forum 30 Days [One-on-One, TRIGGER WARNING, open]

Started August 02, 2019 by @WriteOutofTime

tune

Tyler pushed himself to his feet, turning to Lucas with tears in his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, crouching beside him. He suddenly noticed the wounds on Lucas's head. "Oh my God, what did they do to you?"

"Th-That wasn't them…" He whispered shakily, avoiding eye contact. He drew his knees up to his chest and folded his arms on top before hiding his face in them. He was still shaking a lot and was biting his lip to try not to cry.

"Then who–" Tyler stopped himself. He needed to get Lucas calm and comfortable, not drill him with questions. "Can I touch you?" he asked, "I'll be super careful, promise."

Lucas hesitated before nodding, peering out from his arms to watch Tyler carefully. He was very particular about touch, of course, for obvious reasons. Even though he thought he trusted Tyler, he couldn't be too careful.

Tyler slowly, carefully inspected Lucas's head, gently parting his hair so he could see clearly. The cuts were shallow but they really needed to be dressed and covered. He made a soft noise with his tongue. "My mom's a nurse," he said. "I never lie to her, so no matter what I say happened, she'll believe it. Would you let her fix you up?"

"S-Sure…" Lucas stood up unsteadily, placing one hand on the lockers to stabilize himself. "I'll… um… I'll meet you at your house, yeah?" He glanced up at Tyler, his eyes a bit unfocused.

"Why don't we walk together?" Tyler asked, still being as quiet as he could without whispering. "We can still get some coffee. If you've got somewhere else to go first, I don't mind walking with you."

Lucas seemed a bit nervous at the prospect of Tyler coming to his house. Maybe he won't be home…? "Sure… You can tag along, I guess." He found his hat and put it on, starting to walk out of the school as steadily as he could muster.

"Yay," he said, falling into step beside him and matching his pace as they walked outside. "If I'm pressuring you into anything, just let me know and I'll back off. My sister says I can be overbearing in my friendliness."

"N-No, it's okay. My house is just, uh… a bit of a mess…" Lucas said softly. 'A bit of a mess' was honestly a massive understatement, but he wouldn't say that. "Where do you want to go for coffee?"

Tyler shrugged lightly. "There's a place a block or two away from my house. A little cafe. My family friends own it, so it's really nice, and sometimes they'll give me free stuff."

"Cool… do you want to go there on the way to your house then so we don't have to carry it as long?" Lucas asked as they walked.

Tyler nodded. "That's a good plan." He glanced up at the sky, which was a deep blue with no clouds. The air was crisp with a hint of chill in the air that promised cooler weather soon. In thirty days, on the day of Lucas's funeral, it would snow. He didn't really like the snow. "The weather's great today."

Lucas nodded with another small, plastic smile. "I think there's a cold front coming in soon. I'll have to find the money to buy a coat… I haven't got any at the moment." He knew they were nearing his house, and he wasn't sure what he'd do to try and hide his alcoholic, abusive father.

"I work part time at the cafe we're going to," Tyler mentioned in an offhanded way. "They're hiring, and if I put in a good word…"

"Yeah, maybe… crowds stress me out a lot, though, so I'm not sure I'd be good at customer service." They reached his house and Lucas hesitated at the door, seeming very apprehensive.

"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind." Tyler eyed the door, wondering why Lucas was hesitating so much. "I can wait outside if you want. I mean, the weather's great."

Lucas nodded. "Y-Yeah, uh…" He cleared his throat nervously. "Feel free to enjoy the weather." He reluctantly opened the door and stepped inside. The place reeked of alcohol, and there was the odd patch of what seemed to be Lucas's blood on the floor. He spotted his dad and tried to quickly go past, but he got caught. "You! Who are you?! What the hell are you doing in my house?!" Lucas could smell the beer on his father's breath. "D-Dad, please… I'm your son, remember?" "Claus is dead!" "No… I-I… I'm your other son, Lucas…" "I don't have another son!" Lucas's eyes stung with tears as his father kicked him roughly against the wall, where he slid to the floor, trembling. The resulting sound was a loud thud that could likely be heard from outside. His father stood above him as he cowered, poised to hit Lucas again.
(Oof sorry it's so long)

(i don't mind at all lol)
Tyler stood outside the house, watching birds fly by. The house seemed to be deadly silent –Tyler wondered if Lucas had any siblings. Maybe it was just him and an older relative. He was quite curious about it, but knew better than to snoop. That is, until he heard the crashing inside the house. He frowned, hurrying to the door and knocking. "Lucas? Are you okay?"

Lucas cried out in pain when his father struck him, shaking violently. His father kept yelling incoherently in his drunken stupor, not letting up. The door was unlocked.