Romeo and Juliet // Solby

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 8

I woke up in a foreign room, quickly realising it was Sam's room. And then I realised Sam was no longer in my arms. I sat up and wiped my eyes looking at the open door. I was sure Sam bolted it shut last night. I shrugged it off and was about to get out of bed and search for Sam, when I heard his mom shout something.
"You fucking faggot!" She yelled, followed by a whimper, a dull thud and a loud scream from Sam. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, seeing her beating him in the living room. He was cowered in a corner, covering his face with his arm. He peeked over his arm and saw me creeping up towards his mom as she was about to give him another hit.
"What the fuck are you doing to him?" I yelled, my head directly next to his ear. She jumped violently.
"Beating him, clearly! He's a faggot! Don't you agree, Colby? He's worthless!" She hissed, turning around to face me with fire in her eyes.
"He is not fucking worthless! He is amazing! He has the courage to be who he is, he's brave enough to show it, and you bring him down like this? Do you know how hard it is to find the courage to tell someone your sexuality? Or your feelings? Just because you've never had to deal with doing that doesn't mean we haven't. He's had to build up all of this fucking courage and you treat him like shit! You don't deserve him. You're fucking worthless. Not him, you," I yelled, the same rage in my eyes. She was taken aback by my words, at how loud and smooth they came out. Sam was whimpering in the corner, trying to make himself as small as possible as he clutched his cheek. His mom stormed off into the kitchen and slammed the door behind her, screaming as she went.
"I j-just want t-to l-leave, I j-just w-wanna l-leave, p-please Colby," he ran into my arms, sobbing loudly.
"Get your shoes on and we'll leave baby, c'mon," I held him for a couple of seconds before he ran off to find his shoes. He slipped them on effortlessly and ran back to me. I held his chin with two fingers and turned it so I could see where she punched him.
"We h-haven't got t-time, check it w-when we get t-to yours," he pushed my hand away and ran to the front door, closing the door after me.
"Let's go," I sighed, intertwining our fingers and running with him.

"Mom, we're back," I yelled, making Sam flinch slightly.
"Sorry baby," I whispered, putting my arm around him. He nodded slightly as we walked into the living room. I hadn't been in here for about a year.
"Hey. Oh my gosh, what happened?" My mom exclaimed, looking up from the tv at Sam's cheek.
"Oh shit yeah, we need to go clean that up," I said, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling him into the bathroom.
"Just sit on there for a sec whilst I get the stuff," I said, pointing to the counter. He pulled himself up, folding his legs.
"I.. I just went to get a glass of water. And before I could even get to the kitchen she was beating me. She gave me another massive bruise on my stomach. They all need cleaning up, I haven't been able to shower in around 3 days, I feel disgusting," He explained.
"Ok baby. I just need to put some of this on them, ok?" I ruffled his hair softly as he nodded. I put some rubbing alcohol on the cotton pad and rubbed it softly over the bruise on his cheek, making him wince.
"Could you lift up your shirt for me please baby?" I asked, kissing his cheek. He nodded and lifted up his shirt and hoodie. I crouched down to get a better look and cleaned it softly. Even though I was being really gentle, it was still hurting him somehow.
"I-is it done?" He whimpered. I looked up at him and saw that a couple of tears had strayed from his eyes.
"Yeah, baby. All done," I kissed his forehead softly and wiped away his tears. He sniffled slightly and rubbed his eyes.
"Boys, are you ok in there?" My mom shouted from the living room. I opened the bathroom door and let Sam out, intertwining my fingers with his as we walked to the living room.
"Yeah," I answered as we entered the room. I sat down on the sofa, patting the cushion next to me for Sam to sit on. He walked over and sat down, clutching my hand like his life depended on it.
"What happened?" My mom asked in a gentle voice, looking from me, to Sam, and back to me again. I looked over at Sam, who just nodded slightly.
"So..." I explained what had happened, about how I woke up without him there and heard shouting, I went downstairs and saw his mom beating him, and then how we ran out of the house.
"Oh my goodness, that's terrible! Do you have anywhere to stay? Are you going back there? No, you can't go back there," my mom looked at him with caring eyes, like she's been doing to me lately. Like she does truly care. He shook his head slightly.
"I was thinking maybe he could stay here until things are sorted out?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Yes, of course. I'm guessing you'll be sharing a room with Colby, right?" She said, standing up and brushing herself down. Sam nodded quietly. She walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
"You ok, baby? You're being super quiet," I moved his hair away from his eyes and kissed his forehead.
"Mhm. I'm just.. I don't know. I just feel worthless. Pathetic. Weak. Why don't I just stop her? I'm such a fucking idiot," he started crying again, his voice cracking.
"Listen to me," I put my hands on his shoulders. "You are not worthless. You are not pathetic. You are not weak. She is abusive. She was beating you, it's difficult to stop her. You're not an idiot. You're the bravest person I've ever met, don't doubt that, ok? You are fucking amazing, and perfect, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're so brave for staying in that house with her," I took a deep breath and pulled him into a hug. "I love you, Sam."
"I love you too," He cried, clutching onto my hoodie.

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