Need Him (BxB)

CHAPTER ONE

-•PRESLEY•-

"Are you deaf now? Clean all this shit up before I get back, boy!," My stepfather, Robert bellowed.

I flinched slightly at his tone of voice, but tentatively bent down to pick up the shards of glass from countless empty beer bottles that littered the floor. His countless empty beer bottles. Robert's beer bottles always inevitably ended up somewhere beneath me, this was no foreign task to me.

Once I gathered the shards of glass and bottles into a trash bag, I silently made my way to the trash bin outside. Before I could even make it to the door, Robert seized my arm roughly. I winced from the pressure that weighed on a fresh bruise that was only just beginning to heal. I noticed with shame that tears pricked at the brim of my eyes. I dared not make a sound.

"God, how fucking pathetic you are. Keep those tears in, boy. I don't need councilors snooping around here again, understand?," Robert growled, twisting my arm further.

I fought a whimper that almost escaped me, knowing that Robert would only get angrier. I didn't trust myself to speak so I nodded eagerly at his question.

His face seemed to contort more angrily as his grip on me tightened. "Use your words, boy!"

"Yes, yes. I-I understand," I said, feeling a single tear slide down my cheek.

Satisfied, Robert finally let me go with a thrust against the wall. He grabbed his jacket and slammed the front door as he left.

When he left, the air seemed to return to my lungs. With a sigh, I picked up the trash bag and threw it out in the garbage. When I looked at the clock, I knew it was time to get ready for school. Most teenagers my age absolutely despised school, but for me, it was the only safe place I had.

It was a peculiarly gloomy day for mid September so I decided to throw on a sweater and a pair of jeans. I grabbed my backpack from my desk and headed out my bedroom door. Before I could descend down the stairs, I reached into my backpack and grabbed my trusty pack of mints.

I popped one in my mouth and instantly felt more at ease. My mom was the one who suggested this calming method when I was thirteen, it stuck with me ever since. Without a pack of mints, I felt somewhat bare, almost like walking on a tightrope without a net to catch my fall. It seemed redundant, but it was almost like my secret defense.

When I reached the kitchen, I didn't bother grabbing breakfast because the only thing the cabinets were filled with was dust. Robert rarely ever spent his money on anything besides alcohol. The only true meal I had during the day was lunch because it was served at school. The only food that Robert had in the house was a half eaten box of stale gram crackers. Those gram crackers were reserved for when it was the weekend and lunch wasn't available.

I checked the clock one last time before I left through the front door and concluded that school started in approximately forty minutes. When I left the front door, I immediately turned around to lock it. Robert would have a fit if he found out it was unlocked.

On my way to the bus stop, a cold gust of wind blew through my hair. I pulled my sweater closer to me and tucked my chilled hands in the pockets.

As another gust of wind blew, I heard a low engine hum from behind me. I knew that I shouldn't have looked back but curiosity got the better of me and I risked a glance.

The low hum belonged to a green truck which trailed slowly behind me. I instantly diverted my attention from the green truck and quickened my pace to the bus stop. To my horror, the green truck's engine picked up in volume as it sped up to keep up with my strides. I cursed my short legs for such minuscule strides but walked faster.

When I reached the bus stop where the big yellow bus was parked, I had never been more happy to see it. I glanced cautiously behind me and saw the truck's passenger door open. I didn't even stay to see the passengers face, my legs were already bolting me to the bus.

When I entered the bus, the bus driver shot me a questionable brow. I simply gave her a tiny smile as I found my seat. When I looked out the window of the bus, the green truck had seized to exist. It was gone.

I popped another mint into my mouth and welcomed the cool freshness of it. The mint gave me comfort, and in that moment, I couldn't ask for anything else.

                              •••••••••••••••••••••••

When I got to school, I had willed myself to focus on the material that was being taught but no matter how hard I tried, my mind wandered. The more I had attempted to dismiss the morning's events, the more I dwelled on them.

Could Robert have sent someone to get rid of me for good?

I shuddered at the thought. That definitely could have been a possibility but in order for him to arrange that, he'd have to have money to spare. He was too much of an alcoholic to spend such precious cash on anything remotely related to his scorned stepson.

"Presley. You okay, bud?," Mrs. Dean, the school nurse asked, looking concerned. She wasn't just a school nurse, she was a mentor to me and in some cases, she was like a mother that I didn't have. The last period of the day, I was her assistant. I helped her tend to students' injuries and make medicinal remedies. I learned all of it from my mom when she was still around to teach me.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just a bit tired, that's all," I assured her with a smile that I prayed was convincing enough to halt any further questions.

Mrs. Dean gave me a skeptical look but then smiled. "If I'm being honest, so am I," she said with a sigh. "My neighbors' dog was barking all night. I was so ready to go over there and give it one of your strong sleeping remedies just to shut it up."

I giggled. "I don't think your neighbor would appreciate that very much."

"Yeah, I don't think so either, but I sure would," she said turning back to her computer screen.

"Oh, I have your recommendation letter signed," she said, digging through a stack of papers and finally drawing out two pages stapled together.

I took it as a gloomy feeling settled in my chest.

"What's wrong, Pres? I thought you wanted this," she said, turning to me fully.

I gave a weak shrug. "I just...I don't know if I have enough money to go to college. Even with a scholarship, it won't be enough," I said, my voice small.

Robert would never pay for it.

"Presley Flint! You listen to me right now. You are the brightest boy I know, and it would be a waste of perfectly good brains if you threw it all away," Mrs. Dean said, grabbing my hands. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

I looked into her eyes and saw everything that Robert didn't see in me, that I didn't see in myself. She believed in me, she believed that I could be something more than just my stepfathers doormat. For a moment, I believed her.