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Kygo ft. Parson James – Stole the Show
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Lovers of Freedom

Chapter 23:
Light

"Jerome? Yes, I've found him!"

With a shaky sigh Adam leaned back into the driver's seat and put his trembling hand onto his forehead, before he looked to the passenger's seat. Mitch's unconscious form would have looked peaceful, if it hadn't been for the dark bruise on his cheek, the fine trail of blood on his face and the painful expression.

It had taken him a whole minute of full-blown panic to realize that Mitch was not dead and still very much alive, no matter how horrible he looked.

"Thank god! How is he? What happened?!"

Jerome's voice was shaking and the relief was unmistakable. After Mitch's message and their unreturned calls, they had feared the worst. Adam had been close to calling the police and Jerome had thrown caution to the winds and begged their still clueless friends to help them with finding Mitch.

"I have no idea, he was unconscious when I found him and he looks horrible. I wanna take him to the hospital, but you said-"

"Fuck! Okay, um… If he doesn't wake up again in the next minutes I'll meet you at the hospital, if he does then decide whether or not it's really necessary. At the ER they'll call the police no matter what you say and we have no idea, what exactly happened between Murphy and Mitch. You really have to talk to him first!"

Adam adored Jerome for actually being able to think straight despite the serious situation they were in. No matter how worried he was, Jerome was still right – regarding whom they were facing bringing in officials could actually do more harm than good.

"Can you update the guys?"

"I'm on it. We'll return to the house for now, if his condition is worse than you thought, inform me asap!"

Jerome wasn't able to hold back the worry for his best friend any longer, but instead of trying to calm him down, Adam simply agreed and then ended the call. His mind was full of worst-case scenarios and just the thought of what Murphy had done to his Canadian fueled the anger in his veins – how was he supposed to put Jerome at ease like that?

Before Adam finally started the motor to leave the scene of crime, he risked another glance at the quiet boy by his side. He should have stopped him from leaving again this evening. He should have protected him from Murphy, after all he had known partly about what he was doing to Mitch. He should have realized that he was more than just a friend to him.

The car slowly rolled onto the deserted street and Adam turned the radio off. The last thing he wanted to hear was some music playing with his emotions, when he really just wanted to listen to a certain someone's voice again, carefree and unconcerned by the troubles of the world. As it had been in the old days of Team Crafted.

An unexpected groan to his right made Adam nearly drive into the ditch at the side of the road and with wide opened eyes he quickly glanced at Mitch. His pale face was scrunched up and he put a hand over his still closed eyes – he was about to wake up.

"Mitch! Thank god!"

Immediately he stopped all his movements in surprise of the familiar voice and for a moment Adam regretted his sudden outburst that must have scared him, then he looked back at the street and simply waited for his voice. A word. Nothing more.

"We were worried about you, you know?" he added slowly to get Mitch to talk, no matter how out of it he was. He had to be alright, just a little groggy, because if Murphy had-

"…Adam? Where in… what happened?"

His voice was too thin and barely audible, nonetheless Adam couldn't be happier to hear it for now. In a poor attempt to hide his relief, he concentrated on Mitch's question, while the boy at his side tried to sit up properly.

"Murphy happened. You wrote us a message, remember?"

"…right."

The underlying tone in Mitch's voice spoke volumes and Adam's stomach clenched painfully at the thought of the man responsible for such a change in the usually happy and confident Canadian. "What did he do to you?" he asked and even though he was still focused on the road, Adam was able to see Mitch tense up from the corners of his eyes. Of course he refused to answer.

"He beat you, didn't he?"

Silence.

They had to stop at a red light on their way back into the city and Adam turned to Mitch, who clenched his fists in his lap and stared down.

"What else did he do to you? Did he threaten you again?"

Mitch didn't even blink at Adam's words and with a sigh he continued to drive, as the lights turned green. In a hopeful attempt to get Mitch to reply to him, Adam wanted to put a hand comfortingly onto his shoulder, but Mitch flinched away at the slightest contact.

A horrible thought appeared in his conflicted mind and made his heart stop for an endless second.

"Oh god, that bastard didn't- I'm going straight to the police, that's it!"

His hands were shaking and clutched the steering wheel, until his knuckles turned white. His mind was racing with ideas which slow and painful deaths he could bring upon Murphy, as a slim hand quickly grabbed his right arm.

"No, Adam! He didn't do what you have in mind, calm down please."

He shortly looked into Mitch's dimmed eyes to make sure he was being honest with him, then he released a deep breath and relaxed his clenched muscles. "I'm sorry, it's just… You didn't answer any of our calls and we were assuming the worst. When I found you, you were just lying there and it's stupid, but- for a moment I thought you were…" he rambled and tried to explain his irrational actions, but thinking back to the lifeless body, pale and bloody, made him stop.

And then Mitch took over.

"He beat me."

Adam froze and desperately tried to stay focused on the road and to not look over to Mitch, because his voice was too fearful for his liking.

"I tried to escape, but he didn't let me."

A broken laugh. Self-loathing. Desperate.

"I was so stupid to think that I could change anything."

His voice began to shake and Adam quickly glanced over with worry written all over his face. Mitch had crossed his arms in front of his chest and pressed himself into the seat. He wanted to say something, anything to get rid of this lost look in his eyes, but Mitch was faster.

"And now I've ruined everything. Just like that. Because I couldn't listen. Because I had to get my way."

And then things started to go down finally.

"Mitch-"

"He fired my father. Just like that. One fucking call."

He bend over and buried his face in his hands, while gasping for breath. Mitch was close to tears and Adam had to take several deep breaths to not follow suit, while his friend was about to break under the massive pressure.

"And I couldn't stop him, no matter what, because he just didn't let go of me. I was screaming my head off, but he just laughed and made jokes to my dad's boss, while I cried like a fucking baby."

The painful sound of Mitch's desperate sobs hurt Adam more than seeing him unconscious on the ground. It hurt more than not knowing where he was. Murphy had done so much more to Mitch than threatening and beating him up. He had taken the conflict to a whole new level, on which Adam wasn't sure if he could protect the boy close to his heart from Murphy's insane methods anymore.

Nonetheless he never would stop trying.

Not after the past weeks, in which they had rediscovered bonds that were still connecting them against all odds of their haunting past. With more confidence than before Adam drove towards the place that would be safest for Mitch right now. Surrounded by his friends, who would protect him at all costs, Murphy would not be able to lay a finger on him, until they had found a solution.

Without saying a word Adam grabbed Mitch's hand and pressed it tightly.

He kept on crying, unable to contain the feelings any longer. And he didn't let go of Adam's hand once.

When they arrived at the large and familiar house, Mitch had calmed down again and was dozing with one arm lying protectively across his stomach. Adam noted in the back of his mind to check if he had been hurt there by Murphy as well, then he turned off the engine and quickly got out off the car to walk to the other side. Mitch was just waking up again and blinked confused at Adam, when he refused to step away.

"You know I have to get out as well at some point, right?" Mitch asked skeptically, while raising an eyebrow and Adam couldn't hold back the relieved smile, due to the more familiar gesture of Mitch during the past hour. Despite all that had happened he still tried to contain himself as best as he could.

"You know I'm not letting you walk after you've been battered like that, right?" Adam replied cheekily, but Mitch shook his head slightly and insisted on trying. Two steps later he had to accept the fact that Adam carrying him might be the better choice, as his legs gave out under him.

Carefully Adam picked him up and with growing worry he noticed that Mitch was putting one arm over his stomach again, whilst the other one was placed around Adam's shoulders. "You alright there?" he quietly asked and slowly went over to the main entrance, but instead of answering Mitch just nodded and then buried his face in the crook of Adam's neck.

Even before Adam had the chance to notify their friends of their arrival, somebody already opened the door for them and then stepped aside. It was Ty. With a grim look on his face he grabbed the doorknob tightly, but stopped himself from saying anything, as he set eyes on the slim figure in Adam's arms.

"Mitch!"

Jerome rushed down the hall and towards them with the rest of their friends in tow, but he stopped abruptly, as he got a glimpse of the state his best friend was in. "Oh shit," someone muttered quietly, but Adam paid no attention to it and continued to stare at Jerome, who seemed to be caught in between endless rage and the need to get the Canadian far, far away from the person responsible for this.

"Mitch, please look at me."

The tension-filled silence was palpable for everyone and uncertain glances were exchanged, while not only Jerome seemed to be on edge. Instead of obliging Mitch grabbed the back of Adam's shirt tightly, who could feel the silent boy tense up completely.

If Jerome would see what Murphy had done to him…

"Mitch! Look at me!"

He flinched. Jerome wasn't going to back down any time soon and Mitch seemed to be aware of that as well. He was his best friend after all. With a weary sigh Mitch slowly lifted his head from Adam's shoulder, threw a helpless smile to him and then glanced at Jerome, who was standing a few feet away from him.

At first he didn't react at all, unlike the others in the room, who vent their anger with surprised shouts and questions about who the hell was responsible for this. Jerome though kept on studying the frame of his best friend, the pale and blood-smeared face, the red and tear-filled eyes, the shaking arm still planted across his stomach…

He snapped.

"I'm going to kill this son of a bitch!"

Jerome was halfway out of the door already, when Ian and Jason managed to grab and hold him back. "Let me go, he deserves to die after what he has done to Mitch, just look at him!"

"Jerome, please stop!"

For a crucial second he stilled and Ian and Jason were able to pull him back into the hall so that Ty could close the door. Furiously Jerome turned around and broke free from his two silent friends to look at Mitch.

"No, enough is enough, he hurt you far too long and I should have done something like this way sooner!"

"You are going to make everything worse, Jerome, please stop!"

"What in the world could make this fucked up situation any worse, Mitch?!"

"He fired my dad."

If Adam hadn't already known about it, he probably would have dropped the Canadian out of shock. Glancing around he noticed the others looking at each other, before they slowly let go of Jerome. He made no move to escape again, instead he continued to stare at Mitch with wide opened eyes. "…what?!"

Out of pure exhaustion and desperation Mitch averted his gaze and buried his face once more in the crook of Adam's neck, who wasn't able to ignore the slight tremble in the Canadian's body. This had been going on for far too long.

"I just had to live through the worst night of my entire life, Jerome, please don't do anything stupid, because I can't-" Mitch started with a trembling voice, but it was audible for everyone that he was close to tears again. So Adam interrupted him.

"You clearly see that he really needs to rest. I'm going to take care of his wounds now and you should start explaining this mess to the others. They deserve an explanation, don't you think?"

Surprisingly Jerome stayed silent and agreed with a slight nod and a last worried glance at Mitch, then he led the others into the living room.

"Thank you," Mitch mumbled, as Adam brought him into his room and carefully laid him onto his bed. A grateful sigh escaped his lips, nonetheless he scrunched up his eyes. "Is it your stomach again?" Adam asked and thought about calling a doctor once more.

"At the moment it's competing with my head. Just give me something for the pain and I'm out cold until tomorrow. Or the day after I guess."

Adam ignored his attempt to lighten the mood, even though he thought highly of Mitch for trying it after all that had happened to him. Carefully he sat down at the edge of Mitch's bed and pulled the first-aid box closer. Adam started to clean the cut on his forehead and since he wasn't able to run away at the moment, he brought the conversation round to a more complicated topic.

"You should call your parents."

"No, absolutely not!"

Mitch tensed up again and for a mere moment Adam regretted confronting him with it, then he abandoned his previous thought and held onto his intention.

"Mitch, they deserve to know what Murphy did to you as much as our friends do. I bet they are as worried as we are after all those threats-"

"They don't know about it."

He must have looked pretty clueless, because Mitch took a deep breath and then explained,

"They have no idea about what's been going on. I haven't talked to them since Murphy's first phone call."

Adam stopped the careful cleaning of Mitch's wound and stared at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

The expression in Mitch's eyes spoke for itself. "I was trying to protect them from Murphy and as it seems I had been right to do so," he tried to defend himself.

With a sigh Adam resumed the treating of Mitch's wounds and refrained himself from answering the Canadian. He probably would have done the same, if he had been in his position. But Mitch of all people, who valued his family highly?

Once more he was faced with what exactly Murphy had caused.

Thankfully Mitch led the conversation into another direction, before the rage was able to take over once more. This time he wouldn't be willing to hold Jerome back – quite the contrary.

"The worst thing in this whole mess is that it's actually my fault."

Before Adam was able to protest, he continued.

"I knew something like this would happen sooner or later, he warned me countless times from the beginning on, but I just kept doing the wrong thing."

Despite the topic and the concerning words from Mitch, Adam had to smile, while he took out a band-aid from the box.

"I'm not surprised to be honest."

Mitch frowned and wordlessly asked for an explanation.

"You aren't the type to back down easily, never were and never will be, if you ask me. I guess that's the reason for our fight back then. Our stubbornness was just too much and we had to clash sooner or later."

"…I'm really sorry for what happened back then, you know?"

Mitch evaded his glance at first, but then forced himself to return Adam's look, when the latter stopped to treat his wounds. Although they had already raised the topic during their flight together, neither of them had the guts back then to actually wade further into the mess they had created months ago.

It had been about time for them to say sorry.

Adam was surprised though that Mitch was the one to take the first step.

"I'm sorry for everything I said to you. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for being too stubborn," he began and stared longer at Mitch than he probably should. The by now so familiar gleam in the brown eyes seemed to slowly return, while Mitch was caught in a similar predicament as Adam. Neither one was willing to move away.

"Why too stubborn?" Mitch slowly asked and blinked once, while he immediately leaned into the soft and hesitating touch of Adam's hand.

"Because I was too stubborn to notice what could have been. With us."

His heart was beating faster, while his mind screamed at him that taking advantage of this situation was the least thing he should do to Mitch. But the Canadian was slowly leaning in as well, eager to get his mind off of Murphy and to explore the unusual tension between them.

"What about the whole just-friends-agreement?"

"What agreement?" he asked innocently and felt the smirk on Mitch's lips, as he placed his own on the Canadian's and closed his eyes with a satisfied sigh. Kissing Mitch for the first time in the club had been like a dream, because Adam hadn't been able to remember half of the evening.

This time though he was able to feel one arm slipping around his neck, while a hand clutched the shirt above his heart tightly. Unconsciously he grabbed the hand with his own free one that wasn't occupied with stroking Mitch's soft cheek, while he slowly deepened the kiss.

An eternity later they forcefully had to pull back due to the lack of air, but as Adam looked up into Mitch's glazed eyes and discovered the fine, but first honest smile on his lips since he had picked him up at the parking lot, he knew that it had been worth it.

"That's how I wanna see you."

He couldn't resist and pecked the red lips one again.

"I'm not going to let you down, Mitch, I'm going to bring that pretty smile of yours back for good!"