Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cody was standing at the front door of Quinn's apartment door. He had somehow made it to the apartment complex, before climbing the stairs to the six-floor. He followed Quinn home a lot, so he knew what door. The '63' plate on it was one he'd stared at a lot as Quinn fished for his keys. The hallway was noisy. It was drowned in gospel music, T.V. noises, and babies crying. The noise from each apartment slipped through the spaces under doors and cracks on walls.

Cody held on to his stomach, feeling dizzy. His feet ached. His arm ached. Everything ached.

Cody had run all the way to Quinn's place without a second thought after he had convinced himself that he wouldn't be a burden to the boy, but now he was facing the door he wasn't sure if he should knock. He didn't want to be a bother. He didn't want Quinn to see him like this.

His head shot up when the door creaked open, not letting him make that decision for himself.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I'm just — Cody?" Quinn's sister, Janet says as she looked straight at Cody. Hair eyes flickered from one bruise to the other, before settling on the hand he was cradling. "What happened? Who the fuck did this to you?" she asked, her voice getting higher with every successive word.

There was a shout from the inside, and Janet looked behind her to tell her mum not to worry. She turned back to Cody, horrified at the dried blood on his shirt and the ugly bruise forming under his left eye and jaw. Quinn had told her that Cody didn't have a great family relationship, but he hadn't told her how terrible it was.

Cody could feel the tears in his eyes sting. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know where to start or what to say. He hated Charles, but he didn't want to get the boy in legal trouble. Instead, he let out a small whisper, wincing at the numb feel zapping through his scalp.

"Should I get Quinn?" Janet asked as her anger gave way to the concerned look on her face as well as a soft voice.

Cody stared at her before looking down at the hallway tiles. "Y-yes," he stuttered, nodding his head as tears dripped from his eyes.

Janet gave him a forced smile. "I'll be right back," she muttered, disappearing behind the apartment's door.

After a few minutes of waiting, Cody watched as Quinn emerged from the apartment. He didn't have a chance to look at him properly or say anything before the taller boy embraced him in a hug. It was tight, but it was gentle—Quinn avoided pressing against his wounds.

"I have to head out, I'll leave you two to it," Janet said, giving Cody's shoulder a light squeeze before brushing past them. She looked late, and Cody felt a bit sorry for showing up out of nowhere.

The two boys stood in silence until the sound of Janet's shoes had faded into the distance as she took the stares down. Cody could feel his heart pound in his ears when Quinn took his good hand in his.

"What happened?" the taller boy asked, staring at Cody with concern. The smaller boy's eyes flickered away. He remained quiet, afraid to talk because he was sure he would meltdown and cry.

Quinn cocked his head after a while. "You don't want to talk about it?" he asked, pulling Cody into another soft hug.

The smaller boy nodded into his shoulder. "Yeah..." he trailed, sniffling a bit.

Quinn sighed, tightening his hold on Cody. "It doesn't matter. Tell me when you're ready. I'm always here for you, you know that, right?" Cody nodded into the boy's shoulder again as Quinn ran a hand through his hair. They stayed like that in the hallway for a bit, before Quinn pulled away from the hug.

"Come on, let's head inside," he said, giving his boyfriend a smile. It was forced, but he just had to be strong. Seeing Cody like this was hard. Very hard. He wanted to march all the way to Cody's house and beat the shit out of Charles, but he didn't want to do anything that would make Cody panic.

Cody nodded, giving Quinn a small smile before taking his hand and following the taller boy into his family apartment.

Quinn's mother greeted them, but she didn't turn away from the pot of food she was attending too. Quinn took the opportunity to lead Cody to his room, not wanting his mother to make a fuss of Cody's state. The boy's eyes were red from crying, his bruises were swollen, and he looked tired. She would leave soon, anyway, and Quinn didn't want her to be late for work.

Quinn had already decided he wasn't going to school today and was going to stay with Cody as he recovered.

When they both entered the room, Quinn started rambling. "Okay, what do you want to do? We could watch something on my phone, or we could talk—"

He was cut off when he felt slender arms wrap around his mid rift. There was silence as Cody hugged in, breathing deeply as he let out soft cries.

"Thank you," the smaller boy said as Quinn held on to the hands around him.

"For what?" Quinn asked in a small voice, hoping to get Cody to talk to him.

"Thank you," Cody repeated instead of answering the question. Where can I start? 'Thank you for liking me'? 'Thank you for reaching out to me when all I wanted to do was fade away'? Cody thought to himself. He wasn't sure how to put his thanks into words, so he just stayed silent right after.

Quinn didn't push for an explanation anymore and instead turned in the boys hold so that they were facing each other. The stared at each other in silence, watching each other's expression until Cody spoke up.

"I'm scared." the boy said as his eyes fluttered down.

"Why?" Quinn asked and Cody remains quiet as he reaches to pick at the lint on Quinn's shirt.

"I—" the boy started but paused. "I l-love you," he managed to get out, feeling his face warm up.

"I love you too," Quinn said, making Cody's eyes go wide. The smaller boy looked at Quinn, feeling his stomach tighten at the sight of the gentle smile on his face.

They were quiet, both hugging each other until Quinn pulled Cody away so that that the two of them could head to the bed to sit down. Quinn smiled at Cody, moving to hold the boy's jaw in his hands before leaning in to kiss him. The kiss was sweet—gentle, and it didn't matter to Cody if the inside of his mouth stung or if Quinn mistakenly pressed up against a bruise even though he was being gentle. Quinn was kissing him, and it made his heart sing. That was all that mattered.

Quinn pulled away from the kiss, frowning a bit at Cody. "You're scared because you love me?" he asked, trying to put one and two together from before.

"Yes—No. I just—I don't want us to break up and—I just want to be happy," Cody rambled, trying to explain himself as he fidgeted with his fingers.

Quinn smiled. Cody was just adorable. "I really love you, nothing like that will happen. I promise, okay?" Cody nodded before making to hug Quinn again.

After a while, Quinn pulled away. "I'm going to get a first aid kit," Quinn muttered, and Cody nodded, waiting for the boy. He came back and tended his wounds, and they shared words and kisses as Quinn dabbed Cody's bruises with cleaning spirits before bandaging them.

"Does your arm still hurt?" Quinn asked when he was done. He was kneeling on the floor by the bed.

"Yeah," Cody mumbled, looking down at Quinn. "But it feels better," he said, smiling. Quinn mirrored that smile before getting up and leaving the room again. He put the kit away, before returning to his room. Cody was lying down in bed now, so Quinn joined him cuddling up next to him.

"Hey, at least we get to miss school together," Quinn muttered. His mother had left before he had gone out to grab the cotton wool, bandages, and spirits, and she would be back long after he was expected to get back from school.

Cody smiled at that, humming as he cuddled up to Quinn who started stroking his hair.

The two boys ended up taking a nap on Quinn's bed, holding on to each other as morning gave way to afternoon, and afternoon gave way to the evening. Cody woke up before Quinn, and just took the time to stare at him—the person who made his heart dance—the person who was offering him a chance at happiness.

"I love you," Cody muttered under his breath, pressing his lips against Quinn's hairline in a shy kiss before pulling away to stare at him.

It was true. Cody did love Quinn very much.