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Addison's throat tightened at the sight of Oliver standing on his doorstep. Wet, shivering, and on the verge of breaking down, like the younger boy, sobbing next to him.

"Oliver."

"I'm sorry for just showing up." He squeezed the boy's shoulder. "I--We..."

"Addison who's at the door?" His mother called from the living room.

"Come in. Hurry up before you two get sick." The young boy looked at Oliver for permission before hurrying in.

"Who is this?" Addison's father questioned looking directly at the boy, who Addison assumed to be Oliver's little brother. Oliver's hands were still holding the boy's shoulder. It didn't look like he was planning on letting go anytime soon.

"This is Oliver and his brother?" Addison directed the question to Oliver. When he examined the boy closer, he noticed a bruise on Oliver's left cheek.

"Sweetie, what happened?" His mom asked as she went to set a hand on his brother's shoulder, but he flinched away. "Come on let's clean you up." She looked at him and waited for him to peel himself away from Oliver and follow her into the downstairs bathroom.

Addison's father had his eyebrows furrowed and his arms crossed. "What happened?"

"I need to get him cleaned up. Can we talk about it later? Please, Dad?"

The man nodded. "Let's go," Addison whispered.

Addison closed his room door behind them, "Oliver what happened?"

He gaped at the wall in front of them with an unreadable stare. "He kicked us out," He whispered. "And it's all my fault."

Even without context, it wasn't difficult to tell that Oliver was talking about their father. He looked so worn out and broken, that was without the worsening bruise on his face.

Addison sat down next to him and sighed, "Why would he do that?"

"Because he hates us. And I don't know what we did to deserve it."

"Oliver you didn't do anything. You cannot blame yourself for this, none of this is your fault."

The boy shook his head. "He was gonna hit him." He muttered torn fully.

"What?"

"My dad was going to hit Gabe. He was so close, and I couldn't let that happen."

"Is that how you got hurt?"

Oliver nodded, "I jumped in front of him and he punched me instead. Then he accused me of trying to hurt him and he kicked us out."

"Oliver, I'm so sorry."

He stayed quiet, staring down at his hands.

"You need to ice that. I'm gonna go down and get some for you, okay?"

He nodded.

When Addison made it downstairs he saw his mother comforting Gabe on the couch. The night took a turn so quickly, and for the worst. His father busied himself in the kitchen, making dinner.

"Is Oliver okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm just getting some ice for his cheek."

The man nodded, "We asked Gabe what happened." He turned towards Addison, leaning against the counter. "He wouldn't tell us. He said that it was 'Nothing' And when we told him that we would call his parents he freaked. So something tells me whatever happened wasn't 'Nothing'."

What could he say? What if Oliver didn't want anyone else to know?

"I'm still talking to Oliver about it. I'll tell you when I find anything out. Promise."

...

When Addison returned back to his room, Oliver sat, still in the same position he was when he left him. He sat back down next to him and lifted his chin with his index finger, before carefully pressing the ice to the boy's cheek. "Here you go."

Oliver stared straight into his eyes. Addison gave him a small smile and pressed the ice down a little harder, causing Oliver to wince.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." He whispered back "Thank you."

Addison nodded before handing him the ice pack and walking towards his dresser. "I'm gonna get you some clean clothes so you can shower. Are you still cold?"

"Yes."

"I'll turn on the heater."

While they waited for Gabe to use the shower, Oliver sat in front of the heater next to Addison.

There was just silence, no one had anything to say. Addison didn't know what he could say. What were they meant to talk about in this situation? Oliver smiled appreciatively as he handed him some clothes before gesturing towards the bathroom. A smile Addison hadn't seen in a month, he couldn't help but say he missed it. He just wished it could have been under better circumstances.

...

Once he got out of the shower, Addison waved him over to his bed, "Lay down. How's your face feeling?"

Oliver complied and laid next to him, "It feels okay. Doesn't hurt too bad."

"Let's see how you feel in the morning. Tell me if you need any painkillers. Okay?"

Oliver grinned, "Yeah thank you. But you don't need to do anything else, I shouldn't have come over in the first place."

"I'm happy you did."

They lay across from each other in silence before Addison finally got the courage to speak again, "I'm sorry Oliver. For everything. Not only was I being selfish, but I was also just being a bitch."

"It's fine. It's just...you left me in a bad place, and I depended on you at the time. You know? I know that sounds absurd but-"

"-I broke your trust." Addison finished. "I should have listened to you from the beginning."

"I understand why you didn't. If I had told you-"

"-I wouldn't have told me either. You were right about what you said at my house last week. I am selfish, and you and I both know that you telling me earlier wouldn't have stopped me from leaving."

Addison noticed the boy still shivering slightly, "Do you want to get over here next to the heater?"

"Please." Oliver nodded eagerly. He scooted closer to Addison and laid his head on the headboard.

Addison glanced over to him and laid his hand on his leg. "You okay?"

A faint smile slowly made its way onto the boy's lips, but Addison couldn't ignore the tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

He shed a tear, and many more followed. "Yes, I am. I just...I didn't think he would actually do it."

"I know." Addison wrapped his arms around him and rubbed soothing circles along his back. Oliver clung to the boy's body, his hands clutching his forearms, as Addison's shirt muffled his sobs. "I know and I'm so sorry."

"It's not his fault. Gabe doesn't deserve this." Oliver pulled away and wiped his eyes. "He thinks it's his fault..."

"Why does he think it's his fault?"

"My dad started acting like this after my mom died...giving birth to Gabe."

Addison's heart ached right then and there. He never knew anything about Oliver's family. Hell, he's never even been to his house.

Word about Oliver's mom's death never got around, but that was because it was over a decade ago.

"I didn't know..."

"It's fine. I'm over it, but my dad isn't. And he takes it out on everyone around him, definitely faggots like me." Oliver sniffed and laughed bitterly. "He always said that his sons turned out to be such disappointments. One's a fairy and the other one's a murderer. In his eyes, they're both equivalent to each other, you know?"

"Your dad's homophobic?"

"He's always been homophobic. He raised me to be like that, but it sure didn't work out the way he wanted. I failed him, and now I'm suffering the consequences of my own actions. But Gabe doesn't deserve any of this. He's such a great kid, but he's stuck with a family like mine."

"Neither of you deserves it. And I'll make sure that you don't have to put up with it! My parents are willing to help and-"

"I'm not getting my dad in trouble."

"I'm not talking about your dad. I'm talking about you. If we can't get your dad away from you, the least we could do is get you away from your dad."

Oliver sighed, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Ok."

IIIIIIIIII

Shame on me for using trauma to get my characters back together 😮