Wait to start the song.

Tyler was helping Mrs. Dun in the kitchen when Josh came home. His eyes widened when he saw his pale and exhausted face as he trailed behind Mr. Dun. He started to go upstairs when he noticed Tyler. Tyler glanced at Mrs. Dun, hoping she'd let him go too.

"You husband's waiting, Tyler," she told him with a smirk.

"Thank you," Tyler breathed out as he hurried along to follow Josh upstairs.

Josh took his hand as they walked, too exhausted to protest when Tyler took his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder as Josh unlocked his bedroom. Tyler couldn't help but notice that his hands were shaking.

"What happened?" Tyler whispered as Josh opened the door.

"I passed out," Josh told him, pulling Tyler in before closing the door and locking it behind them.

He pulled Tyler into a hug without saying anything else. Tyler was surprised, but hugged back. He kissed the top of Josh's head and wrapped his arms around him. His eyes slipped closed as he rested his head on Josh's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

Josh shook his head, but said nothing. Tyler sighed. Apart from continuing to hold Josh, he wasn't really sure how to help, so he walked Josh backwards to the bed and lifted him onto it before climbing on with him. The second their bodies touched the bed, they were pulling each other back in. It seemed like Josh was able to calm down once he was wrapped up in Tyler.

"I shouldn't be doing this," Josh whispered to him.

Tyler's eyebrows drew together in confusion as he looked down to Josh. "Doing what?"

"Letting you get attached to me. Getting attached to you. As soon as I get you out of here-"

"You're coming with me," Tyler told him.

Josh sighed. "I can't, Ty. I'm not.... Why are you looking at me like that?"

The dumb smile on Tyler's face hurt his cheeks, but he couldn't help it. He was beaming at his husband. "You called me Ty."

"Am I not supposed to?" Josh asked nervously.

Tyler smiled as he shook his head. "No one's called me that in a while. I like it. It feels like home."

The blush on Josh's cheeks made Tyler smile even wider. He sat forward and kissed Josh slowly, feeling him sigh against his lips. His fingers clutched onto the fabric of Josh's shirt as they kissed. Josh's fingers slid through his hair softly before tangling in the section at the back. Tyler exhaled softly through his nose as their lips moved together.

They both sprung apart when the door opened. Abigail walked in with a teacup and a piece of black bread. She set them on the bed in front of Josh.

"Where's my syrup?" She asked him bluntly.

"Your what?" Josh asked her, looking extremely flustered.

"Forget it. I'll ask mom," she mumbled. "Can I borrow your knife, Bubba?"

"Backpack," he told her before taking a sip of the tea.

"Thank you," she pulled the dagger out of his bag before looking back up at him. "In return for your kindness, I'll tell you a secret."

Josh sighed, but Tyler grinned. Abigail made him a little nervous, but she was entertaining. "What's your secret?" Josh asked her as he sipped his tea again. It was clear that this was a common exchange that more often than not resulted in unimportant information.

"Dad found a loophole today," she told him. "So you don't have to hurt Tyler to be fully married."

Josh choked on his tea, making Abigail smirk. Tyler patted Josh's back as he coughed, looking at the little girl in fascination. As strange as it was, he wanted to know. He wanted to be able to keep Josh as his husband, and he wanted to do that without having to go through what Josh had told him about at the lunch table the other day.

"What is it?" Josh asked her as soon as he could breathe again.

The little girl shrugged. "Don't know. I was chasing the goats, and I heard him talking to Titus. It has to do with Tyler's head being broken. He said it's only if you really can't wait for it to heal, which given what I almost just walked in on, I'd say is the case."

Tyler's eyes widened as his blush deepened. The little girl winked at them before turning towards the door. Josh stopped her.

"Wait, what are you using that knife for?" He asked her.

Abigail smiled strangely, "You'll see."

With that, she skipped out of the room. The door closed behind her with a definitive thump. Josh sighed, pulling the blanket up over his head. Tyler smiled and rolled his eyes before pulling the blanket up over himself instead. Without a word, Josh broke his bread in half and handed Tyler the larger piece.

"Your mom's been feeding me all day. You don't have to give me any," Tyler told him.

"I'll throw up again if I eat it all," Josh replied simply.

Josh took a bite of the black bread and watched Tyler until he did the same. The bread was a bit dry and had a very distinct flavour, similar to rye. It definitely wasn't Tyler's favourite.

"I met Brendon," Josh blurted out suddenly.

"What happened?" Tyler asked anxiously, well aware that Brendon wasn't exactly Josh's biggest fan.

Josh reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver necklace with a simple A as a charm.

"For Ashley?" Tyler asked.

"Yep. He knows you two are here," Josh confided. "He promised he'd help me get you both out."

That surprised Tyler. "You had a full conversation with him?"

His husband shrugged. "He's not the worst person."

Tyler smiled, pressing a brief kiss to Josh's lips before taking another bite of the unsavoury bread. "How are you going to get the necklace to Ashley?"

"I'm not sure," Josh replied through a sigh. "I guess I'll have to see if Ash will take it to her. I'd have to lie about where it came from, but Ashley would know."

"Would your sister do it?" Tyler asked.

Josh sighed again as he tucked the necklace back into his pocket. "That's the real question."

Tyler watched his husband sit up just enough to drink more tea before laying back down. "This tastes like goats," he told Tyler.

"I helped make it," Tyler told him with a smirk.

Josh's eyes widened. "But like, expensive goats. Clean goats. Um...."

"It's got goat milk, Josh. Besides, it's a poison cure. It isn't going to taste like candy." Tyler laughed out. "But for the record, great recovery."

"Remember when I said you're really nice to me?" Josh asked.

"I do."

"I take it back. You're an asshole," Josh told him, smiling widely.

Tyler snickered. "That's no way to talk to your husband."

"It is if my husband's an asshole," Josh retorted instantly.

They both laughed. Josh sat up again and drank more tea before laying back down. He glanced at Tyler and stuck his tongue out at him when he caught him staring. Tyler grinned at him before taking another bite of bread. A realisation struck him suddenly, making tears form in his eyes. Josh's eyes widened.

"I didn't mean-"

"No. I know. It's just...staying here is the only way I get to keep being your husband and having moments like this, isn't it?" Tyler asked quietly.

Josh looked completely taken aback by the question. "Tyler, you're going to marry someone for real after you leave here. You'll find someone who believes the same things you do and understands you and doesn't have to hurt you."

"But Abigail just said-"

Start the song. It's Coming Down by Halsey.

"Tyler," Josh interrupted. "You're going to find someone who deserves you, okay? I can't...I can barely even keep you alive. That's not what marriage is supposed to be. You should be happy and feel safe."

"I am happy and safe when you're here," Tyler argued. "I love you. I don't care where we are. Yeah, this place scares me and I have no idea what's going on most of the time, but you're here. That's enough for me."

Josh looked sadly at Tyler for a moment before sitting up and shoving the blankets down. He set his tea on the table by his bed before turning to look at Tyler.

"You're sounding like Ashley," he told Tyler.

Those weren't the words he'd been expecting. "What?"

"Ashley keeps telling me she wants me to just take her innocence and give her children and that she's fine with staying here," Josh explained.

Tyler shook his head. "Josh, of course she wants that. She loves you. We both do. You're worth staying for."

Suddenly Josh looked angry. "You two don't get it though! This is how cults work. They find the one thing that'll appeal to you and make it seem attainable, but at a cost. You can only have it if you stay. Don't you get that? Why steal spouses instead of marrying the kids off within the community? This way they gain more members. They're trying to recruit you, Tyler, and you're letting them."

That wasn't at all what was happening though. Tyler didn't want the cult. He wanted Josh. There wasn't a single part of him that wanted to worship Satan or hurt people.

"But I-"

Josh was glaring at him now. "No! Don't tell me that isn't exactly what's happening here. That's why my mom stayed. That's why Pete's dad stayed. That's why everyone stays. I've seen it happen for years now. Haven't you wondered why my mom would stay after what my dad had to do to her? The same reason you and Ashley are rationalising it."

Tears were welling up in Tyler's eyes. He didn't want that to be true. This wasn't supposed to be about the cult, but Josh was right. He'd seen Josh kill someone the other night, but had easily brushed away the blame because he knew Josh had been ill. Not only had he looked away when Josh had maimed his sister, he'd given him encouragement to do it. In falling for Josh, he'd rationalised all of this. He'd even made excuses for it. Josh was right.

"So what do I do then?" Tyler asked quietly.

"Let me get you out of here, and then forget about me," Josh told him.

That was all it took for the dam to break, sending tears down Tyler's cheeks. Josh looked like he was going to cry as well, but he remained resolute. There wasn't a trace of emotion on his face.

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that? Your initials are carved into my arm!" Tyler demanded.

Pain flickered in Josh's eyes before he was stoic once again. "So carve them out. That's what I'll have to do."

That hurt more than anything. The idea of Josh erasing him from his life was the most pain he'd ever felt. His one lifeline here was so casual about, quite literally, cutting him out of his life the second he left. Never in Tyler's life had he felt so helpless.

"You expect me to live through the aftermath of this without your help?" Tyler demanded. He saw Josh wince, but kept going anyways. "You expect me to go home to my extremely religious parents with a Satanic cross burnt into my arm? Do you really think I'll be able to sit through school knowing that not a single person there knows what I've been through except for you, but you're just off limits? That's bullshit, and you know it!"

"I didn't ask for you to come here!" Josh shot back.

Tyler fell silent instantly. That was true. Not once had Josh expressed a single desire for Tyler to be here until he was. This had been forced upon him. In all reality, he was doing Tyler a favour to keep him alive.

"You're right," Tyler replied quietly, climbing out of the bed.

Josh's face softened, guilt clear in his eyes. "Ty, I didn't-"

Tyler shook his head. "No, it's fine. You're absolutely right. I'm going to go help your mom. I hope that tea helps." His heart ached as he walked to the door. He stopped when he reached it, hesitating before looking at Josh's shocked face and saying, "And my name's Tyler. We should probably stick to that. It'd be really shitty if one of us got attached."

With that, he left the room, closing the door behind himself. He fought back tears as he hurried down the hallway. Abigail looked at him sadly when he passed where she was sitting beside the stairs, cutting open her rag doll. He forced a smile for her before hurrying down the stairs to find Mrs. Dun. He really hoped Josh would already be asleep when he went upstairs for bed.