Pretty Boy

23

"Dan, I don't under-"
"Please," I cried.
"What the hell happened?" he asked, helping me in.
"Can I please have some water?" I asked, trying to avoid the subject.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. Please, sit. Mum!" he yelled.

He ran into the kitchen to grab me a glass of water and a few paper towels for my face. He returned about a minute later with everything; he took a seat next to me and started lightly rubbing my back.

"Mum!" he yelled again.
"Philip Michael Lester, it is nearly midnight! Why are you not in bed?" Katherine yelled.
"Please come downstairs!"
"Why?"
"You'll see! Come on!"
"I'm coming," she huffed. "Why the hell are you waking me up at 11:45 at night?" she groaned, rubbing her eyes.
"Dan needed help,"
"Why on earth aren't you at school?" she asked.

I pursed my lips and stared at her. My right eye was nearly swollen shut, my lip was gushing blood, and my nose was slightly bruised. Once Katherine caught a glimpse of me, she let out an audible gasp, and took a seat next to me, on the couch.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"My roommate hit me," I mumbled.
"Now why would he do that? You're the sweetest thing to ever walk this earth,"
"Mum," Phil scoffed.
"Second sweetest thing," she said. "Wanna tell me what happened?" I shook my head no. "Phil, go upstairs,"
"Why?"
"Just go,"
"Okay..." He placed a soft kiss on my head and cracked a small smile before he walked upstairs.
"I'm gonna go grab ice and a few bandages. Don't move, okay?"
"Okay,"

She rushed into the kitchen to grab some damp dish towels and a bag of ice for my face; she also grabbed a handful of bandages. When she returned, she told my to hold the bag on my eye as she wet my lip.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" she whispered.
"Promise me, you won't tell Phil,"
"You have my word. What happened?"
"My roommate and I were dating," I murmured. "It was nothing serious but at the same time it wasn't a fling. I had no interest in sleeping with him or anything... He, on the other hand, wanted sex... Today, I guess he just had enough and he forced me into sex,"
"You were raped?" Katherine gasped. "Did you call the police?" I shook my head no. "Why not?"
"Because, it's nothing... I'm fine..."
"Dan, what's this boy's name?" No response. "Dan, I'm just trying to help you," No response. "Dan, I will call your father," she warned.
"Michael Davis," I said.
"How long were you two together before he hurt you?"
Oh god, I don't know... When did Phil and I break up? We got together the day after..."
"So, its been a while," she sighed. "You can sleep here tonight," she said. "Feel free to wash up and maybe eat something. I'm gonna call your parents tomorrow so-"
"What? No!"
"Dan, honey, we have to get you out of that school. Or at least get Michael out of there... Dan, we can't have this happen to you, again," she said.
"If you're gonna call anyone, please call Stacy..."
"Who's that, dear?"
"My step-mum," I huffed.
"Okay, I'll give her a call in the morning. Why don't you go take a shower and calm down. I'll make the guest room for you and I'll grab a few of Phil's clothes for you,"
"Thank you, Katherine,"
"Don't mention it,"

She flashed me a warm smile and headed upstairs to get the guest bedroom ready. I sat on the couch for a few more minutes before summoning enough strength to go upstairs and shower.

I started to shower, with no struggle at all, stripped down, and waited for the water to warm up. I stared at myself in the mirror and nearly broke down in tears. My body was beaten, bleeding, and bruised; I couldn't stand to look at myself. Once steam started crowding the air and my hair started to curl, I stepped inside the shower.

I stood there, thinking about everything that happened tonight. Everything replayed in my mind; from watching reruns to getting left alone. Then, I started worrying.

What is Michael finds me? He knows where Phil lives! He knows this is the first place I'd go...

Then, I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Dan," Katherine whispered. "I brought you some of Phil's clothes; I'm just gonna set them on the toilet. I'm going to take tomorrow off work, okay? When you wake up, I'll make you some breakfast, I'll call your parents over, and we'll have a nice, calm, discussion on what we're going to do to help you. Sound like a plan?"

No.

"Yeah," I mumbled.
"Alright, well, it's getting late; I should probably head to bed. If you need anything, just yell and I'll be there before you know it,"
"Thank you, Katherine,"
"You're welcome," she smiled. "Goodnight, Dan... I'm glad you're okay," she said as she closed the door.

But, I'm not okay...