Kiss me

Chapter 11

Maddox's pov

No fucking way. That mother fucker Ben. I was gonna kill him. I swear it.

"Say something, Madd."

"I'm so sorry Ellis. I-- jesus, you should've told me before he had the chance to do this to you. I thought you just didn't like him."

I can tell he's emotionally exauhsted. He's been different for awhile, scared and unconfident. Now I knew why. What if he hadn't of been able to protect himself?

Oh god, stop thinking like that.

"I'm sorry." He says with shaky breath. He's cried so much, there weren't any tears left.

"No. You have nothing to be sorry about. God, I'm sorry. I should've noti--"

"Stop." He cuts me off. "Neither of us is at fault."

"Right, it's fucking Ben. I'm gonna kill him for everything he did to you."

"Please, don't talk to him." It comes out as a whisper. He's mentally dead.

I gruffly stand up "Ellis please, he needs to pay. It's not right."

"I said no! I can deal with it myself."

His body is shaking.

"Deep breaths." I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as I sit back down. He seems agitated, but obliges.

"How long has this been going on?" Ellis' head tips down.

"It started out good. He was a good roommate. Everything went downhill when our relationship turned intamite. First he would yell at me, then he started hitting me. I don't know, it escalated so quickly, but I didn't want to leave cause I wanted him to change. I thought he was good."

He avoided my question. "What about that boy last week?"

"We were just fuckin' around, and we hooked up. He made me breakfast in bed the next day. It was really nice. The hook up turned into something more, and somehow Ben found out. Beat the living hell out of carter, took a few swings at me."

"God Elli. Please tell me, how long?"

With a deep sigh, he mumbles under his breath "3 months."

How didn't I know. What the fuck. Ben. I could imagine smoke coming out of my ears. How could someone be so cruel. It reminded me of Anna. No. I am not thinking about Anna right now.

"I'm scared he's gonna come here."

"He's the one who should be scared. If he steps anywhere within 10 meters to you I'll fucking rip his throat out through his ass while Fly tears off his fucking balls."

For the first time in what seems like years, Ellis truly smiles.

We share a warm embrace, Ellis practically falling asleep in my arms. He was strong, I knew he would heal over time. The biggest problem right now was that Ellis wouldn't have a place to live very soon.

He curled up on the couch, exauhsted, and I took my leave. The springs in my bed slightly creaked as I jumped up. My heart felt heavy. The information load was a lot to process. One thing I knew for sure was that Ben wasn't gonna get away with this.

Soon enough, Fly was at my feet snoring, and I had gotten ready for bed. I had an early shift tomorrow, plus dance. This week had been so, extremely crazy.

From: Axel

Axel: you up?

I open the message as it pops up on my screen.

Me: I am now.
Axel: Face time?
Me: I look like shit.
Axel: Impossible.

His picture pops up on my phone, requesting to face time. Whatever.
A bitch can't be pretty 24/7.

His perfect face shows up, a smooth, deep voice flowing from his lips.

"Hey."

Smiling, I reply. "Couldn't wait to see me again, could you?"

"You just gave me the best blow job of my life. Of course I couldn't wait." Good thing the room was dark, or he'd see the red tinting my cheeks.

"That? That was nothing." His groomed brow raises at my response.

"Now I'm excited. How's Ellis?"

Of course he knew I was with Ellis, considering it was the reason I left him earlier today.

"Ugh, it's complicated. I feel like a shit bestfriend. His fucking roommate-- he's just a little twit, and I want to rip his penis off. Ellis doesn't deserve any of the shit he gets."

Axel doesn't know anything about the situation, but somehow ranting to him makes me feel better. He only listens with a concerned expression, letting me know he cares with his little nods.

"I'll watch him during track tomorrow. Make sure he's okay. You wanna stop by after, and we can all hang?"

"I'll have dance till 6:30."

"Perfect, track ends at 7." I feel warm inside, knowing I'm going to see him again tomorrow.

I wonder how Ellis would feel about third wheeling.

▪ ▪ ▪

"How's the new man?" My head looks up from the register at the sound of Ricky's voice.

"Yknow, he's OK...."

"Your face tells me otherwise."

Of course it does.

"He's amazing. We spent the most part of yesterday together. I told him I liked him, and we kissed --"

Ricky raises his eyebrow.

"Were you... safe?"

I only glare at him, huffing.

"Hey! I'm just asking! You never know."

"Yea, yea." See what I mean. He's basically my dad.

I go back to counting money.

"What's your status?"

"Unannounced. Too early."

"Smart move, boy."

I look up, greeted by the worry in his eyes. I see his jawline clenching. He's worried, and I don't blame him, considering what happened with Anna. I only nod, trying to tell him without words, I'll be Ok.

▪ ▪ ▪

The 3 people to know when someone new is in my life are Ellis, Ricky, and Leon. Now that I think of it, they're the only 3 people I even talk to. They're also the only 3 people still in my life that know I'm a tranny.

Leon is always whipping my butt in class, but after, he's pretty sweet. I stay a bit to have a cup of tea with him, talking about Axel.

"It's about time you had a man in your life. And from the sound of it, Axel is quite a man."

"That he is." Now my mind is wandering to his arms, and his chest, the way his abs are smooth under the touch of my fingers. Leon snaps in my face.

"For me, there are only 2 possible problems. Either he hurts you, or he distracts you."

With that, he stands up, both of our cups drained. He comes in to kiss me on the cheek as a farewell.

I turn to make my way to the bus stop before he calls out once again.

"You're looking to skinny. Eat properly, son."

He can tell. Trust me, I haven't been doing it on purpose, it's just old habits.

I nod and head out.

The sky has faded to a dull orange, the moon beginning to rise over the horizon.

Time to see Axel and Ellis together myself.