A Boy Shouldn't Feel This Way

Chapter 7 // My dad is an alchie

•Sal's POV•

Travis and I were walking to Mrs. Packertons class together. By force of habit I grabbed Travis' hand and held hands with him. "Sally Face? What are you doing?" I guess he hadn't been used to it. I normally held my friends hand when walking to classes because I always got anxiety because of the large number of kids, especially because they were all usually staring at me. "Oh, um, sorry. I'm just used to holding peoples hands, I guess. It's comforting." I thought he'd think it was weird, but instead he nodded his head. "Yeah, no, it's okay. I get it. Don't worry." He kept holding my hand, with an especially red face, until we got to Mrs. Packertons class. She was going on about some sort of math assignment. "You two are late. Go sit down. Sal, don't worry about it. Just try not to be late again." I think Mrs. Packerton felt bad for me. She always gave me extra time for assignments, never yelled at me, or anything like that. When she turned her back, I scribbled my phone number on a piece of paper and passed it to Travis, who sat diagonal from me. He read what was on the paper, looked back at me, and gave me a thumbs up. He was so cute.

//After school - Sal's Apartment//

As I walked into my apartment after school, I saw dad lying down on the couch. It smelled like beer and piss. I tried to close the door quietly, to not wake him up. It seemed to close silent enough. As soon as I turned around, dad had been standing right behind me. "You're late, Sal." He was slurring, and there were several beer bottles on the floor. "Sorry, Dad, a teacher wanted to talk to me." That was a lie. I was walking Travis home, to make sure he was okay. "Don't 'dad' me. I'm not your..your dad. My son is not a murderer." He still blamed me for moms death. Not while he was sober, of course. Larry told me drunk words were sober thoughts. Maybe it's true. I didn't want to be here anymore. I ran over to my room. "Where are you going, bitch?" Dad had picked up one of the several beer bottles on the floor, and attempted to throw it at me. I ran into my room and slammed the door before it could hit me. I could hear the bottle hitting the door and breaking immediately. If I left my room, the glass would cut me, and I doubt dad would clean it up. So for now, I'm stuck here. My phone rang, it was an unknown number. "Hello? Who is this?" "Hey, It's Travis." Thank god he called, I really needed someone to talk to right now. I could feel my eyes water, remembering the sharp tone my father yelled at me in. "My son is not a murderer. My son is not a murderer." The words kept repeating in my head. "Hey, Sal, are you there? You okay?" "Uh..yeah, I'm fine, Trav. Don't worry about it." I've never called him 'Trav' before. "Are you..crying? Sal, stay there. I'm coming over." "No, Trav, it's fine you..you don't have-" He had already hung up the phone before I could finish. I took off my prosthetic and threw it on the floor. A small piece chipped off, I didn't think it was that noticeable though. I slumped to the floor and hugged my knees in front my bedroom door. I started sobbing. Why did my dad have to be such a bitch? Why couldn't he just stay sober? Did he not care about me that bad? I could hear pieces of glass moving from behind the door. Maybe dad did pick it up. A minute or two later, there was a knock at the door. "Go away, dad!" "Sal? It's me." I got up, put on my prosthetic and opened the door. "Oh gosh, Sal, are you okay? What happened?" He came up and hugged me. That was the first time he hugged me on his own will. I got butterflies in my stomach. I could feel my face heat up. "It's nothing. Just, something with my dad." I never talked to anyone about my dads drinking problems, but I trusted Travis. And I knew he'd understand. "My mom said I could stay over for the night, if you want." "Yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks, Trav." He smiled at the nickname. I didn't know what was happening. Everytime I'm near Travis I get super happy, I get butterflies in my stomach, and my face always heats up.. Do I like him? I doubt he feels the same way. "Do you have any food or something? I haven't eaten since this morning." We still had pretty much a full fridge, minus all the beers dad had saved in there. "Sure, we have spaghetti, I think. I can go get some." I opened my door a little, making sure dad wasn't there. He wasn't. I quickly left and came back with the spaghetti and a fork. "You want any? I don't think I've ever seen you eat." Truth was, I didn't eat much. It's been at least a week since I've eaten. "Uh..I'm not hungry. Thanks, though." I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I put my hand on top of it. Shit. There was a piece of glass from dads beer bottle lodged in my shoulder. "I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll be right back." His face turned a light shade of pink. "Uh.. okay." I grabbed some spare clothes and went to the bathroom. I took off my sweater and looked at my shoulder in the mirror. I grabbed the piece of glass and tried to pull it out. It hurt so bad. I got the piece of glass out, but there was blood. Everywhere. Thats when I passed out.

•Travis' POV•

Sal was walking with me to algebra. Out of nowhere, I felt something grab my hand. It was Sal. I could feel my whole body heat up. What's wrong with me? I didn't want to let his hand go. Am I going to Hell? "Sally Face? What are you doing?" I wasn't used to anyone holding my hand. It was so nice and comforting..Especially when it was Sal. "Oh, um, sorry. I'm just used to holding peoples hands, I guess. It's comforting." "Yeah, no, it's okay. I get it. Don't worry." I could feel my face burn up. It was most definitely red. When we walked into Mrs. Packertons, she was going on about some sort of math assignment. "You two are late. Go sit down. Sal, don't worry about it. Just try not to be late again." Mrs. Packerton hated me. I was one of the worst students in her class, I think. I was failing her class. When she turned her back, I saw Sal writing something on a piece of paper, and then he passed it to me. " 725 - 429 - 8728 call me :) -Sal<3" Did he seriously just give me his phone number? Best day ever. I mean, because he's my friend. ..Right? I turned around and gave him a thumbs up, and his mask shifted up. I think it meant he was smiling.

//After school - Travis house//

Father wasn't home. That was good. I think he was doing something at the Church. "Oh, hey sweetie! You're home later than normal, are you okay?" Mother had a new black eye, it matched the one on her other eye. God, I hated Father. "Yeah. I'm okay. A friend walked me home from school today." "A friend? That's nice of them." She was trying to be nice. I didn't mind though. I went to my room and decided to call Sal. I hope it's not a fake number. "Hello? Who is this?" It made me happy to hear his voice.  "Hey, It's Travis." For a few minutes, I didn't hear anything but a few sniffles. It sounded like he was crying. Or maybe he was just..sick or something. "Hey, Sal, are you there? You okay?" "Uh..yeah, I'm fine, Trav. Don't worry about it." 'Trav'? I found myself smiling over the nickname. It was kinda cute, I had to admit. But I could've sworn Sal was crying. "Are you..crying? Sal, stay there. I'm coming over." "No, Trav, it's fine you..you don't have-"  I hung up before he could say something to change my mind. "Mom? Can I go to my friends house? He needs help with something. Urgent." She smiled, and nodded her head. "Of course, sweetie! You can stay the night. Kenneth won't be home until Saturday." I smiled and hugged her. I ran over to Addison Apartments. I went into the elevator and pressed the 4 button. I knocked on the door to Sal's apartment: Room 402. A much older looking version of Sal opened the door, then went into another room. I noticed some broken glass in front of Sal's room. I found a broom and swept it up, throwing away all the small glass pieces. I knocked on his door. "Go away, dad!" "Sal? It's me." Sal opened the door. His hair was messy, as if he'd been trying to pull it out of his scalp.  "Oh gosh, Sal, are you okay? What happened?" I hugged Sal, tightly. I didn't want to let go. I wanted to comfort him, like he had comforted me when I was upset. "It's nothing. Just, something with my dad." That was an issue I would always understand. "My mom said I could stay over for the night, if you want." "Yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks, Trav." I smiled at the nickname. He was so sweet. "Do you have any food or something? I haven't eaten since this morning." God, I was starving. "Sure, we have spaghetti, I think. I can go get some." Sal opened the door a little and looked out. I knew what he was doing. He was making sure his dad wasn't there. That he was safe. After a while he brought back the food. "You want any? I don't think I've ever seen you eat." I wasn't lying. He never ate any school lunch, and he never brought a lunch. I swear that spaghetti was in his fridge last week when I came here the first time.  "Uh..I'm not hungry. Thanks, though." He was rubbing his shoulder. Maybe it hurt? I didn't want to ask, just in case. "I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll be right back." I got an image of him in my head. He was shirtless. He leaned closer to my face and...no, no, no! Travis, that's gay. That's wrong. Don't think like that.  "Uh.. okay." He grabbed some clothes from his dresser and went into the bathroom. I finished eating and checked the time. He had been in there for an hour. I walked to the bathroom door. "Sal..? You okay?" No response. "Sal, I'm coming in." I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I went back into the kitchen and looked for something to open the door with. There was a bobby pin on the counter. I took it and stuck it into the doorknob, twisting it around. Finally, I got it open. What I found was terrifying. Sal had been laying on the floor, unconcious. There was blood all over the floor and counter, and there was a glass shard in his hand. The blood was coming from his shoulder. Shit, was that why he was rubbing it so much? I should've noticed. I grabbed my phone and called 911. Please be okay, Sal. Please.

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A/N: Please this was such a long chapter😭 also do not call the number I put for Sal. Sal's not gonna answer</3

Word Count: 1995