34. Is That Blood?

"One."

Ash's heart leapt into his throat as Will stood, his face grim and determined and angry. "Two."

"Will!" Ash squeaked. "No!"

Will ignored him. "Three."

As soon as the word left his mouth, Ash stumbled back, his heart thudding in his ears, watching Will step forward.

Ash's father didn't even flinch, his face red with fury, and slammed his fist into Will's stomach. "YOU TURNED MY SON INTO A FAG!" he roared, and Will gasped, stumbling back a step as if he hadn't expected the relatively smaller man to come on so strong.

Everyone in the restaurant stopped and stared at them, and Ash's father bellowed again and slammed his fist into the side of Will's face. "YOU RUINED HIM, YOU FUCKING FAGGOT!!"

Ash hiccuped, tears pricking the back of his eyes, and backed toward the exit, not daring to keep his eyes off his father and Will, who's face was nearly as red as his dad's. Will straightened, narrowing his eyes to dangerous slits, and said something in a voice so low Ash couldn't make out the words, but his dad snarled and swung a fist at his boyfriend.

A hand caught Ash's father's fist before it connect with Will's stomach again, and Will looked just as surprised as Ash's dad when Tristan twisted Ash's dad's wrist behind him, effectively stopping his punch and making the older man cry out.

"Fag is such a dirty word," Tristan said mildly, and Ash's dad's eyes widened with rage. "Maybe you should use it less often, hm?"

Will straightened, catching his breath, and narrowed his eyes and the older man. "Your son," he snarled, "is the brightest, most amazing thing that has ever wandered into my life, and you will not break that. You will not break him, do you understand me?" His voice was vicious and angry, filled with the pain of a past heartbreak that Ash knew was probably still eating at him, still hurting him.

Ash's eyes welled up with more tears as his dad spat at Will, "My son is a failure. It's his fault my wife killed herself, wasn't it? He wasn't a good enough son. And now he's gay--" he snarled the word like it was some sort of disease "--and he's even more of a--"

Will punched him in the nose.

Ash gasped as a crack rang through the restaurant and blood poured from his father's nose. Tristan's eyes widened and he blurted a surprised laugh, gripping the older man's wrist tighter and twisting it farther, making him cry out in pain, his free hand flying up to his face to try to staunch the flow of blood. Ash covered his mouth with his hands and looked away.

"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT!" Will roared. "YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT WHEN IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

Ash flinched, and his dad did the same, his chest shuddering.

Will was breathing hard, his fists clenched at his side, and he was clearly about to hit Ash's dad again when a restaurant employee jogged out, her eyes widening. "Hey!" he shouted. "No fighting in here! It's posted on the sign just outside the door. I'll have to--wait, is that blood?!?"

Tristan quickly let go of Ash's dad and stepped back, and the older man stumbled into one of the booths, gasping and scrubbing at the blood still pouring from his probably broken nose. Will stepped back, too, still looking furious, and turned away, his eyes snapping to Ash's.

His expression softened from one of rage to one of concern in less than a second, and he crossed to Ash, gathering him in his arms without another word, and they just stood there for a long time, Ash trying hard not to cry and make even more of a scene than they already had, and Will clearly trying not to march back to Ash's father and do much worse than simply punch him in the nose.

Ash heard Tristan's voice, and the employee's, and somewhere in the mix he heard his dad's, but he couldn't make out any words before he pushed back from Will, knowing he was pale.

"I'm so sorry," Will whispered. "I'm so, so sorry..."

"Ss...fine," Ash slurred, swaying a little. "I don't feel so...good..."

The last thing he remembered was Will's concerned, wide-eyed gaze before he slumped forward, everything going black.

~ ~ ~

When he woke up, he almost wished he hadn't.

There was an IV plugged into his arm, and his head ached like he'd been punched in the face with a tractor. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as the bright piercing white of a hospital room cut into his vision.

Someone inhaled sharply and grabbed his hand, and he yelped, his eyes flashing open.

Someone was sitting next to him. His blue eyes were wide and worried, and his black hair was dyed the same color as his eyes at the ends, sticking all over the place, and there were deep half-circles beneath his eyes that suggested he hadn't slept in a while.

"Ash," the man breathed. "You're awake. God, you're awake!"

His lips parting slightly, Ash squinted at the man in the chair next to him. "I--who?"

The smile faltered on the man's face. "What? Ash, it's me. It's Will. You're boyfriend?"

Ash lifted a brow and hesitantly extracted his hand from Will's grip. "Um...no. I don't--know you."

The smile was gone from Will's face, and he stared at Ash, seeming to be at a loss for words. "This...you're...I'm dreaming, right?" he breathed. "You...I have to be dreaming." He stood, his breathing growing ragged.

Ash started to panic. "I--I don't know you," he said. "Um. Are you new here? Where's my dad?"

Will turned to look at him again, his voice flat and his expression blank for some reason. "Your dad's in prison for child abuse."

Ash's eyes widened. "WHAT?" he cried. "But--what--?!? Where's my mom?"

At this, Will's expression began to crack again, and he covered his mouth with one hand, scrubbing at the faint stubble coating his jaw. "You--... What's the last thing you remember, Ash?"

"I..." Ash raked his brain. "I was...going to the movies. With Kyle. Because he was about to move away..." He squinted up at Will. "Why?"

Will looked pale, and he opened his mouth to say something when a doctor came in.

"Good to see you awake, Asher!" the doctor said brightly. "We should be getting you out by tomorrow night. How are you feeling?"

Ash started to panic again. "What? How did I get here? Why are you here?" He pointed at Will, who looked like he didn't know what to do.

The doctor looked surprised. "Ah...you had a stroke, Ash. It's nothing to worry about..."

Will inhaled. "The last thing he remembered was an event from two years ago, doc. How is that nothing to worry about?"

Ash's eyes widened and he nearly choked. "Two--two years?"

The doctor inhaled. "Hm."

Ash squeaked and dragged his hands through his hair, the IV in his arm jerking painfully. "What?!? Where's my dad?? Where's Mom?? What HAPPENED?!?"

Will inhaled slowly. "Ash," he said softly. "Your dad is in prison, and he will be for a long time for child abuse and unsafe living conditions. Your mom committed suicide two year ago--" His voice broke on that part, and Ash felt tears spring to the back of his eyes, and he covered his mouth with his hands.

"No," he breathed. "She wouldn't--she wouldn't do that. SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT TO ME!"

Will dragged his hands down his face, a deep, aching pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he breathed, and the doctor bit her lip and ducked out of the room, probably to go and tell someone that Ash was reacting terribly.

"GET OUT!" Ash screamed. "GET OUT! I DON'T KNOW YOU! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Will hiccuped, looking like he was trying hard not to cry, but nodded, turning and stumbling a little on his way out, leaving Ash scared, angry, and so, so alone.

- - - - - - - - - -

And this, my dear readers, is where I finish my book.

I'm sorry.

But also not really...because this means there's gonna be a sequel! :D

But also--thank you guys so much. For reading this and stuff. I never actually thought any of my books would get this popular, and the fact that this has over 7K views is like a fever dream for me.

There will definitely be a sequel--don't worry~

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Q: Any super-special stuffy friends you can't bear to part with?

A: Oh, SO many of them. I have a giant stuffed panda, a rainbow unicorn, a stuffed tiger named Mr. Squish, and like, a million more.