ᴍᴀ̊ɴᴇsᴋɪɴ ᴏɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs

bruised • må & y/n

{mentions of abuse/past trauma}

You had only walked for 5 minutes, yet you were already so tired. Of course, your tiredness had an explanation. You hadn't slept normally in 2 days and haven't eaten a proper meal in 3 days. Your ribs hurt so bad, your heavy breathing makes the pain even worse. The pack of cold peas you had held on them hadn't helped, neither could you go to the doctors.

Your boyfriend, though you wouldn't call him that anymore, had just sent you out of the house, again. He couldn't bear the thought of having you in the house tonight, though the streets were cold and you didn't really have a place to stay. Of course, you knew they would take you in, but then again the questions.

Your body shook and you put your hoodie tighter around you as you rang the doorbell, hoping she would be home today. The door opened to a familiar face, but not the one you had expected.

''Y/n! Hey, Vic didn't tell me you were coming but enter'', Ethan's warm voice said, making you feel a bit better. You put up your overused fake smile, ''Hi Ethan, I didn't tell her actually so I hope I'm not interrupting?''. He immediately brushed it off, making space for you to enter the building.

You heard some more voices in the distance, you recognized them as the other three of the band. Hopefully, they weren't doing anything important, you didn't want to burden them more. As you got into the living room, Ethan following behind you, you saw the three of them sitting on the couch. Damiano was the first to notice you standing at the door opening, he smiled at you as he nudged Vic who was talking loudly to Thomas, which made you smile. They're always talkative, never run out of topics to talk about. Her face lit up as she turned around, Thomas looked up now as well.

''Y/n!!'', Vic said while getting up from the couch, she quickly ran up to you to take you in her arms. You flinched as she basically crushed your ribs, fuck that hurt. Thomas and Damiano definitely noticed your flinch, though you kept your smile through your gritted teeth. Victoria also seemed to notice your sudden stiffness and let go of you.

''What was that? You winced'', Damiano said, meanwhile Ethan had now also sat down on the couch. The four of them were looking at you, you have to come up with something and quick.

''Not even a hi? I'm fine'', You say as you laugh it off, though the seriousness doesn't go away. You sit down on the couch, which you shouldn't have. You couldn't sit relaxed, your stomach felt so sore and you couldn't stop thinking of them finding out. ''You've got to do better than that if you want to fool us'', Thomas said while looking at you, he looked a little sad, to be honest. You hated it when people would feel pity for you, you didn't need any kind of pity. Though you knew they wouldn't feel pity, they always just want to help you.

''What are you guys talking about?'', You tried again, this time they could see right through you. You felt your throat tighten a bit, as you were having a battle against your tears, making you tremble a bit in your place. It hadn't been the first time that something like this had happened, you've known them for a long time and they knew every look of yours.

They knew your trauma more than anyone else, they knew everything except this. Your history with your abusive dad was known to them, your whole past had been left bare to them. Your eyes shifted between the four of them when you settled on Vic's eyes. Her look made you feel so guilty, you always told everything to each other. Yet lately you haven't been the best friend to her and the others, though it wasn't your fault. He didn't let you see anyone, and he barely let you talk to them on the phone.

''I know you're hurt. And I'm tired of waiting for you to bring it up'', Victoria explained, the pit in your stomach grew bigger and bigger. You couldn't tell if it was because of the lack of food or because of your anxiety, it was most likely a mix of both. ''Take off your shirt'', Damiano said, the tears in your face were almost impossible to keep at bay, You looked at him, pleading to stop talking about it. You both knew that he wouldn't stop talking, yet you stood frozen. ''Don't give me that look''.

You finally gave in and stood up, you slowly take off your hoodie, their eyes waiting for the confirmation. You shredded the piece of clothing off, your biggest secret was uncovered just like that. The silent gasps that left their mouths made you want to hide away, you were so ashamed. Yet it was something you couldn't control.

It wasn't the faint lines of the scars that confirmed your past years of trauma that they were gasping of, it was the purple and yellow bruises on your ribs that did. Thomas and Vic stood shocked, both of them not really knowing what to say. You felt like a dear in the headlights, a child that has just been caught red-handed with their hands in a cookie jar. Though you were full off from being a child again, you still couldn't take proper care of yourself. Damiano and Ethan looked as if they could kill someone, their anger evident in their eyes and posture.

"I'm so sorry'', the words left your mind before you could comprehend what was happening. Damiano stood up, making you take a step back. Dami would never hurt you, you knew that, Though you automatically backed away, he just got closer and gently pulled you in a hug, careful not to hurt your ribs.

''It was him, wasn't it?'', He asked, with slight hesitation you nodded. You melted in his hug, your tears falling freely. Victoria had started crying now too, Thomas embraced her to comfort her. Damiano let go of you, knowing you wanted to check up on Vic even though you were the one hurt. You didn't really care about yourself, you just hated to see anyone you cared about cry.

You sat down next to her, Thomas let her go and she immediately hugged but this time a lot more gentle.
"I'm so sorry, I should've done something when I noticed you were acting so distant," she said through her crying and you shook your head.

"It's not your fault cara", you said while trying to calm her down, the both of you managing to do so after some time. "It makes me so angry that people can make someone so powerless", she said angrily while you both let go from the hug.

It was truly horrible how people could treat their 'loved ones, don't call them loved if you keep hurting them.
Everyone was quiet until Ethan broke the silence.

"We're not letting you go back to him", he strongly said, making the others agree. You are grateful for their help, but you couldn't just leave him, right? What if he would come back and hurt you, or worse hurt one of them. Damiano noticed the hesitation on your face,

"We won't let him hurt you, or anyone of us for that matter ever again".