Speak Up | Lams DISCONTINUED

twelve

After their short lived trip to IHOP, the boys went back to Alex's apartment. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, John's phone began to ring. He looked over to Alex worriedly and answered.
As soon as he did, screams were heard from the other line. John sighed as silence filled the line. Alex could then hear something that sounded like, "Speak up, you coward! Use your damn words like a man!", which didn't make sense as John couldn't speak.
He glanced at Alex before motioning for him to get out of the car. Alex shook his head silently and motioned for John to hand the phone to him, which John immediately shot down. He signed with one hand, "I'm not letting you get involved. Get out of the car, please."
Alex shook his head and signed back, "Let me talk to him. I won't do anything you don't want me to; I just wanna talk to him."
Again, John denied, but Alex took the phone and jumped out of the vehicle before he could stop him.
"Hello, is this Francis Kinloch?" Alex asked calmly.
There was a pause before he answered. "Yeah, who the fuck is this?"
"I'm a concerned friend of John's."
"Concerned about what?"
"His safety."
"I'm his boyfriend, I'd never do anything to hurt him!"
"I beg to differ. You see, I've seen the bruises, seen the cuts, heard the lies, heard the screams, and everything in between. I'm afraid I'm not letting him go home until I no longer have reason to fear for his safety. Goodbye."
With that, Alex hung up and handed the phone to John who had since followed him out of the car and stood in silence as he listened to the conversation.
He looked shocked as he pocketed the phone and signed, "Damn, you'd make a good lawyer."
Alex laughed. "Or so I've been told. Let's go inside."
"What if he calls back? Or traces the call and finds out where I am?"
"Then we call the police and have him arrested for domestic abuse."
"But what if they don't find him guilty and he hurts me again? If that happens, I know it'll be worse than anything he's ever done before..."
"They won't, and if they do, we can both testify against him. Plus, you have bruises and scars to prove it."
He nodded as Alex unlocked the apartment door.

Once they were inside, both took a seat on the sofa and sat in semi-comfortable silence.
John lightly tapped Alex's leg before signing, "Y'know, I can't just stay in these clothes all week. Plus, I don't have any pajamas."
Alex shrugged. "Borrow my clothes."
John looked at him blankly. "Alex, I'm six foot three. You're five foot six. I won't fit into your clothes." He then looked at Alex like he was stupid.
Alex laughed, placing a hand on his forehead. "God, I'm stupid. Sorry, John."
John smirked, waving it off.
"I guess we could always stop by your place and grab some clothes. I'm assuming you know Francis' schedule well enough to know when he'll be out of the house long enough to do so?"
John thought for a moment before nodding.
"Alright, so when could we go?"
"Tonight at eight he'll be out at the bar, getting drunk with his asshole friends."
"Great, we'll go then."
"Lexi," John held up Alex's sign name making Alex grimace jokingly and John smile for a second before continuing. "What if he comes back early and sees me?"
"You'll wait in my car which I'll park around the corner." Alex replied without hesitation.
"And if he finds you?"
"Then I run like hell."
John smiled sweetly at Alex. "Thank you."
Alex smiled as well. "No problem."

The two passed the following hours leading to eight o'clock by each playing on their phones with the TV on in the background for white noise. Once the time finally came, Alex began to feel nervous. He wanted to seem tough for John's sake, but if he was honest with himself, he was scared shitless. He'd never had to deal with confrontation of this matter before.
Taking a deep breath, Alex stood up, quickly followed by John and headed for his car.

After a solid fifteen minutes of driving in silence, Alex reached the block John lived on. He parked around the corner, just like he said he would, and sat still for a moment, contemplating his life choices that lead here.
John lightly tapped Alex's arm and gave him a concerned look. "You don't have to do this,"
Alex nodded. "Yes I do. Maybe if I run into him, I can talk some sense into him."
"When you say talk, do you mean punch?"
Alex smirked. "Maybe."
John rolled his eyes and patted Alex's shoulder reassuringly.
Alex took in one last deep breath before opening the door. Before he got out, he turned to John. "You can drive, right?"
He nodded.
"Sit in the driver's seat and keep the car running and doors unlocked. Just in case."
He nodded again, undoing his seatbelt.

As Alex closed the door, he took in the neighborhood around him. It somehow seemed darker than the rest of the city, probably from the lack of streetlights. All the buildings were clearly old, faded, missing either bricks or siding, and were all graffitied beyond belief. It looked like somewhere you'd see someone else get killed, brutally, in a movie.
Alex furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to look around before he finally opened the main door to John's apartment.