You and I - A Hardzello Fanfic

Bruises - Three

It's 10am on Tuesday morning when I finally wake up. I slept through my alarm, plus a whole lot of calls. Shit. I get into my chair, and roll down the hallway into the kitchen. Dad seems to have gone to work, because he has left me a note. I scan the note, and see nothing important. I decide not to go to school, in the end. As I roll back to my room, I remember what happened yesterday afternoon. Fuck. I have to go school. I speed to get ready, and out the door, and go to school.

When I get to school, no one bats an eye. They either thought I had 'trouble' at home, or don't know I exist. Probably the latter. I sigh, and search the halls for him.
'Where is he?' I wonder, scanning for him everywhere. I look for Rami and the gang, but I can't find them either. I take my phone out of my pocket, and text Rami.

Me: where r u guys?
Rami: back of the field behind groundskeepers shed
Me: why?
Rami: no

I sigh, and make my way to the field. It's gonna be hard getting across the grass, but hell, I need to.

I get to the shed, and it reeks of stale piss. I hold my nose, and go behind the shed and smile. There everyone is, along with Ben. I start to wave cheerily, but then I realise everyone looks angry or sad. Maybe not the best time. I quickly roll over next to a log Gwillym, Allen and Rami are sitting on. Rami looks at me in recognition, and then continues to look at the ground. My eyes sweep over everyone, and then land on Ben. He has a sad, pained frown on his face, and both his eyes are black and swollen.
Wasn't it only one punch? I think to myself, but I'm curious, so I ask anyway. It sounds nosy, but I want and need to know, so I do anyway.
"I-I thought it was only one punch?" I say, and Ben looks at me questioningly.
"What do you mean? You weren't even there!" He grumbles, and I realised I've said too much. I feel my cheeks heat up, and I massage my neck to get the tension out of it.
"Well, ah, that's the thing," I say, my cheeks getting hotter by the second. "I kinda was there, and like, um, under the bleachers. I was totally not spying on you though! I swear. I was-" Ben holds his hand up to stop me.
"You mean you were there, fucking spying on me, and you saw all that? You're saying that you were fucking following me, without me knowing, and watching the most embarrassing moment of my life without ME FUCKING KNOWING?!?!" He all but screams at me. I flinch at his words, tears welling up in my eyes. I see Lucy in the corner, and she looks scared.
"That's not what I meant," I say, trying to get him to understand, to listen, but he stands up before I get to tell him.
"I don't want to fucking hear it." He spits, wiping his semi-wet eyes. Wait. He was crying? I want to reach out for him, to stroke him, tell him it is all okay and I'm sorry, but he's probably not going to want to hear it. He probably is straight. All the girls want him. And he knows. He teases them. I saw him in the corridor yesterday, flexing his muscles in the middle of a gaggle of girls, and I've no idea what hurt me more than that except this very moment. I wipe my now soaking eyes, and look at him, sauntering off the field.
"Oh Joe," Lucy says, "What's wrong?" I look up to her.
"I don't know," I whimper, massaging my hands.
"I just, I hate seeing him like that. Its horrible." She nods.
"But the spying is it, well, true?" Allen asks sheepishly. I shake my head vigorously.
"I want to tell him. I want to know. You guys know I go down there because I miss the field. I just- Fuck, I just want him to listen. I don't want him to think I'm a stalker!" I throw my arms up in frustration.
"I just had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just had to fucking say something I shouldn't of! I fucking hate my life I FUCKING HATE IT!!!" I scream the last words as loud as my lungs let me, and I crumple down in a heap in my wheel chair.
"I fucking hate it." I whisper, and sniffle back the tears that randomly came on. I hear footsteps nearing me, and look up to see Ben.
"I thought you were going." I sniffle. He chuckles.
"Well, I guess you could call me a stalker. Not you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't just jump to conclusions. You know, we could play catch some time." He smiles at me, and his green eyes sparkle, even through all the pain in them, and the swollen lumps around them.
"I would like that. Only if you tell me what happened." I look at him seriously, and his smile falters, but only for a second.
"Fine," He says, huffing out a big breath. "I'll-I'll tell you." He closes his eyes and takes a big breath.
"Well, after that guy, well, punched me, I was unconscious, and then I woke up in the Med Ward, and the nurse said I had a slight concussion, and that my parents had to take me to the hospital for a little check up, you know, and she said I had to stay there for a while, and then I left after she said I could go, and-"
"Slow down." Lucy coos, looking at Ben and smiling at him sadly. Ben nods, and continues, this time so I can process what he is saying.
"When I got home, I went straight to my room, not knowing my dad was home. He stormed into my room, and he was really angry. Like, you could feel the rage emitting from him. Anyway, he came in, and he saw my eye, and started shouting at me, like 'You can't be pushed around', and 'you fucking weak bastard' and shit like that, and then he decided to even it up." Ben lifts up his top to reveal a large bruise stretching from his right hip across his abdomen.
"He did that. And this." He says, pointing at his other eye. I look at him in horror. His dad abused him.
"How long has this been going on?" I ask him. Ben shrugs.
"Quite a while. Since my mum left him. But not this bad." He takes a big breath in, and I can see him wince in pain.
"Ben," I mouth. He just looks at me, and let's the tears that were welling up in his eyes drop like huge weights. He stands up, and kisses my head, and I make myself forget there are other people around us.
"I have to go." He says, wiping his snotty nose. I nod, and watch him walk off the field, and into the distance.

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Okay, hello guys I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING. I've just been busy (and couldn't be bothered tbh) but, hey, here's part three. I hope you enjoy, and AGAIN I'm sorry it goes so fast but oh well.
-Me xoxo <3