Elm has known abuse for most his life. Threads of the past were the only thing that kept him going as he endured the pain inflicted. After escaping into the arms of a man with trauma of his own. Elm is forced to build a life for himself and his grow...
I felt like a man who had been searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and after years of traversing the globe I had finally found it as the conductor's voice said we were thirty minutes away. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.
"You're going to hurt your cheeks," Marco said with a slight chuckle. We had played more of the question game while riding today and had told me a lot about himself and I told him the things that were appropriate for public conversation. I felt sorrow at the thought of our journey ending once we pulled into the station. This intense need to be near him had formed in me like if I wasn't close I would go into a panic attack. He had let me follow him everywhere even when I made ten bathroom runs he waited outside the stall for me to finish. He was so patient and kind and had some understanding of what I had been through and the long term effects it was having on me. Saying goodbye to him would be rough for me.
"Hey what are you thinking about," he asked.
"Nothing," I lied.
"Come on don't lie to me you were just in deep thought. You know I got you so don't hold back," he said pulling me into a hug. I felt solace in his warm strong arms and the smell of the lemony cologne he used along with his masculine scent. It was like a truth elixir and I felt compelled to tell him how I was feeling.
"I'm scared that if you leave I'm going to have another panic attack. I shouldn't feel comfortable with you since we have only known each other for three days but I don't know, you're safe. I don't want to say goodbye but I also know you have a life," I said crying a little. It seemed like all the tears I had pushed down over the course of five years were fighting to be released at the slightest hint of sorrow.
"Aww Elm I don't plan on just abandoning you if you want me to rent a hotel near you and a car till mine gets into town next week then I'll do it," he said.
"I can't ask you to do that you have your own life," I responded.
"It's fine I have another two weeks of leave before I have to be to the base and my apartment will not be move-in ready for another ten days," he said.
"Plus I want to be close just in case you need me because I'm invested in making sure you can make it in the world and I care about you," he said and hugged me tighter before pulling away. I looked at him and started blushing at him saying that he cared about me in any capacity. I voluntarily leaned into him and stayed that way all the way to the station. The moment the doors were open people started rushing to get off but we waited since I didn't want to be bumped into. It took fifteen minutes for everyone to be off the train before Marco got up grabbing my book bag from me and grabbing his duffle bag. He waited for me to climb out of my seat and grab onto his sweater corner. I smoothed out the wrinkles from the sweater he had loaned me and we began walking off the train and into the train station that was freezing cold. It then donned on me that my family had probably aged and I wouldn't know what they looked like. We walked around looking for them not being able to call since Marco forgot to plug his phone up. I was getting anxious as we had been looking for five minutes and didn't see them.
"Hey I see a sign," Marco said in a cheery tone. I looked at the giant and saw that he was pointing to a bright neon sign that had my full name 'Elm Jasper Euthenia'. I took off pulling Marco by his shirt all the way until I saw my family. There stood a man who looked like my dad except for the last time I saw him he wasn't as muscular and didn't have as many tattoos. The husky man looked over to me and dropped the sign and started running over to us. Despite his muscles, my Dad still had his kind face. I felt sad to see that he had a few gray hairs and knew worrying about me had caused quite a few of them.
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