Tj started walking home from Cyrus' house which was only down the street. All he could do was smile at the thought of Cyrus talking about him to his mother. All of these thoughts of Cyrus made him forget about what was going on at home.
As Tj approached the front door's steps to his house, he heard screaming. Mom and dad. He looked up at his bedroom window and saw Amber looking out at him. He opened the door to his house and was hit by a beer bottle. Tj watched the shattered pieces fall to the ground and slowly lifted his fingers to his cheek. He flinched at the pain of the chards of glass against his skin. Neither of his parents realized what had just happened. They didn't even realize Tj had come home. The screaming continued as Tj walked up the stairs to his room, leaving a dotted blood trail behind him. Just another day.
He cleaned up the cut on his cheek and a couple on his neck then laid down on his bed. He wished his family could be happy. He wished his mom and dad didn't fight all of the time. He wished he and his sister wouldn't have to dread coming home every night. Tj wasn't much of a cryer, he thought crying made you weak and vulnerable. After a few minutes of him listening to his parents fight, he heard one last scream and what sounded like a gun shot.
Cyrus sat at the dinner table with his mom. Tonight's special was steak and mashed potatoes. Leslie noticed something was up with Cyrus because of the big smile planted on his face. "Soooo...Tj seems nice" He looked up from his food and smiled, "Yeah, he is." "So, how long have you two been friends? I've never met this kid until now." Cyrus cocked his head, "Actually, we just met recently. He's the captain of the basketball team, most popular kid in school. Though, I'm not sure why he wants to be friends with me. Buffy thinks it's because he wants something from me? I don't really know. He and her aren't very good friends, she thinks he's mean but he really isn't, once you get to know him. I think it's just his appearance and reputation that makes him look mean to be honest but that's just me." Leslie nodded and proceeded eating. "Tj didn't look mean to me, he was smiling a lot. I don't think he ever stopped smiling, actually. He's really happy around you." Cyrus scrunched his eyebrows as his mom winked at him.
Cyrus put his dishes in the dish washer after he was finished with his food. He thanked his mom for the meal and headed upstairs to watch tv. Just as he walked into his room, his phone was ringing. He ran to answer it but just as he clicked answer, the call hung up. He had 4 messages and 8 missed calls from Tj.
Tj: Cyrus
Tj: I think something is wrong
Tj: Something happened with my parents
Tj: Cyrus I don't know what to do
Cyrus texted back frantically, trying to keep calm
Cyrus: I'm sorry, I was eating dinner. What's wrong? What happened??
He sat there staring at his phone, waiting for a response. After a few seconds, he decided to text his friend again.
Cyrus: Tj, answer your phone
Cyrus: Tj
Cyrus: You're scaring me
Cyrus: Tj
Finally, he saw that Tj was typing and let out a breath of relief.
Tj: A lot happened. My parents were fighting and my mom got ahold of the gun they keep in their nightstand and she shot my dad in the leg. The police are here right now and they sent an ambulance
Cyrus: Oh my gosh Teej, I am so so sorry. Are you ok? Do you need a place to stay? You can stay at my house tonight if you need to
Tj: Don't be sorry, and yeah I'm fine. Thank you for letting me stay, I'll be over in 20?
Cyrus: It's no problem at all, take all of the time you need
Cyrus ran down the stairs to tell his mom what had happened and she agreed it was a good idea for Tj to stay the night with them. An hour passed and Tj was still not there. Cyrus started to get nervous and his mom could tell. "Calm down Cy, his dad just got shot, I'm sure he has to answer questions from the police and he has to talk to a lot of people but he will be here soon." He looked up at her and she gave him a reassuring smile. Cyrus laid his head down on the arm of the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't mean to fall asleep but he was exhausted from school.
He dreamt of Tj, he kept smiling at Cyrus from across the room. It made Cyrus smile. He felt something poking his arm, causing him to jerk awake. He looked up at the tall figure standing in front of the couch. He squinted his eyes and finally adjusted to the darkness. "Goodmorning dork." Tj's voice was scratchy. Cyrus smiled at him and got up. He looked at his phone and it was only 9:24. "Sorry that I was late, the police wanted to ask me some questions and I had to go down to the station and stuff." "No, you're totally fine, I'm just glad you're safe." Tj nodded and set his bag down. "Oh, you can put that in my room. I'll show you, it's just upstairs, c'mon." He led Tj up the stairs to his room. As they walked in, Tj gasped in amazement. "Wowww Cy, your room is amazing." Cyrus smiled and flopped down on his bed. Tj layed down next to him, staring at the ceiling. Cyrus realized from the silence that Tj was not okay. "Hey," Cyrus nudged Tj's shoulder. Tj blinked and kept staring at the ceiling. Cyrus frowned, "What happened to your cheek and neck?" He turned his head to look at Tj. Tj sniffled and turned his head away from Cyrus. Cyrus propped himself up on his elbow so he could see Tj's face. "Tj..." he touched his arm and Tj swatted it away. At this point, Cyrus was already sitting up. Tj sat up next to him, covering his face with his hands. "This is so stupid." He mumbled. Cyrus was confused but didn't want to anger his friend. Tj revealed his face covered in tears. "I hate that I'm crying right now. Especially in front of you." The sight of Tj in such a vulnerable state and his breathing so unsteady saddened Cyrus. Tj, it's okay to cry, I understand why you're upset. I don't think you're stupid at all." Tj looked at Cyrus and smiled a tiny smile. He wrapped his arm around him and layed his head on Cyrus' shoulder. Cyrus smiled to himself.
