𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘣𝘹𝘣)

thirty two

It was the next morning, Olivia making breakfast. She was staring blankly at the eggs that were cooking.

Zach walks into the kitchen. "Livy! Watch the stove!" He reaches in front of her to turn off the burner where her eggs were completely burned up, smoke starting to rise.

She backs away, taking a deep breath. "O-Oh. I'm sorry."

Zach grabs the pan, moving it off the stovetop. "Are you okay?"

"I just can't stop thinking about Benjamin. How dare Markus come into my house and act all sweet and charming when he's hitting my son behind closed doors. H-He lied to my face and was hurting-." Olivia begins breaking down into tears.

Zach grabs Olivia into his arms. "Oh, it's okay, honey."

"How dare he?" She asks emotionally.

Zach runs his hands up and down his back. "It's okay."

**

Benjamin wakes up before Noah in the morning. He glances back at Noah who was still sound asleep before sighing and getting out of bed. He walks to the bathroom, and looks at himself in the mirror, hating how he looked.

He looked exhausted and sad. He turns the sink on, splashing the water into his face a few times. He tussles his hair around a few times before turning the light off and walking out of the bathroom.

He walks downstairs, seeing his parents cooking breakfast together. He smiles softly, "Good morning."

Olivia turns around and smiles at him. "Morning, lovebug. How'd you sleep?"

Benjamin shrugs, walking over to them. "Uh...Okay."

Zach grabs a few plates from the counter, setting them out. "That's good. You hungry? Up to eating?"

Benjamin nods. "Yeah. I'll go get Noah."

As soon as Benjamin had turned away to go back upstairs, Olivia grabs Zach's hand. "I'm sorry for breaking down on you like that earlier. I'm just...Trying to keep up the brave mother front around him. It's not easy hearing how he was mistreated."

"You don't have to apologize. I understand the concern. It's not gonna be easy to hear all the details but...We should be proud of him. He's doing great. Making progress to get better."

Benjamin taps Noah on the shoulder. "Hey. Good morning."

Noah groans and turns over in bed. "Morning."

Benjamin smiles. "My parents made breakfast. I'm hoping that we can...Talk about the therapy stuff. Hopefully, it's not too awkward."

"It won't be awkward," Noah sits up a little, reaching out to grab Benjamin's face. "Everything's gonna be alright."

Benjamin nods. "I know. Thanks for sticking by me."

"It's always been us two, huh?"

**
Benjamin takes a bite into his food. "What if I got in contact with my old therapist? She knows all about like dad and high school."

Olivia nods. "We could. I'm just not sure if she's still doing like...therapy and stuff. I can try and see if she'd be available."

Benjamin nods. "It would just be kind of hard to rehash like...Everything to another stranger, you know? Like, would I need to tell about dad?"

"If you'd like." Olivia states. "Whatever makes you feel the most comfortable."

"Oh, uhm-." Benjamin stands up and grabs his bag from the couch. He grabs Markus' lighter from it and hands it to his mom. "Uh, Markus gave this to me. I don't want it anymore."

Olivia grabs it and nods her head. "Thank you."

**
Benjamin was looking through the closet of his childhood room, going through all his hoodies hanging up.

Noah walks in behind him. "Hey. How you feeling?"

Benjamin turns around. "Uh, I feel better, I think. It feels really good that I talked to my mom about it. Made me feel...Sane?"

"That's good." Noah grabs Benjamin at his waist, leaning down to kiss him on his neck. He pulls away quickly, "Is that okay?"

Benjamin smiles as he looks up at Noah. "Yeah, that's fine."

Noah smiles and leans back down to kiss him a few more times. "I'm really proud of you."

Benjamin laughs and pulls away from Noah a little. "So you've mentioned. Okay...Okay. Stop it! I'm trying to look at these clothes."

Noah pulls away. "What're you lookin' for?"

Benjamin shrugs as he turns back to his clothes. "I was just looking at all the clothes I left here before I moved?"

"Hm?" Noah reaches out to grab a hoodie and smiles. "Huh! I've been looking for this hoodie for years. No surprise there."

"I said that I was looking through my closet. Not you." Benjamin playfully pushes on Noah's shoulder. "Now, get out."

Noah puts his hands up in surrender before walking out of the closet. Before he fully left, he leans against the doorframe. "Hey, bebesita?"

"Hm?" Benjamin turns to look at him.

"I was thinking. Could I maybe take you out on a date?" Noah shrugs. "Just tryna show like...My proud-ness of you?"

Benjamin smiles and walks over to Noah. "Of course. I'd love that." He reaches his hand up to Noah's jaw, leaning in to kiss him. "Thank you again. I don't know how many times I'm gonna tell you that but...Thank you."

**