if you look at him, he'll kill you!

6: maybe we're all just a little fucked up

tw: graphic depictions of violence, abuse, homophobic slur

-

of course the new kid had to be his fucking neighbor.

of fucking course.

he couldn't catch a break.

normally, his walk home was peaceful. it was his main escape during the day. it was the one time when he could just have silence and not have to be ridiculed. he had those thirty minutes all to himself. away from the bullies at school, and away from the bullies at home.

but now that was gone too.

tyler missed brendon.

he moved away last year after his dad passed and he had to go live with his grandparents in nevada.

tyler just fucking missed him.

brendon urie was his only friend. he was the only person tyler could actually be himself around.

school used to be somewhat bearable when he had brendon there. brendon could throw a strong ass punch and he'd sock anyone who fucked with tyler.

but now tyler didn't have anyone to punch his attackers.

he still called brendon occasionally but the boy seemed to be busy at all times. brendon's grandparents cared about him and they tried to do as much as they could to make brendon feel safe and loved after he lost his father.

brendon took his dad's death really hard and he needed someone to be there for him.

tyler tried but it was hard to comfort someone through text.

so now, instead of just escaping to brendon's house, he had to do his best to get through the front door without being noticed.

normally it wasn't that hard but this time it seemed as if his parents were just waiting for him.

the second he stepped through the door, it was yelling and punching and screaming and crying.

tyler just wanted it to be over.

"dad! dad, stop!" he yelled, and he screamed, and eventually, he just stopped fighting back. his voice was raw and his head was pounding and he couldn't breathe.

"care to explain why we got a call that you were yelling at other kids and then leaving in the middle of class?"

tyler didn't bother to answer. he knew his father wouldn't believe anything he said.

"answer your father, faggot." his mother used to love him. she used to be caring, and wonderful. now she was rude and abusive. all because her son was gay.

"i-i, um, i didn't yell at-at them. th-they were m-making fun of-of me and... and then this new kid, he, um, he told the teacher i yelled at them b-but i didn't, i swear! and the-the teacher be-believed them so i le-left! i'm sorry!"

and obviously tyler should have just kept his mouth shut because here came his father's hand, and his mother's foot. a fist, an elbow, saliva was soon on his face, and nasty words echoed through his ears.

faggot. dumbass. disappointment.

tyler was surprised he was still conscious.

his parents had walked away and soon he was laying in a crumpled heap on the living room floor, his vision spotty and his head spinning. he was pretty sure he'd probably been unconscious for a little bit.

"c'mon ty. get up."

he heard a voice, obviously one of his siblings but why would they care? they've never helped him before.

"tyler, come on."

he picked his head up, meeting the brown eyes of his little sister.

"m-maddy?"

she nodded, reaching her arm out and grabbing his hand. he winced lightly.

"m'sorry."

he shook his head, pushing himself up to his feet.

"don't be."

the two of them walked to the bathroom in silence, tyler limping and tears streaming down his face as maddy held back her tears and did her best not to go yell at their parents right at that very moment.

this was the worst it had ever been.

it was longest beating tyler had ever gotten for sure. it's lasted for like thirty minutes and his parents were relentless.

"what happened? i don't remember half of it," tyler whispered as he sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, smiling a little as he watched his sister reach under the sink for gauze, ointment, band aids, and peroxide.

"i'm not sure but i know that you were unconscious for like ten minutes and they still continued to hurt you."

she began cleaning his face after shutting and locking the door, putting peroxide on a gauze wipe and cleaning the cuts and scraped on his cheeks and forehead.

"wow."

"yeah."

maddy continued to clean him up as they sat in silence, the occasional whimper from tyler when she would touch a particularly sensitive spot of skin.

when she finally finished, she threw the dirty gauze sheets in the trash, putting all of the supplies back where she got them.

"why now?" tyler asked, looking up at his sister.

"what?"

"why now? why haven't you helped me before?"

she looked down, as if she was ashamed.

"i'm so sorry, tyler," she began crying, dropping to the floor and sitting against the wall. "i was scared. i was scared of what they might do to me if i helped. but after today... i saw the whole thing. it was scary. and i'm just worried that one day they'll maybe go too far or that you'll fall asleep while they're hurting you and you won't wake up. i don't know.."

tyler's head still hurt, and now he felt a pang in his chest as he realized that even though his siblings don't have it as bad as him, they're still terrified of their own family and what might happen to them. maddy was scared that tyler was going to die. his ten year old sister was scared that her parents were going to kill her brother.

no ten year old should have to go through that.

tyler sat on the floor next to her, wrapping his arms around her small body. he allowed her to lean into him even though it hurt like hell.

"it's okay, maddy. it's okay."

"i shouldn't be the one crying though. you're the one who is hurt."

"you can cry. it's okay. maybe we're all just a little fucked up, you know?"

and it was true, they really were.

-

1043 words

published on june 24, 2019

this is the longest chapter so far