TW: This book has a lot of descriptions of abuse and because of how often it is, there are no trigger warnings at the beginning of chapters. Take this as a warning for the whole book.
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Samuel never thought that moving out of his childhood home wo...
••• This one is dedicated to longlooks. I have no idea if I've already dedicated a chapter to you or not, but I've been meaning to do so for a while. Thank you so much for reading ♡.
TW: hahah jk nothing bad today
•••
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xxii. Pete's Surprise Visit
When I woke up the next morning and walked into the living room of my small apartment, I saw a familiar man still sound asleep on my couch. He must have been exhausted after yesterday. I smiled to myself and walked past him into the kitchen to make us both something to eat.
Grabbing the pan from the cupboard, I accidentally tipped over a glass that had been on the counter, making the frail material fall onto the floor and break into shards of sharp glass. "Fuck," I cursed.
I heard a gasp from the living room, followed by rustling and footsteps that made their way towards me. I was crouched down and picking up the largest pieces of glass off the floor by the time Benjamin was in the kitchen.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, looking down at me. I turned my head up to look at the older man. His brown hair was a mess and green eyes still glazed over with the remnants of his sleep. His shirt hung loosely on his shoulders and the purple marks on his neck were prominent on his pale skin. He looked adorable and, as odd as it was to admit, my heart warmed at the sight. I couldn't pinpoint a reason for it, though. The feelings that this man gave me were ones I hadn't really felt before.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I woke you up," I smiled. "Did you sleep well?" I threw the pieces of glass into the trash and looked back over at Benjamin, now standing up to my full height. I hadn't realised it before, but Benjamin was around the same height as me. He looked smaller because of how skinny he was, but he really was quite tall.
Benjamin gave me a small smile. It was just a tiny one, but a smile nonetheless. There was an odd feeling in my stomach, but I ignored it. "I did, thank you. Sorry that I fell asleep before I could leave, I really don't want to bother."
"Oh no. It's really no bother," I grinned. I wasn't lying. I didn't think he could ever bother me with anything he did. "You're always welcome to crash on my couch if you want to, I don't mind at all." I walked over to my fridge and opened it, only to see that there was barely anything edible in it. A six pack of beer and some cheap cheese were really the only thing inside that were even somewhat appetizing. I really needed to go grocery shopping.
"Do you want some breakfast? I could make us some..." I trailed off as I looked into the breadbin, "...grilled cheese with old ass bread and cheap american cheese?" Both Benjamin and I cringed at that. It really didn't sound very appetising.
"I think I'm going to pass," Benjamin chuckled. I didn't blame him.
"Yeah, so will I," I laughed and placed the frying pan back into cupboard, no longer needing it. My phone buzzed on the counter as a notification came in, lighting up the screen. Benjamin looked over at my phone and his smile was immediately wiped off his lips as colour drained from his face.
