Talk to Me | Sabriel AU

Free

Gabriel was feeling lighter than he had in a long time after lunch, breathing in as if he just found the freshest air in the world and smiling like he was trying to light up the world. Sam just had that effect on him, even with the crushing weight of his secret on his shoulders. He could always rely on Sam to make him feel better.

So, the smile took a bit longer to disappear than usual when he saw the police lining his street, most of them parked within the vicinity of his house. Instead, it was replaced by a look of confusion as he hurried forwards, only to stop when the door opened.

His mom was led from the house, crying as blood slid down her face and staining her already blood-covered blouse. A paramedic was with her, leading her towards the ambulance that Gabriel hadn't even noticed, making him take a sudden step forwards with a start.

"Mom?!" He shouted, hurrying over towards the ambulance. His mother looked up, relief filling her eyes as she recognized him and gave him a weak smile as he made it to her side, a bloody hand taking his and squeezing it tight, both of them ignoring the squelch that the movement brought.

"A jogger heard your father yelling and called the police." His mother explained, her voice dark and weak. She was already looking faint, her face beginning to turn pale. "They got him, baby. We're free now."

Gabriel didn't even have time to let the words process before he heard shouting and turned his gaze back towards the house, three police officers walking out with his father held tightly between them so he couldn't escape. His eyes were livid, and Gabriel couldn't help but shiver as his father spat and swore and screamed unintelligible words.

His father's eyes found Gabriel and he jerked forwards with a sudden strength, nearly toppling both him and the police down the stairs of the front porch as he struggled to get away. "I'll kill you little fag!" He shouted, his voice full of rage as he was forcibly dragged towards one of the police cars, where he was shoved in.

The moment the door shut, his father's screams became muffled, and Gabriel hadn't realized how heavily he was breathing until he felt the rubber hands of a gloved paramedic touch his face, asking him if he was okay. He gave a small nod, taking a step back from them and ran a hand through his hair, letting the reality sink in as he watched the police car with his father in it drive away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabriel surveyed the mess that was their home with a frown, taking in all the broken and blood-covered objects that dotted the house. He glanced over at his mother, who had a bandage across her head and a look of determination on her face as she met his gaze.

"Let's get this mess cleaned up." She said before taking a step forwards, picking up a broken lamp and placing it in one of the many boxes that they had gotten for this project. She walked a bit stiffly, having just gotten out of the hospital from her injuries, but Gabriel knew there was no stopping her, and too be honest, he didn't want her to stop anyways. He wanted this house to be rid of memories of his father, and if that meant gutting the house, so be it.

"I'm thinking about painting the house over the weekend. What do you think of a new coat of white for the outside and a cream color for the inside. It's too dark in here with this green." She said, her gaze turning towards the wall for a moment before she nodded to herself, picking up more things and placing them in the boxes. Gabriel followed suite, his lips pursed as he thought about it a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I think it would go well with us." Gabriel finally said, blanching when he picked up left over shards of glass from the coffee table incident, although that was two weeks ago. Nevertheless, he tossed the glass into the boxes, focusing on finding salvageable things in this house.

"Yeah, and I can mow the lawn tomorrow before you come home from school and maybe we could sit and just relax. I could fix a nice dinner for us and then this weekend we can call in a contractor to see how much it would be to fix up this place. Those stairs and your room are going to give away at this rate." She said, her voice lighter than he expected it to be at the mention of money. Then again, he knew that she had saved bits of her money from all her jobs, not enough that his father would notice, but enough to know that she would have emergency funds if she needed it. It made him smile, just knowing that he didn't have to worry about the abuse anymore, and he took a break to hug his mother.

She was surprised to say the least, but she let out a soft sob before hugging him back tightly, holding her precious son close. "We can fix all of this. What do you think? Now we can be close again." She said, letting out tiny sobs as she cried. Gabriel didn't blame her. They mainly spent time hiding away from his father. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a normal conversation with his mother.

"And, Gabe? I just want you to know that I don't care if you're gay." She said, hugging him just a bit tighter. "I know Richard was treating you so poorly over it, and I want you to know that you can talk to me about whenever you want." She pulled away and smiled at him, wiping away her own tears before kissing his forehead. "No more secrets."

Gabriel chewed on his lip at that and his mind instantly went to Sam. Would she like him? "Mom...there's someone I really want you to meet. Is it okay if he comes over next week?" Gabriel asked, a hesitation in his voice. After all, he didn't know if his mother would want company so soon after this.

But to his surprise, his mother's eyes lit up, and she nodded, giving him a soft smile. "Yes, I think we need a fresh face here. Of course he can." She said before letting go of Gabriel and returning to her cleaning, leaving Gabriel smiling and feeling a little excited as he worked a bit faster. After all, he wanted everything to look perfect when Sam came over.