Black And White

Hundred Sixty Nine

"You listen here, you cock sucking, low-life, brainless, dickless, sad excuse for a human being--"

Scott heard Avi ranting as he jogged down the stairs, Scott's phone pressed to his ear. 

Mitch was still holding Scott's hand with both of his own, as if Scott was dying. "Honey, will you talk to me now? What happened, baby?"

"I'd rather not, Mitch... It's not important."

"It is important! He hurt you, Scottie, and I don't want--"

"He didn't hurt me. He tried to, but... He hardly did anything at all. I'm sorry I didn't call you, baby. I just... I knew someone was coming over, and I didn't want you or Avi or Alex to be here when he did."

"You should've stayed at my house."

"Then he'd have been waiting for me to come home."

"But... You should've told me. If Avi, Alex and Kevin could've been here, they could've beat him up really good."

"I just didn't want anyone else involved, Mitchie."

"Honey, I know you're used to handling problems by yourself. But you have people here that love and care about you. We're here to help you."

Avi came jogging up the stairs, grabbing Scott by the forearm to pull him onto his feet. "Come on, babe. We need to pack you a bag."

"What? Why?"

"Rick's pissed. And I think he's gonna send them back here, so... You're gonna come stay with me for a little bit."

Scott stumbled a little, so Mitch fit himself under Scott's arm so Scott could lean some weight on him, one of Mitch's hands on Scott's stomach to balance him out. 

Scott didn't seem to notice, as he carried on casual conversation with Avi. "But... I don't understand."

"We still have the spare room set up for you. You're not an inconvenience. My mom loves you. That's all you need to know."

Mitch helped him down the staircase. 

Scott frowned at Avi. "But... There's no beer at your house."

"Bring some. Mom's not gonna care; she knows how you are."

"Do you have cigarettes?"

Mitch smacked Scott's stomach lightly. "Hey, we talked about that. You're not gonna smoke anymore."

"But I get stressed like a mother fuc--"

"I know. But when you get stressed what are you supposed to do as an alternative?"

Scott pouted. "Call you."

"Exactly. So no smoking."

Avi nodded once. "We don't got any, anyway."

Mitch helped Scott into his room, shaking his head at the mess that it was. "What happened in here, baby?"

"I was hoping I could hide in here when he came over. But, uh... He found me pretty quick. Kinda stupid of me, I guess."

Mitch put a hand on his back. "Honey..."

Avi immediately went into Scott's bathroom to grab stuff from the shower and bathroom counter.

Scott found a big duffel bag to use, while Mitch started going through the closet to pull out his favorite outfits for Scott to wear. 

Scott sat down on the bed, hiding his head in his hands.

Avi came out of the bathroom to toss stuff into the bag, giving Scott a sharp pat on the shoulder. "Come on. No time to rest, Hotwing."

Scott pouted, looking up with his big blue eyes. "But my head hurts..."