This summer is the worst one of my life.

Growing up my Dad always managed to make my life a living hell but at least I had something to distract me and keep me from going home like soccer, friends, or school.

This time, I had nothing. Soccer was done since school was out. None of my "friends" would talk to me after what happened at the art showcase and Harry's phone. And to top it all off, I didn't get into any of the schools that I applied to.

So, I have nothing. I am nothing. I'm stuck at home with him and I have nothing to live for.

I have no one.

I sat in my car in the parking lot of my favorite park. It's the one near the river that passes through the whole town and ends up forming one of the Great Lakes.

It's a beautiful park and I've been sleeping here in my car for the past few months. I have to be careful not to get caught so I drive around super late and end up here early in the morning to catch a few hours of sleep.

I can't go home. Derrick has been extra bad lately. Drinking every day and night. Slamming things around the house. Calling me the worst names and forcing me to...

Bad boys need to be punished.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Lack of sleep and food has me delirious.

I've been showering at the school's gym and sneaking in the house for a change of clothes whenever I see Derrick's car not in the driveway but it's been tough.

I just don't know what to do. I can't do this forever and I have no job. I'm running out of my savings and he's already cut off my credit card. Soon, I'll have to go home and face him.

What if he hurts me badly this next time?

What if I can't walk away the same way after what he does to me next?

Ask for help.

No. I shook the thought away from my head. I've already tried that once.

Back when I was young, I asked my teacher if it was normal that my Dad spanked me when I did nothing wrong. She cried when she saw the bruises on my back and that landed a visit from CPS. Of course, because my Dad was a cop at the time, so he knew exactly what to say to get the blame put on me and I never heard or saw from CPS again.

I thought they'd help me. But instead, they didn't believe me and I wound up worse off than before.

He didn't feed me after that for a few days and locked me in my room without any food or water.

I begged to be let out. I soiled myself which resulted in me throwing up what little I had left in my stomach from the smell.

I was so cold, dirty, and tired. I was so alone and I wondered why he didn't just love me like other Daddies did.

Like Elijah's Dad did.

I wrapped my arms around my body. I sniffled as tears dripped down my cheeks. I remember the way Mr. Thorne and Elijah would care for me. The way they'd hold me and make me feel loved. Why didn't my own Dad love me the same way?

What did I do to deserve this? Why couldn't I just be the son he wanted? Why'd I have to be so bad?

I gripped the back of my hair and yanked on it as hard as I could.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why couldn't I just be better?

I looked at the waterfront. Would anyone care if I just disappeared? Maybe it'd be better if I just...

Suddenly there was a knock at my car door window.

I quickly lowered the glass once I saw who it was.

"Tobias? What's going on? Why are you here?"

I focused my eyes on the two individuals standing in front of me. Mr. Thorne and a beautiful woman stood there looking at me as though I was a broken baby bird.

I didn't have any energy left to say anything so instead, I just laid there staring back up at them.

"Oh, Jesus." Mr. Thorne shifted and opened my car door, catching me as I limply fell over. "Gwen, hop in the front seat and take over. We're taking him home." I heard him say.

"No. Not home. Please, no." I groaned, struggling to push him off.

"To my house, Tobias. You're coming to my home." He whispered in my ear. I felt my body relax in his arms.

I felt a rush of relief wave over me. I was going home.

☀️☀️☀️

I woke up feeling more rested than I had in what felt like forever.

I opened my eyes to unfamiliar yet familiar walls. I was in Elijah's room. I sat up quickly. I recognized the scent of his dark forest green bed sheets. Warm, and homey with a scent of pine and laundry detergent. I looked around the bright room. Movie posters decorated the walls from Donnie Darko to Psycho. He was always such a horror movie fanatic. I took in his dresser which was covered in different styles of cameras and a big mirror. I especially loved all the plants hanging all over his walls. It felt almost like a rainforest in here.

I breathed in a sharp breath of air. I was in Elijah's room.

He was going to kill me.

I jumped up out of bed, realizing quickly that I was wearing nothing but my boxers. Someone must've changed me out of my dirty clothes.

Suddenly the bedroom door opened up to reveal Mr. Thorne standing there with a tray of what looks like Two poached eggs, over some toast, orange juice, and a bowl of freshly cut grapefruit.

I dashed over to the bed pulling off the beige blanket that was on the edge and wrapped it around my body.

"Gwen put this together for you." He smiled, motioning to the tray in his hand. "We thought you may want to eat something before you took a shower." He said setting it down on the bed.

I took a big breath taking in all the smells. My mouth watered thinking about how good it'll taste.

"Go ahead. It's all yours." He smiled, tilting his head and watching me. I must look like a scared deer.

Breathing in deeply, I picked up the tray and positioned it on my lap. I immediately dove straight into the food feeling a rush of life burst back into me.

The warm bread tasted wonderful in my mouth. I dipped the bread in the eggs and tried my hardest not to moan at how delicious everything was.

"Slow down, you're going to hurt yourself." Mr. Thorne laughed even though I could hear a twinge of concern in his voice.

I stopped eating and looked at him in his eyes.

"Elijah..." I muttered. He was going to hate the fact that I was here. "I better go..." I said sadly dropping my bread.

"Elijah already left for school a few days ago. Early admission." Mr. Thorne shrugged, looking down at his feet. Clearly, he wasn't too pleased. As much as I'm sure he was proud of Elijah for getting into one of the best art schools, I'm sure he's heartbroken he's gone.

I slowly nodded my head, continuing to eat.

"Tobias..." Mr. Thorne sat down in front of me on the bed. "What happened to you out there?" Mr. Throne asked.

I had a mouth full which I was actually pretty thankful about. How was I supposed to tell him my Dad was an awful man who hated my guts and punished me for being alive for all of my life?

I'm a coward for not getting away sooner. Elijah is right.

"Okay, at least explain to me the cuts and bruises all over your body. Did someone do that to you? Are you in some sort of trouble?" He looked at me concerned. I felt a rush of warmth in my body. Knowing someone actually cared about me in this world...

"I should call your Dad to let him know you're here—-" He shifted to leave the bed.

I reached out quickly, holding tightly to his arm. Shaking my head quickly I by accident tipped over the orange juice, spilling the orange juice all over my tray.

"Oh Jesus, one second." Mr. Thorne jumped up off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom that connected to Elijah's room. He returned quickly, patting the tray dry with a towel.

"I shouldn't be here. I should go." I muttered. I stood up, lifted the tray off my lap, and sat it over on the dresser.

"No. No, let's start over. Okay?" Mr. Thorne lightly rested his hand on my back.

I looked at him through the mirror. He looked so scared for me.

To be fair, I did look rough. Cuts and bruises pierced my lip and my jawline. I had dark bags under my eyes from not sleeping properly and my hair was slick and sticky from not showering in a few days.

I also noticed the bruising all over my ribs which didn't look much better than they felt.

"Please don't call him." I breathed, exhausted. "Please don't make me say it."

Mr. Thorne clearly got the message. His back straightened up and he looked angry.

"I'll kill him. If he ever lays another hand on you... I'll kill him."

My heart felt like it would burst just thinking of them in an altercation. "He'll kill you first." I lowered my head down and couldn't help the tears falling from my eyes.

"That's it. You're staying here." Mr. Thorne walked over to the bed and started angrily taking off the sheets.

"No, I couldn't do that to you. I can't impose on you like that." I panicked.

"You stop that." He cut me off. "You're not imposing. You have been and always will be my boy. You hear me? You'll always be a son to me. No one messes with my boys." He grunted,

scrunching up all the sheets in a ball in his arms. "You're going to stay here, with me. You'll help me with maintaining the house and you've got a job at the restaurant starting now that'll keep you busy, paid out of harms way." He nodded.

Honestly, that sounded amazing. But, Elijah.

"Elijah..."

Mr. Thorne held up his hand. "Elijah doesn't have to know. I don't know what's gone on with you boys but... if not telling him will get you to stay here... well, I guess we're not going to tell him. At least not yet." He breathed.

"I can't ask you to do that for me. I can't ask you to lie to him." I tugged at the hair at the back of my neck.

He walked over to me and removed my hand from my hair, holding it tightly. "You're not asking. I'm telling you that's what's going to happen. You understand?" He looked at me in my eyes so deeply.

I gulped, taking in his words. "Okay," I answered.

"Good." He dropped my hand. "Now finish eating and go take a shower. We've got a busy day of pickups for the restaurant ahead of us." He winked.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Thorne. For everything".

"It's Jude, to you." He smiled before closing the door behind him.

☀️☀️☀️

It took a few days to finally feel comfortable in the house but once I did, things were fantastic.

Summer was over and school had officially started for the kids but the restaurant was still as busy as ever.

Jude allowed me to work in the evenings as a server which was an adjustment at first, but after a while of learning the menu and getting used to chatting with guests, the job was pretty easy and the tips felt so good.

I've never had a job myself before so earning wages for myself felt terrific.

My favorite part of the job was going for runs with Jude, though. He owned a big black GMC truck and we often had to pick up beers from the beer store or make food runs when we ran out of certain items. Jude would roll down the windows and blast tunes and he'd just sing and dance in the driver's seat which was hilarious. At first, it was a little awkward because I thought he wanted me to join in but I quickly realized he wasn't doing it for that. He just was a happy guy who enjoyed singing and dancing.

I loved being around him and the best part was I think he enjoyed being around me too.

☀️☀️☀️

"You are just sweet as pie." An older lady patted my hand after handing me a twenty-dollar bill for a dip.

"Thank you, Ma'am." I smiled back before turning around and heading to the bar.

"Oh Debra, did you see that smile of his? He's so handsome!" I heard her whisper behind me.

I couldn't help but smile. I receive a lot of compliments as a server these days which is definitely a perk of this job. I've never had such constant reassurance before.

It's not that I didn't know I was relatively good-looking. The girls at school often flirted or tried grabbing my attention and the teachers were often nicer to me than my classmates but it was just hard to tell myself that I was since my Dad was constantly shooting me down.

"Another twenty? You are on a roll tonight." Claire chimed in behind me as I stuffed my twenty in my apron.

"Yeah, it looks like it." I laughed. "What about you? I saw that table over there laughing at smiling at everything you were saying." I nodded my head in the direction of her table of all guys. I swear, this girl attracts men in groups.

She looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, well... wait, were you watching me?" She asked looking back at me.

I gulped. I didn't mean it to sound like that. I guess she's a pretty girl. And she's really really nice. Since starting here she's been nothing but kind and welcoming to me.

"Yeah, I guess I was." I smiled.

"Well...good. I'm glad you were." She breathed, looking down at my lips.

I bit my lip instinctively. I liked the attention, I really did. But truthfully, with everything going on in my life - dating didn't even cross my mind. Like, ever.

"We should get together sometime. You know, hang out." She smiled.

I gulped. "Aren't you seeing Tommy?"

She rolled her eyes, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "Tommy turned out to be an asshole. He was texting other girls behind my back."

I wasn't surprised. "Sorry to hear that. Those dudes aren't the nicest, honestly."

She looked me over. "Where do you fall in that?"

I opened my mouth to answer. Honestly, I wasn't sure.

Thankfully, I was saved by the entrance of Gwen into the bar.

"Hey, kid." She smiled at me, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. She always smelled so good and she looked like an angel with her gorgeous long golden hair.

The orange and yellow flower-patterned dress she was wearing looked beautiful on her body the way it hugged all of her curves.

"Woah, look at you. You look beautiful. Going somewhere special tonight?" I said giving her a once-over.

She swatted my arm. "Oh, stop it, you. This old thing?" She turned around to show off the back of her dress which was opened revealing her toned back. I was stunned. "Do you think he'll like it?" She looked at me and Claire over her shoulder.

"Like it? I'm afraid it won't last too long on your body." Claire breathed. I nudged her in the arm which made Gwen laugh.

"Good!" She clapped her hand.

Out from the kitchen doors burst a well-dressed, groomed Jude Thorne. His sandy blonde hair was pushed back out of his face (but not enough to hold back his signature little strands falling into his eyes) and his beard was trimmed and cut clean. Dressed in a dark navy suit, he looked dashing.

"Woah, you look magnificent" He breathed, stepping out and into the dining room. "I was supposed to come and pick you up." He said grabbing a hold of her and burying his face into her neck.

"I just couldn't wait." She giggled, throwing her head back. Jude grabbed a hold of her waist pulling her in for a long, seductive kiss.

I felt my cheeks burn as I looked away. They were so good together and it was so nice seeing Jude so happy. He deserved a love like this. He's such a good man.

Breaking me out of my thoughts, Jude interrupted by asking, "Tobias, how many tables have you got left?"

I looked around at the dining room. "Zero, right now." It was a weeknight so we closed earlier than our weekend times. It was only 8' o'clock which meant we'd be closing up soon.

"Perfect, go get dressed. Your clothes are in the back."

My eyes widened. "What?"

Jude and Gwen looked over at me smiling. "You didn't think we weren't going to do anything for your birthday, did you?"

My heart dropped. They remembered it was my birthday. How'd they know?

I thought back to all the times Jude and Elijah would make my birthday so special when I was a kid since my own father never bothered to try.

Of course, he remembered.

I walked through the kitchen doors only to be greeted by cheers and streamers being thrown in my face. The whole wait staff, hostesses, and kitchen crew were all waiting there for me to sing Happy Birthday to me.

Claire walked over to me with one of the birthday cupcakes we have on the menu, decorated with whipped cream, she smooshed it on my nose. I couldn't help but laugh as I tried licking my face clean.

"Okay, you. I've got a suit and tie in the back ready for you. You're officially nineteen today which means we're off to the Casino tonight!" Jude celebrated.

"Oh dear god, good luck!" Claire shook her head smiling, patting me on the shoulder.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone cheered again.

"Thanks, guys. Thanks so much." I smiled. 

☀️

Authors Note:

Tobias just goes through SO much behind the scenes :( So thankful that Gwen and Jude were able to be there for him at his lowest. 

How do you feel about their little trio? Sometimes I go out with my boyfriends mom and dad when he's not there and it reminds me of this. Just such a cute relationship that stands on it's own.