The Future

Ralph Bryans pt. 2

"Mitch," Nicole spoke up, making me look at her. "Did he hit you?"

I bit my lip, closing my eyes again as I nodded. "Yeah. he did."

"What!? Scott cried, standing.

I flinched at his loud voice, Scott instantly noticing as falling back onto the bed beside me. I let out a slow breath as he reached out, taking my hand in both of his. "He's an ass," Scott stated.

"You don't even know the story," I whispered.

"I don't need to," he replied.

"He's right, all we need to know is that you're not comfortable around him," Avi said, nodding.

"We don't need details," Nicole agreed. "Not if you're not comfortable."

"Thank you all," I whispered.
Avi stood then, moving to kiss my forehead. "Anything for you, Little Red," he muttered, before moving towards my trailer door.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked, reading my mind.

"To discuss something," he said. "Rest, Mitch, everything's going to be fine."
Nicole stood then as well, smiling. "I'll follow him," she said. "I'll see you on set tomorrow, okay? Everything will be fine."

As she left, Scott looked at me. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "For scaring you."

"It's okay," I replied.

"It's not actually," he responded, looking into my eyes. "Not everything has to be okay, Da Vinci. You don't have to say 'it's okay', because it's not. What that asshole did to you is not right, by any standard."

"He didn't even do it long," I told Scott, looking at my hands, his hands. "I..left when it first started."

"That's great," he said, squeezing my hand.

"It's just...stupid," I muttered. "No, it's really not," Scott replied.

I couldn't help but smile slightly. "You don't even know what I'm talking about, Scooter."

"Don't need to," he replied, shrugging. "Nothing you would do is stupid." I blushed slightly, glancing at him before looking at his hands. Then, I decided to start speaking. "He had just lost a job, and we were living together at the time. We had been dating for...nine months."

"Long time," he commented.

"Longest relationship I've ever had," I told him, feeling my heart clench. "I started coming home from work to find the apartment a mess...empty bottles of beer and whiskey everywhere. I ignored them though, because he was still applying for jobs. But when he had an interview I would come home to find vodka replacing the beer."

Scott was quiet as I spoke, which I was grateful for. His presence was quiet, yet completely calming. Despite feeling the tears well in my eyes, I continued.

"He started getting quieter and angrier...pulling away from me. Then one night...I came home from work early and he was gone. Didn't get home till 2 in the morning. Ralph was...I've never seen a man so drunk. I got...angry, and confronted him about the drinking, the job search that had trailed off. He got...angry...so angry..."

"Mitch, you don't have to tell me," Scott said, making me meet his eyes. "If it's too painful..."

"No, I...I need to get this out," I told him, my voice breaking. "I...I've never told anyone the whole story."

"Okay," Scott muttered, smiling. "Keep going then."

I looked back at his hand, continuing the story. "Ralph, he, um...he got angry enough that he slapped me," I said softly, feeling the echo of the pain still in my mind. "I fell to the ground and he just started screaming...and when his voice fell...so did his fist."

"God," Scott muttered.

I shut my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "It felt like...the punches just kept coming...until he stumbled back to our room." I paused. "With my hair in his fist."

"Mitch..."

"After it was over, when I heard his snores, I knew that I...couldn't stay," I told him, taking a deep breath. "I knew if I did, if I tried to convince myself it would get better, that it wouldn't. And I couldn't stay, I just couldn't."

"That's good, that's really good," Scott said, smiling as I looked up at him.

"I know," I replied, nodding as the tears welled. "But I...it still hurt. I knew if I did leave, it had to be then. I packed everything, and left."

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"Kevin's," I explained. "He instantly took me in, and...helped me. We moved to a new apartment together, I got a new phone, and got a new job within a week. I just...couldn't face him again."

"And you were right to not want to," Scott said, taking a deep breath. His eye's were locked onto yours as he said, "Mitch, as long as I am around, Ralph Bryans will never hurt you again. Ever. You will never go through that again, because you deserve so much better."

I smiled, feeling a tear slide down my cheek. "Thank you, for listening."

"I will always listen," Scott said, wiping away the tear. "And I will always be here."

I smiled, before moving to wrap my arms around him, Scott's arms wrapping around me just as tightly.
"Thank you," I whispered again, feeling the tears grow. I knew then that I had never really let it all go, ever. It was always haunting me, always in the back of my mind.

So, in the first time in too long, I let my walls down completely. I started to shake, feeling the tears well even more.

"Please don't leave," I whispered, my voice breaking.

Scott carefully laid us both down on the bed, holding me close. "I'm not planning on it," he muttered, kissing my forehead.

-/::\-

Third person

"I will always listen. And I will always be here," Scott said, completely meaning it. He had been thinking about it for days, about how he really didn't want to leave Mitch. He was just something special.

Mitch wrapped his arms around Scott, burying his face into his shoulder as Scott wrapped his arms around him, letting his eyes flutter closed. "Thank you," Mitch whispered.

Scott took slow deep breaths, feeling Mitch slowly shake in his arms.

"Please don't leave," he whispered, his voice full of raw emotion.

Never planning to leave him as long as he felt like this, Scott carefully laid down on Mitch's bed, keeping Mitch in his arms. "I'm not planning on it," he muttered, kissing his forehead.

And laying there, Mitch in his arms, Scott realized that he never wanted to hold another man like he was holding Mitch now.