A/N – Woo! Another fanfic update! Hope you enjoy!
Both Paddy and Jackson stood downstairs in the kitchen while Aaron showered upstairs. It had taken a while, three glasses of whiskey and several needed breaks before the older men knew all about what had happened at the roadside and in the bedroom at Sophia's party. They were now trying to decide on what to do next while they waited for Aaron to come out of the shower. He'd bee in the bathroom for nearly an hour and they still had yet to come to an agreement on what to do. Paddy was all for calling the police and so was Jackson. Darrel needed punishing but Jackson knew that Aaron wouldn't like it if they did. So in the end Paddy put his foot down.
"For now, we'll all go to bed and get some rest." Paddy said to Jackson. It was gone three in the morning and both had work in the morning, Some how neither of them could see themselves actually turning up to either jobs. "I'll call the police in the morning. He can't get away with this. He's done it twice now!"
"I know!" Jackson fumed gripping the countertop as he leant his back on it. "I should have known Paddy. Should have made him tell me what really happened."
"You shouldn't have known." Paddy argued. "None of us would have thought. . . Aaron never says anything anyway-."
"But Paddy, I knew something was wrong." Jackson told him. He hated it that he hadn't acted on his feelings. He knew Aaron was hiding something from him. It explained why he acted weird the other night when they kissed and he had wanted to take things further but Aaron had just freaked out.
"We weren't to know, there's no point beating ourselves up about it." Paddy said to Jackson putting the kettle on. They were all in need of a cup of tea as well. "As long as we're there for him. He's gonna needs us."
But will he want us." Jackson murmured. Aaron couldn't stand to be within a meter of either of them. How could they comfort him that way? Neither of them had any experience or any knowledge on how to handle any of this.
Upstairs, Aaron was still in the however. When he'd gotten in the bathroom he couldn't stop himself from heaving into the toilet bowl. Due to the alcohol earlier or the fact he felt so physically sick because Darrel's leering eyes lurked in the back of his mind and his touch still haunted his skin, he didn't know. All he could do was crawl into the shower once he knew he'd stopped and stand under the steady steam of water cascading down on him. He didn't care that he most probably had the temperature on painfully high. He just wanted to feel clean again but that feeling seemed forever away to reach. However, just to try and get it back Aaron scrubbed hard. Every inch of himself he scrubbed at using all of his body wash and Jackson's as well. He couldn't get the clean feeling back. All he could see were the angry marks Darrel had left behind. They wouldn't disappear.
He jumped when Paddy knocked on the bathroom door.
"Aaron, are you done yet?" He asked through the wood. "You need to go to bed. I've made you a cup of coffee."
"Aaron?" Paddy called when the younger man didn't answer. He had been in the bathroom for an awfully long time.
"Thanks." Aaron answered him. He waited until he heard Paddy retreat back downstairs before he scrubbed his body one last time. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fresh towel round his waist, drying himself with another. He'd brought clean clothes in with him. Before he would have just nipped across the hall to his room to get dressed but now it seemed daunting to even do that. He felt more comfortable getting dressed behind a locked door even though he knew Darrel wasn't in the house.
When Paddy got back downstairs, Jackson was just getting off of the phone. He didn't look to happy. He was about to ask the builder who to at that time of the night, but he answered his question before even asking.
"That was Sammi." Jackson told him. "She just phoned to see how Aaron was and to tell me about Darrel."
"Oh." Paddy pushed.
"He was upstairs in one of the rooms, where Aaron said. . . They had to take him to hospital." Jackson explained, he could hear Paddy hold his breath. "He's broken his collar bone and dislocated his arm, nothing to serious. But fortunately extremely painful."
"Least he deserves." Paddy spat.
"I agree." Jackson sighed. "Where's Aaron? Still in the shower?"
"Apparently so." Paddy answered. "I don't know what we're going to do. . ."
"Me neither, but let's take things one day at a time." Jackson said. "First, bed. You look shattered Paddy."
"Living with Aaron tends to do that to you." Paddy chuckled. "Come on."
Both men trudged up the stairs and parted at Aaron's bedroom door. Jackson was unsure of what welcome he'd receive. All night Aaron had been withdrawn and distant from him. He half expected it. The young man was half of what he once was. There was no cocky air about him like before, but just an even more vulnerable side to him he hated to see. He cursed Darrel for doing what he did. He was an animal that wanted locking up!
Aaron was lying in bed, fully clothed and curled up on his side of the bed. Jackson quietly stripped off of his clothes and decided that maybe tonight instead of his usual boxers he'd also wear a pair of pajama bottom's his mum had brought him for his birthday last year. They were dark blue and made out of linen but he thought Aaron would feel more comfortable. He gently climbed into bed as to not alarm Aaron and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. How could any of them sleep tonight, especially Aaron? Too much was running through their heads to even get any minutes peace. He hated to think what screwed up thoughts were running through Aaron's. In the dark he could just make out Aaron's features. He was still awake. He could hear him breathing, slow even breaths. He wanted to hold him, show him some sort of comfort anything.
Carefully, he slid his hand along the bed sheets to seek out his boyfriends. He wrapped his hand Aaron's and turned his head to look at him in the dark, to find him looking back. He couldn't hold the tears back any longer. He cried. He cried for Aaron. He cried because he'd failed to protect him. He cried because Aaron was scared. He cried because he knew it was going to be one hell of a journey until things were remotely close to what they once were. He knew Aaron found it hard to trust and now Darrel had shattered that to tiny pieces. He didn't mean to make Aaron cry with him.
After all their tears had been cried, they found themselves drifting off into an exhaustion driven sleep. Aaron had felt comfortable enough to slot himself along Jackson with his arm around him, finding comfort in the pattern of his breathing as he drifted off to sleep. It made everything seem a little easier that Aaron was comfortable around him. He wouldn't blame him if he was put off men for life. Darrel was a nasty piece of work and they were to deal with him in the morning. He wasn't going to get away with any of it. Sammi on the phone earlier said she would come over later to check on how things were and collect on her car. He could always count on Sammi to be there in a time of need.
The next morning Jackson left Aaron sleep in bed. He hadn't woken up till eleven himself and catching sight of Aaron sleeping under the duvet looking so calm and at peace he didn't want to wake him up to reality. So he'd left him to carry on sleeping as he crept downstairs after a shower. He walked in on Paddy and Hazel talking in the kitchen a pile of clothes, Aaron's clothes, on the kitchen table.
"What's this?" Jackson asked nodding his head towards the familiar trackie bottoms, t-shirt and hoodie.
"Aaron's clothes." Paddy answered him.
"Yeah I know that. But why?" Jackson sighed as he poured himself a coffee.
"I found them the other day in the washing basket." Hazel explained. "While I was doing the washing. They're all torn."
Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Torn?"
"We think he might have been wearing them the other day. . ." Paddy trailed off. They found it hard to even say.
Jackson stepped forward and picked the clothes up to get a closer look. Aaron's light blue t-shirt was torn in several places, like an animal had tried to rip it apart. His track suit bottoms were no better, they were ripped several times along the front revealing the white cotton lining inside. "Did you wash them?" Jackson asked his mum.
"No. I was going to chuck them out." Hazel told him.
"Good. We could use these for evidence." Jackson said, folding them up and placing them on the side. "Have you called them yet?"
"No. No, I was gonna wait for Aaron to wake up first." Paddy answered the builder.
"I'm awake."
They all turned towards the voice to see Aaron standing in the doorway. He looked worse for wear. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, a black eye marking his face along with other bruising from last week and a swollen lip. The angry bite marks were showing along his bare neck and disappeared down his t-shirt, he tried to pull his hood up around his neck when he caught Jackson staring. He felt self conscious enough without that.
"You're awake." Paddy exclaimed. "Do you want breakfast?"
Aaron didn't answer him. "What were you then talking about?" Aaron asked. "Tell me."
"Paddy's going to call the police." Jackson told him.
"No. You're not calling anyone." Aaron gritted out. He didn't want the police involved. He felt bad enough without more people knowing. The whole village would no soon enough, taking pity on him.
"I'm sorry Aaron, but he can't get away with this again!" Paddy argued, raising his voice slightly. He was worried for the young man he'd grown to love as a son. "I'm calling the police end of."
"No!" Aaron yelled.
"Aaron. You've been attacked twice. Not once but twice by the same man." Paddy drilled. "You can't let him get away with it again! What if he tries it again? You or somebody else might not be so luck next time!"
"Lucky? You call what happened to me lucky?" Aaron roared. He didn't need Paddy telling him what had happened, least of all how 'lucky' he was. It was ridiculous.
"No, Aaron, I didn't mean. . ." Paddy muttered. He never meant it to sound like that. He was only concerned for the teen. "Just think about it please."
"It's not happening Paddy end of." Aaron snapped before turning on his heel and storming back upstairs. A few seconds later they could hear his bedroom door being slammed shut.
"I'll go up." Jackson offered already making his way out the room.
Aaron was laying on the bed on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Jackson laid down beside him and mirrored his position before he started to speak.
"You've got to tell the police Aaron- and before you say anything you do!" Jackson said quickly. "He needs to be locked up, he's not safe. You found out the hard way about that. Paddy was right in what he said. He could try it again, what's to stop him a third time." Jackson sneaked a quick glance towards Aaron who seemed to be unaffected by Jackson's speech. "If not on you then on somebody else. Please Aaron, just tell the police."
"And how is that gonna make me look?" Aaron spat, anger clear in his eyes.
"It's not gonna make you look bad if you do!" Jackson snapped irritated at Aaron's pride.
"Oh yeah! They're not going to believe me. Not with my track record." Aaron growled, anger boiling to the surface. He was taking it all out on Jackson now. He needed an out let and it seemed Jackson was going to take the brunt of it all.
"Aaron-." Jackson started.
"-No! They're not going to believe me, Jackson. As soon as I walk in their and tell they'll laugh in my face." Aaron spat, sitting up. "And who would blame them! A head case like me most probably deserved to be brought down a peg or two."
By now Aaron was bringing everything out. He didn't care that he was shouting at Jackson. Everything from the past week or so was just spilling out. He couldn't control what he was saying. Jackson couldn't believe what he was hearing. Aaron did not just say that in some twisted way he had it coming to him? Nobody had attempted rape coming their way, nobody deserved to be violated in any sort.
"Aaron, what happened to you, you did not deserve that!" Jackson told him firmly, gripping him by the arms so Aaron looked him in the eye. "What Darrel done to you was unforgivable and he has to be punished."
Aaron laughed bitterly before ripping his arms away from Jackson. "If you can believe that, you can believe anything."
Before he could say anymore to the troubled teenager, Aaron had stormed at the house. He sighed loudly and placed his head in his hands. He needed to convince Aaron that it wasn't his fault. But getting through to the stubborn mechanic sometimes was impossible.