abused (peterick)

six

Andy and I woke up about three and a half hours later. He had to leave for some unknown reason.

("Seriously, Pete, it isn't a date, I swear. It's just that Joe guy and I meeting up over coffee as friends," Andy insisted. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, just try not to fuck him on the first date," I called out, which earned him popping his head back in the door and flipping me off.)

Now, Patrick and I are at group therapy. He sits on the opposite side of the circle that I'm on, probably because he thinks I'm mad at him.

Group therapy, I soon find out, is anything but quiet. Everyone is carrying on conversations with everyone, and it's all in all pretty hectic. That is until Halsey walks in and politely asks everyone to be quiet.

They all listen. We start by standing up and introducing ourselves. Doctor Joseph, Tyler, stands up and introduces himself. It's weird that he's in normal clothes. The boy next to him also introduced himself, and I find out who the infamous Josh is.

Once it's my turn, I stand and mumble out that my name is Pete. Everyone just basically smiles at me. Patrick stands up from across the circle of chairs and says his name.

Some people say, "Everyone knows who you are, cutie," and I laugh. Patrick rolls his eyes and sits down again.

"So today," Halsey says once everyone is finished, "we're going to address trust issues,"

Most of the group groan. Halsey laughs momentarily before she becomes serious again.

"This is a serious issue. Some people actually believe that they can't trust another man or woman ever in their life because one was cruel to them," Halsey explains. I swallow the lump forming in my throat. "Pete," She says, "how about you take a jab at it? Tell us why you or someone else may have trust issues,"

"I, uh," I stutter. Patrick stands up in the circle, saving my ass.

"Some people have trust issues because they were beaten. They think that everyone is going to treat them that way. Most of the time, that isn't the case. So Josh might have trust issues or Sam might have trust issues because someone hurt them before," Patrick finishes and then sits down, turning red when everyone's mouths drop open.

"Thank you, Patrick," Halsey says. "Pete, he basically took the words right out of your mouth, didn't he?" Halsey asks. I nod weakly, my eyes locked on Patrick's face.

He doesn't look up for the rest of the forty-five minute session, while my eyes stay trained on his face. He picks up his fedora and lets his hair fall a few times, however.

"And that marks group session number one for the week as over," Halsey announces, and some people actually cheer. I resist the urge to laugh again.

I try to catch Patrick, but everyone stands up, and the circle becomes a mess. Once it finally clears out, Patrick is nowhere to be seen.

I find him in our room, sitting with his back against the wall next to his bed, staring at the wall by my bed. I wave a hand in front of his face, and he jumps when he notices it's me.

I sit on the edge of his bed, looking at my feet. I can feel Patrick's gaze on my face, and that thought makes me blush.

"I'm sorry about last night," He says finally. Patrick's blaming himself for killing me in my dream.

"Patrick, that's not your fault," I insist, but he shakes his head.

"If I wouldn't have been so insistent on working with the cute boy with trust issues, you wouldn't have had that nightmare," He admits. His gaze returns back to his converse.

"You.. you requested to work with me?" I ask, completely baffled. He nods slowly, still refusing to meet my eyes. "Why would you do that?"

"I thought you were cute," Patrick says honestly, "and I wanted to help you. I didn't expect to like you as much as I do right now,"

"Patrick-" I say, but he cuts me off by rambling.

"And I know you aren't ready for a relationship. Hell, if you'll ever be ready for another relationship with a guy. I can't promise you where I'll go or if I'll always be here, but I can assure you that I'll love you with everything I have in me. I'm halfway there already," He says, and before he can continue to ramble, I place a hand on his shoulder.

"Patrick," I say. He looks up to meet my eyes, and I smile. "I'm not ready for another relationship, but something in me is saying that I'd be stupid as hell to let you walk out of my life. So you aren't going anywhere. You're gonna sit your ass right there, and you're not going anywhere,"

"Pete, I can't just stay here and fall in love with you when there's no hope for us ever being anything more than half-friends," He says. I lean in and place a chaste kiss on his lips, and he turns bright red when I pull back. "I, uh, you caught me really off guard with that one," He says, scratching the back of his neck.

"I meant to. So come on, and let's watch some more One Tree Hill," I suggest, and he nods. I grab his hand and pull him off the floor. When he stands up, our chests bump, and he blushes again.

We walk to the couch, and I sit closer to him this time, our thighs touching. He smiles and places his hand on my knee. It's nothing really romantic, but hell, it's a start.

--

OKAY SO PETERICK KISSED?? LIKE WHAT? I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT SHIT TBH.

ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU GUYS AND THIS STORY AND ITS MEANING AND JUST EVERYTHING IN GENERAL

ALSO I LOVE shelby1832 BECAUSE THEY ARE MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND THEY'RE AMAZING AND CHECK OUT THEIR BOOKS