Friday

Adam doesn't say a word when they get to Monte's apartment. And peroxide stings, as he learns really quickly from sitting on the edge of the bathroom tub, Adam kneeling in front of him with the bottle and cotton balls doused, dabbing at his face. But he doesn't make a complaint about it. The stinging means that it's working. That he's getting cleaned up, because hey, he's a little beat up. Cuts in his shoulder, on his face, and on his left thigh. But at least these are the only spots, other than his lip (they don't really want to chance putting peroxide there. Safety reasons, you know?)

Chemicals aside, Adam grabs an ace bandage off of the toilet seat, where he had left it after coming into the bathroom with Tommy. He takes it and unwraps it slowly, gently taking Tommy's hand in his and wrapping the blonde's wrist. Tommy winces, biting on his lower lip, but keeping mind of the small cut. His wrist feels like it's on fire, but he doesn't want to really alarm Adam right now. The redhead is lost in his own world, his eyes distant, disturbed.

The bandage is wrapped around Tommy's wrist, and the blond looks up at Adam again, his face a mask of apology. Adam blinks once, sighing heavily as he leans forward, pulling Tommy to his feet and hugging him tightly, but careful of his baby's bruises. Tommy buries his face into Adam's neck, choking back tears. He hates crying. He hates it so much but he's so sick of all of this. He hates being so broken, and now there's nothing to hide from Adam. The redhead had made him strip down into just a pair of shorts to see the damage, and for the first time, Tommy had shown his suffering to someone other than himself.

Initially, Adam wanted to take Monte's car and drive at terrifying speeds back to Tommy's house and beat the shit out of Tommy's father. But Tommy told him it was fine, not to be reckless, not to worry about it now, because he's safe. And now here they are, not speaking at all and Adam's holding Tommy and shaking with tears. Tommy doesn't really know why Adam's crying, but he's got a pretty good feeling and he really doesn't want to ask Adam about it. He just holds onto the redhead, letting his own tears fall into his angel's shirt.

"Tommy… Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Adam whispers into the blonde's ear, his voice cracking with pain and anger. Tommy closes his eyes, breathing hard. He doesn't say anything. There are a lot of reasons that he doesn't say anything about it; to Adam or any official. It's because he's afraid. He's afraid that if he tells, it'll just be a waste of time and hope and that it'll just keep happening. He's afraid that if he calls the police, Richard will find a way out and come to haunt them again. He's afraid that if he lets anyone in, Richard's going to hurt them too…

That last reason… That's why he never says anything.

"I didn't want him hurting you." He says gently, his body trembling in Adam's arms. The redhead kisses Tommy's forehead, murmuring in his ear softly, before pulling him slowly out of the bathroom, and into the second of two small bedrooms. There's a decent sized bed hugging the wall, a side table and a dresser. Tucked in a corner is a guitar case, closed and locked, but Tommy doesn't pay any mind to it. He's tired. He's in pain. And he just wants to be next to Adam and do nothing but talk and kiss.

Almost immediately, Tommy lays down, snuggling into Adam's arms and closing his eyes slowly. Adam's breathing is soft, still a little shaky from crying and Tommy looks back up at his angel. Adam smiles weakly at him, stroking his hair a little, before pulling him into a kiss. It's sweet, gentle, just the thing Tommy needs to feel a little better about being here and not protecting his mother. Fuck, Allison… Tommy pulls away quickly, biting down on his bottom lip and burying his face into Adam's chest again.

"Baby?" Adam's voice is soft, concerned.

"My mom." Tommy answers just as quietly, breathing deeply through his mouth and clinging onto Adam. He's scared. He's scared that by being here she's going to die. He's scared that if he goes back it's just going to get worse and that he'll never see Adam again. He's so scared and he's shaking all over again. Adam's arms tighten around him and he can't stop the tears rolling down his face.

"Baby, it's… It's going to be okay." Adam says, thinking as he speaks. "You'll stay here for a few days, and we'll go back, we'll get your mom, and we'll just leave. We'll get out of Los Angeles. You, me, Monte and your mom, and we'll just go."

Tommy chokes a little, sniffing. As much as he loves the idea of just getting the hell out of Los Angeles, it's impossible. "We can't, Adam. It's not that simple. We're still in high school. We don't have jobs. Where would we go?"

"I… I don't know." Adam chuckles, but it's flat. "Wishful thinking, I guess." He says, kissing Tommy's forehead.

They're both silent for a few moments, simply breathing, and Tommy wonders for a second if Adam's fallen asleep. But the redhead sighs heavily after a while, stroking Tommy's hair and his arms tighten a little more. He's just restless, probably thinking. The room is quiet, undisturbed. Tommy closes his eyes, burying his face into Adam's chest further, breathing in the scent of his baby. He likes it here. It's warm, cozy, and quiet. It's safe. It's… nice. He closes his eyes. It's so nice…

He's sleep so peacefully. He can feel Adam's arms around him and it's just right. He smiles to himself, nuzzling closer. Adam laughs softly, planting gentle kisses on Tommy's face and in his hair, his hands rubbing the blonde's back easily. Tommy opens his eyes, looking up into Adam's face. There's a kind of life and light there that makes his heart swell and he kisses Adam slowly. The redhead's tongue trails over his bottom lip, slipping inside his mouth. He moans, reaching up and pulling on Adam's hair, bringing himself closer to his angel. His baby.

Adam pulls away, breathing hard as he leaves kisses along Tommy's neck, nipping here and there and making the blond shiver. It's so nice. He smiles, gasping once as Adam bites down on a sensitive spot, right on the underside of his jaw. He shivers, his hands sliding down and gripping the redhead's shoulders. Adam kisses the mark, before pecking Tommy on the lips. The blond looks up, smiling at Adam. Adam's gaze shifts, up passed Tommy, and his smile fades.

"Tommy, look out—" Adam begins to say, and Tommy feels hands pulling him away from his baby, throwing him across the room. He hits the dresser, his back catching a knob before he falls to the floor, moaning. Adam's shouting, and he lifts his head, seeing his father's back. No, no, no!

"You little bitch." Richard shouts, grabbing Adam by the front of his shirt and pulling him off the bed. Tommy scrambles to get up, but something's holding him back. He whines, tugging against the strange force when he looks down, seeing arms around his waist. Who the fuck is holding him! He turns his head, seeing his mother, broken, defeated, and on the verge of death. She's holding him so tightly, her face is bruised and bloody.

"Why did you leave me, Tommy?" She asks, her voice cracking in pain. Tommy cries out, saddened at the state of his mother and frightened all the same. He looks back to Adam, watching in horror as Richard is kneeing him in the stomach repeatedly. No, his angel! Adam!

"Adam!" Tommy screams, and the redhead lifts his gaze. His lip is bleeding and he looks weak, his face twisting into pain as Richard knees him again. Adam coughs hard, and Tommy can feel tears streaming down his face. His mother's arms tighten around him, and she's pulling him away from Adam.

"Why did you leave, Tommy?" Her voice is dripping like poisonous honey into his ear and he's thrashing to get out of her grasp. Richard's got a beer bottle in his hand, and he's holding Adam by the throat against the wall. But Tommy's getting farther and farther away. He tries to pry his mother's arms off of him, but she's so strong…

"Why, Tommy?" She screams at him. The glass shatters over Adam's head, and Tommy sees that his baby can barely keep his eyes open.

"Tommy…" Adam mutters, and the blond watches as Adam gets farther away. He watches as Richard takes the jagged edges of the top half of the bottle, and plunges them deep into Adam's stomach…

"No!"

"Tommy! Tommy, baby, wake up!" Tommy gasps, breathing hard and thrashing in Adam's arms. Adam's leaning over him, holding his shoulders, his face in worry. Tommy slowly stops, shaking all over as he looks up at Adam. No bruises, no exhaustion, no blood… Oh thank God… He chokes on a breath, blinking over and over as Adam pulls him up into a sitting position. One arm goes around his waist, the other snakes up his back, Adam's palm pressed firmly into the back of his head. Tommy curls himself into a ball in Adam's lap, his face buried into Adam's neck, and he sobs.

"Tommy, shh, Tommy… Baby it was just a dream. It's just a dream…" But that doesn't stop Tommy's tears. They keep coming and he can't stop shaking either.

That's never happened. Usually when he dreams, there's nothing. Nothing but darkness. Darkness and warmth. But this… This is the worst thing he's ever faced. Worse than any beating. His heart is pounding like mad and he can't stop the choked screams that are muffled into Adam's shirt. It was so real, that's what is scaring him the most right now. It was so real, watching his father… His mother… Adam… Adam.

"Tommy, baby, please tell me what happened…" Adam says softly, and Tommy shakes his head. He can't. He can't tell; it'll be like he's watching it again. Tears stream down his face and into Adam's clothes and he keeps shaking his head back and forth even when Adam doesn't ask him. Adam's arms are soothing and Tommy feels lips pressing into his face and his hair.

"Please…" Tommy can feel Adam's heart pounding against his face. Adam's scared. He's scared because Tommy's scared, and that only makes the blond cry harder. But eventually the shakes and the sobs die out, and it's soft. He's breathing hard and his throat hurts, but he's not wanting to scream anymore. He's silent, leaning against Adam. Adam doesn't say anything for a while, he just holds Tommy in his arms, not letting him go. It's all Tommy needs, to know his baby is right here.

But does he really want to tell? He knows he should, because Adam needs to know. He needs to tell Adam to make things better, but he's afraid. This is exactly the kind of thing he's been trying to avoid at all costs. He doesn't want Adam getting hurt. He would never be able to live with himself if Richard laid a hand on his angel. He blinks once, inhaling slowly, his fingers curling into Adam's shirt.

"My father was beating you…" He says softly, and Adam takes a sharp breath in. "My mother was broken, almost dead… She was pulling me away from you, asking me why I left her… And… My father… He kept… hitting you… over and over." Tommy's voice is dead, flat. He's calm as he says this because he doesn't want to get worked up again. Adam's arms tighten around him, and he exhales, blinking slowly. He decides to leave out the stabbing. That would just be too much for both of them.

"My God…" Adam whispers, pressing his lips into Tommy's hair again. He's trembles a little, another tear rolling down his face as he closes his eyes.

'See what you've done? You've let him in. He knows and now you're putting him at even more risk than before. You're so selfish, Tommy.' He bites down on his bottom lip, his teeth nicking the cut and opening it again. He winces, sucking the blood off of his lip. It's bitter.

'He needs to know though. He would have found out eventually.' He doesn't really know what to do now. He knows for certain that he doesn't want to go back home. But Allison's still there. He needs to. For her. He needs to go back. But, at this rate, he doesn't think Adam will let him.