𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 - (𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐱𝐛𝐨𝐲)

Hundred And Six

Benjamin hands the new comforter set to Johnathan. "Here you go. And feel free to like, hang posters and stuff on the walls. My mom won't mind."

Johnathan nods. "T-Thanks."

"Uhm. I would love to stay and help you get settled in but Noah and I are gonna go see Elly. She's been with her dad all day but we just wanna check on her."

"Okay. Thanks for this. It really means a lot."

Benjamin nods and smiles. He hears the doorbell ring and walks away. He opens the door and smiles at the sight of Noah.

Noah smiles, "Hi, bebesita. You ready?"

"Mhm. Let me just grab my shoes. Oh, are you still sleeping over? I told my mom what happened and...You know...How it triggered me."

"Of course. Has Johnathan moved in yet?"

"Yeah. He's settling in. Said he has to go back home to get some more stuff though. Hope he's safe here. His family and mine don't really get along."

Johnathan was walking down the staircase, hearing the whole conversation. He feels awkward because he knows the awful things his brother has done.

Benjamin grabs Noah's hand, "Okay. I'm ready."

**
Elly sits at the island with an ice pack to her ribs. She shakes her head, "Pops?"

Victor looks up. "Yes, sweetheart."

"I-...I don't wanna live here anymore. I don't wanna live in this house anymore." Victor follows Elly's eyes, seeing her just staring at a certain area in the kitchen.

Victor assumed that's where the assault happened.

He nods and turns the burner off in the stove. "Okay, baby. We can look into apartments."

Elly blinks out of her flashback and shakes her head. She bites her lip, looking down at her hand on top of the ice pack.

The doorbell rings and Victor sighs. "Who is it?"

"Noah!"

Victor unlocks the door and smiles. "Hey, boys. Come in."

Noah and Benjamin walk in hand in hand. "Hey, Elly."

Elly turns around and smiles. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming to see me again."

Benjamin nods. "Of course. Are you feeling any better? Physically and...Mentally?"

Elly shrugs. "I don't know. I'm kind of...Numb. Really numb. I don't know how to feel."

"Have you seen your mom?"

Victor looks up. "We have court next week. Just family. She's in custody though. A holding cell, I think."

Noah nods and sits down next to Elly. "So, Mr.Guerra. How are you gonna do work? I mean, you moved from the city?"

"Well, I work for the same car company down here, so they're just gonna send over my transcripts and I'll be good to go. I also ordered movers to bring my stuff down here."

Elly shrugs. "B-but were not staying here. Getting somewhere else to live...I can't...I can't live in this house anymore. Not after what happened."

Victor sets Elly's soup in front of her. "Eat, Mija."

"Who's gonna get this house?"

Victor shrugs. "Probably leave it for Ana's sister. I don't know, Ana's name is on the lease so..."

Benjamin nods and walks to the other side of Elly. "Have you seen Jazmyne since yesterday?"

"Yeah. She's been with me ever since. She literally just went home to shower and change and come back."

Victor smiles. "Sweet girl. I love her."

Elly smiles and nods, slurping her soup. "Mm. Me too."

**
Noah and Benjamin were now back at Benjamin's house, in his room. They had music softly playing from Benjamin's computer, just laying in each other's arms.

Noah runs his fingers through Benjamin's hair, humming to the music. Benjamin could feel the vibration of Noah's voice every time he hummed along.

Benjamin bites his lip and lets out a sigh. "Noah?"

Noah looks down, "Hm?"

"You think Elly is gonna be okay? Like...Really okay?"

Noah takes a deep breath, running his hand down Benjamin's back. "I hope so, bebesita. But she's strong and we will be here for her every second of the way."

Benjamin nods and buries his face deeper into Noah's chest, taking in his musky scent. Noah closes his eyes, continuing to hum to the music while running his hand up and down Benjamin's back slowly.

*
Lucas sat with Elly, them in the living room of her house. Elly had a moment, a bad moment, where she just began trashing the house.

Lucas showed up, watched her breakdown, and then helped clean it up for her.

He was currently sweeping the glass from the broken picture frame that Elly threw off the walls. There were no longer any pictures on the walls.

Lucas grabs a picture of the two, Ana and Elly, and Elly looked to be about three or four. He sighs and sets the picture up on the coffee table.

Once the house was cleaned, they sat together on the couch.

"Do you remember exactly what happened?"

Elly nods. "Yeah. She grabbed me, and...and she swung me to the ground and just threw punch after punch."

Lucas nods and frowns. "I'm sorry."

Elly sits up, shaking her head. "It's not like I don't know how to fight but...At that moment...I don't know. I was having a panic attack and couldn't...I couldn't do anything. I was like...frozen."

Lucas looks at Elly face, smiling. "Hey. At least you got a badass battle scar, right?"

Elly lets out a laugh and nods, "Yeah." She looks to the stack of pictures that Lucas picked up form cleaning up the house. She grabs them and begins to go through them.

Lucas watches her carefully and she flips through each photo. No emotion on her face. She sets them down and sighs. She turns to Lucas, shrugging. "Wanna watch some basketball?"

Lucas shrugs. "Elly. You don't have to be brave around me...Or anyone. It's okay.."

"I know. I just...Don't really wanna think about it, okay? She's done it before, what makes this time different?"

"Elly...She had you pinned down to the ground and was-."

Elly snaps her head, turning to look at Lucas. "Yes, Lucas, I fucking know! I don't need a fucking walkthrough! Fuck, I just...Don't wanna think about it...Please."

Lucas nods and looks to the TV as Elly clicks on the game. "Okay. I'm sorry."

**