Dear DoubleO

Not Ok

TW: referenced alcoholism and past child abuse 

Its only mentioned a little (and very lightly) but if you need to skip reading I'll give a recap at the end :)

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Doc was happy, truly happy. He and Ren had been texting every day since the double date. He had even gotten the courage to ask him out on a second date in a few days and he had agreed. Doc finally let his brain accept the fact that maybe he did have a chance with Ren! And he was happy.

He was happy that he had been doing well in school. He was happy that he had more time to spend with his friends. He was happy that his friends were happy.

But happiness is temporary.

Doc sat on his bed, staring at the text from the all too familiar number. And all in an instant, he forgot about all the things that made him happy.

Son, I am coming to visit!

Doc shivered. His dad only messaged him when he needed something. And he never called him son. Every fiber in Docs being told him to run, to get away before his dad even had the chance to get close to him.

When given the choice to fight or flight, Doc would always fight. Except of course when it came to his father. After all, Doc had run away and moved in with Iskall when he was 16 to escape his dad in the first place.

It's not like his father was always a bad person, he was once a great dad! But that was when he had a wife. And once she left him, the alcoholism started. And once that started, a whole world of traumatic experiences came after.

Staring at the message, Doc felt himself tense. His breath started catching in his throat. He tried to hold it together, tried not to think of the past. But each time his breath hitched, phantom pains shot through his body. He felt himself panicking. He threw his phone across the room. His dad would hurt him if he came here. He couldn't let that happen. He needed to be safe. He needed someone to keep him safe. Through the panicked breaths, Doc shouted.

"Iskall...!" In a few moments, Iskall had run into Doc's room.

"Doc? What's- oh." Iskall kept his distance. He knew what was happening, and he knew that Doc needed some personal space. He pulled a chair away from Docs desk and sat a little ways away.

"Breathe Doc. You're here with me. This is your house. You're safe. ok?" Doc nodded and his breath calmed a little.

"What's got you troubled this time man?" Doc didn't respond, instead he pointed at the phone on the ground on the other side of the room. Iskall cautiously grabbed the phone and looked at the message on the screen, temporarily ignoring the new cracks that spidered along the device. Doc twiddled his thumbs and watched as Iskalls face morphed through a few emotions. First surprise, then anger, and lastly frustration.

"He's not coming anywhere near you Doc."

"B-but what if he does?"

"He won't." At that exact moment, the two heard the downstairs door open. Doc started to panic again. Iskall sighed before standing and pulling the watch he was wearing off of his wrist. He held it out to Doc. Time had always calmed Doc down.

"It's not him Doc. It's probably just Etho coming home. His friend Xisuma is staying over, remember?" From downstairs, Etho could be heard yelling up to them that Xisuma was here. Iskall smiled at Doc.

"See? You have nothing to worry about. Here's my watch, I'll be back in 5 minutes. Deal?"

"Only 5 minutes right?"