My Saviour - Tanner X Woods

Escape

Woods' POV

I woke up suddenly after a few hours. I checked my phone and the time read 3:06am. I looked over at Tanner who was now sleeping on the other side of the bed, tightly wrapped in covers.

I carefully got up, making sure not to wake him up. I grabbed my bag and my stuff and quietly crept downstairs. I found a piece of paper and wrote a letter to Tanner.

"Hey Tanman,
Please don't be sad that I'm gone. just know I had to do this. I love you so much. I know I'm toxic and I don't want to destroy your life anymore more than I have. I know we haven't known each other for long but I feel like I've got you thinking I'm something I'm really not.

Ì don't want to keep lying to you about this stuff. but I don't want to open up about it either. It breaks me to think about what you would do if you knew.

Please know that while I've been with you I've been the happiest I have been for years now. I'm so thankful I met you. I did this because I love you. Please just remember that.

Don't waste you time thinking about me. Just move on. Find somebody else. I'm not something you should dwell on.

Ì love you Tanner. Goodbye."

I placed it down on the kitchen table before grabbing my keys and wallet and rushing out of the front door. I didn't want to ever leave Tanner but I knew if I stuck around I would drag him down like I do everybody.

Ì opened my car door and stared up at the house. I said my final goodbyes and got into my car. I started my engine and reversed out of the drive onto the main road outside.

As I began to drive forward I noticed Tanners bedroom light turn on. I quickly sped off as fast as I could so he couldn't follow me in his car.

Tanners POV
I turned over and went to hug Woods. My arm just fell onto the slightly warm mattress. "Woods?" I waited a few seconds but there was no reply. All of a sudden, I heard an engine start and the stones of my drive crunching. I turned on my light and noticed Woods wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Ì ran into his room and he wasn't there. I headed downstairs and saw a small note on the table. There were a few damp patches and it was slightly crumpled. I opened the letter slowly and feeling very hesitant. As I read it the tears fell down my cheek. He isn't toxic and I don't think he's bad at all. He's incredible and he makes me so happy.

I grabbed my keys not bothering to lock the door and jumped into my car. I had remembered the vague area if where he lived from when we were just discussing where we grew up. He said he was born there and has lived here all his life.

I reversed out of the drive. The same way Woods did a few minutes ago. As i began to drive up the road Ì kept thinking about what Woods might actually do when he gets home. Would he really go along with it or would he carry on living and not have me know. Would he do that to him?

About an hour had passed and I noticed a car swerving across the lanes in front of me. I drove closer to the vehicle before realising I recognised the car. I quickly pulled beside it not caring about crashing. I saw Woods holding a bottle of whiskey and swaying to the music he was playing as he drove. He kept taking large gulps of the whiskey. I could pratically see him becoming more and more intoxicated.

I honked my horn and he looked over in a daze. His face dropped a mile when he figured out who it was. I began to drive closer to him to try and push him off the road and into the safe lane. He swerved off the road and slammed his brakes on as he reached the barrier. He was centimetres away from smashing into it.

I drove across the lanes and parked behind Woods. I jumped out my car and ran over to Woods' car. I opened his door and caught him as he passed out in my arms. I pulled him out of the car and pulled the key out of the ignition. I picked him up and flung him over my shoulder, carrying to my car. I placed him in the back seats and waited for him to come around. I grabbed a bag from the boot of my car knowing it was only a short amount of time before he started throwing up.

"What the hell? Where am I?" He asked as he jolted up. I moved slightly so he had a better view of my face.
"It's alright Woods, I'm here"
"No! This wasn't meant to happen... You don't care about me. You hate me. Why are you here?"
"I could never hate you. I love you and I'm not losing you no matter what! Got that?"
"STOP LYING TO ME!!" He retorted aggressively. "I know you hate me. Nobody likes me. They can't"
"I promise you, I don't hate you"
He looked at me angrily and before suddenly throwing up. He pushed me out the way and lept out of the car.

After a short while, he stood upright and wandered back over to the car. Seeing that he had only just missed his seats he sighed. He stepped over the mess and sat back into his car. "Look, Tanner... I love you and I didn't want to destroy you like I destroy everybody else. Nobody can handle my breakdowns at 3am over something small that happened earlier in the day. Nobody can handle me bursting into tears over what seems like nothing. Nobody can handle my pathetic excuse for a life." He slammed his hands on the wheel as he said it and began to cry. He fell into my arms and i held him close to my chest making sure he was safe. "Woods, I will always be here for you no matter what. We can get through this together. I read your letter and i wasnt taking any chances so I left without even thinking about anything but you. I cant lose you. You mean so much to me and I would be lost without you. Your mental health does not define who you are and i know that this is just one part of you and this can be cleared with help. So listen to me. I will call somebody to collect your car and we will go back to mine and get some sleep. Then tomorrow, we will see what is the best way to deal with this. Okay?"

Woods looked up at me with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course I mean it. You really think I would sacrifice my sleep if I didn't care?" I laughed a little. I saw a small smile on the corner of Woods' lips. "Alright. C'mon, let's get you warm and safe." I closed his door and went to the boot to grab a bag incase he was sick again. When I got round to my side of the car, He was knocked out with his mouth slightly open. I chuckled quietly to myslef and started the engine. "Home, here we come..."