Preston's P.O.V.
"No wonder no one likes you." He spat, letting go of my wrist and sending me sprawling backwards onto the floor. I flinched but didn't say anything, my voice was completely gone from yelling pretty much all evening.
He stormed off and left me alone on the floor, giving me some time to reflect on what the hell had just happened. We had been arguing again, it was normal now for the two of us and it was always over something minor like who was cooking dinner, who hadn't cleaned up their dishes or hadn't flushed the toilet.
It always sparked a fight between the two of us and it got violent at times, there was a hole in the hallway wall from where I punched it after fighting with Rob. We never hit each other but it got close, but we had the control to know that hurting each other physically would never do any good, even if we were killing each other mentally every goddamn day.
I stood up and wandered down the hall, only to hear the front door close. Rob had gone out again, probably to the pub where he could drink his woes away and stumble home at 3am, collapse onto the couch and then complain in the morning that Lachlan and I were bring too noisy.
Lachlan.
I suddenly thought. My other boyfriend was still in the house, the poor thing.
He was caught in the middle, never taking sides because we were both at fault and we all knew it. He hated that we tore ourselves apart but couldn't bear to leave because he loved the both of us and would never pick sides.
I rushed to the guest bedroom on the top floor of the house, the furthest away place from where Rob and I had been arguing. As I predicted, he was in there.
He was curled up on the far side of the room underneath a thick fluffy blanket, bawling his eyes out. His chest was heaving thickly and as I moved closer I noticed that he was clutching at the little stuffed bear that Rob had won for him at a fair on our first anniversary in one hand and in the other was a beanie, my beanie.
My heart jumped into my throat and I felt so bad that he had to out up with our shit, our arguments and our bullshit but he had to stay because there was nowhere else to go.
"Lachlan?" I asked, crawling on the ground until I was beside him. I was just about to place my hand on his shoulder when he spoke up.
"Go away Preston." He croaked, rolling over so he was out of my reach. "Go fight with Rob again or something."
I heard the bitterness in his voice and sighed.
"Rob's gone sweetheart, he went out. He won't be back for a while." He still didn't let me touch him and I sighed, sitting back on my heels. "Lachlan?"
"NO!!!" He yelled, spitting it out. "GO AWAY!! YOU'RE JUST MAKING IT WORSE!!"
He turned around and I saw his bloodshot and tear stained eyes, his skin red and inflamed from where he had been rubbing. He looked like a wreck and I bit my lip, knowing it was partly my fault that he was so broken. That young boy I had met so many years ago was now a broken man, and it was my fault.
"I'm leaving." He said, pushing his way last me. "I can't stay here anymore."
"Lachlan wait-" I cried out, reaching out for him, "give us another chance!!"
"You've had your chances." He spat, throwing the toy and the beanie at me. "And you've blown them. I hope you and Rob can sort yourselves out but I won't be coming back. Tell him."
And with that he turned and left, leaving me in a stunned silence on the carpetted floor. I didn't move, even when I heard him packing his suitcase, even when I heard the front door close and even when I heard his car drive off down the driveway.
I had known this was coming for a long time, I had expected him to give up on us a lot earlier than he did. But now he was gone the house felt empty, devoid of life.
He was always the light and life of our group, the childish one who always saw the best in everything. He was the one who gave second chances, who trusted without a second thought, who could light up any room just by being there.
But we had broken him, changed him into a fearful and silent character. Even the fans had noticed the change, especially after they realised that Rob and I barely spoke to each other. They recognized that our relationship was broken long before we admitted it and they saw Lachlan fading into the shell of a man.
A broken boy.
Lachlan's P.O.V.
As I dragged my suitcase out the front door I knew this was the biggest decision that I had ever made in my life. But I couldn't say that I regretted it, because I knew that I had to get out and I knew that I couldn't stay there any longer. It wasn't safe.
They had been arguing for months and months, fighting and screaming and attempting to hit each other. I didn't want to take a side because they were both in the wrong and I didn't want to tear them apart even more, even though they were doing it on their own pretty damn well.
There were tears falling from my eyes, my entire life was falling apart in my fingertips and there was nothing I could do about it. I drove down the driveway and never looked back, not even for a second. It was over.
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Vikk was the person I ran to, the only person who would see what was going on behind the scenes. He took me in and gave me a roof over my head, food on the table and comfort when I awoke screaming in the middle of the night because of the demons running through my head.
He managed to put me back together, piece by piece. Slowly he built me from the ground up, building me back up from where Preston and Rob had torn me down and I started to feel okay, no longer numb and no longer destroyed on the inside.
"You okay Lachy?" Vikk asked, standing in the doorway of my room. I startled and looked up, having been spaced out for quite a while.
"Yeah- yeah I guess." I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. He came and sat down on my bed, taking my hands in his own and kissing my forehead gently.
"What's up? I know something's wrong." I sighed.
"I'm just wondering how Rob and Pressy are... I haven't heard from them in months." I said. They had still been uploading videos, on the same schedule as normal because they had to make money somehow, but there had been no contact between me and them since I had left.
I knew they weren't living together but I was unsure if they had fixed the broken bond between the them, even though I doubted it.
"I talked to Rob about a month ago..." My head shot up. "They've moved out obviously, Rob's gone back to Canada and as far as I know they aren't even talking to each other. They blame themselves for you leaving, for hurting you and I don't think they're going to make up."
I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I didn't see anyway for them to come back together, to repair the bond between them, and I knew that things would never be the same again. The day I left was the day that things could never go back.
"Guess I'm staying here then." I whispered and I heard him sigh painfully, kissing my forehead.
"I don't mind Lachlan. I want to make sure you're okay, and it doesn't matter that you're here. I want to make sure you're not that little broken boy that arrived so many months ago." He tightened his grip on me. "You're safe here."
I pretty much collapsed into his arms and cried, my feelings overwhelming me all over again. I was still that broken boy on the inside, even if I didn't want to admit it, and Vikk knew it too.
"You need to build yourself back up again. It'll take some time, but you'll get there." I nodded slowly and was about to leave when Vikk turned my head towards him and kissed me, passionately and gently and in a way that Rob and Preston had never kissed me before.
It was loving and gentle and I felt the love behind it, not like when Preston or Rob had kissed me. When they kissed me it was like they were fighting over me, each one pushing to be the one to have their lips locked with mine and it was never loving, only pushy.
He pulled away gently, running his hand down my cheek.
"I'll be here, no matter how long you need it. I'll be here, my little broken boy."
