Deliciously Destroyed | 18+

10. Safe

Aiden, next to me, huffs something in disbelief. "Do you guys even realize how fucking dangerous this is?" he then shouts, and his anger even scares me. 

He pulls out his phone, takes a picture of the unconscious boy and then walks towards him. I quickly join, pushing the bastards away while I pass. 

I pull off the blindfold and untie him completely. Aaron opens his eyes, grabbing his throat as he coughs and desperately tries to get enough air.

I tuck him closer to me, softly massaging the red, sore spots there. "Sh, Aaron, I want you to slow down your breathing. Look at me. Look in my eyes," I tell him.

Panicked, he looks in my eyes, but he can't seem to control his breathing. I place one hand on his chest, the other cupping the back of his head. "Focus on me. On my breathing, yes? Look. One breath in . . . and one out."

His wide eyes focus on my chest, and he tries to even his breathing to mine. "They-they were—" I shake my head, placing a finger on his lips. "I know, I know. Just keep breathing for me."

He eventually gets back on the right breathing rhythm, calming down. That is, until one of Stansley's sons rolls his eyes and takes a step closer. 

"Yo, why would you give a fag so much of your time? He fucking touched Michael!" He points at Michael, who widens his eyes.

Aaron ducks and scrambles away in fear of the boy. "I-I didn't," he whispers, tears leaving his eyes again. They cover his pale cheeks completely.

"He touched me, and I immediately stopped him," he whispers after it, still crawling backwards, until his back meets the wall and he's cornered. A sob leaves his mouth. "But you didn't listen and just-just . . ."

The rest of his sentence is muffled under his cries. His whole body slumps while he tries to hide himself. 

Aiden grunts, "And that's enough." He pushes all the jerks out of the room and locks the door, and I hope it helps Aaron to calm down.

But it doesn't. He even flinches when we try to reach him, so I take Aiden and sit in the corner the furthest away from him.

"He doesn't trust us," I explain. "Should we try calling Seb or Micah? I mean, they've been with him the whole day, and you heard the stories in the car." They couldn't stop talking about how cute Aaron's laugh was.

He frowns and nods. "But call Seb, not Micah. You know he'll get paranoid, and we do not need that right now."

I agree. Micah would be freaking out. 

So, I text Seb to get here asap. Fortunately, he immediately answer, saying he'll be here in ten minutes. I guess we'll have to wait.

****

A knock on the door makes both of us look up.

Aaron is now in full-on panic mode, but he just flinches and cries even more when we get closer.

"Thank God," I sigh and open the door. Sebastian marches in, eyes narrowed. "What the fuck went down here?" His eyes fall on the trembling boy. "Oh no."

I watch him crouch down in front of the small boy. "Hey, Aaron, hey. It's me, Seb," he whispers, and reaches to brush a strand of hair away. 

Aaron watches him with those big blue eyes of him. I haven't seen someone with eyes that blue, and it fascinates me. It's really special.

"Do you trust me?" Seb whisper-asks, now cupping Aaron's cheeks. Aaron nods a little and slumps even more. 

"They-they," he sobs. "Sh, it's okay. First, I want you to calm down," Seb stops his crying. I'm surprised how well he does this, because he never likes taking care of our subs.

Aaron gasps, furiously wiping his tears away. "I-I thought I was gonna die," he whimpers, hiding his face in Seb's shirt-covered chest. 

Well, he kind of was dying.

"We're taking him with us," I firmly say to Aiden, who doesn't even blink. "Of course, he can't stay here," he agrees, for once.

Seb rubs Aaron's back while they talk, and the soft sobs slow down. I kneel next to them and this time, Aaron doesn't flinch away. Instead, he blinks up at me with tired eyes, waiting.

I soften my voice. I feel so much sympathy for him, why would anyone on earth ever dare to hurt this boy? 

"Why don't you pack your things and come home with us? I promise you you'll be safe there." Struggles and doubts appear behind those blue eyes. 

"I-I don't know. I'm a student, you're professors and I-I'm a-a—" He swallows before he's able to end that sentence. "I'm a fag," he whispers then, so silent I almost miss it.

Fucking hell. I'm gonna kill whoever put that in his head, and I already know who it is.

I take his hands in mine. "Aaron, don't think that. Look at me." He does. "You are not a fag. That's not a word you're ever gonna use to describe yourself with again, am I right?"

He quickly nods. I go on. "Now, don't overthink coming home with us. Because you won't stay here. I'm not gonna let that happen. Pack your things, and we'll leave."

He blinks, but there's nothing to discuss. So he stands up, on wobbly legs, but he refuses any help. 

While he packs his things, Seb offers to help, and is sent to the bathroom. When Aaron looks down at the hoodie he got from Micah and sees it got tore apart, his bottom lip starts to tremble again.

But then he frowns, wipes his tears before he can even cry. I can see him trying to ignore the hoodie, but it's hard for him.

It seemed to be his favorite. Now that has been ruined by those jerks, too.

Aiden takes his bag and I take his hand, while Seb locks the door behind us. I hear laughs coming from the living room, and it angers me how they're unbothered by what just happened.

Later. First, Aaron needs to feel safe. Aaron, who slightly hides more behind me as we passthrough the living room to the front door.

"Wait—what the fuck? You can't take him with you!" Stansley's son calls, but I ignore him and walk faster. Aaron quickly follows.

He gets in the backseat of the car, while Aiden gets in the driver's eat and I in the passenger seat. Seb joins Aaron, but takes distance.

I frown at Seb. "Didn't you come here with a car?" He gives me a shrug. "I ran."

Rolling my eyes, I see Aaron completely pushes against the door, crying again. Seb reaches, but I shake my head and stop him.

"He needs space right now, not comfort," I whisper. That makes Seb frown, but for once, he listens to me. 

And yes, a few minutes later, Aaron falls asleep in the car.