Warning; This chapter contains context of abuse. Please feel free to skip this chapter if those topics trigger anything and also message me if any of you need to talk
••••
Cory kicked his leg against the door to knock while he held multiple bags. "Shawn. Shawn, it's me, Cory."
"Cory." Shawn said in surprise as he opened the door. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, my best friend's sick, his folks are out of town. I just thought I'd drop by and check on you." Cory explained as he pushed past Shawn and entered the trailer, setting the bags down on the kitchen table. "These bags weigh a ton. But, you know, I just brought over a few little sundries to tide you through; cough syrup, asprin."
"Vaporub?" Shawn wondered as he looked through the bags. "What, you didn't bring me any flowers?"
"Well, actually, I did." Cory said sheepishly as he he held up a small vase with yellow flowers. "I just didn't know if it was appropriate."
Shawn shook his head. "It's not. It's not appropriate. Now, uh, if you'll excuse me, I um, I gotta get some sleep." He faked a cough. "I'm very contagious."
"Oh, say no more. I'll just plug in the humidifier. and be on my way." Cory said as he grabbed the humidifier from a bag.
As Cory walked over to the wall plug in, Zoey walked out of the bedroom wearing Shawn's robe.
"Shawn?" Zoey mumbled as she yawned.
"Zoey?" Cory wondered as he stared at her in shock before he turned to his best friend. "Shawn?"
••••
The next day Cory and Shawn were studying at Chubbies but all Cory could think or focus on was Zoey. He stared at Shawn and exaggeratedly tapped his pencil against his book to get his attention.
Shawn looked up at Cory slowly and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Shawn, we've always told each other everything." Cory began.
"Did I say there was nothing to tell?" Shawn questioned.
Cory sighed. "But I -"
"Did I say there was nothing to tell?!" Shawn repeated sternly.
Cory nodded his head. "Yes, but you still -"
"Then let it go." Shawn snapped as he narrowed his eyes.
"Shawn, you and Zoey spent the night together... without me." Cory told him.
Shawn huffed irritatedly. "Man, this is not something you sit around and talk to a friend about."
"Why is that?" Cory questioned, throwing his hands up. "Because you've moved up to a higher intimacy with your girlfriend, and I'm still walking around with my address in my pocket?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself about that one. That's a tough address. 321." Shawn teased.
Cory shook his head, not wanting to get distracted by jokes. "No. No. This is about where you are and where I'm not."
"Cory, don't do anything because of me, okay?" Shawn said, giving him a serious look.
"Shawn, I've been going out with Topanga since, like, the day I was born and all we've ever done is kiss. I just think it's time to take it to the next step, okay?" Cory explained.
Shawn nodded. "Okay."
"So what is the next step?" Cory wondered.
••••
At school, Cory was leaning against the lockers as he watched Zoey and Shawn talk amongst each other on the bench.
Last night, he had tried to go the next step with Topanga but it didn't go well. Topanga ended up being furious with him for trying to keep up with his buddy and walked off in fury.
"And, I hope you're happy." Cory said as he glared at Shawn as he walked up to the lockers.
"What?" Shawn questioned in confusion.
"I've blown it with Topanga, and it's on your head." Cory snapped.
"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. What?" Shawn asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"I made a move on Topanga last night, and she got all upset, let we're not supposed to be doing that, even though I told her that you had Zoey spending nights at your place." Cory explained.
Shawn's eyes widened. "What?! You told her about Zoey?"
Cory paused and began to hesitate. "Um... perhaps."
"Cory, you promised you wouldn't tell anyone. I thought I could trust you." Shawn said, staring a his best friend in disappointment.
Cory shrugged his shoulders earnestly. "Shawn, we're talking about Topanga -"
"No, no." Shawn interrupted, shaking his head. "We're talking about trust. But you don't know what that means, do you?"
••••
On Friday night, Cory's window opened to reveal Shawn, predictable. He crawled through the window and jumped down.
"You know, Shawn, you don't have to always use the window." Cory told him.
"I like it. Danger." Shawn explained simply.
"Listen, I'm sorry I told Topanga about you and Zoey. You forgive me?" Cory asked.
"Yeah. Friend for like." Shawn quickly brushed off as he closed the bedroom door. "You know that."
"Good. Good." Cory said, sounding entirely unconvinced. "And I want you to know that you can always trust me. You can always come to me for anything."
"My parents are back in town. Can I bring Zoey here tonight?" Shawn wondered.
Cory scoffed. "Oh, just throw it in my face."
"Cory, it's not like that." Shawn said.
"Then what is it, Shawn?" Cory questioned.
Shawn sighed. "Cory, don't you think that if I could've told you something, I would have?"
"Shawn, I think you know that you can always trust me with anything." Cory replied.
Shawn paused. "You swear you'll never tell?"
Cory nodded without any hesitation. "I swear."
"Okay, Zoey and I aren't doing anything. We never have. The reason she's been staying at my place - her mums new boyfriend hits her." Shawn announced with a frown.
Cory stared at him in shock. "What do you mean he hits her?"
"At night sometimes, he yells a lot and beats her up when her mum isn't around." Shawn explained solemnly.
"Wait, isn't that Brad?" Cory asked with furrowed eyebrows. "He's the vice president of a bank."
Shawn nodded with a tight smile. "Yeah, I know. Good job, well respected, a low-life creep. But... But I just can't hide her at my place anymore."
"Well, we should probably go to the police." Cory decided.
Shawn shook his head. "No, Cory, the cops aren't going to do anything."
"Why not?" Cory wondered.
"Because I'm a kid from a trailer park and he's the vice president of a bank." Shawn explained with a scoff. "I mean, who do you think they're gonna listen to?"
"Well, then at least let me tell my parents." Cory said, trying his best to help. "I mean-"
"No!" Shawn interjected loudly. "Cory, you just swore that you wouldn't tell anyone. I need to know, can I bring Zoey here tonight?"
"What about Lucy?" Cory asked.
"Lucy doesn't even know about it. Plus, Zoey wants her to be happy again after her dad so that's why she's not saying anything. And she's gotten really good at sneaking out." Shawn explained, giving Cory a pleading look. "Please, Cor. I love her."
"Yeah." Cory answered. "I'll call you when my parents go to sleep."
Shawn nodded. "Thanks."
••••
Cory had set up the living room couch for Zoey to sleep on. She had managed to sneak out early in the morning before anyone had woken up. Once they'd gotten to school, Zoey went straight to class while Cory was leaning against the lockers, waiting for his best friend.
"So, um, Zoey got out before your parents woke up?" Shawn asked worriedly as he approached Cory.
Cory nodded tightly. "Yeah. Your plan of protecting her one night at a time worked. For one night, Shawn."
"Good." Shawn said, letting out a sigh in relief. "So, um, now it's the next night, and I'm wondering if you can leave your door unlocked again."
Cory sighed. "Shawn...."
"Cory, she likes your place. She always has. She said she feels safe there. Can't you just do this?" Shawn begged.
"You can't just move from place to place because it feels safe." Cory argued. "Did you see what that jerk did to her arm? Now, we gotta get Zoey, and we gotta go to the police."
Shawn shook his head. "No. Cops just make things worse."
"Oh, you're right, Shawn. You put a cherry bomb in the mailbox. The cops came and made things worse for you. You stole Turner's bike, more cops, more worse." Cory said sarcastically.
"So you see my point then?" Shawn questioned.
"Shawn, you're a criminal." Cory pointed out sharply. "The cops were doing their job. Now, we're getting Zoey, and we're going to the police."
"If you do, I'll just lie." Zoey spoke as she joined them.
Cory turned to her exasperatedly, clearly worried for her. "Zo, you gotta do something."
"Look, Cor, you come home to your family everyday, and you know they love you. My mum loves me, but she's alone since my dad left. Brad makes her happy. He just has all this stress at work, and I get in his way at the wrong times." Zoey explained softly.
"Well...?" Shawn trailed off.
"No." Cory huffed, shaking his head. "He's wrong, okay? What he's doing to you is wrong."
"Cory?" Shawn begged.
Cory sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'll unlock my door."
Zoey gave him a tight smile. "Thanks, Cor."
••••
Later that night, Cory was at the Pink Flamingo Trailer Park and was knocking on Shawn's trailer urgently. It didn't take long for Shawn to open his door.
"Cory, it's the middle of the night. What, did Zoey show up?" Shawn wondered.
"Yeah, she showed up." Cory grumbled.
Zoey stepped into the light from the shadow. Her right eye had a purple blotch around it, no doubt leaving a massive black eye for three to five days.
Shawn eyes widen and his mouth parted in shock at the sight of his girlfriend. He instantly walked over to her, cupping her face gently.
"I'm fine." Zoey assured as she tried to talk with a strong voice. "It's really not as bad as it looks."
Shawn was quick to wrap her in his arms, holding her gently against his chest. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have been there." He pulled back and ushered her into the trailer. "He won't do this to you again. I promise."
"Shawn, you can't promise a think like that." Cory told his best friend, walking into the trailer and closing the door behind him. "I know you wanna do the right thing, but you have been wrong on this all the way."
"Look, if things going serious between him and my mother, in a year and a half, I'll be off at college. Until then, I'll just stay out of his way." Zoey said as her eyes began to glisten with tears.
"Zo, you haven't been doing a real good job of that so far." Shawn pointed out softly.
"You're against me now, too?" She asked, her voice breaking.
"You don't deserve this." Shawn said, rubbing her shoulders sympathetically "Nobody does."
Cory frowned. "You didn't make him do this, Zoey, but you can't make him stop all by yourself."
"I didn't do anything to him. I didn't do anything. Why does he hit me? Just me?" Zoey cried.
Shawn immediately wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, letting her sob loudly against his chest. Shawn and Cory shared a look before they decided on what to do.
••••
Shawn and Cory quietly snuck into the Matthew's home and started packing Zoey's stuff.
"Cor, don't forget those." Shawn said quietly as he pointed to the pillows and blanket.
"Yeah, I know." Cory replied, stuffing them into a bag. "It's a good thing my parents aren't up yet, huh?"
"Yeah. Good thing we're still asleep." Mr. Matthews spoke.
The living room lights turned on. Mr and Mrs. Matthews were sitting on the stairs with expectant looks on their faces.
"Yeah, we shouldn't be up for an hour." Mrs. Matthews added.
"Mum, Dad, it's nice to see you both." Cory greeted as he handed Shawn the bag.
Mr. Matthews raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, anything we need to know about before we wake up?"
"Well, first off, it's got nothing to do with these." Shawn said as he held up the pillows.
"Cory." Mr. Matthews called warningly.
Cory sighed. "We were taking care of a friend who was being roughed up by her mum's boyfriend."
"Is it Zoey?" Mr. Matthews asked.
Shawn's eyes widened as he turned to Cory. "You told them?"
Cory shook his head. "No. This time, no."
"No, he didn't tell us Shawn." Mr. Matthews said.
"She left a schoolbook here." Mrs. Matthews explained softly as she held up the textbook.
"She wanted us to keep it a secret." Shawn admitted.
"We decided to respect that." Cory added.
"Hey, guys, if you've got a friend in serious trouble, then the only thing you have to respect is how to get her the right kind of help." Mr. Matthews told them.
"Oh, we took care of that." Shawn reassured him.
Mr. Matthews raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
"Did you call the police?" Mrs. Matthews asked.
"No. Zoey's gonna be living with me at the trailer park." Shawn answered.
Cory nodded. "And it's where she wants to be. So we did the right thing."
"Really?" Mr. Matthews asked, his arms crossed. "What's gonna stop him from bringing her back when Lucy finds notices?"
Shawn shook his head and grimaced at the mere thought. "He's not gonna do that."
"Well, who's gonna stop him?" Mr. Matthews questioned heatedly. "Are you gonna stop him, Shawn? Is Lucy gonna stop him? Because the different homes are not gonna be what stops him."
"I'm gonna stop him." Shawn decided.
"How?" Mr. Matthews wondered.
"I'm going to the police." Shawn answered.
"Good." Mr. Matthews said before he went to grab his keys. "We'll drive you."
Shawn frowned. "I promised Zoey I'd take care of her."
Cory smiled. "Well, now you really are."
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PUBLISHED: May 19, 2018
WORDS: 2337