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Chapter Ten.

I pulled him inside quickly and shut the door quietly so as not to wake anyone. The room was almost pitch black but what little light there was glistened off Frank’s watery eyes.

“Frankie, what’re you doing here?” I asked, trying my best to sound sincere but not really knowing whether it came across that way.

Frank sniffed and rubbed his sleeve across his eyes, “I’m s-sorry, I…I didn’t know w-where else to go,” he stuttered through his tears.

“It’s okay, I’m not mad,” I told him, running my hand down his arm in comfort.

“Can I, um, can I stay?” he asked quietly, still wiping at his eyes.

“Sure, I mean, of course you can stay,” I said, selfishly elated, “Has something happened?”

“I, I don’t want to talk about it,” he said simply and I nodded even though he wouldn’t be able to see.

“Um, you can stay on the couch if you want, I can find you some blankets, or—“

I stopped talking when I realised what I was about to suggest to him. ‘As if he’d ever want to share a bed with you’, I thought.

“Or what?” he asked.

“Um, I just, well, I was gonna say you could sleep in my room…if you wanted to,” I added quickly.

“Okay,” he replied without even contemplating it.

“What?” I asked, confused as to which option he’d chosen.

“I’d rather sleep in your room, if…if that’s okay?”

I was glad it was dark due to the fact that the smallest of smiles had settled upon my lips. I located his hand in the dark and pulled him in the direction of the basement stairs, managing to avoid all furniture in the process.

I flipped on the light switch once we were in my room and once again suddenly found myself very aware that I was in my boxers. Frank noticed too, having glanced briefly down at my bare legs.

“I’ll just…get changed,” I told him quickly while feeling my cheeks pinken. I hurried to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of pyjama bottoms and hastily pulled them on, feeling somewhat happier clothed.

Frank looked over at my screwed up bed sheets and glanced at me apologetically, “Did I wake you?”

“No, not at all! I couldn’t sleep actually.”

I refrained from telling him the reason why I couldn’t sleep and instead flattened out my bed covers so that he had somewhere to sit down if he wanted. He stood awkwardly by the door and I looked at him properly for the first time that night. I almost couldn’t believe my own stupidity that I hadn’t noticed he had a black eye until now.

“Shit, how did that happen?” I asked in disbelief, moving over to him to inspect it more closely.

“The usual,” he said sadly and brushed past me to go sit down on the edge of my bed.

I could tell he was trying to be strong and not cry any more, but I wished he would just let go because it was just as bad seeing him trying to hold it back.

“He’s never done it before,” he said suddenly, “Hit me somewhere visible, I mean,” he added before I could speak.

I moved over to the bed and sat down next to him so that our thighs were snug together. He looked down at my knees before continuing, “It’s like he doesn’t care if anyone finds out anymore, it’s just about creating the pain.”

I wrapped an arm around his back and he rested his head down onto my shoulder.

“How can anyone be so angry?” he asked, tears evident in his voice again, “I don’t understand what I did to deserve it, or what my mom did, I just don’t understand.”

“You didn’t do anything,” I reassured him, rubbing my hand in small movements up and down his back, “Some people…they just do that shit, there’s no explanation for it, it’s just a mental state. You know it’s not your fault don’t you?”

Frank took his time to nod, making me think that certain things had been embedded into his mind over the years. He didn’t move for a few minutes, but finally he yawned and lifted his head off of my shoulder.

“You wanna go to sleep?” I asked him and he nodded lightly.

“Where d’you want to sleep? I mean, we might have a camp bed somewhere, I can—“

Frank kicked off his shoes and was already pulling back the covers and clambering into the bed before I had the chance to finish…and before I even had the chance to question it, Frank was pulling me down with him.

“Stay with me,” he said weakly as my head hit the pillow. I pulled the covers over us both and nodded with a slight smile. I reached for the light switch but Frank pulled my arm away gently, “Leave it on?” he asked, “I don’t like the dark.”

I left the switch alone and snuggled down under the duvet, allowing the warmth to envelope me like a pancake.

Frank was watching my hand that now lay on the pillow between us; His black eye looked truly awful in this artificial light and I hated the fact that anyone would even have considered damaging such a beautiful face.

“I’m really sorry I just, like, barged in on you like this,” he said, “I just couldn’t stay there. Mom locked herself in her room crying and my step-dad started breaking and throwing stuff, I was just, I was so scared, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s okay,” I reassured him, “I like you being here”.

Those five words shocked me, they weren’t particularly personal, but they were damned personal for me to say. I just wasn’t used to it.

Tears were free flowing down Frank’s cheeks and dampening the pillow between us.

He bolted upright suddenly, allowing the covers to fall away, “Oh God, what if, what if she’s not okay, Gee? What if he hurts her and I’m not there to stop it?”

I took hold of his hand that was gripping the bed covers and clasped it tightly, thinking of what the best thing to say would be.

“She’ll be okay Frankie. You said she’d locked herself in her room, right?”

Frank nodded ever so slightly but his eyebrows were still crinkled together in worry.

“She’ll stay there and he won’t be able to get to her. She’ll be alright, and in the morning we’ll get up early and go check on her okay?”

Frank looked back at me curiously through bloodshot eyes, “You’ll come with me?”

“Of course”

He forced a smile; one that probably would’ve come naturally had he not been overcome with fear at that very moment.

I held my arms open to him and he looked almost relieved at the invitation. He laid back down with me, allowing my arms to envelop him, while he rested his head in the vacant space between my neck and shoulder.

He was asleep within a few minutes, clearly exhausted, but now that he was asleep, he looked so peaceful, so relaxed, so perfectly content that I dreaded the morning when I’d have to wake him up.

Description
Chapter Ten.

I pulled him inside quickly and shut the door quietly so as not to wake anyone. The room was almost pitch black but what little light there was glistened off Frank’s watery eyes.

“Frankie, what’re you doing here?” I asked, trying my best to sound sincere but not really knowing whether it came across that way.

Frank sniffed and rubbed his sleeve across his eyes, “I’m s-sorry, I…I didn’t know w-where else to go,” he stuttered through his tears.

“It’s okay, I’m not mad,” I told him, running my hand down his arm in comfort.

“Can I, um, can I stay?” he asked quietly, still wiping at his eyes.

“Sure, I mean, of course you can stay,” I said, selfishly elated, “Has something happened?”

“I, I don’t want to talk about it,” he said simply and I nodded even though he wouldn’t be able to see.

“Um, you can stay on the couch if you want, I can find you some blankets, or—“

I stopped talking when I realised what I was about to suggest to him. ‘As if he’d ever want to share a bed with you’, I thought.

“Or what?” he asked.

“Um, I just, well, I was gonna say you could sleep in my room…if you wanted to,” I added quickly.

“Okay,” he replied without even contemplating it.

“What?” I asked, confused as to which option he’d chosen.

“I’d rather sleep in your room, if…if that’s okay?”

I was glad it was dark due to the fact that the smallest of smiles had settled upon my lips. I located his hand in the dark and pulled him in the direction of the basement stairs, managing to avoid all furniture in the process.

I flipped on the light switch once we were in my room and once again suddenly found myself very aware that I was in my boxers. Frank noticed too, having glanced briefly down at my bare legs.

“I’ll just…get changed,” I told him quickly while feeling my cheeks pinken. I hurried to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of pyjama bottoms and hastily pulled them on, feeling somewhat happier clothed.

Frank looked over at my screwed up bed sheets and glanced at me apologetically, “Did I wake you?”

“No, not at all! I couldn’t sleep actually.”

I refrained from telling him the reason why I couldn’t sleep and instead flattened out my bed covers so that he had somewhere to sit down if he wanted. He stood awkwardly by the door and I looked at him properly for the first time that night. I almost couldn’t believe my own stupidity that I hadn’t noticed he had a black eye until now.

“Shit, how did that happen?” I asked in disbelief, moving over to him to inspect it more closely.

“The usual,” he said sadly and brushed past me to go sit down on the edge of my bed.

I could tell he was trying to be strong and not cry any more, but I wished he would just let go because it was just as bad seeing him trying to hold it back.

“He’s never done it before,” he said suddenly, “Hit me somewhere visible, I mean,” he added before I could speak.

I moved over to the bed and sat down next to him so that our thighs were snug together. He looked down at my knees before continuing, “It’s like he doesn’t care if anyone finds out anymore, it’s just about creating the pain.”

I wrapped an arm around his back and he rested his head down onto my shoulder.

“How can anyone be so angry?” he asked, tears evident in his voice again, “I don’t understand what I did to deserve it, or what my mom did, I just don’t understand.”

“You didn’t do anything,” I reassured him, rubbing my hand in small movements up and down his back, “Some people…they just do that shit, there’s no explanation for it, it’s just a mental state. You know it’s not your fault don’t you?”

Frank took his time to nod, making me think that certain things had been embedded into his mind over the years. He didn’t move for a few minutes, but finally he yawned and lifted his head off of my shoulder.

“You wanna go to sleep?” I asked him and he nodded lightly.

“Where d’you want to sleep? I mean, we might have a camp bed somewhere, I can—“

Frank kicked off his shoes and was already pulling back the covers and clambering into the bed before I had the chance to finish…and before I even had the chance to question it, Frank was pulling me down with him.

“Stay with me,” he said weakly as my head hit the pillow. I pulled the covers over us both and nodded with a slight smile. I reached for the light switch but Frank pulled my arm away gently, “Leave it on?” he asked, “I don’t like the dark.”

I left the switch alone and snuggled down under the duvet, allowing the warmth to envelope me like a pancake.

Frank was watching my hand that now lay on the pillow between us; His black eye looked truly awful in this artificial light and I hated the fact that anyone would even have considered damaging such a beautiful face.

“I’m really sorry I just, like, barged in on you like this,” he said, “I just couldn’t stay there. Mom locked herself in her room crying and my step-dad started breaking and throwing stuff, I was just, I was so scared, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s okay,” I reassured him, “I like you being here”.

Those five words shocked me, they weren’t particularly personal, but they were damned personal for me to say. I just wasn’t used to it.

Tears were free flowing down Frank’s cheeks and dampening the pillow between us.

He bolted upright suddenly, allowing the covers to fall away, “Oh God, what if, what if she’s not okay, Gee? What if he hurts her and I’m not there to stop it?”

I took hold of his hand that was gripping the bed covers and clasped it tightly, thinking of what the best thing to say would be.

“She’ll be okay Frankie. You said she’d locked herself in her room, right?”

Frank nodded ever so slightly but his eyebrows were still crinkled together in worry.

“She’ll stay there and he won’t be able to get to her. She’ll be alright, and in the morning we’ll get up early and go check on her okay?”

Frank looked back at me curiously through bloodshot eyes, “You’ll come with me?”

“Of course”

He forced a smile; one that probably would’ve come naturally had he not been overcome with fear at that very moment.

I held my arms open to him and he looked almost relieved at the invitation. He laid back down with me, allowing my arms to envelop him, while he rested his head in the vacant space between my neck and shoulder.

He was asleep within a few minutes, clearly exhausted, but now that he was asleep, he looked so peaceful, so relaxed, so perfectly content that I dreaded the morning when I’d have to wake him up.