Stay (BoyxBoy) | Old Version

Thirty Five

Things were finally falling into place, or so they seemed. At least they were with all the people I cared about. After my conversation with Marlon, I had come to understand him way better now and I was glad that he trusted me enough to share his secret... or that part of himself with me. I had to admit though, that if he hadn't mentioned being transgender to me, I never would have guessed. It didn't matter though because, at the end of the day, he was still the cute french boy I admired and liked being friends with.

When the school closed, Nick and I joined Kris and Martin in Martin's car. He drove us all to my house after I sent a text to Killian, informing him that they were all coming over. I didn't receive a response but I guessed that he was probably still sleeping. I would've been worried that he had spent the entire day sleeping if not for the series of texts I received from Angela and Wren, telling me how Killian was doing.

Once we got to my house, I asked my friends to wait in the first living room and went up to my bedroom to wake Killian up. But when I pushed the door to my room open, Killian was nowhere to be found. My heart dipped as I felt sweat form on my forehead. Where the fuck was he? I rushed to the bathroom, throwing the door open, and stepped in, only to find it empty as well. Without thinking, I ran out of my room and into the den, but he wasn't there. I checked all the rooms on my floor hoping that Killian had just gone out to explore and was yet to come back because the thought of him leaving the house when he wasn't well didn't sit right with me.

What if those men found him again? There was no way he'd be able to fight off an attack in his state. And what if he decided to not come back?

I gasped at the thought, stopping in my tracks at the top of the staircase. My stomach churned and I frowned, almost feeling the pain that came with the thought of Killian leaving me. Again.

"Dylan!!" I heard my name. "Come downstairs!!" It was Nick.

I rushed back downstairs, jumping the steps two at a time in my bid to see my boyfriend. And I let out a huge sigh of relief when I reached the kitchen where all my friends stood. Killian was also there with Wren next to him, feeding him a piece of chicken. I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the sight before me, as my shoulders sagged in relief.

It wasn't the thought of Killian leaving the house that scared me, truthfully. It was more so the thought of him leaving when he was in no shape to do so, and the added threat of the people who hurt him being on the loose. I obviously knew I couldn't keep him here against his will. But I was glad to know he didn't plan on leaving just yet.

"There you are!" I whispered as I rushed to him, smiling widely as I wrapped my arms around him from behind. Resting my head on his back was easy as it came naturally to me, and feeling Killian relax against me as if he was just as glad as I was made me smile. "I was almost worried that you slept all day," I confessed silently.

"As if he'd let me," Killian groaned as he pointed to Wren when I stepped back. I laughed as I glanced at Wren who just shrugged. But the smirk on his face told me he was proud of his actions and I couldn't be more grateful. "All he's done is force feed me all day."

"As he should!" I exclaimed just as Wren said, "I was just following orders." Killian turned with narrowed eyes.

"I should've known," he scoffed. "You can't just stop worrying, can you?" He said, shaking his head slightly as he leaned down to kiss me softly.

"Okay, can y'all keep that shit private?" Nick groaned, making everyone in the room laugh.

"Not a chance," I stated, smiling as I feel my face flush. I thought to defend myself since I had missed Killian so much but before I could even do so, frail arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Thank you for taking care of him," Nick whispered to me before pulling away and walking to Killian. The look in his eyes raged with a raging furiousness and I was almost scared that he'd slap him. It seemed Killian expected his friend to do so as well as he closed his eyes tightly and winced as if waiting to get hit.

"Don't do that to me ever again," Nick seethed, clenching his fists. "I swear to god, I'm not gonna talk to you again if you do!"

"I promise, I won't," Killian whispered. He glanced at me for a short moment before hugging Nick. I wasn't sure why but it looked as if Killian was telling himself he didn't want to go through Nick hating him again. They'd come far from where they once were when I first met them. And frankly, I preferred them as they were now. It was simply nice to know that my boyfriend and friend could get along.

I smiled as I watched them talk to each other for a few minutes. What Killian and Nick had was a mystery to me. Not because I didn't know how friendships worked, but the bond they shared was something I didn't understand. I'd never had friends growing up. As a kid, I was always cooped up, unable to go out on my own or muster up the courage to even make an online friend for fear of people finding out who I was.

I wished I had someone I called a best friend like they did, someone who cared enough about me to make sure that I was always on the right path. And maybe I had found that someone in Kristen, Nick, Martin, and Killian.

No... not maybe. I had found that special person in all of them and though it took me a while to do so, I knew I wasn't going to give them up for anything in the world.

When Killian was done eating, or after he complained about being full and Wren stopped feeding him, we all went to the backyard. The point wasn't for us to discuss the past events but it was inevitable.

"Guys, I promise I'm fine!" Killian stated for the third time after Kristen asked him if he was okay. I didn't blame her either. Even though he tried to hide it, I saw him once a couple of times when he tried to laugh at something someone said. He still felt a lot of pain and that worried me.

"Allow us to disagree," said Martin as he brushed his hair with his hand. "I know how bad those guys are, Jamie. They don't forgive. I'm even surprised you're fucking alive. What the hell happened?"

Killian sighed and remained quiet for a moment. At that, I shifted slightly from beside him so I could look at him. I wondered just what he was thinking. Although he had told me what happened and why, he didn't exactly give me all the details so I wanted to know too.

"I just wanted out," he groaned after a moment. A silence fell among us as the realization dawned on us. I didn't know the details of it but by the look on Martin's face, he knew firsthand what Killian meant when he said he wanted out.

"Shit man, who did you tell?" Martin asked, his eyes wide.

"You know who," said Killian as he licked his lips. "Same guy that shot Kim," Killian stated angrily.

I was confused for a moment. I had no idea who Kim was. I turned to Kristen to ask but stopped when I saw her trying to comfort Martin with a hug.

"He told me he was gonna do the same thing he did to your brother."

I spared a glance at Nick who silently shook his head at me as if telling me to not ask any questions. But the answers had already been made clear. And they were confirmed shortly after when Nick pulled me and Kristen away to allow Killian and Martin to talk in private.

"When we were freshmen, Martin's brother got in with those guys the summer before he had to go to college. We had no idea he was dealing drugs and only found out when Chris invited Killian to join. It caused a ton of fights between Martin and Kim, and when Kim tried to get out, they kidnapped Martin and threatened him. So he stayed," Nick explained, his voice cracking as he did so. "But after a while, Kim really wanted out and threatened to go to the cops. No one heard from him in a week. Until his body was found at a construction site."

I gasped sharply at that, wincing as the image flashed in my mind. How could they be so cruel? I wondered. It was no wonder why Martin was so against what Killian did but always clammed up and never told him to quit it directly. He was scared for his friend just as he had been for his brother.

I couldn't imagine just how much pain he and his family went through. And knowing they could have done the same thing to Killian made me want to do something about it. I had no idea how but I was going to try.