Where Clover Whitens (Jalex)

Dactyl

Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me,

Knowing thy heart torments me with disdain,

Have put on black and loving mourners be,

Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain.

-William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 132

It took less than a day for Peter and Isobel to fly into LAX and rush to their son's side at a hospital in Beverly Hills. It took less than a day, too, for Beau to be released on bail. No one was surprised at either occurrence, but Alex was not particularly pleased with either arrangement.

For one thing, Alex wasn't even out to his parents yet. They didn't know he was even dating anyone seriously, let alone a man, let alone an abusive man. Not only did he have to deal with them fussing over his injuries, but now he had no choice but to discuss his sexuality with them. And an abusive relationship with a partner of his same-sex to boot.

After the police interviewed Alex, he could file an emergency order of protection against Beau, which made him feel better for the time being, but what would happen when that was over? Court proceedings had to go through and who knew how long that would take and if anything would ever come of it? Alex didn't have a lot of faith in the justice system, especially with how rich and powerful the Carpenters were. They could certainly afford a more prestigious lawyer than he and his family and probably even their label could afford. Combined.

"Oh, my poor boy," Isobel fussed, running into the room and immediately bursting into tears. She sat down beside Alex and cried. At the sight of his parents, Alex felt like crying, too. On one hand, it was a relief to see the people who had raised and loved him unconditionally. But at the same time, he was anxious at the forthcoming conversation the three of them would have to have.

"Alex," Peter said softly, going to the other side of the bed to sit down. He was certainly getting older and Alex felt a rush of guilt for forcing his parents to fly across the country for him. He knew that it couldn't have been comfortable for either of them, especially not his father, who had had several health problems in the last few years. "Son, how are you feeling? I mean, given the circumstances, of course."

Alex's cheeks burned as his father looked away. God, he hoped that his father wasn't disappointed in him.

"I'm okay," Alex choked out, unsure of whether to look at his sobbing mother or awkward father.

It was silent for a moment as Isobel tried to compose herself and Peter twiddled his thumbs.

"Zack told us a bit about what happened, but I assume it was the bare minimum. Can you just...," Peter trailed off. "Can you just start from the beginning and tell us how you got here?"

Alex sighed deeply, the action sending a pain through his lungs. He grunted and then shrugged, using the arm that wasn't in a sling. It had been about eight hours since Alex had been admitted, but the swelling in his face had subsided a little. He hoped that he looked better, to not scare his parents even more. But where was he supposed to begin with the horrid tale that had been his life for the past few months? If he were to start from the beginning, he'd need to go all the way back to when he'd first fallen in love with Jack and he certainly had no interest in that. He suspected that his mother at least already had an inkling about his feelings, anyway, given how she'd looked at him at Jack's wedding.

"Well, first of all...If you didn't already assume so, I'm bisexual. I'd just...I've never dated a man seriously until Beau. I met him at Jack's wedding," Alex stopped and swallowed, closing his eyes.

Jack.

He couldn't think about Jack at the moment, about how Jack had rushed in to be his knight in rusting armor about four months too late, about how Jack had tried to reason with him about his suicidal ideation, about how Jack had fucking told him he loved him directly after Alex had lamented about Jack crushing his hopes about their relationship. The pieces of Alex's obliterated heart wanted to soar at the memory, but his brain shushed it right away. Even if Jack had meant what he said, he'd chosen the worst possible time to say so, and truthfully, Alex didn't believe him.