Knuckles // Tradley AU

11. Don't Worry About Me - Tris

"Tris." James sighed quietly over the phone "...Brads in hospital."

"Fuck! Why! What did that piece of shit do to him this time!" I shook my head, leaping out of bed and beginning to get ready, I wanted to go and see him, talk to him, tell him everything so he knew he could trust me.

"He apparently tried to stab himself, well he did stab himself, but missed anything important by millimetres, but he didn't die." James explained.

"Oh that's such bullshit, Ryan stabbed him." I sighed worriedly "Can you take me to him? Please James."

"Yeah." My friend hummed "Yeah we'll pick you up on the way." 

"Thank you." I nodded, putting shoes on and waiting outside the house for James' car to pull up at the side of the road, myself jumping in a s quickly as I could.

"I've never seen you move that quickly for anything." James teased

"Now isn't the time for teasing." Con shook his head "Holy fuck my best mate could've died! And I'm only finding out now! Two days later!"

"And that's nobody's fault." James added, clearly trying to calm his boyfriend down

"It definitely fucking is Ryan's fault, I'm sorry, how come He was in the house and didn't even try and stop Brad?! I'm sorry I was ever rude to you about this Tris, but Ryan is an asshole." Con rambled on "And he didn't even fucking tell me!"

"Mhm." I hummed, staying quiet with worry until we got to the hospital, once we arrived it turned out that we were a while off of visiting hours and couldn't go and see Brad until the allotted times.

"Uh...You Guys go, I'll stay here." I smiled to James and Con as they debated on where to go. Once the other boys had left I went back up the the reception "...How do you report- uh - domestic abuse? Like one of your patients is literally in danger of being killed by their partner."

"You can talk to me and I'll call the police to come and investigate or you can call the police yourself on 101." She smiled to me softly "you'll remain anonymous to the suspected victim unless you chose to reveal yourself as the person who did report it."

"Uh- can I talk to you about it? Sorry, it's just that my phones dead and uh yeah." I asked.

"Of course, I'll just call my colleague down so she can cover for reception whilst I'm gone." She said, still smiling softly. A few moments later she lead me to the (empty) relatives room and sat down next to me.

"So, who's the patient we're concerned about?" She questioned me, to which I began detailing Brad's name and began describing why I was concerned and the things I had overheard from being around the couple the past few weeks.

"I see." She replies gently "Well thank you for coming forward about it, it really does help us do our job, I'll be in contact with the police about it as soon as possible."

"Thank you." I smiled, standing up and shaking her hand, leading out to sit in the waiting room to wait until we could go and visit Brad. After about an hour and a bit of staring at the clock and willing it to go faster, I was allowed into the ward, I made sure to text Con and James so they could make their way back from having lunch.

Brad was in a room on his own, due to the huge risk of infection (turns out his white blood cell count was low, meaning his immune system was weakened).

I knocked on the door before opening it slowly, seeing Brad was on his own, no Ryan to be seen.

"Hey." I whispered quietly, sitting on one of their chairs "How's it going?"

"Alright." He nodded "I've been stitched up, and now it's just a matter of waiting to see what happens."

"Well at least you didn't die I suppose." I joked a little

"Nearly, i grazed one of my kidneys." He shook his head "It was such a stupid decision for a stupid thought. I should never have gone through with it."

"Brad...I know that Ryan did it."  I whispered "It's okay. We can get you out of this."

"N-no Everything is gre-"

"It's not though, is it?" I asked "Please, tell me the truth."

"It is!" He denied

"Oh so I suppose the black eyes are you too? Or the finger shaped bruises on your wrist and arm?" I raised an eyebrow "Brad, I know you're scared, but trust me, it'll get better if you just get out of there."

"...I'm terrified." He admitted quietly, so quietly I almost didn't hear him "I'm in love with the boy that hates my guts, of course I'm going to be terrified."

"Hey Brad." I whispered comfortingly as tears escaped his eyes "It's all gonna be okay, you know why? Because you've told someone, which means you're no longer alone."

"What do I do, Tris?" He cried "I'm stuck there."

"You can come and hide at mine? Live with me for a bit, he doesn't know where I am. My name isn't even on the rent. I'm untraceable." I explained "For The Same reason."

It wasn't exactly a lie, I was untraceable, but not for the same reason. I just desperately wanted him safe, I just desperately wanted him.

"Really?" He whispered, looking up at me.

"Yeah." I lied "It was a good few years ago, but I'm so paranoid, so I keep myself on the Down low."

"...I would like that." He whispered "To just be safe for a little while...No cuts no bruises, no lies and no accusation. Just safe."

"And you can have all of that, and a better life." I added "You're worth so much more Brad. So so so much more than an asshole who beats you." I said quietly, standing up from the chair and bravely leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on Brad's lips. I knew if we were caught it was more trouble than it was worth. But I needed it. So badly. I wanted him.

"Okay Tris...Thank you so much." Brad whispered, looking up at me, he still looked terrified, but I knew he'd be able to find comfort soon. Hopefully with me.