Andante

CXXXVII

"Jesus, Ian." he whispered. "Okay, wait here."
He walked to the kitchen quietly.
"Erm, mum? I know I've just come home, but there's a friend here, I..."
He hesitated. What would he say? But there was no way, no way she'd let him go if he didn't tell her the truth. He knew that.
"It's the violist from Perth, mum. I think he's in a tough situation and he's here, asking me if I'll go for a walk. Can I please go help him?"
He saw it in her eyes, he knew she wanted to walk right to that door and go see Ian, check who he was, ask him what he wanted. He vehemently wished for her to stay put. There was no way Ian would be alright with being seen by someone else when he was in this state. Eddy was sure he was already feeling plenty vulnerable as he was.
His mum looked at him with her piercing stare, as if she could read every thought in his head. Then she nodded. "Okay. Is all your homework done?"
"Yes, mum. And I've practised a lot both days. And I helped Lily with her science."
He knew she'd like that one, and he didn't miss the slight smile that hit her lips now.
"Okay then. Go help your friend."
"Thanks, mum. " He didn't even try to hide his relief. He knew she'd see it anyway.

He hurried back to the door and put his shoes back on. Ian was still stood there, hiding slightly behind the door, Eddy was sure so he wouldn't be seen by anyone inside the house.
"Okay. Let's walk."
Ian nodded and followed Eddy in silence as he made his way to the park automatically. He simply couldn't think of a better place to be, if you were a bloke and your eyes were red, and you didn't want the world to see you right now. 
He wanted to ask, in fact he wanted that so badly, whether he was okay, what had happened, why had he been crying... but he knew he had to wait. He knew he had to give him a chance to start in his own time, in his own words. Ian walked alongside him in silence for the longest time. 

They were walking onto one of the paths in the back of the park, close to that sheltered field that meant so much to Eddy, when he could take no more. So he spoke softly, invitingly, putting the ball right before the goal for Ian to kick in.
"I'm glad you came over, mate." 
He felt the sob before he heard it. He didn't look at his friend, because he knew he wouldn't want him to, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Ian was putting his hand over his face. He nudged him gently right, onto the field where the quiet bench was. 
That bench was seriously starting to be a big part of his life, now. 
"Come on, sit down. There's not many people around, here."
Ian nodded softly and sat down on the grass, with his back against the back of the bench so he'd be hidden from the rest of the park. He buried his face in his hands and all of a sudden he was crying for real, his shoulders moving up and down with the power of his sobs. Eddy had no idea what to do now. Would he put an arm around his shoulder? Did you do that, to straight guys? He had no clue. 
In the end he simply trusted his gut and put his left hand softly on Ian's back.
"Hey, mate. Tell me what's happened, hey?"
"I'm so sorry, Eddy. I didn't mean to blubber like this." Ian managed to say, the words punctuated by the receding sobs. 
"Mate. Seriously. You know that that's okay. Just... what can I do? Can I help?"
Ian turned to him slightly, without ever looking him in the eye. Then he suddenly moved forward, grimaced a little and raised his t-shirt up. 
There were bruises, all down his back and over his belly. Eddy's breath stuck in his throat in shock. 
"Jesus, Ian. Who did that to you?"