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Tyler swayed back and forth in the kitchen, his head pounding and stomach churning. He had downed a whole bottle of wine and had a few glasses of vodka and sprite, taking the alone time to ruin himself even more.
Josh had gone out, making sure Tyler was going to be okay by himself, and of course the self destructive boy put on a smile and nodded, dull eyes faking a certain cheerfulness. He knew what his plans were and that Josh wouldn’t be home ‘till morning.
Deciding to watch a movie, Tyler stumbled into the living room, giggling to himself when he accidentally scraped his knuckles on the ridged side of the island. Josh needed to fix that. The brunette looked down at his hand, watching small streams of blood roll down the cracks of his fingers. Shrugging it off and ignoring the pain, the skinny boy fell onto the couch.
Turning on the TV, Ty sat still with his eyes wide and lips parted, hands starting to tremble as he slipped into the darker space of his mind, the memories come tumbling into his head and suddenly, he can’t breathe.
“Josh is going to be mad, so so mad.”
Tyler worried, dragging his hands over his face, yelping in pain when he felt the healing wounds on his palm being tugged by the stretch of skin. He remembered when Ashley used to beat him, scream and shout that he was pathetic and a waste of her time.
Scrambling for his phone, his breathing grew more ragged and his fingers were shaking, staining red from the new wounds, eyes blurry from tears and the alcohol he consumed. Unable to dial Brendon’s number, he hit the emergency button on the lock screen, selecting Josh’s number by accident due to shaky hands. Pressing the phone to his ear, Tyler hiccupped, rubbing angrily at his cheeks.
“Hello?”
Said the voice on the other end, tugging a sob from Tyler’s throat, quickly fumbling to hang up the phone. He didn’t mean to call Josh, didn’t want him to find out. This time, he correctly called Brendon, sobbing harder, trying to speak through tears and a stuffed nose when his friend answered.
“C-come o‘ver pl’ease!”
Tyler cried into the phone, hiccupping loudly as he collapsed to the floor, bringing his phone down to his knees when he felt it vibrate, moments after Brendon said he was coming and hung up. Josh had texted him;
Babe: Tyler, what’s going on?
Babe: Are you safe?
Babe: I’m coming home.
Tyler started to panic all over again, figuring that Josh would be here before Brendon got there, he didn’t want Josh to see him like this. He always ended up hurting Josh, not physically but emotionally. Josh always blamed himself, especially if he isn’t there when the breakdown happens.
To Tyler’s surprise, his best friend arrived before his boyfriend. After the knock sounded on the door, Brendon’s voice rang out.
“Ty, love? Tyler, come answer the door.”
Brendon was always so gentle with Tyler, even more so in these moments. Standing on trembling legs, the younger boy got up and walked to the door, opening it with even shakier hands. His eyes were rimmed red from crying, chest heaving from the heavy breaths he was taking in midst of his calming down. Sighing, Brendon stepped forward and shut the door, catching the brunette in his arms when he collapsed in a pile of sobs.
“Sh, sweetheart, it’s alright. What caused this, bubba?”
The taller lad asked softly, not wanting to startle to other boy. Trying to calm himself, he only set himself into a deeper panic, eyes wide when his vision started to go blurrier than before. His hands grasped at his friend’s shirt, whimpering when the skin near his wounds tugged at them; warm liquid sliding down his fingers onto Brendon’s shirt.
Brendon felt the stickiness on his shirt, seeing Tyler’s wounds. They were small, but it was no surprise to the older man that it’s what set Tyler off. Carefully, he set Tyler on the couch and got up to get the first aid kit they kept for when things like this happened. Which, sadly, was often.
Suddenly, the door opened and a nervous Josh walked through the door, red hair askew as if he was tugging at it in nervousness. His mocha brown eyes spotted Brendon with the first aid kit first, heart sinking into his stomach, thinking Tyler was majorly hurt. Guilt swelled in his stomach. Brendon just pointed to the couch, showing a distraught Tyler curled in on himself with his hand staying in front of him. Nodding once, Josh slowly moved to the bedroom and grabbed his guitar, coming out to Tyler, sitting in front of him, a soft but sad smile on his face.
“Hi, sweet boy, you’re okay. I love you.”
The red haired boy assured before starting to strum the chords, watching as Brendon took care of Tyler’s knuckles. By the empty look in the younger boy’s eyes, the two knew he would pass out in a deep sleep soon, so they coaxed him into it further by singing his favorite song, Josh starting off the first verse, Brendon joining soon after.
“You are my peach, you are my plum. You are my earth, you are my sun. I love your fingers, I love your toes. The back of your head, the tip of your nose. And you are the reason I'm smiling when there is nothing to smile about..”
By the beginning of the second verse, Tyler was patched up and sound asleep on the couch with a red tipped nose and puffy eyes.
Tyler really was their peach.