~Althia~

I was in the living room, reviewing some notes, when the doorbell rang twice. I got up and went to the door, hoping that it would be Zach bringing me food.

To my surprise when I opened the door, it was Justin with the same overnight bag he had last time.

Without saying anything, I stepped aside letting him in.

As Justin was taking off his shoes, I looked at him and noticed that it looked like he has been crying.

"Let's go to my bedroom" I spoke softly

Justin nodded slowly and went to pick up his bag but I grabbed it for him

I gently grabbed his hand which made him flinch at first but then he let me hold it

I walked slowly upstairs and into my bedroom

I set the bag down near the doorway and turned to face Justin

"Can I take a shower please?" He asked me gently, keeping his eyes low

"Of course" I answered "There's fresh face cloths and towels in the second cabinet" I added

Justin slowly walked to the bathroom door then stopped

"Ee-Ah?" He said, barely above a whisper

I nodded and walked towards him

"Can you-Can you sit by the door?" Justin questioned, his voice cracking at the end

"Yes" I answered

Justin walked into the bathroom as I took a seat beside the door

He turned the light on and I could see he was hesitant while closing the door so I leaned forward and kept a small crack in the door

Justin mumbled a thank you and I leaned my head on the wall

Seconds after Justin had started the shower, my dad bursted into my room

"Althia, who was at the door?" He asked me "And whose bag is that? And who is taking a shower?" He questioned once he looked around

I got up and my dad walked towards me

I made sure to stay close to the door for Justin

"Althia" Dad urged me to answer him

"It's Justin" I told him "He needs a place to stay tonight" I added

My dad opened his mouth to say something but I spoke again

"His house can be abusive sometimes and he just needs to get away from it for a bit" I answered his question before he could even ask it

My dad looked at me then closed his eyes as he rubbed his face

"This isn't the first time he's stayed over..." My dad finally said as he opened his eyes again

I shook my head

"When were the other times?" He questioned

"It only happened once and it was the last time you and mom were gone for 5 days" I answered

My dad nodded

"I'll tell mom" I promised him

"No" Dad said "I think it's best that your mother doesn't know about this right now. She's stressed about our new partnership and everything, we'll just keep this between us" He continued "Justin can stay here, in your room for tonight, and by the time you both wake up tomorrow, we won't be here" He finished

"Okay" I responded

"Just be safe, make sure he knows that he can come here whenever he needs to and the leftovers are all his if he's hungry" Dad told me

I nodded and he hugged me before making his way out of my room

"Oh and Althia?" He said as he stopped at the doorway

"Yes?" I questioned

"You're a good friend" Dad told me

I nodded my head and with that he left and closed my door behind him

I retook my seat next to the door and waited for Justin to finish

Over the sound of the water, I could hear quiet sobs and my heart ached for him

A couple minutes later, the water shut off

"Jus?" I spoke through the door

He answered with a weak 'yes'

"I'm gonna go downstairs to get you something to eat" I said "Are you ok with being here alone? Because I can wait a few more minutes when you're done to go." I asked him slowly, choosing my words carefully

"I'm ok" He whispered

"Okay" I replied softly "I'll put your bag near the door" I added

I got his bag and placed it next to the door before making my way downstairs

I immediately went to the fridge and took out the steak and potatoes leftovers. I reheated them before putting the steak on a slice of bread for a steak sandwich

I grabbed the plate with a fork and a water bottle

"How's the studying going?" A voice suddenly said

I jumped and almost dropped the plate

I turned around and saw my mom

"It's going good" I responded quickly

"You're eating again?" She asked

"Yeah, I worked up an appetite" I said, trying to make it sound like a joke "I think I'll just go in my room for the rest of the night and relax for a bit before going to bed" I added before she could even say anything

"Okay, well goodnight" She replied "Also just a reminder that dad and I won't be here tomorrow" She added

I nodded

"Yep I know" I told her "Hope you guys figure everything out with the new partners" I added before I grabbed everything and went straight for the stairs

I walked back in my room and made sure to close the door behind me

Justin was sitting at the edge of my bed, his head still low

"I've got steak" I spoke softly "Your favorite" I added, hoping that would make him at least a little bit happy

Justin finally looked up and I saw red marks on his neck

It took everything in me not to gasp but I knew that if he wanted to talk about it, he would when he was ready

"How did you remember that?" He asked me, his voice still shaky, as I sat beside him

"The same way you remembered I love farm animals" I answered

Justin smiled softly and I smiled back

I handed him the plate and he took it

I got back up and grabbed my laptop before joining Justin on the bed again

"You can pick whatever you want" I told him as I turned the laptop to him after I put Netflix on

"You can pick" He responded with his mouth full

I started browsing through the different movies and shows

"Actually, can we watch The Breakfast Club?" Justin asked me as he shifted in his seat

I smiled softly

"Whatever you want, Jus" I replied as I clicked on the movie and played it

//

We were halfway through the movie and I shifted my gaze towards the marks on Justin's neck, again. I didn't mean to look but my eyes always drifted there.

"He did it" Justin spike softly, his eyes still locked on the screen

"Your moms boyfriend?" I asked him

He nodded and sat up

I closed my laptop and sat up like him

"I was, uh, I was going to borrow some money to pay back Zach for the costume and I thought nobody was home and then Seth came in, out of nowhere" He continued but then stopped

I grabbed his hands and nodded my head, telling that it was ok to continue and that I was listening

"He started yelling at me saying that I always took money from him and never paid him back and when I tried explaining myself he slapped me and then I went to grab my bag but he grabbed me by the neck then shoved me against the wall and I couldn't do anything and then my mom walked in and all I could think of was please please please help me mom but she-" Justin went on but his voice cracked at the end and tears were falling down his face

I reached over and hugged him

"And she just stood there doing nothing. She did nothing" Justin said, his last words barely whispers before he started to sob into my shoulder

I hugged him tightly and let him cry

Justin grasped onto my sweater and I rubbed his back

He kept muttering 'She did nothing' over and over again

I held him tightly against me

"Am I doing something wrong?" Justin mumbled once he had calmed down a bit

I put my hand on his shoulder as he looked down and played with his hands

"Jus, you are not doing anything wrong. Please don't ever blame yourself for this. You don't deserve this, you never did anything to deserve this and you will never do anything to deserve this. Nobody should have to go through what you're going through. It's not fair and if I could take your pain away, I would in a heartbeat" I told him as he slowly looked up "I am so so so so sorry that you can't feel safe in your own home and that your mom didn't do anything to make you feel safe" I continued

Justin nodded slightly

I hugged him again and he gently sighed

"Are you still hungry? I can get something else" I asked him

He shook his head and before I could ask if he was sure, he spoke again

"Can we just finish the movie?" He questioned

I nodded and reached to turn my laptop back on

"Ee-Ah" Justin spoke again"Is it okay if we- Can we- Can I lay on you or something? I just want to feel close to someone" He asked me

I looked at him and the sadness in his eyes made my heart ache

"Of course, Justin" I answered

I backed up until my back was against my headboard and placed my laptop beside my leg

Justin slowly moved himself next to me and carefully placed his head on my lap

He still seemed hesitant and tense so I gently started to run my fingers in his hair

"You're ok" I told him as I used my other hand to press play

I continued to play with his hair, sometimes letting myself gently trace the marks on his neck.

Justin slowly relaxed beneath me and before I knew it, he was asleep.

I finished the rest of the movie before shutting my laptop and moving it further away on the bed

I looked down at Justin and smiled softly at how at how at peace he finally seemed

I grabbed one of my pillows and put it behind my head so I could fall asleep in the position I was in, since I didn't want to wake Justin up

//

I stirred in my sleep as I felt something being placed on me. At the sound of someone cursing under their breath, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Justin leaning over me.

"Good morning, sorry I didn't mean to wake you up. You looked cold so I put a blanket on you" He whispered

I rubbed my eyes and wrapped the blanket around me tighter. I looked at time on the clock that was on my nightstand and saw that it was 9

"You don't have to whisper, you know, my parents are probably already gone" I told him

"I know" Justin replied "I saw them leaving" He added

"How long have you been up for?" I asked him, now sitting up

"Not long, probably around half an hour" He shrugged

I nodded and slowly got out of bed

"Are you hungry?" I questioned

He nodded

I grabbed a hoodie off of my chair and put it on

"I'm no Zach when it comes to cooking but I can make us a mean omelette" I told him

"Sounds good to me" Justin laughed

My eyes slowly drifted towards his neck and I saw that the marks were barely visible now

"Let's go downstairs" I said

Justin grabbed his bag before following me downstairs into the kitchen

I went to the fridge and took eggs, ham, celery and cheese

While I prepared the breakfast, Justin and I made small talk

-

"Thanks again for letting me stay over" Justin spoke as he helped me put away the dishes we had just washed

"Anytime Jus" I responded "You're welcome here anytime and I'm always here for you. Even if you just need to talk. Even if you can't sleep at 2 in the morning and you want some company." I added

I reached out to him and brought him into a hug

As we released from the hug, Justin leaned forward and before I could process what was happening, he kissed me.

👀