Peaches 'N Cream

27. Mine

He bit his tongue, not letting the greedy unspoken words leave his mouth.

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Present

Jericho had resorted to locking himself in his bedroom all weekend. It was Monday; he texted Joseph the gist of the situation and said he'd explain more at school. He honestly didn't even want to leave his house at all, though.

The fear that Jordan would pop up out of the blue, drag him away, and lock him up somewhere, kept him awake. He shouldn't know his address but considering who his father was and his connections, it couldn't be that difficult to get hold of.

He double-checked the locks on all the doors, sending the blond another message letting him know that he wasn't going today after all. A call came through almost immediately after hitting send, and he nearly threw it at the wall. It was Joseph.

"Hey."

"I'm comin' in 20."

The call dropped. He could hear the irritation in his voice. Probably not exactly happy that another one of his abusers is on the loose, and he didn't even know about it until today. He lingered near the wall and watched the front door handle until the quarterback pulled up to his house in half the time.

The shorter boy checked both the window for his truck in the driveway and the peephole for him before he unlocked and opened it. He could tell Joseph was irked when more silence settled around them. Listening to him pocket his keys and then kick his slides off so he could walk further into the house, closer to him.

"I know I barged in already, but did you want me here? Your text... I was on autopilot until I turned into the cul de sac."

Jericho took one glance at his openly concerned expression and nearly melted against the staircase, tears burned in his eyes. He said a quiet 'yes' and finally hung his head, folding his arms across his chest.

"Did he put his hands on you too?"

The 'too' stung a little. He glared at the floor, hugging himself closer, resentment bubbling in his chest.

"I was in the hospital for a bit. They put a warrant out for his arrest and got him at his apartment the next day. I usually put up with his shit, so he probably didn't expect me to call the cops."

The laugh that bubbled out of him was choked and bitter. The others socked feet came into view, and a warm hand grabbed his jaw and lifted his head before he could do it himself. He pouted, and green eyes held his for a moment before they softened considerably.

"Baby... you know I'm upset, right?" He swiped tears away from under his eyes with a thumb and exhaled quietly, "Because we talked about this keepin' dangerous secrets thing already." The brown-haired boy shuffled closer, "but that conversation comes after this. After you."

Jericho interlaced his fingers with the hand on him and brought it up to his cheek, pressing against the cool palm and burying his face in it. He hated crying, fucking despised it, but he's done it these last six months more than any other time. It was stupid to think Jordan was someone he could keep in the past and leave there to rot.

His sentence shouldn't have finished until after he graduated and moved back to New York for university. This was something that wasn't supposed to happen. 'But so was Joseph'. A small voice in his head seemed hellbent on reminding him, but he didn't mind.