Because he loved him..

34. Comfort

*Third person's point of view*

The cottage near the church stood proudly at the base of the hills. The main entrance of the cottage was not locked from the outside though judging from the the layer of dust all around the door, it had been so for quite a while in the past.

The main door opened to a small corridor which had three doors. The one in the middle was a kitchen with it's usual cabinets. The right one was locked but the one on the left stood wide open.

It seemed like it was a study. Rows of books with fragile and sturdy covers lined the walls. Two chairs and a couch surrounded the table in the middle of the room.

A man in his late thirties sat facing the window opposite the door. He had a mop of blonde curly hair and icy blue eyes. He was reading a commentary on the holy bible. Every now and then, he would look up at the roof, smile and shake his head.

When a scream sounded down from upstairs, the man tutted his tongue as if annoyed but a pleased smile appeared on his lips.

A dingy set of stairs on the right led up to the rooms upstairs. The room on left, which led to the attic was locked but the room on the right was ajar.

It appeared to have been shoddily cleaned. The most striking thing in the room was the mahogany bed where two people were struggling.

A beefed up teenager was straddling a thrashing, skinnier man. The teenager appeared to be trying to get the man to open up his eyes but the man firmly kept them shut.

Tears flowed freely from the man's eyes and his chest heaved with every sob.

"Come on da! You know you can't shut me out forever. Open up your eyes." The teenager mocked, clutching the man's hands in a grip that was surely going to leave bruises.

The man's lips quivered but he didn't say anything. He appeared to be fighting between the urge to open his eyes and to keep them shut.

It seemed as if the reality was worse than whatever he saw inside his head because he kept shaking his head.

"It's all right. Take all the time in the world! In the meanwhile, I will just start burning up the stuff here. What should I start with?" The boy looked around without releasing his grip on the man's arms.

"Hmmm... yes, I know, I will start with the toy horse, your mother made you."

As if jerked awake, the man opened his eyes. "No!" He sniffed. He looked mortally afraid of the boy. "Please Arlo!" He pleaded.

Arlo grinned winningly at the man. "Stay with me and I won't!" He leaned to whisper in the man's ears.

The man shivered in terror. It was evident that it was taking all his efforts to keep his eyes open. Arlo took a satisfied breath and asked him, "Now, tell me da. How are you feeling?"

As if the man only just realised that Arlo was sitting on the top of him, his breath hitched. He looked at him with an extremely defeated expression. It spoke volumes about how the man felt but Arlo didn't appear to be satisfied with the response.

"Do you feel ashamed?"

Apparently, he did because the man turned his head to a side but Arlo quickly laid down on his side so that the man was now looking at him, their faces only inches apart.

The man flinched but didn't move his head this time. He knew it was futile avoiding the boy and from the way he moved, it appeared as if the recent events had left him drained of all vitality.

He was about to shut his eyes again when the boy warned him.
"Oh no! No! You don't get to shut me out again." Arlo moved to sit up again.

There was an edge to the boy's voice now. It seemed to be angry and the man sensed it too because he turned his panicked eyes to the boy.

The man burst into tears. "I am sorry, Arlo! Please forgive me! I...I---"

"Forgive you?" Arlo cocked his head. "But I already have da! You just have to stay here and we will be fine. Look!" He started unbuttoning his shirt and the man started panicking.

His breath sped up and his eyes moved around wildly but Arlo seemed oblivious to all that and when he turned to look at Amay, he frowned.

"You don't like it?" Arlo asked.

The man stubbornly kept his eyes down. When the boy realised that, he held his head in both of his hands and made him look up.

The man stared. It was a tattoo of what looked like a wreath. A lone flower with two leaves that encircled it. Arlo had tattooed it over his chest.

The man seemed to recognise it because he looked at it and then at Arlo as if trying to figure out why had the boy done so.

"The ring!" The man whispered in disbelief. "Why?" He kept staring at it as if worried that it was going to start festering any second now.

"I got it done when I found out that you were alive. It stung a lot but it has kept me going. It's our heritage, isn't it, da? I am a Springfield too!"

"What if it got infected?"

Even after all that was going on, he was still worried about the boy's tattoo getting infected.

"What if it did? You weren't there to care!" The boy snapped.

"I told you Arlo, I...am sorry..I thought they'd love you. I can't tell you how much I missed you everyday."

"Then why didn't you return?" The boy scoffed.

"I couldn't. It wasn't safe. I couldn't put your life in danger. Wander would have killed----"

"Well, he didn't harm me. In fact, he had been there for me when you were out shagging my uncle. He even helped me find you. He even took care of the guys who used to bully me at the school."

At this the man looked at the boy in alarm. "He didn't kill them, did he?"

Arlo got angered at this and narrowed his eyes. "You didn't even ask what they did to me! Why are you always worried about everyone but me?"

The man looked troubled at that. "It's not true Arlo." The man turned his pensive eyes on the boy. "I care about you more than anyone in this world." His eyes shone with sincerity and tears.

The boy looked lost for a moment. The door opened and the man from downstairs knocked on the already open door with the knuckles of his fingers.

"Good morning Amay. I hope you Slept well." Amay appeared taken aback at the man's appearance and slightly shrunk back on himself.

The man hid a smirk and turned to look at the boy, eyes grazing over his bare torso.

"I am sorry to interrupt you Arlo but can you do me a quick favour and open up the bedroom downstairs? I am sore from lying on the couch whole night." He asked pointing his thumb towards the door.

"Sure, John!" Arlo assented rather cheerfully and left leaving a rather mortified looking Amay and a grinning John alone in the room.

*In the next chapter, we get to see John interacting with Amay. Till then, your reviews, comments and likes will keep me company. Hint, Hint!*