79. Spoken By Him

-Troy-

"Troy! Open the goddamn door!"

I ignored my father. He was still banging on the door a few minutes later, but I stayed silent. Our help would arrive any second now, and no matter how awfully long the seconds were, I knew we had already won. They couldn't get through the door and that was the only way in, unless they could find ladders lying around.

"I gave you everything, you little piece of shit!"

I didn't even blink. I just stared at my phone, but I could feel Stephanie moving uncomfortably next to me. I looked at her. She seemed like she was about to burst out in tears.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, but she shook her head sternly.

"No – this is my fault," she muttered, staring into nothingness in front of her. "I should've seen the person he really is... There were times when I had the feeling something wasn't right, but he managed to fool me every single time..."

I nudged her side gently to make her look at me. When she did, I gave her a smile. "Now you know. I probably should've told you about everything, but no one ever believes me, so..."

She took a deep breath and tried to smile as well, but it was a sad one. "He's such a good liar..." she muttered. I nodded, and we fell silent for a moment. Then I saw her looking at me. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm just happy I can get away from him," I told her truthfully. "I don't have to hide myself any longer."

She nodded slowly, and waited until my father was done yelling behind the door, before she spoke again. "So... you really have... a boyfriend?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah, and he's coming to help us right now," I told her, hoping that whatever she thought about gays, she would keep that to herself. I really didn't need that shit right now.

"Good... good... You said his name is Luke?" she continued.

"Yes," I nodded.

"It's that big guy, right? That really big guy?" she continued, and I suddenly realized why she was asking those questions.

"That's the one," I said, trying to hide my smile. "He's probably taking Gwen with him."

"Gwen... H.. She's his... uhm? That big... woman?" she stammered, and I was glad to see the change in her attitude.

"Yes," I nodded again.

"Oh, good..." she muttered, looking a bit more relieved now, knowing that we were getting help from people who were actually able to help, no matter how big or strong my uncle was. "Good..."

"So, you don't mind?" I asked, and my father started making a ruckus again behind the door.

Stephanie turned to look over her shoulder. "Quite frankly, if this day has taught me anything, it's that I need to start looking past the surface."

"That is good to hear," I said and patted her shoulder.

"OPEN THE DOOR! This is MY house! You do as I say!"

"I don't think he's in his right mind," Stephanie muttered and her expression turned worried again. "I don't feel safe here."

"We'll just have to wait a bit longer," I said. "But I think you're right... He's lost it completely..."

"Doesn't he understand we already called the cops?" she asked.

"I don't think he understands that he, too, is bound by law. He thinks nothing can touch him. That's how he managed to keep his business going – bribing or ruining his competitors with the help of my uncle," I explained. "Like that lawsuit about the toxic waste."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown. I stared at her for a moment. She got the message. "Oh... I see... Now here I thought it was dropped because everything was all right..."

"Nah, they were paid to drop it," I said.

"Open the goddamn door!"

"Why don't you shut your goddamn mouth!"

I let out a chuckle when I heard the second voice.

"Who was that?" Stephanie asked and got up on her knees.

"That would be my boyfriend," I smirked, and got up on my feet.

It was not until that moment, when I realized how anxious, worried, and restless I had been. And all of a sudden, I could feel all the pain in my body as well. And the horrible headache...

But most of all, I could finally breathe, knowing that Luke was somewhere in the house.

"Get out of my house!" I heard my dad yelling at him. Or them. "I will not have any of you freaks in my...!"

I heard some weird choking sounds outside the door. I assumed my dad was being strangled, and for some reason, I had no problem with that.

"Help me get this out of the way," I said, and took a strong hold of the bookcase.

Together, we managed to drag it far enough to get the door open. Once it was out of the way, I opened the lock and peered outside before pulling it open. Luke and Gwen were standing outside with my passed-out father lying at their feet.

"Luke!" I sighed in relief and practically jumped on his neck. He had to struggle to stay on his feet until he leaned against me. "You shouldn't be straining your leg!" I said once I realized he didn't even have his crutches with him.

"Fuck that! What the hell happened here?" he asked, placing his hands on my cheeks to take a better look at me.

"I'll tell you later – did you see two other men here?" I asked, looking around for my uncle and his friend.

"Dammit," Gwen sighed, and they exchanged looks. "We saw two guys getting into a car when we arrived. They're already gone."

"Doesn't matter," I said in relief. "The other one was my uncle – I don't know the other one. I'm just glad they're gone, and you are here."

I hugged Luke again before I turned to look at Stephanie. She was staring at my father by the door.

"Steph?"

She looked up at me and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm... fine," she said quietly, but it was clear she wasn't fine.

"Do you have anyone you can call?" I asked.

She shrugged. "My brother is the only one who lives around here, but he's at our parents' for Thanksgiving... They invited me as well, but..." She looked around in the house and shivered. "I'll check into a hotel or something – I can't stay here a minute longer..."

"Okay," Gwen said gently and carefully stepped closer to her. I was sure that she, too, could see that Stephanie probably shouldn't be alone right now. "Why don't you go pack what you need and both of you stay the night at our house? I think you need to get some rest, dear. But first we need to go get that wound checked."

"Wound?" Luke repeated and looked at her. "What the hell?"

"We called the cops – they should be here any second," I only said.

It took them less than a minute to finally arrive. It was a bit of a mess for a moment, with us four and my unconscious father, but things cleared out soon enough, and Steph and I got treated. Luke was by my side the entire time, hopping around without his crutches. I tried to get mad at him for leaving them behind, but he got madder at me for not telling him what I was going to do.

I knew I had a lot to explain to him, but I was getting really tired and sleepy. It took a small eternity until we were finally getting ready to leave. After watching cops raiding our home and taking my father away – kicking and screaming since he woke up at some point – I really needed to get somewhere quiet. I probably should've told the medics that I was hit on the head, but they would've taken me to a hospital or something and I really just needed to lie down, preferably Luke by my side.

My bags were still by the front door, and Gwen helped me to carry them to her car. And Stephanie's as well.

"You're so kind, but I don't want to be a bother," Stephanie tried to tell her. "I can... I can book a room... In a hotel..."

"Dear – you seem like you could use a hot bath and a cup of hot chocolate with a drop of whiskey. Or a cup of whiskey with a drop of hot chocolate, I won't judge. And perhaps a place with some familiar faces, hmm?" Gwen spoke soothingly.

Stephanie stared at her for a moment before she nodded and sniffed. "Sounds good," she said with a muffled voice.

"Everything will turn out just fine. You can call your family in the morning, after a good night's sleep," Gwen continued, leading her to the car.

"Yes..." Stephanie nodded again. "Thank you."

I smiled at the relieved sound in her voice before I turned to look at Luke. My smile trembled when I saw him squinting his eyes at me. "Yes, I came here to tell my dad about you."

"So, you lied to me," he said.

"I did, because I knew you would've tried to stop me," I explained.

"Why couldn't you just call him?" Luke asked.

"Because I wanted to tell him that to his face. I wanted to walk up to him and say the words that make me happy, because I'm not afraid of him. Not anymore. I don't give a damn what he thinks, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him make me hide the fact that I have a great boyfriend. And I wanted to shove that into his face just to get back at him for making my life miserable," I spoke, and I would've continued my rant, if it hadn't made my headache even worse. "Can we just please go now?"

He breathed out and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "You almost gave me a heart attack," he told me with a small voice. "Don't do that to me."

"I won't," I promised. "Besides, you don't need to act like this isn't exactly what you wanted."

"What?" he grunted at me.

"Me to get away from my father – for good," I explained. "You've wanted that ever since you learned what kind of person my dad is."

"You're not wrong," he said quietly. "But not like this."

"Well, that wasn't for you to decide," I said, taking in his scent. "I'm already loving this," I added with a smile on my face, hugging him tightly with one arm.

"So... We are coming out?" he asked.

"Yes. We're coming out – if you want," I smiled, and when I turned my head to see his expression, it was clear that he was happy about it as well.

*****

It wasn't as easy to calm down as I hoped. I kind of felt like my mind couldn't catch up with everything that had happened in just a few short hours. It was eight in the evening. Eight hours ago, I was leaving this house. Twenty-four hours ago, I had decided to go confront my father. Forty-eight hours ago, I had no idea any of this would happen.

Boy, was I fast to act when I decided on something. But I did the right thing. I felt so happy I could feel butterflies in my stomach. I got to take my frustration out on my father and finally be free. No more hiding and secret kisses. I was now free to enjoy my new relationship with Luke to the fullest.

We were gathered in the living room, cuddled up in blankets, while Stephanie and I talked about our day. It was kind of surreal. So? How was your day? Well, as a matter of fact...

Stephanie was more shaken than I was, but I'd had time to prepare for this. This morning, she woke up not knowing she would be homeless. She was homeless as well, since she was not going to step foot in that house ever again. She had already called her brother, who would come home the next day to help her get the rest of her belongings from my dad's. I couldn't call it a home anymore. It never was my home, just a house I lived in.

"I have some savings," she spoke quietly over her hot chocolate – with a generous drop of whiskey in it. "I'll get by. I just... need to sort some things out first."

She lost more than just her home. Her fiancé. Her job. Her whole life turned upside down in just a few hours, but she seemed to be coping well. Well-ish.

What did I lose?

I smiled and hugged Luke's arm. He was sitting at the end of their couch with a support under his leg, and I was glued to his side, resting my chin on his shoulder and cuddling his arm against my chest. My arm. The one he once told me I could have.

I lost nothing. I won.

"Well, it's good to know you're not on your own," Mrs. Frost said with a small smile. "You are welcome to stay with us as long as you need."

"That's so generous of you, but my brother is taking me in for now," Stephanie spoke. "But... I know I have no right to ask for any favors, but please – Troy needs a place to stay until we can figure out what to do, and I'm sure he would love to stay here, rather than at my brother's."

I opened my mouth and closed it right away. I was more than just confused by her words.

"Of course he can stay with us," Gwen said. "We would never leave a child on their own!"

I had to bite my teeth together and look down. Why was I suddenly about to cry?

"That is a relief," Stephanie said, and I could tell she was smiling just by the sound of her voice. "Thank you so much."

Luke moved a little and squeezed my hand tightly. I could feel his breath on my face, but I refused to look up. I was way too overwhelmed to do that.

Why was Stephanie talking like she wasn't about to vanish from my life the first thing in the morning?

"Troy is tired," Luke suddenly said. "I think I'll go put him to bed now."

I chuckled against his shoulder. "I'm not a little kid."

"I know," he said and kissed my forehead. "Come – you need to rest."

I nodded and took a few deep breaths before I got up from the couch. I helped Luke up on his feet and gave him his crutches before turning around. Stephanie was also on her feet, and she walked up to me.

"We will figure everything out," she told me, and opened her arms into a hug, waiting for my approval. I stepped closer and hugged her, feeling weird with her arms around me, but not in a bad way... I guess.

"Okay," I said shortly, and stepped back. She patted my shoulder gently. "You should go try to get some sleep as well," I told her.

"Yes, please," she chuckled shortly.

"We made a bed for you in our study," Mrs. Frost said and stood up as well. "I'll show you the way."

"Thank you," Stephanie said, and hugged her. "I would probably be freaking out right now if it wasn't for you guys..." She looked like she was about to burst into tears again. Then she turned to look at Gwen. "You've been so kind to me, even though I don't deserve it. I–"

"Bygones be bygones," Gwen said sternly, but with a gentle smile on her face. "And we don't turn our backs on people who need help."

Stephanie lost it and started crying. She hugged Gwen again. "Thank you, Gwen."

Luke tapped my shoulder and nudged his head toward the stairs. I nodded and gave him a smile. I was probably crying silently at that point. There were just too many emotions going around the room.

"Good night, everybody," I said.

After a short moment of everyone exchanging goodnights, we finally climbed upstairs. I was happy to see my bed was still in the corner of the room, waiting just for me. Although... I didn't want to sleep alone that night.

I guess Luke knew that, because once we were ready for bed, he tapped the spot next to him. I didn't hesitate to climb next to him, and I did so with a smile on my face.

"How's your leg?" I asked once we both found good spots to sleep – tangled in each other's arms.

"Hanging on," he said. "You've got a lot of bruises," he said with a dark voice when he saw my arms.

I was too tired to tell him I was thrown down the stairs. "It was a harsh day," I just said.

He growled angrily. "I'll strangle him again if I ever see him."

"So it was you," I chuckled. "Brute."

"No one hurts my boyfriend," he said almost angrily, and I couldn't help but smile wider.

I rested my head on the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. There had been some scary moments that day, yes, but I still didn't regret anything. Well, anything else except not keeping my phone with me. I never thought my dad could be so violent and crazy, but at the same time, it wasn't such a big surprise to me, either. I was far more surprised about Stephanie taking my side.

And her words just now... Now that was scary. I was sure that tomorrow, when her brother would come to pick her up, it would be the last time I'd ever hear from her. Why would she care about what happened to me? She had no obligations to have anything to do with me, so why would she bother?

I forced myself to drop that thought. It was too much for the day.

Instead, I turned my attention to Luke, who was caressing my shoulder slowly, making me feel safe and cared for. Loved.

Loved.

"Luke?" I murmured his name, and he hummed as a reply. "I did it because I love you, and I couldn't stand hiding it anymore."

His hand had stopped moving around "I love you". I think he even stopped breathing at that point.

"Oh, no. I broke you," I chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Duude?"

"I uhmm... I'm not sure if I heard you right," he said.

"I love you," I purred without hesitation.

"...come again?" he said, and turned to his side to see my face.

"I love you," I whispered, and kissed his lips.

Those words felt so right on my lips. And the thing that made me ridiculously happy...

"I love you too," he said so gently I nearly started crying again.

...was that they sounded even better spoken by him.