Damian could feel his heart breaking in a whole new way as Cameron began to sob at his bedside. All he could were pleas for forgiveness and regret. This was a different Cameron than the night before: this was Damian's boyfriend. It took everything inside of him to keep still, to not reach out for the sobbing boy's hand. Cameron needed help.
"I won't ever do this to you again, Damian." Cameron whispered as he wiped away his falling tears. "I'll never lay a hand on you or your beautiful body." He said, his eyes still filled with tears.
Damian wanted to sit up and look at him, but he didn't have the strength. Instead he turned away with his eyes, looking at anything but the one who was talking. Taking a deep breath, Damian focused on his words so that they wouldn't come out stuttering. "Y-y-you f-f-forced m-me t-to" He paused, his throat closing up at the memory.
"N-no, Damian." Cameron gasped, not sure what he did. "I w-wouldn't have." He said quietly, looking away in shame.
Anger took over Damian quickly. How was Cameron denying this? Did he not see what he did to put them in this position? Cameron needed help, much more than Damian could give him.
"You forced me to give you oral sex, Cameron!" Damian said as loudly as he could. The anger was so strong in him that he had found the strength to turn and look Cameron right in the eye. "You told me I was worthless. You almost killed me and you know what?" He asked, his voice hissing. "I wish you did." He cried, tears falling from his eyes.
Cameron searched Damian's face for something, anything other than hate. He could see it in his eyes, in his lips and even in his voice. "I-I'm so sorry." He sobbed, bringing his head down to the bed and continuing to sob. "P-please forgive me."
"You need help, Cameron." Damian said, pulling away. "You need rehab. You need to stop drinking and come to terms with who you really are."
Cameron stayed silent but nodded to each of Damian's words. He knew that there was something wrong with him- that he was a monster. "T-then we can be together, for real." He whispered, looking up at Damian.
Shaking his head slowly, Damian took a deep breath. "I can't be with you, Cameron. This isn't okay." He said with some regret in his voice. He had seen things like this in movies. A boyfriend being violent, telling their girlfriend they would stop but then it just happened again and again. Damian wouldn't let that happen to him, or anyone else. "You need to leave. Send someone to pack your things, but you need to leave now."
Cameron wasn't sure what hurt more in that moment. Damian kicking him out, or the fact that he was right. "I-I love you, Damian." He pleaded, giving anything for one last chance.
"I loved you, Cameron. But I can't be with you anymore." Damian whispered, looking away. He knew what he was doing was the right thing- even if he could hear both their hearts breaking.
Without another word, Cameron slowly got up and left, not looking back once. Hearing the door shut, Damian began to sob, holding onto anything he could. He needed to be strong, to be brave. Not just for him, but for anyone who had ever had this happen to them.
After a few days, Damian was able to go outside on his own. He figured it was better to not get the police involved unless Cameron had come back. When his friends asked about the bruises, he said that he had tripped down the stairs. When they asked about Cameron- Damian frowned and held back the tears as he made up another lie. They must have caught on because no one asked anything anymore, and just encouraged Damian to focus on his work.
A week after Damian had ended it with Cameron, Damian had decided to pack all of his things in boxes. He didn't need constant reminders of their love and his secrets. Taping the last box and writing a big C on it, Damian jumped at the knock on the door. Checking his phone, he saw that no one had texted him or called about coming over. "Cameron?" He whispered to himself as he made his way to the door. "Cameron, please just go away." He yelled as he looked at the peep hole. His heart dropped when he saw two police officers at the door. Had someone figured it out? Had they called the police without even asking Damian about it?
Damian slowly opened the door and did his best to smile at the men. "H-hello, officers." He whispered, looking behind them for any sight of Cameron. "C-can I help you?"
"Mr. McGinty?" The officer on the right asked. Damian nodded, waiting for them to state their reason. "We're sorry to inform you of this, but last night a man named Robert Mitchell committed suicide."
Damian's knees went weak, only hearing his heartbeat in his head. "W-what?" He choked out grasping the door for support.
"We're very sorry, Mr. McGinty. He was found this morning with a note and all it said was your name." The other officer told him, grabbing Damian's shoulder and bringing him inside.
"H-how?" Damian whispered, tears falling from his eyes. Cameron- his Cameron, was dead. All he could picture was Cameron being alone somewhere.
"Sir-" The officer paused. "We really shouldn't tell you that, not at this time."
"HOW?" Damian yelled, looking up at him.
"He slit his wrists." The man said softly, looking at his partner.
"T-thank you, officers." Damian mumbled, standing up and showing them the door. Before they could say anything else, Damian shut the door in their face.