Coffee Break

3 months passed into the New Year, making it March, and I couldn’t be happier. Everything has been so amazing with Martin, with our sex life being incredible and our social life being just as great, and he just makes me feel so…loved. I know it’s probably too early to say that I love him, but I know what I feel. I’ll get round to telling him when the time is right, I swear. Gah, everything’s just going so well at the moment, not to mention that business is going well with the shop and my brother and Dad actually seem to like Martin now, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Well, I could ask for one thing. The group of men who spewed homophobic comments at me in Coffee Break before Martin and I got together have been hanging around town again recently, just scowling at me, or me and Martin, but they haven’t done anything. I hope it stays that way because I don’t need that shit again. Not when everything is going so well. I haven’t mentioned anything to Martin about it and I just hope I don’t have to.

Tonight is just another Friday night, with me closing up the shop and Martin hanging around to drive me home. When we got to his car in the secluded parking lot, he pushed me straight up against the metal, lips suctioning to my neck.

“M-Martin!” I half-gasped, half-moaned.

“Do you really think you can bend over while locking up the doors without there being any repercussions?” Martin murmured, teeth tugging my earlobe.

I rolled my eyes and slid my hand into his hair, tugging him until his lips covered my own. If the grunt and hip roll I earned was anything to go by, he enjoyed that. I inhaled sharply through my nose as he started to overwhelm my senses, tongue tangling with mine, lips moving eagerly, hands gripping my hips like he’s never going to let go. Eventually I had to break to air, gasping for breath as I rested my forehead against his. This man is a dangerous addiction, but there’s no way I’m giving him up. For anything.

“So am I going home or coming over yours tonight then?” I asked once I’d composed myself.

“Well you’ll definitely be coming at some point…” Martin purred, rolling his hips against mine.

I felt a warm blush spread over my cheeks, despite no-one else being around us. I swear he has a one-track mind sometimes.

“So dirty!” I gasped, smacking his ass lightly.

Martin just moaned.

“You love it,” he grinned.

I just laughed and brought his lips back to mine, kissing him just as eagerly as before. Martin giggled slightly before kissing me back, letting me lose myself in his embrace. So warm, so perfect, so strong, so…

…ripped away from me?

“Disgusting faggots, polluting our streets with filth like this,”

Oh fuck. Oh holy fuck, it’s them. I desperately searched for Martin, my eyes widening when I saw him standing up shakily from the ground, brushing the dirt of his hands and forearms. No, no this can’t be happening. Not now. Not again.

“Look man, we’re just minding our own business, let us leave,” Martin said through gritted teeth.

I heard laughter. There are 4 of them. 4 against 2. Shit.

“I don’t think so, queer,” the same man sneered.

I swallowed heavily, tears building up in my eyes. I’m so sorry Martin. I’m so so sorry.

“P-Please, just let us g-go, ple…”

I was cut off by a fist to my jaw, snapping my head sideways, making me stumble back into Martin’s car. Oww! Fuck!

“Hey!” Martin said angrily.

He tried to step forward, but he was pushed backwards with a rough shove.

“We’re going to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget,” another man hissed.

I barely had a second before a fist slammed into my stomach, knocking the wind from my body, making me cry out before raggedly drawing in breaths, scraping air back into me like I was swallowing barbed wire.

“Leave him out of this. Hurt me all you want but not him,” Martin said desperately.

“Not a chance,”

Tears sprung to my cheeks as two sets of strong hands gripped my arms, and I tried to get out their hold, try to wrench my arms free, but they wouldn’t let go. As the other two men stepped closer to Martin, I realised what their plan was. They were going to make me watch Martin get beaten. I’d have to watch him suffer, just like I watched Danny suffer.

“Run Martin. Please, run!” I choked.

“No way, I’m not leaving you,” Martin said defiantly, although his voice wavered, cracking slightly.

Oh God. Oh fuck he’s going to get himself killed and it’s all because of me.

“How sweet! Almost makes me feel bad…not,”

Their laughter started, and then so did their kicks and punches. I writhed in the arms of the men who pinned me to the car as I watched Martin get hit, over and over again, wishing that I wasn’t such a coward, wishing that I could stop them, somehow. All I could do with my arms being pinned was yell.

“NO! STOP HURTING HIM! LET HIM GO! LEAVE US ALONE! STOP!” I yelled, struggling in their arms as tears poured down my face.

Please! Stop!

“Shut him up!”

I barely registered the hand that pressed against my forehead until my head was slammed backwards into Martin’s car, and I screamed as pain shot across the back of my head.

“Z-Zack!” Martin cried out.

I tried to focus on him, tried to find him, but my head was swimming, my eyes a mess of blurs and colours. N-No, I can’t…I’ve got to…Martin…

I whimpered as my knees gave out, barely able to hold my head up, pain consuming my body.

“I love you,” I mumbled, my eyes closing.

Then everything went black.