Hold Fast

As predicted, Mike was at my door as soon as he got home from school. I heard him knocking, having woken up by the sudden pounding, but I refused to get up. He must have knocked for about five minutes before I thought he had given up. Alas, he returned a moment later and proceeded to pick the lock to my room. In less than a minute, he was inside and sitting at the edge of my bed.
“Vic?” He set his hand against my shoulder; I didn’t respond. “Vic, talk to me.” I rolled over to face him, feeling the warm tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. Stubbornly, I held them in.
“I don’t get it.” I whispered. He looked at me, confusion apparent on his face.
“Is this about Kyle or is it Kellin?” As I’ve said before, Mike has this amazing ability to read my every thought.
“Kellin…and Kyle too I guess.” I looked down at my hands, seeing the ends of the sleeves of Kellin’s jacket that I had neglected to return. Unintentionally, I breathed in his scent, the smell calming my beating heart just slightly.
“You guess…or you know?” His eyes searched mine for an honest answer.
“I don’t know…” I paused, thinking for a moment. “How did you know about Tony? Weren’t you afraid of rejection?” I felt his weight shift a little and I turned back to face him. He had a faraway look on his face, and a cheesy grin that was almost enough to make even me smile.
“I just knew. And of course I was scared at first.” I gave him an unconvinced look, which asked him to be more specific. “With Tony, it was tricky. Because of the fact that he’s so shy, I had to make the first move, and I was terrified…but if I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t have him.” I sat up, leaned against my headboard, and pulled my knees to my chest. He met my eyes and gave me a warm smile. “I love him, Vic. And nothing was going to keep me from telling him and getting him to understand that.”
A moment of silence past through us as I thought this over. That’s when I knew. I straightened up, a new feeling of realization spreading through me. I lunged forward and threw my arms around my brother. After a moment of shock, he returned the gesture, wrapping me tightly in a hug. He pulled away a moment later and stared at me.
“And don’t worry about Kyle.” I gave him a small nod of understanding. “I promise that we’ll protect you guys.”
“Thanks Mike.” I jumped from my bed and bounded downstairs. I ran and gave my mom a hug, assuring her that she’d have an explanation for my behavior later, and bolted out the door. Adrenaline coursed through me as I ran down my street and towards Kellin’s house. I had to see him, tell him, and it had to be now. I was in love with him and I didn’t care about the consequences. He just had to know.
I slowed as I neared his house, trying to catch my breath. There was a car in the driveway that I had never seen before. As I approached the driveway, I heard the front door burst open and then slam shut again. A tall, dark haired man stomped towards the foreign vehicle. I paused, suddenly very afraid. Who was this man, and why did he seem so intimidating? He glared at me, muttering something about “kids these days” and “lack of fucking clothes,” before getting into the car and speeding away.
I realized that I was still not wearing anything under Kellin’s jacket. Suddenly very self conscious, I zipped it up and walked to the door. I knocked on the door, waiting a minute or two for someone to answer. When no answer came, I began to panic. I opened the door and slowly stepped inside. It didn’t look like Kellin’s mom was home, and that just made the feeling in my stomach that much worse. What made it scarier was the fact that Kellin was nowhere to be found on the ground floor.
“Kellin?” I called out for him. No response.
“Kellin!” I yelled louder. I heard a loud thump from upstairs and ran towards the noise. He wasn’t in his room or the game room. “Kellin?” I called again. Another thump. It was coming from the bathroom. I ran to the door and forced it open. I looked inside and my stomach dropped.
Kellin was hunched over the toilet, a large cut on his lip, and a knot was beginning to form on his forehead. His shirt hung in tatters off of his body and it looked like his arm was bleeding. I rushed towards him.
“Kellin, my god what happened?” I gingerly moved him away from the toilet, having him lean against the sink cabinet. He winced a little before opening his eyes and looking at me. Fear. He was afraid, terrified almost. He was shaking and I could see tears forming in his blue eyes.
“Is he gone?” his voice was horse, as if he had been yelling.
“Yeah, he’s gone. I’m the only one here.” I moved to a sitting position next to him, wrapping an arm gently around his shoulders and letting him lean on me. “Where’s your mom?”
“She’s…working a double…she’ll be gone…all night.” He was having trouble forming a full sentence. His shaking was making it hard for him to take deep breaths. I noticed a few bruises beginning to form on his pale skin.
“Kellin, we need to get you to the hospital.” I went to move, but he stopped me.
“No…no hospitals.” He gave me a pleading look and I nodded. I understood why he didn’t want to go. I gently moved so that I could stand. I reached down, helping him stand so that I could move him to a sitting position on the edge of the bathtub.
“Hold on a sec.” I began rummaging through the cabinets until I found what I was looking for: a first aid kit. Luckily there were bandages and ointment inside. I pulled them out and returned my attention to Kellin. “This might sting a little.” I washed my hands and placed some ointment on my finger, gently dabbing some on his lips. He winced back a little as it stung his swollen lips, but he did his best to stay still.
After I had tended to his face, I moved on to his arm. I gently placed ointment on it and, as carefully as possible, wrapped a bandage around it. The wound didn’t seem to be that deep, but I still wanted to make sure that it was properly taken care of. I knew that his torso would be speckled with bruises and I was fairly certain that he would be in a lot of pain for a few days.
It didn’t take long to get him all bandaged up. After I had finished, he stayed where he was, just staring at the ground. I moved to a kneeling position in front of him and lifted his chin so that he was looking at me. He had that sad look that I had seen on the day we met. It made my heart ache. He looked at me for a moment before pulling away and turning his head.
“Don’t look at me.” He whispered.
“Why not?”
“I feel…pathetic.”
“Don’t. This was not your fault.” I put my hand on his knee, trying to comfort him.
“I shouldn’t have let him in.” He argued, defiance in his eyes.
“Who?”
“My father.” The look of pure hate filled his eyes.
“Kellin…” I wasn’t sure what exactly I should say to him. I sighed deeply. “Come on, let’s get you to your room.” I stood up and offered and offered him my hand. He went to stand and almost instantly collapsed against me. I steadied him before deciding that carrying him would be a better option. I scooped him up, gently, trying not to hurt him. He was a little thrown off, but he steadied himself by wrapping an arm around my neck. I knew that it wasn’t showing, but I was beyond livid. How could anyone do that to another person, let alone their own child?
Fuming, I gently placed him on his bed and helped him lie down. I went to move away, but he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back.
“Stay…please.” His voice was so small and he was shaking slightly. I looked down at him, the look on his face causing my anger to dissipate.
“Alright.” I pulled out my phone, sending a quick message to my brother and sat on Kellin’s bed. We didn’t say anything for a few moments, just sat there in silence. I had been so ready to tell him, but now I felt that it wasn’t the time. But…what if it helped? What should I do?
“Vic?”
“Yes, Kellin.” I moved closer to him. He moved so that he was facing me. The look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat. “I…” he moved his face closer to mine, glancing down at my lips before looking back up at me. Our faces were only centimeters apart, and I had a feeling I knew what was about to happen. I took a chance.
“Kellin,” he paused, an unsure look on his face. “I love you.” I closed the distance between up, connecting our lips for the first time. I’ve heard people say things about seeing fireworks and getting butterflies, but it was so much more intense than that. I reached my hand up to his face, deepening the kiss. He licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance, which I allowed.
I couldn’t begin to explain how happy that this made me. I let him explore a little before taking a more dominant roll. Finally, the need to breath became too great, and I had to pull away.
“That…” I began, softly.
“Was way overdue.” He finished, a satisfied smile on his face.