Bruised (Completed)

Chapter 10

The door slowly opens and silent footsteps approach the bed. Is it morning already? If it is, it is the one that contains the promise.

A weight sits down on the edge and soft breathing fills the room. It is him. I turn on my other side to face the boy. Through half closed eyes, I behold Taehyung's figure next to me. Unsure of what to do, he hesitantly reaches for my hand.

Besides the bad nights we have experienced recently, I have not seen him much and thus been able to do something about us touching.

Surprise must be written all across my face when he carefully envelops his fingers around mine. His hand is slightly trembling and the expression on his face looks troubled, but at the same time it is apparent he is forcing himself to cross his boundaries and hold my hand.

'Good morning,' I mumble sleepily.

His dark eyes shoot up at me, wide in astonishment. 'I'm so sorry. Did I wake you?'

'Kind of, but it's alright. Sleep well? No hangover?'

'Just a bit of a headache, but that isn't anything new.' Right as he says it, he flinches from the aftermath of his drinking behaviour.

'Well, that's what you get.' Tae smiles softly at the remark.

Would he remember what he said last night? Normally all will be forgotten come morn, leaving the effects behind for us to deal with. However, this time and with some kind of unknown hope within me, it is worth a try to ask that question. 'Do you know what you said to me? What you promised to do now that it's morning?'

He averts his gaze and bites his lip. 'Only vaguely, but didn't I promise we'd talk about what is going on?'

The liquor has not washed away the chance for much needed answers. I sigh and give his hand an encouraging squeeze. 'You did. Please, tell me.'

Tae turns his face back to me and his eyes search for mine, looking for some kind of reassurance that speaking about it will not bring harm to him in any way. 'Just promise me you won't leave or judge me.'

The words sound incredibly sad. Never will I leave him, certainly not now that I have gotten him back. Furthermore, true friends do not judge one another. 'Of course. Remember what I said? You're my best friend.'

A small smile forms around his lips. 'I recall that moment. It made me feel like I mattered, that I wasn't just a worthless waste of space.'

'Why would you feel like that?'

'Abeoji has always told me I am since eomma passed away. It all started when grandma died. Eomma was heartbroken and lost a great deal of her positive attitude. However, life seemed to go on despite the hardships. For a while everything went somewhat fine, until she fell ill. ''Just stress'' she used to say each time I asked if she was fine. Soon afterwards abeoji lost his job and we became unable to pay the mortgage on the house. We were evicted and left for the Busan, just to try our luck, because there were no jobs to be had in Daegu. In the meanwhile, the sickness got worse with every day that passed by.' He takes a deep breath to collect himself for a minute, restoring the steadiness with which the past is being retold.

'Take your time,' I whisper gently. 'Don't rush yourself.'

Righting his shoulders, he goes on. 'Eventually he found a job, but it was found when it was too late to save her. From that moment on it has been the two of us. Yet, it wasn't like before. He changed, started grabbing the bottle to drown his sorrows and blaming me for her death. Said I was the reason she became unwell, because I would have been another burden to her when she had so much on her mind already. All that stress killed her. It didn't stay with insults. He-' The grip on my fingers tighten and his whole being starts to shake, trying desperately to keep the tears back. 'Ali, he- he started to abuse me. Each night he'd vent his anger on me. At school I made up all kinds of excuses to hide the real reason.'