A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Twenty One : The Boy's A Disney Princess

"Erm, so what was that about?" I asked awkwardly, trying my best to not blush and look sincere.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. My life's done, it's over. Everything till now was pointless," he started mumbling in a shaky voice and tugged at his sleeves uncomfortably. His voice raised tremulously, "I don't know what I'm going to do! I don't know what I'm going to fucking do! It's fucking over!"

"Hey, hey, hey," I intervened the battle of words and more that he was fighting with himself and grabbed his arm gently. "I'm here for you, you can tell me. I'm here for you, Logan and I'll be listening. You're not alone, tell me, I'll help you."

His eyes had turned glassy like he could break any second.

"Come on Logan, take your time and try to tell me what's the deal. I can help you," I promised earnestly and he shook his head.

"No, you can't," he contradicted through gritted teeth and gave me an incredulous look. "That man-that man who was here earlier, he's no customer. He's my fucking uncle. My fucking guardian and I have been fucking hiding from him these several months. He's a complete asshole Joy, he'll take me to Scotland where he lives and makes me work endlessly in his shitty factory. He would make sure I have no clue how to escape. He'll lock me in there like some-some Disney fucking princess. He's super powerful and has great fucking influence. He can shut me up easily- he can shut anyone up easily. All this while after my grandma-my grandma passed away---"

"Your grandma?" I immediately regretted asking that, but he seemed unaffected. His grandma was the fourth rose from the four roses he had stolen from my grandpa's flower shop. How I wished that those roses weren't for the dead, but simply for a lover.

"She looked after me- after my parents passed away three years ago. Two years she took care of me before her own condition deteriorated. We knew that after her-her death, my fucking uncle would be my legal guardian so she suggested that I-I . . . " He swallowed hard and I squeezed his arm in reassurance.

A part of me was deeply concerned and woeful for his loss while the other part of me was somewhat happy that he wasn't keeping all this information with him. He was opening up- meaning that he was ready to seek help and not be alone. He was ready to fight.

He took a sharp breath and continued fearlessly, "She said that only a few trustworthy relatives of ours be informed of her death so I could continue living on my-my own under the pretext that she's alive. In this way, I would be safe until I turn eighteen and my fucking uncle wouldn't know. I somehow managed to dodge the authorities and with the help of my friend who's apartment I had been living in, helped me to come to this town. I came here from the-the nearby town- Georgiana and have been living in this town for a few months."

"What-what about school?" I questioned and he sighed audibly.

"I went to my old school in Georgiana and they're unaware of anything about this mess. It's just a twenty-five-minute walk from here. Thankfully, my last year in the school's done and I don't think they'll bother me anymore. B-But what am I going to do now? I'm turning eighteen in eleven fucking days, I can't be caught now," he said distastefully and the familiar rise of panic overtook him.

This entire story sounded like it was right out of an undercover book- thrilling and mysterious. Some parts even sounded ludicrous and made me wonder, but there was no time for thinking. He had managed to escape the clutches of his uncle all this while and now he had only eleven more days to pass until he turned eighteen. Eleven more days to hide before he could be free.

"You can't help me, can you?" he spat out as if knowingly and I shook my head in denial. "No one can help me from that bastard now. It's done. It's over. My life's fucking over and I wish--- "

I placed my finger on his lips and shushed him quietly.

"Take deep breaths, Logan," I whispered quietly and he did what I asked him to do. He inhaled deeply and slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists simultaneously. "Now try to calm down."

"I can't Joy--- "

"You can," I stated forcefully, held his arm gently and in one swift motion, pulled his sleeve up. His eyes widened as he tried to jerk his arm away from my grasp, but I held it firmly. "See, your scars have started to fade. These fading scars aren't beautiful Logan, but they tell a brave story of how you survived. They show your strength and you know this. You're past all that poo in your life and you're getting better-stronger even. Give yourself more credit Logan because you're strong. You're strong to fight this and remember always, God won't give you anything you can't handle."

"You always keep saying that," he mumbled as his gaze averted to his shoes.

"I do because it's true. You hid so well for several months and you can continue doing this for what, merely eleven days." I rolled his sleeve down under his scrutinizing gaze. "You can do this alright and don't you dare give up."

He reluctantly nodded and watched me as I adjusted his sleeve. Suddenly, his own hand wrapped around my forearm. His slender fingers grazed my red wrist and I flinched involuntarily. "Shit, I'm so sorry Joy---"

"No, it's okay," I interjected and tried to withdraw my hand, but he held my arm and didn't let go. He drew small, soothing circles with his thumb on my wrist and I could see the feeling of guilt clouding him.

"I'm sorry, I would never hurt you intentionally. I-I was panicking and didn't realize that I held you so tightly. Is it hurting?"

"No, no, don't worry about that. What we should be worried about are these-these hickeys," I pointed out and he let go of my hand. He immediately reached out and lightly traced the bright red spots on my
neck. His lips twitched upwards in the faintest of smiles and I giggled. "Stop now, you're tickling me. I'll just drape a scarf around my neck and probably put some makeup to cover it."

His hand dropped down, but his intense eyes didn't leave those marks.

"Why didn't you kiss me on-on the l-lips Logan?" I asked quietly when I had mustered enough courage and his gaze momentarily flickered to my lips.

He slowly licked his own lips and replied, "I just thought that a first kiss is a great deal for girls, so I didn't want to take that from you."

"How very considerate," I said sarcastically and suppressed my smile. "How did you know that I haven't been kissed yet?"

"Lucky guess," he said smoothly and shrugged.

I smacked him on the arm playfully and went behind the counter to retrieve my scarf. "Come on now, we need to get going before that sick uncle of yours finds you."