Bruises | Solangelo | Mortal AU

Chapter 6

"Nico... What the fuck..." The scene in front of me made my throat feel dry. 

Blue and purple bruises swirled across his chest and shoulder and waist like a tropical storm of hurt. He had deep red cuts covering his torso. Ace bandages were wrapped around his lower back and stomach. I didn't want to keep looking so I faced Nico's eyes, which were filled with pure despair. That wasn't much better. I didn't know where to look. Tears were beating on the backs of my eyes, threatening to go all Niagra Falls on me. I wanted to cry. I was so close to his pain and I fucking pushed it aside and... He had deep, white scars hidden underneath a single layer of fabric. 

"Will... I- I can explain." Nico had tears forming in his eyes and he wiped them away and dried his hands on his grey sweatpants. 

I sighed a very shaky breath. "Who did this to you?" 

Nico looked down at his feet. "Um... It was from Luke... At the shelter. He..." Nico's voice trailed off.

"What does he do to you?" I asked with disbelief that this situation was real. 

Nico took a deep breath, "He beats me or cuts me every time I show up. He said if I stopped showing up he would follow me home and mess with my family. I couldn't take that risk so I kept going. Sometimes I'd end up unconscious, sometimes it was just a small beating. But he always did something." Nico didn't make eye contact with me and tears starting hitting the floor with a small...pat, pat. 

"Oh... My gods. Nico," I whispered. I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms. How could a person do that? You have to an absolute psycho to be capable of something like this. Why would someone ever do this? "You don't have to answer this, but why did he do it?" 

"Because I'm gay!" Nico blurted and then choked on a sob and buried his face in his hands. 

I wanted over to him and tilted his chin up so I could see his face. Tears were pouring down his cheeks and his eyes were filled with pure torture. "Neeks... Sweetheart," I whispered. 

He licked his lips and looked away from me. "If I was just normal-"

"No." I interrupted and tilted his face back towards me. "There is nothing abnormal about the feeling of attraction towards the same gender. You listen to me, Nico di Angelo. You are my normal. We are going to get you through this. I am here for you, I won't be leaving and I won't turn against you. You don't deserve this." I wrapped my arms around him, carefully avoiding the many, many places he was hurt, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me, and buried his face in my shirt and just sobbed painful tears. 

A few days before he was smirking and making jokes, pretending he was okay. I ignored the signs. I rested my chin on his head and pulled him closer to me. I can't believe I thought I was helping him by giving him all that space. All those nights... All those nights at the shelter, he was probably spending the night there because Luke beat him unconscious. Nico didn't think he was worth it, he blamed himself. He was very slowly giving up on himself. And it was happening right in front of me. He cooked dinner every night and made breakfast every morning. He laughed and joked... All while he was in pain. Mentally and physically. Dear gods, why didn't I see it? Oh wait, I did see it. I just pushed it aside. 

"Will?" Nico looked up at me. 

I had to take a mental deep breath so I wouldn't break down crying. "Yeah, Nico?"

"Can we sleep on the couch tonight?" he asked through tears.

I nodded my head and led him towards the living room. We settled on the couch and I wrapped my arms around Nico, burying my face in his black hair. I could hear him sniffling, still crying. Our legs tangled up in each other. Nico's face was resting on one of my arms and I could feel tears dripping off my arm onto the couch. Nico scooted closer to me, even though we were so close together I don't think it worked. Nico carefully flipped over so he was facing me. His face looked so... Broken. I felt like for the first time I was looking at the real Nico di Angelo. He moved his face slowly closer to mine until his cold lips were hovering right over my warm ones. "Promise you won't ever leave me," he whispered against my lips. I could feel a tear fall against my lip.

"I promise."

Nico moved his mouth right against mine, asking for a little more affection. I kissed him tenderly back and shifted his body so he was on straddling me, making sure to be very careful of his injuries. Our kiss slowly deepened and Nico's tongue traced my lips asking permission to enter. I parted my lips and his tongue met mine. He tasted like spearmint gum. Everything was still tender and careful but enjoyable. After what seemed like several minutes, Nico parted from me and put his hands on my chest, holding himself up. He licked his lips and a tear traced his face. "I love you, Will," he whispered. 

I cupped his face and used my thumb to wipe his tear away. "I love you, Nico." I pulled him into one last kiss before settling him on my chest and kissing the top of his head. 

Nico was laying on his back, against me. I could hear his soft snores after a few minutes. And at that moment, I knew two things. One, Nico was mine, and two, Luke messed with the wrong boy. 

Luke was going to fucking pay. That was my last thought before drifting off to sleep.