Blood Stains: Solangelo

HEAD OVER HEELS

Opening the door I was not expecting to see Nico Di Angelo sitting on my doorstep, dripping wet from the rain with a giant gash on his forehead and cheek and a bruised lip and eye. I pull open the screen door quickly, "Nico? Did you walk all the way here?"

He lunges himself into my arms with a whimper. "Will," he sighs with relief. He's clutching to me like his life depends on it and I can't tell if he's shaking from the cold or something else.

"What's wrong?" I ask, running my hand through his wet hair trying to calm him down.

"He-He found out," he croaks.

I frown, not sure what he's talking about at all. "What? Who found out what?"

Nico lets out a heart-wrenching sob and I have no idea what to do. I kiss the top of his head to try and make him feel safe, but I feel like a fish out of water right now. I've never seen Nico like this. I've seen him after panic attacks, and nightmares and helped him through days where he just couldn't stop crying but this feels different. I don't know how to help him because I don't know what's going on.

We've only been together three months, and I know his parents were abusive so he left and he was staying with a family member, that didn't sound to be much better, so maybe he's talking about them? Is that why he sounds so scared? His parents found out where he was staying?

"Nico, what's going on?"

"Please don't be mad," he pleads.

"Why would I be mad?"

"C-Can we go to your room?" he asks. "Is your mom home?"

I start to lead him up the stairs to my room, after stopping in the hallway closet to grab a towel, and close the door, "She's not, do I need to call her and tell her to come home?"

"No!" he snaps frantically.

I use the towel to start helping him dry off. His sweatshirt and jeans hang heavily on his thin frame. "Take off your clothes, you can borrow some of mine."

I turn to my dresser and find the softest pair of PJ bottoms I can find and a hoodie. Turning around I watch Nico shakily peel off his soaked clothes, revealing that his body is in even worse shape than his face. He was practically covered in nothing but bruises and he had a large cut across his chest as if someone took a swipe at him with a knife.

"Holy shit baby," I move forward to looking at the wound. "It's not too deep, but let me go get some bandages-" I trial off because I realize that even though it definitely looks fresh there's practically no blood. I look at the cut on his forehead and see the same thing.

"What?"

"There's no blood," I say.

Nico stops breathing for a second and looks down at his feet in shame. I lift his chin so I can look him in the eye, "Does that have anything to do with what you needed to talk to me about?"

Nico nods and squeaks out a barely audible, "Yes."

I nod as well and swallow thickly. I help him into the dry clothes and then wrap him in one of my blankets and tuck him in under the comforter of my bed. I wrap my arm around him and he cuddles into my side.

"I'm listening darling," I prompt.

I feel Nico take a deep breath and he hides his face in my chest while trying to get the courage to tell me what we both know I just figured out.

I had been suspecting it since around our 5th date, but never saw a reason to ask him or worry about it. I also wasn't sure at all, it was just a suspicion. I didn't want to straight up ask the best boy I had ever met in my life if he was a vampire if he wasn't.