Broken Like Me

[ Part Four ]

Sal's POV

The first part of Travis I saw was the purple sweatshirt wrapped around his shoulders. His hood was up, so I could see his face at first. But as he got nearer to the glass doors of the hotel, I could see the color of his face matched his sweatshirt.

As he came inside the building, I went to reach for his arm. He pulled it away before I could even touch it. When he looked up, I could see the bruises covering his face were wet with tears. "S-Sorry, I-I just..." He couldn't finish before the sobbing overtake him.

"Hey, hey don't be sorry. It's okay, Travis. Let's go upstairs, okay? My dad's working late so it's just us." I led him into the elevator, getting off on the fourth floor. I opened door 402 and Travis followed me inside.

"Can I ask...could you tell me what happened?" I gestured him to sit on the couch before I went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit.

"I...I fell." Travis used the palm of his hand to dry his eyes. I knew he was lying, that his dad had done it, but I want gonna pry. If we weren't ready in our friendship to talk about that, so be it.

I sat in front of him, putting rubbing alcohol on a gauze pad. "This is gonna sting, okay?" He nodded and I gently pressed it to the base of his nose. Despite my warning, he flinched away and let out a curse. "Sorry! Are you okay? I think your nose might be broken."

He sighed. "It's fine. I'm fine. Can I just-" He held his hand out towards me. "Can I do it myself?" I nodded and handed him the gauze, watching it soak up the blood of a cut on his nose.

"Is there anywhere else he h-...that we need to clean?" Travis looked down but nodded, holding his hand up to his side. I started to lift his shirt, but he grabbed my hand.

"I can't...I can't take my shirt off in front of you."

"What? Why not?"

"That's.." He sighed, crossing his arms. "That's gay."

I rolled my eyes, groaning. "Travis just take your damn shirt off so I can clean the cuts. I'm not gonna tell anyone." He looked skeptical. "I promise."

He hesitantly pulled off his sweatshirt and shirt, revealing a long bloody bruise down the right side of his rib cage. The sight of it made me wince, I couldn't imagine how it felt.

After I'd gotten Travis all cleaned up, I led him into my bedroom. "You can sleep in my bed if you want. I can take the floor."

"Oh. Thank you." Travis crawled into the bed, and I took my sleeping bag out of the closet. I laid it across the floor, shutting off the light before I took off my mask. I took out my glass eye and placed it in the cup of water on my nightstand. "Night, Travis."

"Goodnight, Sally."

Travis' POV

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Sal's apartment in the distanced. I felt like I'd been walking for days. When I finally got inside, I saw a look of worry on his face I didn't recognize. That's when he reached out to take my hand, I'm assuming. I retreated before he could even touch me. I don't know what made me do it. I guess I just couldn't handle anyone having their hands on me at that point. The thought of it alone just added to the down of tears that were already pouring down my face. I hated being so vulnerable, especially in front of him, but I couldn't help it.

"S-Sorry, I-I just..." I wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that it was just a reflex to pull away. That I wanted more than anything to be wrapped in his arms. But I couldn't.

"Hey, hey don't be sorry. It's okay, Travis. Let's go upstairs, okay? My dad's working late so it's just us." I couldn't help feel a bit embarrassed that it would only be the two of us, but I knew it meant nothing. Just friends, right?

I followed him up, and he led me to his apartment. I took a seat on his couch, wiping my eyes. "Can I ask...could you tell me what happened?"

"I...I fell." Yeah, I know it was a load of bullshit. But there was no way I could tell Sally about my dad. I trusted him, for some reason, but I couldn't ever tell anyone that. Ever. I watched him go into the bathroom, and he came back with a first aid kit. He poured a small amount of rubbing alcohol onto a gauze pad and I cringed.

"This is gonna sting, okay?" I nodded, shutting my eyes. He wiped the base of my nose gently, but I couldn't help flinched away and let out a curse. He retreated, sounding worried.

"Sorry! Are you okay? I think your nose might be broken."

I sighed quietly. It definitely was. "It's fine. I'm fine. Can I just-" I held out my hand for him to put the gauze into. "Can I do it myself?" He nodded and handed it to me. I tried to clean the cut as much as I could without tears falling down my face again.

"Is there anywhere else he h-" What? Anywhere else he hit me? Yeah. "-that we need to clean?" Sally looked at me, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. It made me feel even worse. I nodded anyway, holding my side. He'd kicked me pretty hard there. It probably did need to be cleaned but...

"I can't...I can't take my shirt off in front of you."

"What? Why not?" He tilted his head.

"That's.." I sighed, crossing his arms. I had to point out the obvious. "That's gay."

Sally rolled my eyes, groaning. I actually felt a little bad that I was frustrating him. "Travis just take your damn shirt off so I can clean the cuts. I'm not gonna tell anyone. I promise."

I pulled off the top half of my clothes, biting my lip as my shirt dragged across the swelling bruise. I saw Sal's face scrunch up out of the corner of my eye, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. It's what I thought every day of my life. How could a father do this to his own son?

He helped me clean up my side (I couldn't really reach it) and gave me a new shirt. I looked around awkwardly, realizing there was only one bed to sleep on. He must have noticed caused he spoke about it then. "You can sleep in my bed if you want. I can take the floor."

"Oh. Thank you." I was genuinely grateful, as I don't think my aching body could handle a whole night on the floor. I watched as Sal laid a sleeping bag on the floor, then shut off the light. In the darkness I could just make out the silhouette of him taking his mask off. I turned over, not really in the mood to see what lied under it. Not that I didn't want to, I just don't think I could handle that before bed.

"Night, Travis."

"Goodnight, Sally."