Wait to start the song!

Waking up with Tyler as close to the edge of the mattress as possible was painful, mostly because it meant that he was so desperate to be away from Josh that he was willing to sleep in such discomfort. Josh pulled the blankets up over Tyler as he passed him, getting dressed quietly. The tea had helped immensely, but now his stomach ached for a whole new reason. He'd hurt Tyler, and he didn't know how to fix it.

Instead, he pulled his coat on and grabbed Ashley's necklace before leaving their room. The house was astonishingly quiet apart from Abigail snoring in the hallway. Her doll's stuffing was in a pile beside her, its button eyes resting atop it. She was cradling Josh's dagger as she slept.

Josh crouched down next to his sister, shaking her awake gently. Her dark eyes blinked open sleepily. She glared at him when she saw that it was him. "You made Tyler cry," she told him in a hushed voice.

"I know," Josh whispered. "Come help me fix it."

"You have to carry me like the ass you are," she told him grumpily.

Josh sighed, picking her up easily. Her hollow doll was still clutched in her grip, dangling uselessly as Josh carried her down the stairs. He took her to the kitchen, grabbing bread for both of them before carrying her outside.

"Do you always sleep with shoes on?" He asked her, looking down at the stark white sneakers on her feet.

"What if there's a fire and I have to go outside? I'll need shoes. Or what if I sleep walk? Or what if it snows in my room? Bubba, you have to always be prepared," she told him as she stuffed his knife into his back pocket.

Josh couldn't help but wonder if he'd been this strange as a child. Abigail had never really interacted with anyone outside of the community before, so her social skills were limited to what she'd learned from The Family. Tact, logic, and basic human decency were all foreign concepts to her for the most part.

"What did you do to Tyler?" She asked, twirling one of her messy braids around her finger distractedly.

"I said mean things," Josh told her as he walked out towards the sanctuary.

"Why?" She asked.

Josh sighed. "Because I love him."

Abigail looked confused, but remained silent. She hugged her destroyed doll against her chest and rested her head on Josh's shoulder. "Tyler told mama that he loves you."

"After last night, he's probably changed his mind," Josh told her. "It's probably for the best."

Abigail glared at him once again. "You're a bad husband."

"I know," Josh replied. He set Abigail down when they reached the sanctuary and handed her the necklace. "I need you to take this inside to Ashley, okay?"

"What's in it for me?" Abigail asked, raising an eyebrow.

Josh considered that for a moment. "I'll fix your doll so you can do whatever that was again tomorrow."

The little girl grinned victoriously. "Perfect. I'll be right back."

Josh watched her disappear into the building, trying to block out the crying inside. The building was big enough for several girls, so it was hard to tell if Ashley was one of the girls who was crying. It felt like ages before Abigail came back out.

"All done. Where to next?" Abigail asked.

Josh sighed. "Next, I'm taking you home so I can leave the community."

"I want to go," she pouted.

"You aren't allowed yet. You know that," he said as he picked her up again. "Was Ashley okay?"

"She cried when I gave her the necklace and she was sitting in blood, so your guess is as good as mine," Abigail replied.

Josh's heart sank, but he knew this wasn't a situation where he could help her. She was on her own, as much as he hated that. Solemnly, he scooped Abigail up once again and headed back towards the house.
To his surprise, their father was sitting on the porch swing. He was reading from a leatherbound book. His eyes flickered up to see his children as Josh carried her up the porch steps.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, sir," they both replied.

He looked back down at his book, turning the page. Without looking up, he calmly said, "Joshua, why don't you take your sister inside and come back? I've got something to discuss with you."

Anxiety twisted in Josh's stomach, but he nodded. "Okay, sir."

His father chuckled. "Son, you aren't in trouble. It's good news."

Josh sighed in relief. "Oh. Okay."

He carried Abigail back into the house, trying to be as quiet as possible. She yawned as he ascended the stairs. He didn't blame her. The sun had barely come up. If it wasn't for the stress from his fight with Tyler, he wouldn't be awake this early either.

"I want to sleep in your bed," Abigail told him.

"No. Tyler's sleeping in there," Josh replied.

"So? Tyler would let me. He's nice. You're not," she retorted.

Josh sighed. "Fine, but you better leave if he doesn't want you there."

"Or what?" She challenged.

"Or I'll hang you by your feet from the rafters in the barn," he replied simply.

Abigail smirked. "Well played. I'll leave if he wants me to."

Josh nodded before carrying her into his room. His heart ached when he saw Tyler. At some point after Josh had left, Tyler had migrated to Josh's side of the bed. His face was buried in Josh's pillow. Josh set Abigail down on Tyler's side of the bed, watching her instantly crawl over to cuddle with Tyler.

Tyler's eyes opened sleepily when she lifted his arm and crawled beneath it. He lifted his head slightly to look at her before pulling her against his chest and closing them again. Somehow, that made Josh's chest hurt even more. Tyler was gentle and kind, even to people he didn't need to offer that to.

Swallowing down his guilt, Josh left the room, closing the door carefully before hurrying down the stairs. Regardless of whether or not it was good news his father had to offer, Josh was terrified.

He was shaking slightly as he sat down beside his father on the porch. As per usual, this went unnoticed.

"Joshua, how old are you now?" His father asked.

"Sixteen, sir," Josh replied quietly.

His father sighed. "You're a bit of a late bloomer then. I took your mother at fourteen. You have two spouses and they're both still in white. Ashley should've been taken on the night she got here."

"She was unconscious, Dad," Josh pointed out timidly.

"So it would've been easier. She wouldn't have had to feel if. You could've skated right through that part of your marriage," his father replied. "I don't want you to make the same mistake by not taking Tyler as soon as possible."

Bile was rising in the back of Josh's throat. Tyler couldn't even look at him right now, but he was still expected to hurt him even more. He nodded anyways, trying to steady his shaking hands.

"I'm aware that Tyler is injured, which does change the way this needs to be approached. What's the difference between humans and animals?" Mr. Dun asked.

This was a question that Josh had been asked all throughout his childhood. The answer had been spoken to him several times as well. It was one of those phrases he'd had burnt into his brain.

"Humans know better than to prey on the weak," he whispered.

Josh's father nodded. "Exactly. You can't take his innocence when he's weak, but you still need to have it. I've spoken with the rest of the elders and prayed on it for a few days, and we've all come to a consensus."

This was the news Abigail had overheard. For once, there was an option for him to be with Tyler without having to hurt him, but now he wasn't so sure that Tyler would even want that. While Tyler's safety was of the utmost importance to him, part of him wanted this so badly. All his life, The Family had been making decisions for him. Tyler was the first decision he'd ever made on his own, and he was also the one who'd made him happiest.

"What's the consensus?" He whispered.

"While you wouldn't have the satisfaction of taking it or the same level of dominance over your husband, we've elected to let him be in charge of the situation. Well, sort of. You'll be equal parts responsible for making sure this happens. No harm is to come to him, do you understand that? If something hurts him, you need to stop right then and there. We do not prey on the weak," Josh's father's voice was getting harsher and harsher.

Josh nodded quickly. "I understand, sir."

"Someone will still have to confirm that his innocence has been...removed. The two of you will have to decide when this is going to happen, but it needs to be this week. Once you've decided, you need to come tell me. I'll make sure that you two have somewhere to go where your siblings won't hear." When he'd finished speaking, his father opened his book again, signalling that the conversation was over.

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Josh replied quietly, standing from the swing and going back into the house.

His body felt heavy as he walked up the stairs. His stomach ached with guilt. He shouldn't have agreed to anything, and he most certainly shouldn't have decided anything without talking to Tyler first.

The bedroom was quiet when he went in. Tyler and Abigail were still asleep. Josh couldn't bring himself to wake Tyler. This was going to be hard to talk about even without the added irritation of having been woken up. Instead, he busied himself with moving some of his clothes in where Tyler's were. The sooner he could stop wearing those eerie white clothes, the better.

"What are you doing?" He heard Tyler mumble.

He looked over his shoulder at Tyler as he set a shirt on top one of Tyler's. "Nothing," he replied.

"I can't wear those," Tyler mumbled, rolling to watch Josh. He glanced at Abigail when she snored before looking back to Josh. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you when she's not in here," Josh told him.

Tyler looked confused, but nodded. "Should I be worried?"

"I'm not going to let anything hurt you," Josh reminded him. "That's kind of what this is about."

Tyler rolled his eyes and pulled the covers up around Abigail. "Yeah, whatever."

The pain in Josh's chest kept growing with every piece of evidence that Tyler no longer trusted him. He hated that Tyler thought none of this was real-that Josh was doing all of this simply because he felt obligated.

"I still love you, even if I'm not letting you ruin your life," he whispered.

"It's not ruining my life to stay here if it means staying with you."

Start the song. It's Freak of Nature by Broods and Tove Lo.

That stopped Josh. He closed the closet, pressing his back against it as he turned to look at Tyler. He needed distance between them. Tyler's dark eyes were focused on him. They shifted away quickly as they began to fill with tears.

Josh sighed when it was suddenly all too much, walking over to the bed. "Scoot over."

Tyler did as he was told, moving Abigail as well. Josh slid into bed behind him, pulling Tyler's back against his chest and wrapping his arms around him. Their legs tangled together. His heart broke when he heard Tyler sniffle. He'd made him cry again.

"Hey, don't do that," he whispered softly. "I'm right here."

"But you don't want to be," Tyler whimpered out. "You don't want me here at least."

Josh squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath before speaking. "You're right. I don't want you here. I don't want you under this roof, in this community, or inside of this fence. As much as I don't want you here in this cult though, I still want you right here."

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked quietly, sniffling again.

"I want you right here next to me where I can see that you're safe. I want to be able to hold you and hear your voice and touch you. I just wish I could do all of that somewhere safe," Josh explained.

He was grateful when Tyler tangled their fingers together, scooting back against Josh. "Me too."

Josh pressed a soft kiss to the back of Tyler's neck. "I want to marry you," he whispered.

Tyler rolled over in his arms, looking at him in confusion. "We are married."

"I know but...but I want to marry you fully. Like consummated," Josh explained nervously. "My dad said it's our choice. I'm supposed to be gentle with you and it's entirely on our terms."

He smiled when Tyler blushed, hiding his face behind his hands. "So it won't hurt?"

"I'm never going to hurt you," Josh promised him.

"Okay. I want to do it then," Tyler replied easily.

Josh grinned. "You do?"

Tyler nodded, kissing Josh softly. "Yeah. I want to be your husband. Like, properly. Then I belong to you, right?"

Once again, guilt washed over Josh. This lifestyle was already swallowing Tyler up, making him forget how terrifying it would be to belong to someone like this. It wasn't a romantic "you belong to me." It was the kind of "you belong to me" that meant Josh would be in charge of making decisions for Tyler. It was controlling and dehumanising.

"Yeah, Tyler. You'd belong to me," he replied quietly.

"You can call me Ty again if you want," Tyler said quietly. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"It wasn't your fault. It's in the past, okay?" Josh replied softly.

Tyler nodded, smiling and closing his eyes when Josh kissed his forehead. "I love you," he whispered to Josh, looking up at him.

"I love you too," Josh whispered back.

Abigail snored loudly, making them both cover their mouths to stifle their laughter. Tyler hid his face against Josh's shoulder as he giggled. Josh smiled, wrapping his arms tighter around his husband. He did love him. He really did.