(Eliot's POV)

I opened my eyes and looked around, half awake. It took me a minute or two to realize where I was. I sat up and noticed Marcus wasn't in the room.

Standing up I walk to the small bathroom that was connected to Marcus's room. I peeked in and saw it was empty. I walked in and went to the bathroom, washing my hands when I was done.

Going back into the bedroom I sat down on the bed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt myself falling back to sleep but, I didn't bother to lay back down.

"Do you always sleep sitting up?"

My eyes popped open and I saw Marcus standing in the doorway and grin on his face. I blushed. "No..."

He chuckled and walked into the room, sitting down at his desk and turning his chair to face me. "Did you sleep okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for letting me stay the night."

He shrugged. "No problem. Glad you came. You're not planning to leave now though, are you?"

I looked down. "I should get home. If... If I stay out too long I might get in trouble."

He frowned. "I don't want you to go back to that house. It's not a home that someone like you should live in."

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?" I asked slightly irritated.

"You need a real family. Someone to love you. Not that place."

I frowned. "It's not like I want to go back."

"Then why do you."

I paused. "You wouldn't understand." I said quietly.

He sighed. "You and your secrets. Well, at least hang out for a little bit. It's a Saturday so we don't really have anything to do."

"I don't know what we would do."

He was about to reply when the door burst open and his mom came in singing. "Hey! I just got a call from my friend asking if we'd like to help her decorate her house for the party she's hosting tonight!"

Marcus didn't look very enthusiastic. "But, mom, we were about to hang out."

"Then you can hang out while putting up fluff and ruffles!" She said with a smile. Then she turned to me. "Is that okay with you, Sweetheart?"

I glanced at Marcus and he was sending me signals to say no but, it sounded like fun. So I shot him a quick smile of apologie before saying, "Absolutely. I would love to help."

Marcus's mom's face light up. "Really? That'a great! Hurry and throw some shoes on and we'll go!" Then she bounced out of the room.

Marcus scowled. "Why did you agree to go? Now, we'll be there all day."

"You said you wanted to hang out."

"That is not what I meant." He grumbled.

I laughed and stood up. "Well, I could have said no and gone home. Then you wouldn't have gotten to spend any time with me."

He rolled his eyes but, slipped his shoes on. I did the same and we headed downstairs.

"You guys ready to head out?" Marcus's mother called from the kitchen.

"Yeah." Marcus replied.

She came out and smiled. "Okay. Let's go then."

We all got in the car and she drove us to her friend's house. When we got there her friend was super excited to have all the help.

Me and Marcus were handed some frilly lace and told to hang it around the edges of the ceiling. We nodded and Marcus grabbed a ladder, bringing it close to the wall.

He held a hand towards the steps. "You're smaller so you go up and I'll hold the ladder."

I nodded and stepped up slowly. I wasn't really fond of ladders but, I wasn't going to argue and end up in a situation like last night. I reached the top and picked up the lace. I taped it to the wall and climbed back down.

We moved the ladder and I went back up to tape more lace. This went on for a while until the lace was all around the ceiling. We surveyed the room and nodded.

Marcus's mother's friend came back into the room and grinned. "That looks excellent boys! Thank you so much! I baked some cookies for you guys a reward. They're sitting on the counter in the kitchen."

We thanked her and walked into the other room. We both took one cookie and made small talk as we ate them. We looked up when Marcus's mother walked in, the phone to her ear. "Eliot? It's your mom."

I froze and glanced at Marcus. He had a tense look on his face. I slowly stood up and walked over, taking the phone and putting it next to my ear. "H-hello?"

"Eliot!" I flinched when I heard her voice. "Get your ass home right this minute!"

I swallowed and said a quiet, "Yes, ma'am."

I hung up and handed the phone back. Marcus's mom smiled. "I thought she might get mad if she didn't know where you were so I gave her a call."

I nodded. "Yeah. She said I needed to come home."

She nodded and asked, "Do you need a ride."

I shook my head. "No. I'll be fine just walking."

Marcus jumped up. "I'll go with him. So he doesn't have to go alone."

She smiled. "That's a good idea."

Me and Marcus headed for the door and left the house. I walked slowly, not looking forward to seeing my parents. Neither me nor Marcus said a word.

When we got there Marcus grabbed my hand and stopped me. "You don't have to."

I looked down at my shoes. "Yes, I do. You wouldn't understand."

He sighed. "Fine." Then he leaned down pecked me on the lips. I tensed and stared at him. He smiled. "Good luck."

I nodded and turned towards the house. I felt like I was in a daze as I walked up the steps and put my hand on the nobb. But, I snapped out of it the second the door opened and I was grabbed by my hair.

I gasped as I was dragged into the house. I was thrown to the floor and I felt my forehead hit the floor hard. "You litte shit." My mother hissed.

I felt my fathers foot come to my stomach and cried out in pain. He repeatedly kicked me until all I saw were stars. Then he grabbed me by my shirt and slammed me against the wall. "You're disgusting!" He growled.

I swallowed and shrunk away. He punched me in the side and I fell to the floor. "You and that boy are repulsive!"

My eyes widened.

They saw us!

"I can't believe you'd stoop so low! You're worse than garbage!" My mother sneered.

I whimpered at their harsh words and scooted away from them, the tears falling down my cheeks. My mother slapped me. "You don't have the right to cry! Faggot!"

I took one more blow to the stomach before my parents screamed for me to get out of their sight. I ran up the stairs and into my room. I fell on my bed and sobbed.

I sat up and pulled my drawer open. I grabbed the broken razor I had and stared at it. Then I pulled my sleave up until I could see my forearm. I pressed the sharp object against my skin and slid it, cutting the soft flesh until I saw blood and felt the numbness.

I repeated it until I had a column of lines on my arm, red running down my pale skin. I stared at my arm, all the emotion in my body gone. My hand subconsciously grabbed for my notebook. I opened it and covered my hand with my own blood. Then I placed my bloody hand on the empty page. More memories.

My eyes glazed over as the blood loss hit me and I dropped the book, falling over and losing consciousness.

*******

Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this out. It took me three days to write this! I was just so distracted by my other books that I kind of pushed this one aside. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! AS ALWAYS VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW AND STAY AWESOME!

-Nekoco