"Take Me To Church" - Hosier

Chapter Ten

Sal and Travis both slept peacefully. That was until they were woken up by the sound of the door slamming open. "GOOD MORNING SAL- oh Travis is here." Larry yelled.

Both the boys slowly woke up. Sal blinked at Larry. "Larry. What the fuck?" He asked. He carefully leaned over Travis' body hiding the now less swollen bruise on his stomach.

Travis was still attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. "What?" Larry laughed. "I don't know church boy was here?"

Sal scoffed. "So you barge into my apartment?" Travis was awkwardly trying now to touch the boy who was still leaning over his body. Once he found it he only buckled the first strap.

Usually he wouldn't put it on until after he did his hair and brushed his teeth and stuff but Travis was here. And regradless of last night he still wasn't comfortable showing his face.

"You've done it me!" Larry defended. "Anyway your dad wants you to call him." With that Larry left.

Sal's eyes widened. "oh shit." He jumped and search around for his phone. He found and noticed the 3 miss calls and 9 messages. Most of them from his dad. Two of the messages from Larry's mom. He quickly called his dad. "Hey uh I just woke up."

"Yea I figured." Henry's voice came through the other end of the phone. "Look I'm not upset. Just extremely confused."

Sal looked at Travis. "hey I'm gonna go brush my teeth and shit." Sal said standing up. "Uh you can look in my closet, see if anything fits you." Travis nodded and Sal made his to the bathroom room. "I'm sorry." Sal said taking his mask off so her could brush his teeth.

"Look Sal-" You could hear Henry's distress. "I'm just so confused. Why were you cuddling with a half naked boy on the couch?" Sal ran a hand over his face.

He spit out the toothpaste out of his mouth and rinsed. "It's not like that." Sal stressed. "I was helping him with something and I guess we fell asleep." He grabbed the brush and combed through his hair.

"Did he need to be shirtless?" Henry interrogated.

Sal whined. "Yes actually. And I would have told you if you were awake."

"Okay okay okay." Henry gathered. "So what happened was, some blond kid showed up at my house in the middle of the night, you helped him with something-that involves taking his shirt off-and then you guys fall asleep cuddling."

"It sounds worse when you put it like that." Sal shook his head. He didn't feel like putting his hair up.

Henry groaned. "I'm not mad. I just- I wish you would've called me as soon as you woke up."

"I did!" Sal defended. "Larry just barged in her and woke me and Travis up."

"Ah." Henry said. "Well you're almost 18 so I'm gonna punish you. Just don't be stupid." Sal laughed. "Alrighty I gotta go, bye, love you."

"Love you too!" Sal said before hanging up. Sal clipped the top strap of his mask and made his way back into the living room.

Travis was sitting on the couch wearing the sweatshirt Sal had took from his his house. "I forgot I had that." He laughed. Sal caught a glimpse of Travis' bruised eye. "Damn."

Sal reached over the back of the couch and touched the area right underneath the bruise. "What?" Travis asked, fighting the urge to push him away.

"Your eye looks worse." Sal said. You could tell he was frowning by the way his eyes dropped down.

"Wait-" Travis' eyes widened. "Speaking of is it like safe to sleep with your glass eye in?"

Sal laughed, dropping his hand. "I do it all the time."

Travis' face panicked. "I feel like that isn't safe." Sal shrugged.

Sal hopped over the back of the couch and sat down next to Travis. He sat criss crossed. "Do you wanna talk about it now?" Sal asked.

Travis sighed. "I guess." He leaned back against the couch. "My dad he. I fuck- he- he was mad about something. I don't remember what but he like I don't he did what he normally did." He shook his head. "It's not even that bad. I just- I don't know you offered for me to come over-"

"Yeah I did. And I 100 percent meant it." Sal said. Travis laughed dryly. "You know I care about you right Trav."

Travis chewed on his lip. "Sal-" he started. "You know I care about you too right?" Travis shut the fuck up. "I mean- I know that's hard to believe but I do."

"Yea I do." Sal said. "What's with a the sudden sentimentality?"

Travis shook his head. "It's just- we never talk about you." Sal looked away. "Like- Sal I know what I saw and I just- come on talk to me."

"I told you they're old-" Sal laughed.

"Sal I'm not fucking blind." Travis said, his voice becoming shaky. "I can tell how new some of them are. And even if they were. That's still something you can talk to me about."

Sal inhales through his nose. "I just- fuck dude." He laughed trying to had the pain in his voice. "When I was younger, after the accident. My dad blamed me a lot-and he's not a bad guy-he just- it just really took a toll on me." He gripped onto his arm. "And- I- I just-"

"It was the only way you could cope." Travis finished.

Sal looked up at him with sad eyes. "And fuck dude. I can't even look at myself in the mirror without remembering how I killed her."

Travis grabbed Sals face. His face flashed with panic then to a more serious one. "You didn't get her killed." Travis didn't know much about what happened to Sal but he did know the basics. Sal and his mom got shot. He survived she didn't.

"No Trav I did. I was a stupid kid." Sal said, tearing spilling out of his eyes.

Travis shook his head. "Did you shoot her?"

"No-" Sal said holding back a sob.

"Then how did you kill her?" Travis' hands were locked in place.

"Because," Sal sobbed. "if I wouldn't of followed the fucking barking she would be alive right now."

"How do you know?" Travis whispered. "Following that barking or not you guys still would have gotten shot."

Sal was ready to collapse. His entire body was shaking. "Travis." Sal Gripped onto his shirt. "She was protecting me."

"Sal she did that because she loved you." Sal looked away. "That wasn't your fault. You didn't pull the trigger. Your mom loved you. Hell she still does. She always will. If you would have had been the one to die that day would you want her blaming herself?"

"No of course not-" Sal rushed out.

"She died saving her beautiful son." Travis said softly. "Sal look at me." Sal looked up barely making eye contact. "Her last sight was her son. She would never want you to blame yourself."

Sal let out a shaky breath. "Travis I miss her." He sobbed. "I miss her so much." He gripped tightened on Travis' shirt. "But." Sal started but cut himself off.

"But what?" Travis asked forcing Sal to look at him.

"I want her to remember me as he cute little boy. Not-" Sal suck in a breath. "This."

"Sal." Travis said. "You always be her cute little boy." He lifted his hands carefully around Sal's head unclipping the buckles oh his mask before Sal could stop. "See." Sal entire body froze. "Still her cute little boy."

Sal was practically scratching Travis chest through the sweatshirt. "I- Travis."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of." Travis cupping Sal's face. "Your mother loves you no matter." Sal nodded, looking down. "Sal look at me." He looked up. "See? Beautiful."

Sal was getting overwhelmed with emotions. The amount of feelings he just let out and now Travis saying he's beautiful. Travis rubbed Sal's cheek gently. Something about Travis made Sal calm down. "Thank you." Sal said trying to steady his voice.