Fixing Broken Hearts

32

Warnings:
-None

Tristan's POV

~ A Few Days Later ~

Elliot hadn't gone to school in quite a while, which worried me so badly that I was standing in front of his door. I breathed in as I rang the bell, trying my hardest to fake a smile so the father wouldn't see a singular glance of hatred in my eyes. He wasn't allowed to know what I knew about him, I would bring Clay and Elliot in danger.

The door opened, their dad appearing behind it. I could feel a certain feeling of shock when I saw him and swallowed, smiling gently. 'Hi sir, I'm here for Elliot. I was wondering if I could bring something important for school?'

I saw the hesitation in his eyes, which almost made it clear to me that Clay had been abused again, or else he wouldn't have had anything to hide from me. Still, he nodded, but I knew something was coming so I would be gone soon.

'He's tired, though. I think he got the flu, so he does need to rest a lot. I don't think you can stay for too long.'

I nodded, but honestly, I didn't care at all what he said to me. I couldn't see him any differently than a psychopath and an abuser. His hands made anger boil inside of me as I thought about how often they hit Clay's face, I wanted to hurt him and-.

I smiled casually and walked past him to go inside. I knew the way very well by now and walked to Elliot's room in a straight line. I knocked softly and saw him turn his head up, slowly with a slight look of confusion in his eyes.

'Tristan...' he whispered as soon as he saw me. 'I'm sorry for not texting you, I just... haven't been able to, I guess.'

'You don't have to apologise, I understand it,' I replied as I sat down on his bed and gently wrapped my arms around him. 'What made you feel this awful? Something specific?'

'It's getting worse, Tris,' he admitted. 'I can't sleep anymore because of it. I stayed up for five nights and... I guess I passed out yesterday from the exhaustion and decided to sleep for two hours. Clay is being an asshole to me too, I can't deal with all this shit...'

'Oh, love,' I mumbled, gasping as I realised what I called him. 'I mean... Elliot.'

He laughed softly and leaned closer to me, softly pecking my lips. 'You're cute, I don't mind that nickname, even though we aren't officially a couple yet. I'm sorry for cancelling the date, though...'

'I wasn't in the most amazing mood either that day, it's better to wait until we are both ready for something more,' I answered, seeing him nod to agree. 'But, I don't mind kissing every now and then.'

He chuckled softly. 'I mean, neither would I, so what's stopping you?'

I leaned in right away and connected my lips with Elliot's soft and tender lips, that kissed me so gently that it made me feel worthy again. I hadn't loved my body in ages, but Elliot made me feel like I belonged, one of the reasons why I loved to be with him.

'I really want to get into this, but my father is downstairs,' Elliot whispered after breaking the kiss. 'I like you so much...'

'I like you way more,' I argued with a grin on my face. 'I wish we could be together the whole time, but if you can't get out of bed, I'll come here to spent time with the most beautiful boy I've ever seen.'

He giggled shyly and grabbed my hand, insecure what to do. I knew he wanted to kiss my hand, so I lifted it up to make the step easier for him. He stared at it for a while and then gave a very short kiss on it.

'Is it too early to tell you that I uh-,' he started, turning his eyes away. 'Never mind.'

'That I love you?' I finished his sentence. 'Because it's not too early. I love you so much and want you to know that I'll love you forever until the end of time.'

'I love you so much too... Can we maybe go to church together on Sunday? I haven't been there in a while due to the hopelessness, but I think I need God more than anyone right now.'

'I'm sure you do, and I'll be there with you as well. We could go to the youth pastor to let them pray for us, if you're ready to open up about the traumatic experiences you've had.'

'I can't, they'll call my parents or get us taken from the house. If I tell an adult about this, they will call the police and I can't deal with a foster family right now... I wish I would be able to leave, but I don't want to have to go through so much shit either...'

I nodded understandingly. 'I get that, I won't tell anyone either. But, you could try to tell them about how you've been feeling, without telling them the reason. I think I may want to open up about the rape, but I'm unsure as well.'

Elliot smiled and grabbed my hand again to pull me closer to him. 'I'm proud of you, Tris. I do have to admit that I feel weak when I see your strength. You're getting out of bed and even come to me to check up on me, while I haven't even gone through anything close as bad as you did.'

'First of all, you have gone through something as bad as I did. Our problems are different but both valid. You're not weak for staying in bed, your mind is fighting a war right now and your body gave up for a while. You need help, just like I do. I can get out of bed, but I have trouble eating, you don't struggle as much with your body image but can't get out of bed.'

'I guess so...' he whispered, scooting closer to me. 'But shouldn't I feel less bad than I do now? I have no reason to be this down...'

'You do, Elliot, you do.'

'Tris, I didn't want to tell you because I'm afraid you'll don't like Clay for it, but I think something happened to him again because he completely lost it. He hit me yesterday when I asked him if he was feeling alright and screamed at me that I had to leave him forever...'

'I'm so sorry, El. Do you have any idea what could have happened?'

He shook his head. 'I only saw a message on his phone from some T. who told him everything was going to be alright.'

My breath hitched, my eyes widening as the realisation hit me. Clay was the person I had been chatting with for days, Clay was the person who was raped...

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