At the sight of the other, a concoction of relief and elation filled Travis to the brim–it set a flutter in his heart. A broad, toothy grin developed upon his face, and the nervous twisting of his necklace ceased. He almost embraced the other in a crushing hug, had he not decided against it, thinking it inappropriate.
Instead, he stepped into the household and threw his arms into the air enthusiastically.
“I did it! I finally did it!”
He knew not where to start, yet all he yearned to do was boast of his miraculous escape. To tell his friend of his parents’ expressions as he dropped the news like a bombshell–how his father’s face had contorted into the most vile emotion he had ever seen. How he fended himself from his father, pushing the large man backwards through the threshold as he took his leave–how it felt like banishing a demon back to Hell.
"Oh, you should have been there, Sal! Everything went by so quickly and my heart was pounding all the while! My mother thought I had lost my mind! My father–Christ, my father! I thought he was going to murder me!”
And then, he was laughing. He had seen the brink of death and Hell yet escaped with his life and health! Was this what euphoric madness felt like?
He closes the door behind Travis, his own grin equally wide behind his mask. He took the opportunity that the other hadn’t, hugging the taller teen, practically radiating pride.
As Travis began recounting his morning, Sal led him through the kitchen and to the sofa in the living room. He didn’t comment on the other’s laughing after such a dark statement: the blue-haired teen had felt the same way on multiple occasions, living in Addison apartments.
“Dude, I knew you could do it!” he says. “You’re much stronger than what you give yourself credit for. Maybe now that you’re away from them, you’ll be able to see what I’ve seen all these years.”
He excused himself for a moment to get Travis and himself water: held in mismatched mugs due to the house not being completely unpacked yet. Gizmo would make his way towards Travis, sniffing at him before hopping up onto his lap.
“Gizmo, don’t be rude.” Sal murmurs offhandedly as he sits down again.