough.

Ezra was fuming, his face red and his fists already bruising. He continued to yell, wanting to leave a lasting bit of damage to Jonathan's fragile mind.

"You were nothing but a good fuck to me! I denied you for so long but you were so fucking desperate for love that you latched onto me and I had no choice but to date your creepy ass!" Ezra scream.

Jonathan had pushed himself back, sitting up and leaning against the wall and coughed heavily. His whole body was vibrating with pain and burning from all the punches and kicks. His mind was calm, though. He couldn't explain it since his thoughts were still in a rush.

Ezra shook his head as Jonathan groaned and wiped blood from his nose. "Call me when you get your shit together, okay? If I fucking find out you ran straight back to those abusive pricks, I'll beat the shit out of you and them."

With that, Ezra grabbed his keys, Schlatt's debit card, and his jacket. He slammed the front door, and soon Jonathan could hear Ezra's car squeal as the man whipped his car out of their driveway.

Jonathan was fighting the urge to sob, since his ribs were sore and his lungs hurt from screaming. He pulled his phone from his butt pocket, cringing as he noticed it was cracked from falling on it.

He dialed Ted's number, desperate that the man would still pick up despite their current fued. Jonathan almost cried out in joy as he heard Ted's very confused voice fill his ears.

"This better be for a good fucking reason, Schlatt." Ted opened.

Jonathan chuckled in his mind, but only a weak 'help' left his lips. He couldn't hear the scrambling words drifting through the phone since everything surrounding him started to blur.

The pain, both physical and emotional, had caught up to him. Jonathan was drained and he just wanted to fall asleep. So he did.

---

Waking up felt like he was being resurrected. Jonathan's whole body was still aching with pain, but he was no longer sitting on the kitchen floor. He was laying on a soft blanket, one that still smelled sweet like Ezra's favorite laundry detergent.

A tear slipped from his eye as he coughed once again and cringed at the feeling that radiated across his body. He opened his eyes, squinting at the light bleeding in through the curtains.

Ted cleared his throat, sending a panic through Jonathan as he closed his eyes and cowered behind his hands. "P-please don't hurt me."

"Schlatt calm down, it's me, Ted. And Charlie's here. Minx is at the store grabbing stuff to help your injuries." Ted explained, watching sadly as Charlie embraced the cowering Jonathan.

Everyone was silent, waiting for Jonathan to react, but he didn't. He curiously pulled his hands away from his face and blinked as the sight of his friends finally processed.

And that made him feel terrible. Charlie pulled him in tight as Jonathan cried, profusely apologizing and wincing every time Charlie accidentally squeezed him too hard.