Yellow

seven

*
Tye was back in his parents house, his own personal hell. He was in the box room designated as his own, the mattress on the floor taking up most of the space, one of the springs had poked through making it difficult to find a comfortable position without accidentally stabbing himself. His duvet, thin as it was and covered in a blue duvet cover that must have been as old as he was provided the only comfort in the room. Sure he had his phone, but that was mainly so his mother could track his every movement, god forbid he turn off life360.

The loose floorboards by the stairs creaked and loud, aggressive footsteps began to move closer, and closer. The louder they got, the faster Tye's breathing became as he anticipated the yelling, the punches and the bruises, the constant reminder of how worthless he was.

The handle to the door turned, and there she stood, an imposing figure in the doorway, and she was angry.

She didn't say anything, it was always worse when she didn't say anything, she had his fathers belt in her hand.

He didn't even see it, but he sure as hell felt it when it made contact with his face. He couldn't stop from crying out.

He'd been stupid to think he'd have even a little bit of respite from her. Of course they hadn't really wanted him. He'd been lulled into a false sense of reality, a reality where his existence wasn't angering everyone in his life.

How could he have been so stupid?

*
"Love I need you to wake up, I know you're scared, but you're safe, you're safe my love." A familiar voice broke through his screams.

His vision was blurry when he opened his eyes and he latched onto whatever it was that was trying to give him comfort.

"That's it love, you're okay." He was in someones arms and for once he didn't care, he didn't care that he was breaking his number one rule about not allowing people to touch him. People touching him hurt his bruises, and he was already in so much pain... "it's okay, I'm here."

He buried his head into the shoulder of whoever it was that he was desperately clinging to, he wasn't sure who it was, but he didn't care, they were there when he needed them and that was more than he could say for a lot of people in his life.

He was crying, he realised that as whoever was holding him began to weave their fingers through his messy hair. It felt so warm, so comforting and he didn't mind the contact.

This was the first time in a long time he'd felt safe in someone's arms, safe in a place other than his sanctuary of his best friends home. But even sanctuarys never lasted.

"Shhh, its alright love, you're safe." They told him. And he believed them. "Do you want to stay with me tonight love?"

Tye nodded desperately, he couldn't let go of his saviour, he needed them. He felt a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Alright love, I'm going to lift you up, is that okay?" Tye nodded again, as long as they didn't leave him, he was past caring. His dream had shaken him more than he cared to admit.

He felt himself being brought up onto their hip, and then they began to move, the sounds of other people talking reached him, but he ignored it, being lulled by the steady breathing of whoever was carrying him, and the even footfalls of their walk.

He was asleep before they made it upstairs.

^^^
Carter was incredibly worried. The way Tye had been screaming in his sleep, the way the touch averse boy had clung to him like he had saved him from the pits of hell. The boy was now asleep in his arms, head buried into his shoulder, body practically thrown over Carter's. Carter was gently stroking his hair, racking his brains to try and figure out what on earth his boy had been dreaming about.

It was maybe three am, and he had convinced the others to go back to bed, but he couldn't sleep, not whilst his mind was filled with worry of what had happened to Tye before he'd got him out of that house. He knew Tye didn't know what was going on, he knew he was scared and confused, but he was safe. And that's all Carter wanted.

The door opened slowly and Artemis peaked his head into the room. "How is he?"

"He's fine, just sleeping." Carter replied, gesturing for Artemis to join them on the bed. Artemis moved to his other side, settling himself down beside him.

"Must have been some nightmare, I don't think I've heard anyone scream that loud." Artemis sighed, he kissed Carter lightly. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Yes, it's not gonna be easy, but we're going to help him, he needs to learn that he's not alone." Carter looked back at the boy in his arms. "He's got us now."

^^^
Tye awoke in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he tried to remember where he was and how he got there. He'd had a nightmare and someone had been there for him.

Someone had been there for him... it was rare for someone to want to do that for him, to deal with his crying, but someone had.

He had someone to look out for him, but who?

The room he was in held possibly the biggest king bed Tye had ever seen, with the duvet and pillows along with cushions, blankets and even a couple of plushies. There was a large wardrobe on one wall, a wall length mirror beside it. There was also a huge bookshelf, with a cosy looking armchair beside it.

Someone exited the bathroom, someone tall, someone who smiled at him when they saw him. Carter.

"Hello my love, how are you doing?" He asked, moving to sit opposite him. Tye just stared at him. That had taken him completely off guard.

"Um..."

"Its okay love, you don't have to speak." Carter said gently, Tye nodded. "Are you tired, do you want to go back to sleep or come down for breakfast?"

"Tired." Tye murmured, he didn't want to eat, as nice as breakfast sounded, he couldn't eat.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Carter asked, as though he knew what was going through his mind. Which was a silly thought, of course Carter couldn't read his mind. Right? Tye nodded quickly. "Alright, you rest okay? I won't be long."

Tye nodded again and settled back into Carter's bed. As much as he didn't want to be alone, he wanted breakfast even less. He contemplated the people he was stuck with and decided that, against the survivalist part of his brain, he could trust them.

They cared about him and that was a rarity in his life and if he couldn't trust people that cared about him, than who could he trust?