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Chapter 11: Faithfully

Tegan POV:

I take a step back into the kitchen and look out into the empty living room, the fresh white walls making the place look bright. I can picture it so easily. My mom sitting on a big sofa, her feet resting on a cheap coffee table as she eats her cereal. Or her waking up at the crack of dawn on Sundays to clean and cook chorizo while oldies play on the radio. This is going to be our home, just the two of us. She'll finally be safe.

I take in a deep breath and turn around, Bob's eyes on mine as I make my way to the kitchen counter. I send him a big smile and he sends one back, setting two sets of keys to his back-house onto the counter.

"You know, you never told me why you were looking for a place? You sure you're not in any kinda trouble?"

He says, crossing his arms over his chest. When I mentioned to Bob at work that I was looking for a place to live, I never expected him to offer me his back-house. He told me it would be mine for a solid $500 a month, if I liked it of course. I let out a small sigh and lean against the counter, his gaze burning holes into my skin. He's asked me so many times why I'm in this situation. Too many times, actually.

"I don't know if you would call this trouble, but I need a place to bring my mom."

I turn my head to the living room and my lips curl, already picturing her walking around in her baggy pajamas. I know she's going to love it here.

"Bring your mom? Is she in trouble? Cause it's usually the mothers takin' care of the children, not the other way 'round."

I trail my eyes over to his, feeling my stomach twist at the topic. Normally, I would have lied. Made up some crappy excuse that I need my own space just so he wouldn't ask any more questions. But, if i'm being honest. I don't want to lie, at least not about this. This is the man who pays me to work for him, who's renting me a house on his own property because he sees that I need it. I owe him more than just a shitty lie.

"It's kind of a long story, but my Mom's up in Oregon. When I was about 14, my Dad started beating her. No one really knows why, just started happening. When I came down here about a month ago, my parents were doing good. Dad hadn't beat her in a few months. Didn't last long, though. My cousin came down the other day and told me that my Dad put her in the hospital this time."

I bite down on my bottom lip, looking at Bob's face for a reaction. His eyes have grown soft, no longer filled with curiosity. Maybe the truth was a bad idea? I take in a deep breath and just nod my head, dropping my eyes down to the floor. Did I just fuck this all up?

"How's your Mom doing now?"

His voice is low, sympathy laced in every word. I close my eyes for a moment, picturing my Mom laying in bed with a belly popping out from the blankets. My eyes start to sting.

"She didn't know she was pregnant, but it's gone now."

I feel a salty tear roll down my cheek, the air surrounding me turning stale. I take in a quick breath and run my finger across my nose, looking up at Bob while trying to regain my composure. I've cried about this a few times already, but this time seems so different from the others. Someone is standing right across from me, staring at me like I'm a puppy that's been kicked.

"Tell you what."

He says, pausing for a moment.

"I'm gonna let you guys stay here, no charge at all."

My body freezes, my eyes scrunching with confusion at his words. Huh? His lips curl into a small smile and he rests his hand over the two keys on the kitchen counter. Slowly, he pushes them to me. I look down at the keys as his hand leaves them, my stomach twisting with so many emotions. This can't be happening.

"Bob, I can't let you do that."

I whisper, trailing my eyes back up to his. His smile turns weak as he places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly. He's fucking serious.

"I like ya, kid. You got a good head on your shoulders and you're a hell of a mechanic. The cards you've been dealt with ain't exactly the best, I just wanna help."

My eyes start to water, the puddles ready to break with one blink. He's serious. He lifts out one hand and holds it in the space between us, waiting for mine to join his. I look down and slowly shake my head, a wave of happiness seeping into my pores. I lift my hands and push his away, wrapping my arms around him in a tight embrace. This is really happening.

Growing up, I've only known one thing and one thing only. Struggle. Although in the beginning my dad was a good man who worked hard for his family, he still taught me to always work hard for something. 'If you want it that bad, you'll work for it' he would tell me every time I asked for something. I never took handouts, never took the easy way out of situations. My dad said that there's no better feeling than working hard for something and finally getting it. You appreciate it more. He was right. But, with all the events that have gone on this month with him and my mom…I need help. Just like Casey said, 'It's okay to swallow your pride and accept help'. As much as I want to do this all on my own, I know I can't. I'm 18, tired and defeated.

"Thank you, Bob. Jus- thank you so much."

I squeeze my arms around him, resting my head down against his shoulder. He lets out a soft chuckle and wraps his arms around me, patting me on the back. I stare at the wall next to us as my eyes start to leak, a new wave of emotions coming over me. First Casey, now Bob. Besides my mom and family, I've never been able to lean on someone like this. It's scary, very scary. But, then there's also relief.

"Use that money to go and get some furniture, kid. Can't have you and your mom sleeping on the floor when she gets here."

Sara POV:

The tape stops and I open my eyes, hearing it start to rewind as I take in a deep breath. It's been three days since I've seen Tegan. My eyes have been glued to my window every day waiting for him to pop his head in with a cute comment. I miss him, alot. I let out a small sigh and turn my body to the side, looking at my closed door. I hope he's okay.

The tape comes to a halt once again and starts to play, the warm voice of Steve Perry filing my ears. He's been the only voice to keep me sane in the past three days. I even tried to talk to my parents yesterday, just to keep my mind off of Tegan and all the possibilities of trouble he could be in. Only for them to tell me that they're leaving to Montana for a week to represent a client on trial.

"Did you know that there's a vine ladder on the side of your house?"

My body jumps at the familiar voice. I turn my head, my heart stopping at the boy standing outside of my window. My eyes trail up his body, a pair of light denim jeans hugging his skin with a black sweatshirt hanging off his shoulders. My eyes slowly move up, scanning his face. As the moonlight touches his skin, the blood in my veins stills. All the bruises that were on his face have faded away?

"Tegan?"

I whisper, blinking my eyes. Is he really there? I turn my body around and move to the edge of the bed, my eyes following as his Doc covered feet slowly climb their way into my room. He sets his feet down and my eyes go back to his face, his hair moving from his face as he lifts his head to look at me. I was right, the bruises are gone.

"Is there something on my face?"

He says, bringing his hand up to wipe around his mouth. I slowly shake my head in disbelief, my eyes catching sight of silver shining underneath my light. His hand has two rings on it, one in the shape of a skull on his ring finger and the other one a simple band on his index finger. I look back over to his face and notice something dangling from his ear, a small cross on his right earlobe. He pierced his ear?

"Sara, what's wrong?"

His voice pulls me back to earth, my body instantly feeling warm as I push my body up from the bed and lunge at him. He lets out a soft chuckle as my arms wrap around his neck, my face resting against his chest as his hands come up to softly grip my waist. I take in a deep breath and the scent of cigarettes and cologne fill my nostrils, my heart calming as my eyes close. This. I've missed this so much.

"Where have you been, Tegan? I was worried about you."

I whisper into his sweatshirt. He takes in a small breath and I feel a pair of soft lips press against my forehead, my grip around his neck tightening. I don't ever want to let him go.

"I'm okay, I promise. I had some things I needed to sort out, I'm sorry."

His voice is sincere, forgiveness already in the air before the words even left his lips. Just knowing that he's okay is enough for me.

"Did you sort them all out?"

I ask, slowly pulling away and trailing my eyes up to scan his face. His lips pull into a weak smile and he slowly nods, leaning down and placing a soft kiss against my lips. Every bone in my body goes limp as his hand reaches up and rests against my neck, his thumb softly padding over my cheek. Nothing in the world feels better than this. He slowly pulls himself away, my body going cold as he takes a step back. He drops his hand back down to my waist and gently grips it, his index finger sliding under the rim of my jeans.

"Well, I still have one more thing to do actually."

He says, softly running his finger against my skin. My eyes close for a second, the feeling of his bare skin touching mine sends a tingle to my thighs. I squeeze them together, swallowing the puddle of saliva in my mouth.

"What's that?"

He takes in a small breath and slowly pulls his body away, his feet making their way to my bed. He sits on the edge and drops his head down, his hands coming up to his face as his elbows rest on his knees. The feeling in my thighs leaves instantly, noticing the change in his demeanor. Something's wrong. I make my way over to him and stand between his legs, towering over him.

"What's wrong, Tegan?"

I ask, lifting my hand and placing it in his hair. My fingers slowly move around, tracing unknown figures into his scalp. Whatever it is, it must be bothering him a lot. Suddenly, he lifts his head. His eyes trail up to mine and it makes my heart skip a beat. He doesn't want to tell me.

"Do you remember when I told you that stuff about my mom? It was the night I brought you the bag of tapes?"

His voice is weak and it makes my heart hurt. He really doesn't want to tell me this.

"You don't have to tel-"

"I know, but I want to."

His voice is stern and it makes me slowly nod my head.

"I remember."

'As soon as I save up enough money, I'm going back to Oregon to get my mom. The sooner I bring her out here, the better.' The words float around in my head as I stare into his eyes. 'I thought things were better, I thought it was okay to leave her up there.'

"My Dad used to be a good guy. The way he loved my Mom was something you rarely saw, he was head over heels in love with her."

I tilt my head to the side, watching as his eyes become glossy. I take in a small breath and bring my hand down, softly rubbing my finger against his stern jaw. The sight of him like this just makes my stomach turn.

"I jus- I don't know what happened. I came home one day and he was just yelling at her in the kitchen. There were beer bottles everywhere, some furniture knocked to the ground. I was confused, you know? I had never seen them fight before. But, then… he just hit her."

My eyes grow wide as a small tear leaves the corner of his, my blood coming to a full stop. Now I get why he said he used to be a good guy. Tegan's Dad wasn't a good guy anymore.

"I ran away the moment I saw that. I couldn't help it, Sara. I wa- I was afraid."

I feel my eyes start to sting, puddles forming at the rims as he stares up at me. My heart aches as I slowly search his face, has his dad ever hit him? The thought makes my eyes squeeze shut, the image of Tegan on the ground covering his face makes a hot tear slip. I can only hope my thoughts are not true.

"I got caught a few towns over sleeping in a church, the preacher there had found me one night when he was setting out buckets for the rain water. He called the cops and they brought me home. When I got there, I didn't come out of my room for days. My Dad had to kick my door down to tell me he was sorry and that it would never happen again. I should have known that he was fucking lying. But, I had that little bit of hope, you know? My mom told me that he was never gonna do that again either, so I believed her. Didn't even last a full month. After that it just became a thing in our house. 'Don't get your Dad mad, Tee' or 'He's having a good day today, let's just not get in his way'. For a while it was only my mom, then it turned into both of us."

The one thing I had feared was true. Tegan's Dad was hurting him. I close my eyes and slowly shake my head, refusing to watch the image in my head on repeat. As much as it hurt me to hear this, I can't even imagine how he must feel. I don't have the best relationship with my Dad, but even so I could never imagine him doing that to my mom and I. He's my father.

"When I made the decision to move out here, I made it because I thought everything had changed. My Dad hadn't been drinking for a while and he and my Mom were back to being happy again. I felt like she was safe with him again. So I moved here to focus on school. I wanted to graduate, get into a school for Mechanics and open my own shop… just like my Dad. It took him two weeks to go back to his old ways."

His voice shakes. I open my eyes and there are now tear tracks covering his cheeks. I swallow the puddle of saliva pooling into my mouth and lick my bottom lip, trying my best to not crumble at the sight in front of me.

"Do you remember that first time I came to your window? I was all messed up and tired."

I take in a deep breath and gently nod my head, the memories from that night playing in my head. He had bruises and cuts covering his whole face, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted. When I asked him who did that, his only reply was 'Don't worry about it, okay? I've taken worse, I'm fine'. That was the day he came straight to my house from the highway. The first night he slept right next to me.

"I went to Oregon because my Dad had started up again. When I got there, he and I just started going at it. I begged my mom to come home with me, even got down on my knees. She said she wouldn't come until there was a safe place here for her. "

"What about your Aunt? That's gotta be the safest place for her, Tegan."

He slowly shakes his head, trailing his eyes down to the floor.

"It's the first place he would look for her, Sara. Not only that, we don't wanna put Rita in the middle of it all. Not anymore."

I take my bottom lip between my teeth, feeling the dry tear tracks crack from being stretched. He's right. It would be the worst place to bring her to.

"That's why I got her and I our own place."

He lifts his head up and stares at me, his lips curling into a small smile as he leans forward and presses his chin against my stomach. A wave of relief sinks into my pores as he takes his bottom lip between his teeth, a sense of pride radiating from him. He got a place for his mom.

"Are you serious?"

I ask, bringing my hands up to cup his jaw. He lets out a soft chuckle and nods his head, my heart beating fast as all the emotions from before leave his body. I can only imagine the sense of relief and happiness he feels right now at this very moment. My lips curl and I lean down, pressing them against his forehead softly.

The feelings I have for this boy are beyond me. One minute he has me worried, wondering if something's happened to him. If he's okay. Then next he has me sad, his past making my heart hurt as he relives it just to tell me. But even then, I can't help but feel one thing and one thing only whenever I'm around him. Happy. He makes me happy. And I can bet everything that I have, that he doesn't even know how happy he makes me. I'm forever grateful for him.

"So, I packed three bags. The first bag is filled to the brim with clothes. I'm talking about t-shirts, pants, socks, boxers and the good stuff, you know? The second bag is filled with stuff to take care of personal hygiene. Then the last bag, well, that's the best bag. It's got lots of snacks and drinks that I can't possibly finish all by myself. Now, all of these bags are sitting in the back of Jeremy's van that's parked outside right now."

I take a step back and look down at him, slightly confused as to what he's saying. He lets out a soft chuckle as I tilt my head to the side, my eyebrow rising for an explanation.

"Sara, can you come with me to pick up my Mom?"