Preacher's Son (boyxboy)

Chapter 14

"I'm going to kill that man if I get my hands on him," I heard a man say. It was barely above a whisper like they didn't want anyone to hear them. I was still very groggy so it was hard to focus. The room was so dark I couldn't see who it was.
"No, getting him out is your priority," a young girl whispered back, furiously. I groaned, trying to roll over. Then all of the pain crashed over me again. I whined in pain.
"Oh, Liam baby," the male voice said. The tone softened towards me. It was Sebastian. I reached out for him, ignoring all of the pain in my body. I heard the lamp click on. Light shined in my eyes so I couldn't see Sebastian.
"Oh, shit, baby, what did he do to you?" Sebastian asked, sounding horrified.
"I'm fine," I lied, embarrassed that he was seeing me like this. Then my fears surfaced. What if Dad heard them arguing. My window was still sealed shut so he wouldn't be able to make a quick escape. "It's not safe for you to be here,".
"Shh...Liam, don't worry about me," he whispered, kissing my forehead. I smiled, relishing the feeling of his lips on my skin. I was scared I wouldn't feel them again.
"What are those bruises on your neck from?" He asked, lightly touching my neck.
"He choked me," I whispered, shamefully. Sebastian leaned his forehead against mine. My vision finally focused on him. His warm brown eyes were full of tears. "Everything hurts,".
He looked down at the ground. I could him cursing under his breath in Spanish. Then he looked back up at me.
"I'm going to get you out of here, Liam," Sebastian whispered. "I'm going to get you fixed up. You won't ever get hurt again, I promise,".
"Te amo," I whispered. Sebastian chuckled.
"Te amo, mi amor," he whispered back. I started to stand up but the pain was too much.
"Where's Gracey?" I asked, trying to look around.
"I'm right here, Liam," Gracey said, coming to my side.
"Thank you," I said, grabbing her hand. She started tearing up.
"I didn't do anything, Liam. I should have called Sebastian three days ago," she said, wiping away tears furiously with her free hand.
"No, I made you promise not to tell him," I reassured her. She stroked my cheek with the back of her tear stained hand.
"You have to go, Liam. It's not safe here anymore," tears were pouring out of her eyes now. I nodded.
"Tell Ma goodbye," I said, fighting back tears. Even though she had all but abandoned me this week, I loved her and wanted to say goodbye. But telling herself myself was not an option.
"I'm so scared, I won't see you again," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse from sobbing.
"We will," I promised. "You have my number. Call if you get any trouble, Gracey,". She nodded. I sat up, slowly. I wanted to cry out with pain but I held it in. I felt blood trickle down my back with the movement.
"Let me help you, Liam," Sebastian asked, gently helping me up. I leaned my head on his shoulder as I sat all the way up. My vision went blurry from the pain. I grimaced, trying to focus. I needed to focus. "Here, Gracey hold onto him for a moment,". Gracey switched places with him. He started going through my drawers, throwing clothes into a duffel bag.
"Where do you keep the photo album?" He asked, throwing in a pair of pants. My eyes started watering.
"He burned it," I whispered. Sebastian's eyes grew sad.
"That's okay," he said, kneeling in front of me. His thumb wiped away a tear that escaped my eye. "Let's Get you dressed,". Gracey turned away and helped finishing packing my clothes while Sebastian helped me get dressed. The pants were fairly easy to get on but the shirt created a lot of problems.
"I know it hurts but it's so cold outside," Sebastian said, seeing me grimace. I nodded, trying to stifle any noises of pain that were threatening to escape. He helped me stand up. I felt wobbly on my feet. After I gathered my bearings, the three of us quietly crept out of my room. I stared at my room for a moment, realizing that I was never going to see it again. Sadness filled me, making it hard to keep going.
"C'mon Liam," Sebastian said, snapping me out of my trance. I followed him into Gracey's room. Sebastian went over to her window, opening it while Gracey and I said our goodbyes. She was sobbing.
"I'm so sorry, Liam," she kept saying.
"Shhh, it's okay," I whispered, hugging her despite the immense pain it caused.
"I'm sorry guys we have to go," Sebastian said, sounding anxious. Gracey pulled away, wiping away her tears.
"Remember to call," I said. She nodded.
"Bye, Liam," she said, shakily.
"Bye, Gracey," I said. Sebastian went out the window first with the duffle bag. I followed him. Her window was a lot harder to get out of than mine. When I reached the ground, Sebastian picked me up. I was thankful because it was getting harder to keep my eyes open.
"Let's Get you home," he whispered. I nodded, feeling safe for the first time in days. My eyes grew heavy and everything went black. I remember brief flashes of getting into the truck and inside but nothing lasting more than a few seconds. I remember hearing Sebastian's voice full of worry but I couldn't make out what he was saying. He seemed so far away.
"Mamá ayúdame," Sebastian yelled. My eyes opened more. I was in his living room. I think he was asking for help. The stabbing pain made it hard to focus. I heard his Mom come in. Both of them starting going back and forth in Spanish so fast, I didn't think I would have been able to keep track of their conversation if I was feeling okay.
Sebastian set me down gently on the couch, rolling me over to my stomach. He helped me pull off my shirt. I heard his mom gasp.
"Liam, you still with me?" Sebastian asked, brushing hair out of my eyes. I nodded, groaning. "Good, you were scaring me,".
"I'm sorry," I said, weakly. Sebastian chuckled.
"You have nothing to be sorry for mi amor," he said, kissing the back of my hand. "Mamá is making a salve to put on your back. It will help it heal,". I nodded.
"I love you so much, Liam," Sebastian whispered. There were tears in his eyes again.
"I love you too, Bash," I whispered back.
"I thought I was losing you," Sebastian said. Tears were falling down his face.
"I'm right here," I said, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry I kept this from you,".
"Shh...I understand you were trying to protect me,"
"I was so scared, Bash," I whispered.
"You're safe here mi amor," he said, squeezing my hand. I smiled. Carla came back in.
"Liam, Mamá Carla está aquí," she said, kneeling down next to Sebastian and I. She had a basin with water, a bowl with a weird looking paste and washcloths.
"We are going to clean your back up with water and then put the paste on," Sebastian explained. I nodded, dreading the pain already. He held my hand as they cleaned my back up. I buried my head into a throw pillow and tried to remain as quiet as possible.
"You're doing so good, baby," Sebastian whispered. I certainly did not feel like it.
"How bad does it look?" I asked as they were finishing cleaning my back.
"Don't worry about that right now," he said, softly. That meant it was bad. What if it didn't heal right? What if I looked like a freak? I didn't needed to be reminded of what I was put through.
"Honey, I'm going to put the salve on," Carla said, interrupting my train of thoughts. I nodded, bracing for more pain but it didn't come. Whatever they were putting on my back cooled the burn.
"How are you feeling?" Sebastian asked, concerned.
"It feels better," I said. "Gracias, Carla,". I was so grateful that the burn was subsiding. It had been constant for days. This was my first taste of relief.
"Tu eres familia," Carla said, warmly. She gave me a kiss on the head. "Sleep mi hijo". I smiled, emotional that she called me her son. It meant so much after my parents had...done what they did this week.
She kissed Sebastian on the head and went upstairs.
"Are you comfortable? I can grab a blanket for your legs if you are cold," Sebastian offered, concerned.
"No, I'm okay," I replied. He pulled a pillow and a throw blanket from the other couch, making a makeshift bed on the floor. Then he got up and locked the door, peering out the window. I could tell he was nervous. And I knew why. What would my father's reaction be when he found out I was gone?
"You don't have to sleep on the floor. You can sleep in your bed," I said, feeling bad that he was planning on sleeping on the floor.
"Yeah right," he said, rolling his eyes. Then his brown eyes grew sad.
"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, hesitantly. I felt my stomach churn at the thought of reliving the worst days of my life. "You don't have to, Liam, only if you are comfortable,". I shook my head.
"No, I want to tell you," I said, truthfully. I took a deep breath and recounted what I could remember from the last three days. Some of it was hard to piece together. There were some things I remembered as I was talking. But all of it made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't look at Sebastian's face while I talked. It made it too difficult. It was hard enough when I remembered praying for it all to end. I prayed that I would pass out or lose too much blood and just die. I had lost all my hope. My father had succeeded in breaking my spirit. I couldn't tell him that I laid on the floor yelling for him, begging for him to come get me. I didn't want Sebastian know that. Those memories would go to my grave.
"You are safe here baby," Sebastian said when I finished. I didn't realize how bad I was shaking until he started talking. "You are so strong, Liam,".
"I don't feel like it," I whispered quietly.
"You are My love," Sebastian whispered, kissing my forehead. "We'll Get you better and then we can leave. We won't have to hide our love anymore. It can just be us,". I smiled.
"I can't wait," I whispered.
"Me either," Sebastian said. "Get some sleep my love,". I nodded, yawning.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you too, Liam,".
We fell asleep holding hands. For the first time in days, I slept without fear of what was to come. I knew I was safe here. Dad couldn't hurt me here. Sebastian's family accepted me as their own. That was something I could never repay them for.
I woke up before Sebastian did. He was laying on the floor, looking so peaceful. His hand was still tightly holding onto mine. I gently loosened his grip and got up. Quietly I crept to the bathroom. After washing my face, I got a good look at myself in the mirror. It was almost like looking at a stranger. I looked like I Had aged years in the last few days. My eyes had dark circles around them. My skin was white as a sheet. There were bruises on my cheeks. I saw that the bruises darken around my neck. I grimaced, remembering the fear and pain I felt the first time he choked me. I turned to look in the full length mirror. I cringed looking at my back. There were so many red stripes down my back that overlapped. The stripes were bleeding from my movement but I could tell it was slower than last night. The salve from last night was dried and cracking off. The area around the stripes on my back looked like angry red, ground meat. I felt like I could almost see my back pulsing with pain. I was horrified. I knew it was bad but seeing it was a different story. How could he have hurt me like this kept running through my head. I was his son.
I forced myself to look away from my back. The heavy weight returned in my chest. I missed Gracey. I hoped she was doing okay. I thought back to last night, seeing how upset she was. I shared her fear of us never seeing each other again. I knew I wouldn't see my parents ever again. It was clear I wasn't welcomed there anymore. And that fact hurt worse than anything my father ever did to me.
"Liam?" I heard Sebastian call out worried. I wiped my face and left the bathroom. "You okay, baby?" He asked, concerned. I nodded even though it was a lie.
"You looked at your back," It wasn't a question. He knew. Sebastian always saw right through me. Ever since day 1. I nodded, feeling that familiar tightening in my throat.
"It's okay to not be okay," he whispered, stroking my bruised cheek. I nodded, still not able to find my voice. Okay was the farthest away from what I was feeling. I felt humiliated and beaten down, unwanted and unlovable. My own parents couldn't stand me. Why would Sebastian love me? He was going to see what my parents saw and leave. Who lets their father beat the hell out of him for three days without trying to leave? I just took it.
I turned away from him. My face was burning with red with shame.
"Liam, don't shut me out now," He said, pulling me towards him. I tried to resist but failed. It was hard to pull away from him. All I wanted was to fall into his arms. "Talk to me,". I shook my head. I couldn't tell him how pathetic I felt.
"Okay, well are you hungry?" I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't feel anything. "When did you eat last?"
"I think I got bread for dinner last night," I said, finally talking. My throat felt scratchy. I had left out that my father severely limited my food intake the last few days. But after awhile the pain was too bad to care about being hungry. I was thankful he didn't look at me with pity.
"Let's make some food," he said, in a matter of fact way. I nodded. We went into the kitchen together.
"Sit down and relax," Sebastian said, pulling out one of the kitchen chairs. I did what he said. I looked at the kitchen clock. It read seven thirty in the morning. My father knew I was gone by now. That realization made my heart drop.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked as Sebastian was cooking.
"Mamá works tonight so she's sleeping. And my brothers will sleep until noon since it's the weekend," Sebastian explained. I had gotten close with all of his family but I was glad it was just us right now. It was embarrassing enough having Sebastian see me in this state.
Sebastian set down a glass of water and two pills in front of me. I didn't notice what he was doing while I was lost in my train of thoughts.
"It's Tylenol," Sebastian said. "You looked like you were in pain,". I nodded. I took a sip that quickly turned into me gulping down all of the water. I didn't realize how thirsty I was. I couldn't remember when I last had something to drink.
"Thank you," I said, putting the glass down. Sebastian chuckled.
"Let me get you some more," he said, getting up and kissing my forehead. I watched him continue to make breakfast as I sipped on the water. I tried to push out all thoughts to prevent myself from spiraling again.
Sebastian set down a plate of eggs in front of me and orange juice. The smell made my mouth water. The full extent of my hunger became evident to me.
"Eat, my love," Sebastian said, sitting down next to me with his own plate of food. I quickly ate the food, barely tasting it.
"You doing okay?" Sebastian asked, after I was done eating. I didn't have it in me to lie to him again. I shook my head. He frowned.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know what to say," I whispered. He nodded.
"What are you feeling right now?"
"Shame," I said, barely above a whisper. His face softened.
"Why?" He grabbed my hands, squeezing them tight.
"I just wanted to be a good son," I said, fighting against the tightening in my throat. "I wasn't ever enough. And I just let him hurt me. I didn't do anything to stop him. I just gave up and you deserve someone who isn't pathetic,".
"Hey, Hey, Liam," Sebastian said, trying to soothe me. "You are not pathetic. You were scared and didn't know what to do. And that's your father. You're a damn good son. He's the one that who is bad. He should accept you and love you no matter what. But it's natural to want his approval. You know if my father walked in through those doors, after everything he's done to this family, I would still want his approval,".
"Yeah," I said, processing what he was saying. It made me feel better that he understood my desire for approval.
"What are you thinking about love?"
"I just don't understand. Family isn't supposed to do things like this. My mom wouldn't even look at me. I thought she would... I don't know what I thought would happen," I said, trailing off.
"I know it's not the same but we are each other's family. We can't choose what family we are born into but we can choose each other. It hurts when they suck. But you find other people that make it hurt not as bad. You make it hurt less for me. Tu eres mi familia," Sebastian said, squeezing my hand. I smiled. The first true smile I had all morning.
"Tu eres mi familia," I whispered.
"Besides Mamá has already adopted you as one of her own. You're already in too deep," Sebastian laughed. I laughed with him. The first time I had laughed in days.
"You look tired," he told me. I nodded. Now that I had food and talked with Sebastian the exhaustion hit me again. He smiled. "Let's go back to bed. We both need more sleep,". We got up and headed upstairs. I tried to grab my duffle bag but the pain was too intense. I felt blood run down my back.
"Shit," I muttered dropping the bag on the ground.
"Let me get that," Sebastian said, grabbing the duffle bag. I didn't say anything. My face was bright red. He helped me up the stairs.
"Lay down and I'll go grab the salve for your back," Sebastian said. I nodded. I grabbed a new pair of boxers to change into and then laid down on the bed. It was so warm and cozy. I started to doze off before Sebastian came back.
"Hey sleepyhead, I'll be as gentle as I can," he whispered in my ear. I groaned. I felt the coolness of the salve touch my back. It burned at first but then the coolness quelled the burning pain quickly. I think I feel asleep before he even finished because I woke up what seemed like hours later. There was light shining through cracks in the curtain. The clock read  one o'clock in the afternoon. I felt more rested than I had in days. I stretched and quietly rolled out of bed. I looked over at Sebastian. He looked so peaceful and was quietly snoring. It was one of those moments where my love for Sebastian felt overwhelming. I smiled, feeling grateful for him. He was my family. Along with his mother and brothers and Gracey. It wasn't big but it was enough.
I put on some clothes and headed downstairs. I cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast to help out. I felt like it wasn't enough after everything Sebastian and his family had done for me. I went back upstairs after I was finished. Sebastian was still sleeping so I rummaged through my duffle bag, looking for my cell phone. I felt my heart dropped when I saw three missed calls from my home phone.