Moxiety Oneshots

[7] The Next Door Neighbour

T.W. Mentions of a Toxic relationship (and a jacka** boyfriend that isn't mentioned much.)

Patton hadn't been living there long when he got a knock on his door around midnight. He wasn't asleep, but he was definitely not awake. As he trudged to the door, the knocking came back, more urgent this time.

He pulled the door open, frowning at the person standing on the other side. They were bouncing on the balls of their feet, and their eyes kept glancing back to what was presumably their house, fear dancing in them.

"I know we don't know one another, but I need out of there, can I please stay here? I'll sleep on the couch or whatever, but please?"

Patton couldn't say no, after having gone through a few too many toxic situations, he wasn't going to let someone else suffer in the same was he had.

"Sure, come on in." He held the door open, watching with a frown as they darted into his house, hiding behind whatever they could. He pushed the door closed and watched them with a keen interest in them. "If you don't mind, what happened?"

"I uh... My boyfriend is there, and he's really drunk. It's terrifying."

"Oh." Patton frowned, wondering what had made him so scared of his boyfriend. He knew what it was like to be so afraid of someone you wanted to run, but Patton couldn't fathom why they were willing to trust someone they didn't know.

"I'm Virgil." They finally spoke up. "I'm also really sorry for crashing your house, and potentially waking you up."

"No. Don't be." He shook his head, a small smile playing at his lips. "I wasn't really asleep. Nearly, but not quite." He sat on the sofa, watching as Virgil hesitantly sat next to him.

"I don't like my boyfriend much anymore..."

"I wouldn't either..." Patton glanced at them, watching as they opened and closed their mouth a few times. "How about we let that go, and we just talk?"

"That sounds nice, uh..."

"Oh, right, I'm Patton." He smiled. "I moved here a few months ago, and you're the first person I've been able to talk to since I moved here."

"Why?"

"I've been trying to find a better job, I've been moving in, as well as working full time, getting groceries and trying to get back into school."

"Wow, you keep busy."

"Yeah. It's tiring, but it's going to pay off." Patton smiled. "I work with kids at the local kindergarten, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else."

"My little niece..." They trailed off. Patton didn't say anything, unsure of if they were going to carry on. "She uh... She goes to kindergarten... Do you know her?"

"You'll have to be more specific." Patton grinned, watching them ease up slightly and look over at him with an unreadable expression.

"Olivia."

"Oh! Little Livi!" Patton gushed, his grin somehow getting bigger.

"Yeah..."

"She's so cute and fun. She's one of the ones I focus on. I work with Livi, Meghan, and Trevor. The three of them are really good friends, and they're also more advanced than the rest of the kids, so I help them when it comes to their work and such."

"I haven't spoken to her in a while, but I would love to be able to see her." They looked away, and Patton felt his heart drop.

"What happened?"

"My boyfriend happened. He started an argument with my brother, and I'm not allowed to see them anymore." They paused. "It's mostly my boyfriend's fault. He says I'm not allowed to go and see those discriminatory..." They trailed off.