No One Does It Better

Josh's P.O.V

“Where have you been?”

I gulped as I shrugged my coat off and entered the living room, I hadn’t been expecting my dad to come home as early as he did; but sure enough, he had. He was sitting on the edge of the coffee table with his work belt in his hand; I feared what he would use it for.

“Out…” I muttered as I rubbed my arm, noting how my skin was dark hues of black and blue; my dad stood from his spot and walked over to me. I couldn’t help but shudder as he came to stand before me.

“On your knees, now,” He commanded whilst pointing at the floor, I felt bile rise in my throat.

“Why?” I questioned, staring at the broken apart hardwood flooring, I heard him laugh before he grabbed hold of my shoulder and shoved me down. I didn’t dare look back up at him. I heard him grunt a few times as I noticed the all too familiar sound of a zipper being undone. I panicked, dropping from my knees to my bottom and scooting away as fast as I could, still staring at the floor.

“JOSHUA! YOU COME HERE!” he yelled as he stomped towards me, I didn’t stop scooting until my back hit the door, I automatically brought my knees to my chest and muttered “ No,” over and over again. He shrieked in anger while he grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head towards him; In that moment I couldn’t help but scream. He stopped his assault for a second and remained quiet, and I silently prayed that his assault was over, but it wasn’t.

“You’ve really out done yourself this time, Josh!” he screamed as a searing pain went through out my face. I instantly grabbed onto my cheek and was absolutely shocked at what I felt; a large welt was growing on my skin, and my lip was certainly busted too. I looked feebly up at him, the belt was only inches from my face and his pants were long since discarded. I regrettably felt ashamed of myself, and not to mention, completely embarrassed; but I knew that was how I deserved to feel.

“Are you going to be a good boy now? Or do I finally get my chance to destroy that pretty face of yours?” he seethed as he glared down at me, I shook my head no.

“No, I won’t do it anymore. It’s sick. You lied to me back then, you forced yourself on me! You thought it was fun! You thought it was funny to rape your son, your own flesh and blood! You’re sick fucking coward!” I lashed out, trying to grab the belt from his hands but he was quicker than I was. His foot collided with my chest and sent my body to the floor with a thud; I couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped my lips as my face slammed into the hard wood.

“How dare you say that about me! You’re going to get it this time, dipshit! Then you’re going to get the fuck out of my house and never come back!” he was pinning me down in an instant, and doing things that I could never fathom someone would desire to do to someone that they brought to life. The whole time I kept deathly still but I finally allowed myself to cry. I felt disgusting, felt dirtier than I ever had in my whole life and there was only one way I was going to get out of this skin.

“Get up,” he commanded when he was done, done defiling me in any way he knew he could. I struggled but gathered myself off of my feet, grabbing my belongings before fleeing up the stairs. I hurried and grabbed my bag, and then began to toss my other things inside; I numbly slipped my pants back on, numbly buttoned up my shirt and numbly slipped the coat on over it. Before I left I took a glance at the room, my room, the room that I loved at one time in life had turned into the place that I feared; I made myself leave, made myself walk down the stairs and out the front door without a second glance. Leaving my keys on the ground somewhere along the way, I left the place I thought I could return to die, but not without my things, and not without the small tin that housed the way that I was going to escape my life.

-*-

I awkwardly limped down the small and winding streets, not sure where I was trying to go, but sure of where I wanted to be. I didn’t say hello to the people who said it to me, I didn’t stop when a girl asked me for a picture; and I didn’t stop to take a second look at anything. I wanted to walk off the earth, and hoped that if I kept walking somehow the ground would give and swallow me whole, I wanted to disappear.

“JOSH!” I didn’t plan on stopping for anything or anyone, but my body betrayed me as I heard my name being called down the bustling sidewalk. That voice always stopped me dead in my tracks, I groaned as the pain returned to my body when I spun on my heel. I wasn’t expecting to see everyone, not my band mates, not Oli’s…not Oli, but sure enough, there he was. Tears staining his skin, and his arms out stretched towards me, almost as if beckoning me to come into them. I shook my head, and turned back around before sprinting down the street. I didn’t stop to say excuse me to the people I Knocked over, and this time I didn’t stop when he called out my name.

-*-

Oli’s P.O.V

My heart was slamming into my chest, my legs protesting as I raced faster than I knew I could; but I was determined to catch him. I saw him dart into a park, and I was quick to follow; somehow I had gained enough speed that I was right behind him, so I took a risky move. I lunged for him, successfully knocking him to the ground with me falling on top of him; he screwed his eyes shut as tears spilled over, he groaned as I pinned him down.

“JOSHUA JAMES ALPHONSE FRANCESCHI!” I hollered as I forced him to look into my eyes, he choked up.

“Let me go…please…I can't see you anymore, Oli. I’m killing you!” he screamed back but I shook my head,

“No! No you’re not! You wanna know what is killing me though? You not being at home, you not being at home…with me! Please, come back! I miss you, and I'm so sorry if I did something to make you leave…please…” I couldn’t contain myself anymore; I let my grip on his arms go but still straddled his waist as I brought my hands to my face and sobbed into them.

“Oli…” I felt a hand slip on my wrist and gently tug it away, but it wasn’t Josh’s; it was Dan’s. Somehow they had all caught up to us and were circling around us, definitely making sure Josh could turn tail and leave once more.

“Come on, get off him.” Dan mumbled as he looped his arms around mine and pried me off of him, Josh laid deathly still.

“Josh, we all need to talk.” The drummer stated as he plopped down beside of him, Josh shook his head.

“I have nothing to say to you all,” he offered as he propped himself up, I bit my tongue as I checked his skin which was bloodied and littered with cuts and bruises.

“You’re kidding…Josh! You fucking left us without an explanation, you left your boyfriend-“

“Ex…ex boyfriend.” Josh corrected Chris with a sad smile, I felt my stomach drop.

“Really?” I questioned, shooting him the most pathetic glance; but I couldn’t help it. He pouted and mouthed ‘I'm so sorry’ but didn’t say anything after that.

“I can’t do this.” I muttered as I grabbed my head and shook it back and forth, “I…” I couldn’t offer anything else to say, so I glanced at Max.

“Take him to yours or something…” I mumbled as I pushed past Tom and Vegan before stomping down the road.

“Oli! Wait for me, please!” Hannah’s voice followed me, I could hear her light footsteps crunching on the leaves on the walkway, and reluctantly I stopped. She grabbed a hold of my arm so that she could loop it with hers as we walked, she didn’t say anything but anytime I sniffled or exhaled loudly she would clasp her hand over mine.

“I can't believe he said that…I thought…I thought he cared about me.” I whined as we put even more distance away from the park, she sighed.

“Oli, I know it stings…but maybe it just wasn’t meant to be…or maybe just not now. Who knows, maybe you all just need space and Josh needs time to realize how much he cares about you.” She reassured me before dragging me into a coffee shop. We walked to the counter and she promptly ordered two hot chocolates; which against my will, she paid for.

“Grab a table, I will get the drinks.” She spoke softly before walking to the far end of the counter to wait, I plopped down on a chair in the back of the room. Allowing myself to sink my face into the table while desperately trying to collect myself but all I could think of was him. I daydreamed about the days I woke up to his smiling face, the way the sun hit his skin and almost made him glow; the laugh that was so contagious it could make a whole room burst into giggles…I missed it. I had missed him more than anything, but now…now I couldn’t tell how I felt.

“Jordan texted me,” Hannah’s high pitched voice snapped me back into reality as she sat in front of me and placed the drinks on the table. I quietly thanked her and took a small sip as she explained what was going on. “Well, he’s going to stay with Max…he said that he would keep a sharp eye on him. Josh doesn’t want to talk about anything right now…and I know this is going to be upsetting…but…” her voice trailed off and she visibly tensed before she grabbed my hand in hers.

“He doesn’t want to see you…at least, not for now.” She gripped my hand tighter,

“Oh…” I whispered, suddenly taking an interest in the table, I squeezed her hand tighter as I felt tears rise back to my eyes.

“You can get through this, Oli…I haven’t known you long but long enough to know you’re a strong man. You can do this, you have a great support system, you have Tom back in your life now; and I'm always here if you need me.” I knew she was right, I had a lot of wonderful people who would help me through this it was just that I didn’t want to go through it. I wanted for Josh to come back home with me, and for everything to be alright again. But apparently Josh had different plans, Hannah explained that they were leaving for Sheffield once again and that we would catch the later train, and that we were going to spend the rest of the time we had in Weybridge doing things to take my mind off of the whole situation. I went without a struggle, but I found myself not focusing on the things we were doing but instead listing off the reasons that my life would be so much better if I had continued to hate Josh Franceschi.