Partners [Eddworld High School AU]

Hurt

A/N
Don't mind the picture, lol. I just drew my "version" of teen Tom, and I wanted to share it... it's pretty bad though. (Also i
I accidentally published it before changing the name to its actual name lol)
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Tom flinched, looking up a little. His father stood over him, wearing a stained tank top and boxers. His normal outfit.

"I was doing something for school..." Tom muttered softly, trying not to smell the alcohol on his dad's breath.

"What were you working on?" He asked, his voice sickly sweet, as if he was trying to be nice.

"A project."

"You weren't with... them, were you?"

Of course. There it was. The man hated Tom's friends, mostly because they were a couple. Each time he talked about them, his voice was laced with venom.

"No, I was just down the road." Tom refused to look at him. "And there's nothing wrong with them..." He muttered the last part under his breath, and his face was immediately grabbed painfully and pulled up to stare at the man.

"What did you say to me?!" His dad spat, and threw him against the wall. It took all of Tom's willpower not to cry out as he landed against a shelf.

"I-I didn't say anything..." He coughed, the wind getting knocked out of him from the blow. There was a sudden kick to his stomach, and he curled into a ball.

"Don't you ever lie to me again." And with that, he walked into the kitchen, probably to get himself more beer.

Tom shakily pushed himself up, running to his room and slamming the door. He quickly locked it, before sitting on his bed and breathing shakily. He looked at his stomach, and grimaced at the bruise that was already forming. He felt his phone buzz, and looked at it.

Matt: Hey, how you doing?

Matt: Tom?

Matt: Tom answer

Tom groaned, knowing how Matt got whenever he didn't respond right away. His phone started buzzing again, and Matt's contact flashed onto the screen. He sighed, clicking the green button and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Tom! You had me worried. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I... I'm fine." He rubbed his back, wincing.

"Are you sure? You sound like you're in pain."

Matt paid too much attention to stuff sometimes.

"It's fine, dad just got... frustrated."

"Oh God... Tom, what happened?"

"I don't even know. I'm just... gonna go to bed. Don't try to come over." Tom added the last part quickly, knowing that Edd and Matt would get one of their parents to come and try to get him.

"A-are you sure? Maybe..."

"Look, Matt, I'm fine. It's normal, and he's my dad, it's not like I could do anything about it if I wanted to." He didn't mean to get angry, but this did happen a lot. He was used to constantly being covered in bruises and cuts.

There was a bit of silence, muffled talking, and Matt finally came back.

"Yeah, okay... If you need us to, we could pick you up at any time. Bye, Tom."

Tom hung up, tossing his phone onto the pillow beside him. He got onto his hands and knees and looked under his bed, pulling out a hidden box and opening it. He went through his backpack, grabbing the couple snacks Matt packed him and putting them with the others. He scanned over the box.

There was a bit of food that his friends managed to sneak in, a pocket knife, a lighter bandages, and a small picture of him with his mother. The picture was burnt on one side, where Tom had burned his father out of the picture.

He picked up the pocket knife, flicking the blade open. The metal was halfway covered with dried crimson, making it almost look rusted. He sighed, and put it back in the box before shoving the box back in its hiding place.

'Not today, Tom. Not today.'