𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨.

4.

warning: this chapter contains graphic depictions and content. reader's discretion is advised. [ hella angst don't say i didn't warn y'all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

lyle hugh and maylea had had their quarrels and things in their relationship, yes, but all relationships had those. right?

maylea had said she loved him! how could you purposefully hurt someone you love?

even though the stains of his suffering from those dark nights remained in his heart, he trusted they wouldn't appear again on his skin; those familiar lesions of pain would never again print colors into his sensitive body.

never again.

lyle tried to not think about those incidents that had happened in the past. he loved maylea too much to hold on to the mistakes that she had made, and the boy always believed that she had changed since the last time the female had struck his delicate frame.

those same hands that hurt him were the hands he wanted to put a diamond ring on one day; those hands of the girl he wanted to marry.

their arguments and fights meant nothing to lyle.

he loved maylea, no matter how she treated him.

when they first met, she was the kindest and most beautiful person that lyle hugh had ever laid his eyes on.

sure, it was at a dave and buster's birthday party, but that didn't matter. maylea stood out like a gently gleaming moon shining in the morning sky- the type that elementary schoolers point out on the playground at recess.

at that very moment, everything else fell still. the scent of cheeseburgers and the sound of children fighting over games were nothing to match her aura.

nothing to match her in general, really.

he was so captivated by the olive-skinned female that he had to introduce himself.

lyle wobbled over to may, limbs flimsy with anxiety.

"hi, i'm lyle hugh. what's your name?"

the girl pressed a button on the machine of the game she was playing and looked over at lyle.

"maylea," she said flatly, continuing to watch closely as the game 'deal or no deal' continued to progress as she hit more numbered buttons, narrowing down the options.

"that's a pretty name! how old are you?" lyle made sure not to touch maylea, not wanting to overstep any possible boundaries.

"fifteen." the female spun her seat just a bit to meet eyes with the elder, running her fingers through her tawny locks of hair.

"really? me too! do you want to be friends?" the messy-haired boy flashed a gummy smile, holding his nervous hands behind his back.

"i just met you, but you seem like you have nobody else, so sure, i guess? here, take a seat," she inched to the side of her chair, leaving barely enough room for the male to sit down with her.

"thank you for talking to me, maylea."

"no problem, lyle."

lyle's face turned as red as fire when she said his name, feeling this odd sense of security around this girl.

this girl that he had just met.

the girl that he had just fallen for. fallen for hard.

over the next two hours the duo shared jokes, phone numbers, and flat coca-cola.

everything was amazing. flawless, really. he liked her and she liked him; and sure, the setting was off, but that wasn't an issue.

there was no issues then.