abused (peterick)

four

in this chapter, we find out why patrick chose his career and are introduced to more of his past through his adopted sister, victoria.

also, patrick is twenty-seven, pete is twenty-one. andy is twenty-five, & joe is twenty-four.

The next day, Patrick introduces me to a woman that smiles really big when we meet. Her name is Vicky or something. I think she's really pretty.

"Pete, it's my pleasure to introduce you to my sister, Victoria. Everyone just calls her Vicky," Patrick says. I shake her hand. "I really need to talk to Ash about your therapy. Do you mind staying with Tori?" He asks. I guess that's his nickname for her.

I shake my head. "I'll be fine," I say, and Patrick smiles. He hugs Vicky and kisses her cheek before waving a goodbye to me. I see him throw his arm around Halsey's waist, and she turns and smiles at him.

"So you're the guy Patrick's going on about," She says, and I feel my cheeks heat up. I don't want to know why I'm blushing.

"What do you mean?" I ask and swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"He talks about you a lot," She says, and then she changes the subject. "Has Patrick told you his story yet?"

"His story?" I ask, obviously confused.

"Let's sit down," She suggests. I not in agreement, and we sit down on the couch in the room that I saw the first day I came in. "Uh, okay, so my family adopted Patrick when he was twelve, I think. Fifteen years ago,"

"Alright," I nod. Patrick didn't tell me about this, but he probably had a good reason not to.

"Patrick was.. a troublemaker. That's the easiest way to put it. He got in with the wrong crowd, and he picked up a smoking habit. I don't think he really ever got over that, honestly," She says, and my eyes widen. Patrick, a troublemaker? A smoker? "He came out to our parents, and they accepted him because I, myself, am bisexual. And that's basically where it went downhill," She stops there.

"What? What went downhill?" I ask impatiently. She drops her head and wipes her eyes.

"Patrick, at age fifteen, got into an abusive relationship himself," She chokes out. Oh. My. God. "He didn't know what he was doing. The guy tried to rape him, and when Patrick fought back, he almost got killed,"

I rush forward and hug her, and she cries into my shoulder literally. Patrick walks up seconds later, and his face turns from a smile to shock before he bends down and pushes the hair out of Vicky's face.

"Tori, sis, what's wrong?" He asks frantically. When she doesn't answer, he taps my back lightly, and I move out of his way. I don't freak out, maybe because I'm not focused on that right now. "Tori,"

"Patrick," She sobs out. I suddenly feel bad for pushing her to tell the story. "I told Pete about your past," Patrick tenses up for a second before he continues to shush her and rub her back.

"It's okay, sissy, stop crying," He says, trying to comfort her. I guess he hasn't called her that in a long time because she looks up at him, and he wipes her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "I'm not mad at you. I hate that you had to relive those memories. But, guess what? I'm here now, I'm alive, I'm helping others,"

"I'm so proud of you, bub," She says and falls back into his arms. His lips rise into a smile when she says that.

"You haven't called me that since I was seventeen," He laughs. She smiles at him, and he kisses her forehead before pulling her into another hug. "What's our rule?" He asks.

"Never hide anything from each other," She says. He nods.

"Good girl. You should get home. We don't want Gabe to worry. Tell him I said hello, will you?" He says. She nods and squeezes his hand.

"Goodbye, Pete. It was nice meeting you," And she walks off after that. Patrick turns to me.

"How much did she tell you?" He asks. I bite my bottom lip.

"A lot," I say simply. He nods his head, probably trying to tell me to follow him. We reach our room and sit on the couch together.

"I guess I should start from the beginning," He sighs. "I'm originally from Ireland. That's where I was born. I lived there until I was seven, and that's when I was moved to America to a group home. At age twelve, Tori and her family adopted me, and I became the second and oldest child. At age fourteen, I met these guys that smoke and drank. While I refused to drink, I did smoke. I regret that a lot. I still smoke when I get stressed out," He pauses to take a breath.

"At age fifteen, I met Lucas. He kissed me once, and I figured out I was gay. Tori's parents took it better than I would've thought, and that's how I found out my sister was bisexual. Luke was a good boyfriend until I turned sixteen, and I didn't want to have sex with him. He tried to force me, but I fought him off. He almost killed me, and I ended up in the hospital in a coma for more than six months," He explains.

"I.. I had no idea," I say honestly. Patrick only nods.

"My family had Luke arrested as soon as they found out it was him. He got out a year ago, and he contacted me not long after. I had a restraining order put on him, and after he broke it two months ago, he was arrested and sentenced to five more years," He finishes.

"And how are you doing now that you know he can't get to you for another five years?" I ask him. He smiles at me.

"Pretty fucking good," And we laugh, forgetting about the whole depressive part of today. We say our goodnight's and head to our seperate beds.