The Boy Next Door

Confronted

!TW! Discussion of drug use, murder

Alastor woke up later in the morning, luckily he didn't have to work that day. Shifting a little with a soft groan as he adjusted to the light. He glanced down, to see Anthony still safely wrapped in his arms. The best way to wake up in his eyes. He stayed like that a while longer until the blonde finally started to stir. Slowly sitting up and stretching his arms above his head, Alastor only watched with a fond smile. "Mornin'..." he mumbled, still obviously not fully awake. "Good morning Cher, did you sleep well?" Leaning back down to lay on top of the brunette,barks wrapping around his torso. "I slept fine." Alastor sat up, careful not to disturb his lover to much in the process. "So, is there anything you would like to do today?" He asked. The blonde shrugged, rubbing his eyes a bit as he sat up again himself. "Well, how about we go ask mama what she has planned, then we can-" Anthony's eye snapped open, staring at Alastor. "Oh...oh fuck..." Alastor cocked a brow. "What?" Anthony glanced at the door. "Al, I can't talk to her." The brunette took a moment to process what he meant, before it clicked in his head. "Oh, Anthony this is my mother we are talking about. She isn't going to kill you." Anthony looked back at him. "No, no. Al, she knows doesn't she? I am so incredibly dead. Bury me in that dress, I'll see you in hell." Alastor huffed a laugh. "Anthony, yes she is definitely angry with you. But she's angry because she cares about you. Everything she does is out of concern for you. Besides, the poor woman has had to hold her tongue an entire day for my sake." The blonde groaned, pushing his hair back. "Fuck this, tell her I got murdered last night please." Alastor huffed a laugh, before he looked at Anthony's expression. Despite the comment, his face read nothing but fear. "Darling, she is upset. But she cares about you." The blonde stood up, shaking his head. "Yeah...but I ain't exactly excited to explain it to her. And then there's the bit about me lying... overall just screwed." Alastor watched him from the bed, smile faltering. "Well, I hate to side against you. But you brought this on yourself. This is yours to face." He said, making sure his voice was gentle, as to not sound condescending. Yes, deep down Alastor was still upset with him. But what was yelling at him going to do? So far it seemed like he had gotten through to him, so at least that was a start. Besides, Anthony was already going to hear a decades worth from his own mother. "Well, shall we then?" He asked, standing up. Anthony sighed, getting dressed and nodding a few times. "Yeah...yeah let's go."

Opening the bedroom door, Alastor walked down the stairs with Anthony only a few steps behind him. The brunette stepping into the kitchen to see Elisabeth just cleaning up. "Aly darling, how are you feeling? I hope you weren't waiting to late into the night." She said with a half smile, turning to look at him. Alastor nodded. "I feel much better now thank you, I apologize for yesterday, I was-" "Oh no no no! You aren't going to apologize. You did nothing wrong. And what did you do with his stash?" Anthony stood silently in the hallway just out of sight from the doorway. His chest felt tight, he could feel every beat of his heart. Breathing felt difficult, was he breathing? He could just walk away right now, they wouldn't notice. He could, but he shouldn't. He really- "And where is Angel right now?" That sentence brought Im back to reality very quickly. "Anthony is just in the hall, and I know you are upset with him, but he is very nervous." Anthony bit his lip. "Aly I will handle this. How about you go take a walk, enjoy the lovely weather." The brunette glanced behind him at the doorway. "I-...alright." Stepping into the hallway, he stopped to nod at his lover. Then continuing to the front door. Grabbing his shoes and stepping out. Anthony watched him leave, anxiety only rising. He was alone, doing this alone. Taking a deep breath, he turned his head. Seeing Elisabeth standing in the doorway. "You. Living room." She said, her tone was stern, and clearly mad. He nodded, walking into the lounge and standing completely still until she started.

Elisabeth walked into the room. "Angel, I have a few questions for you." She said calmly. The blonde knew what this was leading too. "Alright..." sitting down on the couch, Elisabeth walking to stand in front of him. "Are you insane?!" And there it was. "Anthony I have never been more outraged by something my own family has done before. Out of every single stunt you have pulled this truly is the most surprising! Anthony you are a smart young man! You and I both know this! What possessed you to do this to yourself?! You have a whole life ahead of you! Do you not see the effect this has on you?! Now all those incidents make sense! And you were doing it in my house?! Under my roof?! What do you take us for?! I don't know when this started, or how long you have been doing this to yourself, but shall we list off everything that has gone wrong here. It changes your behaviour, you scared Alastor, you scared me, you loose all sense of dignity, you tried to hurt yourself, you are destroying your own health-" Anthony just sat silently, eyes on the floor as he listened to her rant. Bringing a hand to drag down his face with a sharp inhale. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?!" She asked, turning to look at him. "I.... I don't know what I was thinking." Elisabeth stared at him. "That's it? No apology? No ask for forgiveness?" The blonde sighed. "An apology at this point would probably just sound empty, you don't have a reason to believe my word anymore. I lied to you, I lied to Alastor...I lied to myself. Words can't exactly describe how much I wish I didn't do all this. But you have no reason to believe me if I could. And I don't deserve forgiveness, why bother asking?" Elisabeth continued to stare at him, moving her hands to be on her hips. "You're right, I don't have any reason to believe you. It would be foolish of me to believe you. But that brings me to yet another question. Since when are you lying to us?! When did this start?!" The blonde took a breath before answering. "The lying started after I came back from my year away. The drugs...that was while I was away." Elisabeth sighed, pushing a few stray hairs back and turning to face away from him. "That is...that is over a year, Anthony that is...over a year! Good god!" Anthony was dead quiet, eyes on the ground and swallowing the urge to speak. He didn't have any right to be upset with her. He was the one in the wrong. "Alastor and I love you so much, I want you to be happy Anthony, I really do. But I also want you too be safe! And how can I trust you to take care of yourself when you are lying to us about something like this?" Anthony shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I...I guess you can't...? I really don't know why I did this." Elisabeth sighed, sitting down on an armchair across from him. "Anthony, I'm not going to be around forever." The blonde bit his lip at that comment. An idea he didn't even want to imagine. "I need to know you are going to be okay. I'm not always going to be here to make sure you are alright. Alastor wants you to be safe, but he can't do this for you either." Anthony took a breath, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Elisabeth. By no means do you have to believe me, but I am. I really am. And I understand that I am in the wrong, in no way am I trying to justify lying to you both."
The two sat quietly for a few minutes, Elisabeth moved her elbow onto the arm rest to prop her head up a bit, other hand beckoning Anthony over to her. The blonde slowly stood, walking over. Kneeling down next to her. "Elisa-" Elisabeth quickly put a finger to his lips. "Don't." She muttered, retracting her hand again to rest on her lap. "Anthony please promise me that you will end this." She said quietly. The blonde nodded, glancing up at her. "Elisabeth I promise that this will stop, starting right now." He said quietly. She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to trust that word Anthony, and I will hold you to it." With a short nod from the blonde they fell into silence once again.

Finally Elisabeth turned to face him, opening both her arms. "C'mere..." she muttered, Anthony quickly leaning up to hug her. Anthony again didn't bother speaking, simply letting Elisabeth do what she wanted. The brunette running gentle fingers through his hair as she kept him close to her for a while longer. "Anthony you are so important to this family, when I say I want to help you, I really mean it." The blonde took a moment to let that sink in, hugging her a little tighter. When suddenly something came to mind, a smile tugging at his lips. When this was over and done with, he knew exactly what he had to do.

Alastor dropped the body in the river with a sharp inhale. He still wasn't entirely used to the extra bit. But he could just go home, and things would be a little better.

Getting off the streetcar and walking the short block to his house, he pulled the front door open. Elisabeth sat reading quietly in the lounge, Anthony probably upstairs. "Afternoon mama, I take it the talk went well?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe. "It went fine, I think he got the point. He hasn't looked me in the eye the entire day, but that's fine." She said, more muttering the last part. "Well, he feels pretty guilty. Where is he now?" The brunette asked, glancing around the hall. "Upstairs, he said he felt off an hour ago so I told him to go relax in your room." Alastor nodded and turned to walk upstairs. "Thank you mama." Walking up the steps to his door, he pulled it open without bothering to knock. Anthony glanced up at him, giving a half wave. Alastor walked over to the desk and leaned down to wrap both arms around his shoulders, kissing the side of his head. "I'm sorry I left, I do hope mama wasn't too hard on you." He said quietly. "Well she didn't kick me out, so I guess that's good." He replied, small smile on his face. "Besides, knowin your ma, she wasn't gonna let ya sit next to me while it happened." He said simply. "Once again this was my fault." Alastor nodded, letting his chin rest on the blondes shoulder. "Well, all that's left now is for you to let it go." He said with a smile. "Mon magnifique Ange." Anthony rolled his eyes, turning to look at him a little more. "So is everyone just gonna call me Angel and I have to deal with it?" He asked. Alastor huffed a laugh, pecking him on the lips before returning to simply embracing him. "Yes." Anthony sighed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Alright, fine."

Holy shit this chapter took a long time.
Really sorry about that.
I have been very side tracked with other stuff.
Unfortunately including 'more than bargained for'. I may add a chapter to it here and there, but we are getting close to the end of this story, so I'll be able to write more.

Then again, I think a lot of people will be wanting some form of sequel to this...so I may be doing that instead.