Glitter and Hate

Tattoo Time

"No way am I getting a tattoo!" Caleb practically screamed. "I don't like pain or needles or- Just no!"

"Please, Caleb, you said you trust me, so act on it." Dyson smiled at the man in front of them. He, unlike the others in the room, looked like he didn't belong there. He had on a button-up shirt, naturally colored hair, and he looked like he could be an accountant.

"You must be Dyson and Caleb." The man stood up and held out his hand.

Dyson shook it and nodded.

"Nope," Caleb said and turned to leave.

"Caleb," Dyson frowned. Maybe this was a mistake he thought as Caleb walked to the door. Dyson went to follow him but Bentley stopped him.

"Go get yourself a drink and one for your," Bentley paused and Dyson knew that he wasn't sure what to call Caleb.

"Friend." Dyson let out a sigh.

"Right, get your friend a drink too. I'll bring him back." Bentley pointed to a small kitchen and Dyson nodded.

"I can't believe him." Caleb cursed when he got outside. He flung his arms out and started pacing.

"Hey, kid, you're going to wear a hole into the sidewalk," Bentley said and Caleb jumped.

"Sorry." Caleb rubbed his neck. "I can't do it."

"I know it's hard, but your friend told me about the scars. Let me guess, you can't look at them or yourself." Bentley felt terrible when the boy looked up at him with sparkling green eyes. When Dyson had called him the day before he had actually needed to hang up to handle the strong emotions he was feeling. He had wanted to run all the way to their stupid backward town and beat the monsters to an inch of their lives then leave them out in the desert to slowly die and even that didn't seem like enough pain for those bastards.

"He told you?" Caleb asked feeling angry, hurt, then just ashamed.

"Yes, he told me because he wants to help you. He loves you, I can tell just like I can tell you feel the same even if neither of you can admit it. But, please, let me help you." Bentley touched the boy's arm and wasn't surprised when he flinched away. He understood. Sure, he hadn't gone through the same thing. No one had knocked him out, held him down, and carved into his arms, but he had his own scars from the hands of someone else. He had been ashamed of them even when he knew that it wasn't his fault. Only with the help of his now-wife had he been able to move on and stop hating himself just because of a few scars.

"How?" Caleb asked him. "I don't think some tattoo is going to change how I feel about myself or what I see."

"I don't know about changing how you feel but I can change what you see. My specialty is hiding old tattoos and scars. Usually, I cover up surgery scars for women who had breast cancer, but I've done some like yours too." Bentley's heart melted when he saw the look of hope on Caleb's face. He'd never get used to that look. It was an emotion that was more than hope; it was one that couldn't be described with words.

"You can get rid of them?" Caleb asked him.

"Honestly? No, you can never get rid of scars physical or emotional, but I can take their hideous message and leave you with something beautiful to look at. I can give you the chance to look at something that used to bring you pain and feel strength instead." Bentley watched as the boy seemed to let it sink in.

Bentley watched as a weight seemed to lift from the boy's shoulders. He was going to be okay; that much Bentley was sure of.

"I don't want any flowers, glitter, or whatever." Caleb finally said with a smile to hide the tears that he quickly wiped away.