It's Abuse.

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Lillian Gray

Lillian Gray

Craft Master
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Give-No-Fucks
  2. Advanced
  3. Adaptable
Genres
Fantasy, Romance, Medieval, Action, Magic, Sci-fi
It's Abuse
A one x one between Lillian Gray and XxSquibblyDooxX

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"There'a a phrase, "the elephant in the living room", which purports to describe what it's like to live with a drug addict, an alcoholic, an abuser. People outside such relationships will sometimes ask, "How could you let such a business go on for so many years? Didn't you see the elephant in the living room?" And it's so hard for anyone living in a more normal situation to understand the answer that comes closest to the truth; "I'm sorry, but it was there when I moved in. I didn't know it was an elephant; I thought it was part of the furniture." There comes an aha-moment for some folks - the lucky ones - when they suddenly recognize the difference."
― Stephen King
​
 

Nathan Fletcher

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Age: 20
Height: 5'10"
Eye Color: Brown

Personality: Nathan is a quiet kid. He talks from time to time, not giving much to keep attention off of him. If you can get him to talk about something he's interested in though, his true personality shines, and he's really an outgoing guy.

Bio/History: For years his father has been abusing him, blaming him for the death of his mother and sister. Nathan has never told anyone what happened.​

Nathan wished he could be as excited for Summer as the rest of his peers. The doors were opened, jobs for all he knew, trying to wrack up what they could before the inevitable crash of college debts. Not him though. No. His father wouldn't allow the boy to do so much as leave the house, he was only allowed out when permitted. It was a strange situation where his father paid, and he had to be grateful by running errands and taking a hit from time to time.

The Summer had only just begun and already he was dreading it. There were no classes to escape to, no friends to find as they'd all gone home, retreated away from the college dorms to their own homes some hundreds of miles away. That left Nathan alone. Terrified. He had no one and nothing to rely on, no money to push himself up off the ground and get running. There was nowhere he could go now, his fate seemed to be sealed between the heat and the wind.

His body ached, sore from the previous night's beating. Apparently he should've known by now, seven years later, that having a few too many ice cubes in a glass was an excuse for a good earful of insults. His body was always sore and aching most days. That was his life. There was no escaping now. Only, that day was a little different than usual. As the man walked down the street, rubbing his curled hair and pulling a his sleeves, even in the hot summer air, Nathan saw something out of the norm.

"Willow?" He called with disbelief, waiting for the familiar brown head of hair to turn his way. "Is that you?"​
 
Willow's eyes widened and she turned round, raising her eyes from her phone.
She peered at Nathan and grinned.
"Nathan?"

Willow had always been a bit shy and awkward, then randomly blurted out some bright, giddy happiness. When Nathan had last saw her, when they were 11, she had been pale, too skinny, always tired with bitten nails. She wasn't particularly pretty and didn't draw eyes.
But now she shone. She had put on weight; her body filled out and she finally had those curves she had always wished for. Her skin was tanned, her nails filed to perfection, her cheeks blushed with happiness. There was one thing the same, though - dark circles under her eyes, the tell-tale sign of sleepless nights.
 
Willow looked tired, but nothing else seemed different. Well that was a lie. She'd finally blossomed from an awkward kid into a rather full woman, and he liked the girl in front of him. It was hard to believe it had been so long since they'd seen each other, nine years!

"My god, it really is you." He laughed. That hurt. "How have you been?"

The years had been somewhat kind to Nathan. At least as a kid the lanky look was all around, but as an adult? It only made him look a bit malnourished, not to say he wasn't. He'd filled out a little as he grew, but not a lot. His hair remained the same sandy hue, the curls had faded from when they were kids, less off a mess and more of an organized mess. He was just the awkward kid now, awkward, abused, and so glad to see that there was still someone in the city to talk to.​
 
"I've been really good." Willow smiled. She ran her eyes over him, and not briskly. "You haven't changed."
 
"Is it that obvious?" He laughed nervously, rubbing a hand through his unruly hair. "You mean you didn't see my amazing pecks or anything?"

Nathan flexed his arm jokingly, and quickly so he could set it at his side again. He pulled at his sleeves in an attempt to keep his skin hidden. It had to have been hot beneath the layers but he was used to it. Far used to it. He donned a long blue sweatshirt, with a blank white tee beneath it. Besides that he wore jeans, long, and his legs were sweating in the sweltering heat.

"So what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years."​
 
She laughed and smiled up at him.
"I had stuff to do." She shrugged "Therapy and all that. I'm sure you know my dad was sent to jail. I got put into care and adopted by a family who live about 10 hours from here. But I missed home so I decided to come back."
 
She said it so casually, Nathan almost had to do a double take. No, he hadn't heard. That was news to him. But, at least if she was able to say it so easily, that meant she had to have been happy, right? That made sense in his own head.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to come stay for a while. Maybe we can do something later then?" He asked, easily enough, almost casual in tone. It put him on edge though, thinking about how he'd keep that from his own father. It wouldn't be like him to simply let Nathan run amok with a girl he used to know. Let alone let him going anywhere was an issue in itself.

He hoped she'd say no, but, that was only a facade.​
 
Willow grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, I'd love that. Maybe you can fill me in on everything I've missed." She smiled, getting a notepad and pen out of her bag.
She had a happy blush in her cheeks and a glint in her eye as she scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it over.
 
Nathan was quick, a little too much so, to add the number into his phone. He borrowed her pen, writing his own number on it for good measure. Gods, he swore to himself this wouldn't be a good idea. His father wouldn't be fond of him leaving, but it would be worth it, it was so totally-

"Not much." He grinned awkwardly, his hand forever tousling his own hair. "Just me and dad."​
 
She smiled down at the phone as she entered his number, her teeth gnawing at her lip.
I can't believe this is happening, she thought, I have Nathan's number. We're going to meet up. He's even cuter than he was 8 years ago!
Willow suppressed a happy giggle by sinking her teeth into her lower lip. Crimson blood bloomed from her lip and she quickly licked it off, looking back up at him.
 
All he could do was continue to rub the back of his head as the exchange was made. He had to resist the temptation of sending her a text right off the bat, she was standing a foot in front of him after all, and anything he could say there could be said in person. Right? Maybe it was just the excitement wanting him to do it, to know that it really was her phone number he had and not just a polite means of blowing him off.

But she wouldn't do that. He told himself dumbly.

"So, hey, I'm running some errands, but I'll text you later. I-if that's alright I mean." He jumbled his words and grinned his tell tale shy smile. Nathan just couldn't help himself, she'd really blossomed into a lovely young woman.​
 
Willow fought to hide her inner squeal at how damn adorable he was. She just wanted to run her fingers through his hair and hug him tight, never letting go.

She smiled and nodded.
"Oh, yeah, that's fine. I'm off to the gym anyway." She smiled, jingling her bag "Gotta practice. Maybe we can meet up for dinner later?"
 
"Dinner, yeah that- crap." He cursed and stopped playing with his hair. "I can't, not tonight, I uh. Promised my dad."

His lie held up well enough, it wasn't unreasonable to say that his dad needed him. If Nathan didn't come home on time he'd be sure to have a black eye the next day, something about being late seemed to irk his father to no end. But damn if he didn't want to go. They had so many things to catch up on. Where she'd gone, what she was doing now, how life was in general. So long as they kept the topic off of Nathan it would flow just nicely, and who didn't love talking a little bit about themselves anyway?

"Maybe tomorrow?" He asked, that quirky confidence took over and he smiled, at least a day's notice might save him a bruise.​
 
She thought about it for a second - didn't want to look too eager, after all.
After a few seconds she nodded and smiled widely.
"Yeah, that sounds perfect. Is that amazing pizza place still open?"
 
"Louie's?" He knew the place. They used to sometimes invite Willow over after Nathan was done playing soccer, poorly, as a child. Happier memories with all their families intact and surviving. "Yeah, it's still there."

Nathan nodded his head a few times before shyly waving. He had to go back soon, which meant he'd really need to hurry if you wanted to pick up the few supplies his father had asked for. As usual, it called for beer, smokes, and if he could, a few frozen dinners. Being late, or forgetting anything, now that was a decision which was difficult to decide on. Which would have been worse?

"I've gotta get going, I'll text you tomorrow ok?"​
 
She smiled widely and nodded.
"I'm looking forward to it." She leaned up, pecked his cheek and walked away.
It was hard not to break out into a little happy dance as she walked, but she managed it.
 
"You're late boy." Nathan's father said gruffly as he walked back in the house. Rupert Fletcher was a big man, in both muscle and fat. All he'd do most days was laze around the house, it was a blessing he could work from home, otherwise Nathan wasn't sure what he'd do. They'd have nothing, and Nathan would have to work...well, maybe that's why he didn't have a job.

"I'm sorry." He was quick to apologize.

"Did you get what I asked?" He grumbled.

"Y-yeah, here." Nathan spread out his days spoils on the small table in the living room. "Smokes, whisky, that one you liked last time..."

Every night felt the same. At least this time it didn't end in a fist to the face. At least not yet.​
 
~~next day~~


Willow fell onto her bed and groaned into her pillow. She had tried on every single thing she owned. And none of them looked even remotely nice.
Maybe she was thinking too hard about this. After all, it wasn't exactly a date. No, it wasn't a date. It was just a bit of a chat to catch up and eat some food. No big deal.
Nathan wouldn't care if she looked nice. He probably wouldn't even look at her twice. So her outfit wouldn't even matter.

She sat up and sighed heavily, rubbing her face.
"Oh God." She mumbled "I'm being totally ridiculous. It's just Nathan."
 
They both had their reasons to be picky about what they wore. Nathan felt compelled to keep his skin hidden from the world, else it would see the horrors beneath the cover of cloth. The recent burns on his arm were the first priority. After what he thought was a peaceful night, Rupert threw a fit over some game on the tv and his first place to vent just happened to be his son.

All along his right arm there were burns from the end of his cigarette, huge lash marks stung his back like a different kind of burn entirely. He pulled on his favorite blue hoodie, wincing as his injuries met the tighter spots in the sleeves. Zipping up was the hard part.

"You've got four hours, boy." Rupert called up to him. "Then I want dinner on the stove, and you out of my face."

"Alright." Nathan called down, sighing terribly before skipping down the steps. Gods he hoped his day would get better.​
 
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