Teddy
Shit, is she okay? Do you know how long you’ll be there?
Me
I’m not sure. A few weeks maybe
Teddy
What? Send me the address and I’ll come stay with you there
Prickles burst along my head and fingertips as fear spikes through me. I don’t want him anywhere near this house, or my family—but fuck, I need him so bad. I swipe the tears from my cheeks and smack my hand against my head several times, getting frustrated with myself because I know—I fuckingknowI’m not going to be able to let him go. After all this, I still see Teddy as my safety. I just need time for my back to heal, and then I’m going straight back to him, because I’m too weak to stay away.
Me
No, it’s just a few weeks, I need to try and fix things between me and my mum before we leave for Scotland.
I don’t like lying to Teddy. There’s no making amends with my mother.
Teddy
Fine. I’m not happy about it though. They haven’t given a single fuck about how you’ve been doing since you moved out. But it’s your choice. Video call me tomorrow?
Me
Okay. Night, Teddy
Teddy
Night, mo leannan
I jump awake at the sound of my bedroom door opening, gasping in pain as the skin pulls taut on my back. My hand closes tight around my phone, and I slide it under the pillow, so that whoever comes in doesn’t take it away. I must have fallen asleep straight after texting Teddy.
“Hey baby boy, what happened?”
The sound of my stepdad's soft voice brings my anxiety back tenfold. At least with Shane, I know what to expect. There’s a mutual understanding that it’s something that needs to be done. But with Dean, I’m instantly on edge, my muscles tensing in anticipation.
My skin feels so tight around the burns. Every movement pulls on them, threatening to burst the blisters. I can’t risk infection if I want to get back to Teddy. So I lay still.
“Shane really did a number on you.” Dean’s finger brushes against my hip, and I flinch at the contact. He avoids the burns, but pain shoots through me all the same. He hushes me and strokes my hair. “It’s alright, I’ll clean you up now.”
Shortly after Shane switched to cigarettes, Dean found out what was going on. He came home early one day and foundme on my bedroom floor, passed out, hot and sticky from a fever. He injected me with something, and when I woke up feeling better, he was hovering over my bed, stroking my cheek. I couldn’t speak. Just laid there in silence. Since then, Dean lingers whenever Shane hurts me. He tells me that he’ll help keep my burns clean from infection, and that we can leave Mum and Shane out of it. That it will be just our little secret.
There’s a familiar sound as the first aid kit clicks open, and I jump when the cold antiseptic cream touches my raw skin. It hurts like hell, yet soothes at the same time. A sigh of relief escapes my lips before I can stop it.
“That’s it, you’ll feel better soon,” he coos as he massages the cream into my hips. I feel him pause before saying, “This is new,” as he rubs the cream over the cut on my ribs.
The first aid kit is closed back up, and I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that’s it. He’ll leave the room and let me rest. But he grabs my waistband, pulling my joggers down slowly, exposing too much of my body. “Everything feels better once I fix you up, doesn’t it?” He strokes a hand over my arse cheek. “You’re going to stay quiet for me, aren’t you, baby boy? You wouldn’t want anyone to find out why you let your brother hurt you, would you?”
I thread my fingers through my hair, tugging so hard it stings my scalp. I’m exhausted and in so much pain, I don’t have the energy to push him away. Don’t have the voice to tell him no. I try to tell myself that it’ll be over quickly—he usually just caresses me a bit and then covers me back up. It will only be a couple of minutes, and then he’ll be gone.
Except this time, as he starts to touch me, his fingers slip between my crease, and I feel them brush against my hole. My body freezes up again, and I’m panting for air, squeezing my eyes shut, begging for my mind to black this out.
THEO
“Where’s Bailey?”I ask, moving to stand in front of television. Isla and Robbie both lean to the side, trying to look around me.
“Well, good morning to you too, Theo,” she deadpans. “Why do you need to know where Bailey is?”
