My Beautiful Boy ✔️

06

Mum and dad forced me to eat dinner with them today. Usually, I sneak off to my room and ignore them until I hear them go to bed, but today, they were home early and made me sit on the dinner table and eat.

"Have you paid back The Stawarski's, dad?" I ask, referring to the family that he's indebted to. I see the way his grip on his fork tightens as he looks at me, his blonde hair falling into his eyes. I hate that I get most of my features from him.

"I'm working on it." He grumbled, and I looked away, taking a small bite of the pasta mum made. "It's none of your business, anyways, Dawson." He adds.

"I mean, it is my business when I'm getting beat up, because of it." I say. It's like they both choose to actively ignore the bruises around my face and body.

"Shut your mouth, Dawson. Right now." Dad warns, his hands flat against the table. I feel mum kick me lightly under the table. I turn to see her shaking her head at me. Don't provoke him, she's saying. I scoff and stand up, taking my plate to the kitchen and walking up the stairs, into my room.

I collapse onto my bed, picking up my phone. It opened onto Alayna's social media page, where pictures of her and her friends blessed my screen. I clicked on one picture, where the sun was shining onto her skin, the golden colour glowing. I think I smile to myself. She's so beautiful. Her curly hair was tied up in a bun, and she had a wide grin across her face, her eyes squinted.

Without thinking, I screenshot the picture and save it into my camera roll. I'm not a stalker, or anything, but I just want to be able to admire her. It's weird, I know.

I'll delete it later, I tell myself. I zoom in on her beautiful eyes and just stare into them. As much as I'd love to admire her in real life, I can't.

Alayna can't get involved in my family's shit. She'll end up getting hurt by me or by my parents. Hell, even the Stawarski family might want to jump on the bandwagon. Either way, I'm not risking her well being because I think she's pretty.

I glance at the time on my phone. It's almost time for work. I get up and grab my work uniform, slipping them on.

As soon as I make enough money, I'm out of this house and this wretched town. Most likely, I'll move back to London and bunk with an old friend until I'm on my feet and able to afford a flat. Even though I would have loved to go to University, I just can't pay for it.

There's a knock on my door. It opens to reveal my mum, who smiles tightly at me before sitting on my bed. She taps the space beside her, but I stay on my feet. I quickly slip my coat on and grab my phone.

"I'm going to work." I mumble, and mum sighs before standing up. She's opposite me and her eyes are flickering over my bruises. Tears spring to her eyes and she cups my face. I flinch away from her.

"I'm sorry." She whispers. "I'm sorry for not sticking up for you." She says, and I shake my head, turning away from her.

"It's okay." I rasp. After everything, I'm numb from whatever they throw at me. Nothing they say can hurt me, anymore. I'm already broken beyond repair.

"Dawson, there's nothing I can do." She says. "Your dad refuses to pay Stawarski. Or, he's trying but he can't pay them and earn a living. Can't you see that? We're all struggling, not just you." She says, and I huff, turning to face her.

"Look at my face, mum." I say, pointing to my bruises. "I don't see you and dad with marks all over your body." I glare at her before pushing past her and out of my room. I ran down the stairs, ignoring her cries of my name, and left my house.

***

I got to work a few minutes early. Grace, one of the other waiters, was already here, serving a few customers. We both have a night shift and take it in turns to alternate between serving and taking orders.

When Grace sees me, she smiles sweetly and waves. I smile back and grab my apron, twisting it around my waist.

The cooks have already brought plates of food to the other waiters, and I quickly take a plate, check the little card that tells me which table it goes to, and begin the hefty journey to find the table.

"One zesty zinger burger meal with chips, two chicken parm with spices, and one portion of barbeque chicken wings." I say, reading out the contents of the four plates balancing in my hands and on my arms.

I look up and I'm met with four familiar faces. My eyes widened when I saw Alayna sitting at the table, her mouth slightly parted in shock. I watch as her eyes flicker to the rest of her friends before she straightens her back and clears her throat.

"Thank you." She says, and I understand that she probably doesn't want to be associated with me. I shake my head, placing the plates on the table. I stand straight and I can't look at her, because if I do, I might crumble.

"Is there anything else you need?" I ask, and they all say no before thanking me. I nod my head, and walk away, forcing myself not to look back.

Grace smiles at me as I walk past her, and I quickly approach her. "Grace, can we swap, now?" I ask her, and she frowns in confusion.

"What? Why? You just got here." She says, and I plead with my eyes. Lydia sighs, tilting her head to the side. "Oh my God, fine." She says, and she walks past me, her shoulder brushing over mine. I turn to face her, and she's got a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

"You okay?" I ask, and she nods her head quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." She says. I nod and quickly take my spot behind the counter.

"No worries, Grace. You're the best." I tell her, and she smiles shyly, before taking two plates from the cook and walking away. She looked back at me, and there's a small smile on her face. She walks away and turns the corner, out of my eyesight.

I turn to the customer that had just approached the counter, ordering his food through the computer screen in front of me, which sends it off to the cooks.