Ladders

Heal

Emil tried pushing passed Berwald but he arm was quickly grabbed and he was pulled back. "Let me go Berwald" the stoic man stared and shook he head. He dragged Emil back to the living room and sat him down on a old couch that Emil's parents had bought before he was born. "Why were you with that man?" he asked in a tone that Emil has never heard before, he wasn't monotone or sad he was...angry. Emil felt as though he was with Mr.Vargas once again, in a place where he was supposed to escape the man he hated so much "it's none of your business Ber. And I know about what you do at the brothel with Matthew". Then Berwald's tone got darker and more serious than it ever had been "I'm going to ask you one more time. Why were you with that man?". Emil pushed his nails into his palms, he was scared of a man who has helped raised him. Who taught him how to shave, cook, and even was the one to teach him mathematics. "I'm...friends with his grandsons. He was just driving me home from a party" Emil wasn't completely lying but if he told any bit of the actual truth of where he was, well he'd probably be kicked out onto the streets. Berwald's crossed his arms "then how do you know about me and Matthew?". Emil felt his chest clench, he didn't know how to explain that part. Was he just suppose to come out clean and say Oh yeah, Matthews a co-worker. I'm a whore at the brothel too. "I was talking with him at the party and he was drunk and told me about his work. Then I told him about my family and he recognized the description I gave to him about you!". Berwald stood up "you will tell no one about what I do, and I won't tell them about your tendencies to sneak out every night". Emil's eyes widened, Berwald knew he has been sneaking out. He watched him saunter back into the dark hallways back to the bed with a man he claimed to love. Emil stayed in the dark sitting on the worn out couch. His face felt red and hot. His body hurt as well. Not only has he been losing friends but now he's lost family members. Soon...he'll loose Leon. This thought for no apparent reason, has been running ramped through his mind. That one day soon, Leon will find someone better. Someone who is not him. It broke his heart to think that Leon would no longer just wrap his arm around his lower back and hold him close. Or kiss the top of his head lazily while they both were sitting in silence. He prayed he would somehow not be asexual and could be something more for Leon. Leon told him he didn't care, and he was just glad that Emil wasn't a-romantic. He wondered if Berwald and Tino were once like him and Leon. Happy. In love. Nothing to bother them. What led to their downfall? What had their once happy love go down the drain?

The eighteen year old Finnish boy ran out of his house with an angry slurred speech yelling behind him. All he had with him as he ran was a black trash bag that was stuffed full of his clothing and a few other belongings. He cried as his drunk father had found out about his sexuality. He prayed that he could've changed but it never became reality. He was to move into his now boyfriends house. Berwald. They'd only been dating for two weeks but it was so exhilarating for Tino that he let himself get carried away and careless to which he got caught. Maybe dating another man was wrong. Maybe dating someone who was 6 years older than him was wrong. But it felt so right. Everything felt right, except the fact that he would never be able to look back into the life he once had.

"Why can't you let me do this by myself?!" Tino screamed at his fiancé. Berwald grabbed Tinos wrist and pulled him back into the apartment "you think you're an adult, but you're not. You're a small town gay boy who wouldn't be anywhere without me". Tino pushed him away "I know I'm a dumb kid! I moved in a got engaged to a man I barley know within a month!". Berwald let him go "maybe we rushed into this" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "maybe I should drive you back to your hometown". Tino shook with fear "no! Never! No matter what we go through together I can never go back!". Berwald raised an eyebrow "so you're not going to leave me?". Tino shook his head "no you saved me...I could never leave you. No matter what".

"No matter what"

A/n: just so the amazing readers of this book know I'm gonna post the Q&A after the book is finished. Also updates may be slow as I am traveling through Jordon and Israel, but I will still update as much as possible