A shoulder to lean on when things get tough
credit: dividers are from the talented @uzmacchiato <333
cw: child abuse, child neglect, blood, wound care, Neils A* parenting, cuts on face, bruises, bruised rib/broken. mentions of concussions.
You were led in bed when you heard a knock at your front door. Turing your head, the analogue clock that sat on your bedside table read 23:45.
who on earth could be here you thought to yourself.
You were home alone. As you were most nights. Your parents out for some work trip that you hadn't bothered listening to, you stopped listening to them years ago when they told you they'd be back in a week. They were gone for 3.
You thought it might be Steve. You rose from you bed and made your way down the stairs, you guys sometimes had sleep overs. You coined it the neglected children club one night, Steve hadn’t had laughed at your take on dark humour.
You opened your door and to your surprise Billy was there. Standing with his hand across his right ribs, black eye forming and gashes on his face.
You had been partnered up with billy a year ago for history, he was fine. Made side remarks and misogynistic comments here and there but once you told him off for it he stopped.
You hadn't shouted at him or called him names back, you just showed how disappointed you were in him, told him he could be more than that.
That seemed to get through to him, judging by how his face fell and how he barely spoke to you the rest of that semester.
The studying used to happen at your house but after that ordeal you both decided that the school library would be the better option.
You were both cordial with each other when the time arose for it. Like at Tina or Steve's parties or when the lunch tables would mesh with each other. You didn't have a problem with him per-say you just weren't fond of his type of character.
You let out a gasp as you looked over him, your hand coming up to cover your mouth. “Hello,” you said softly to him.
“Hi sweetheart,” he said through jagged breaths, his hand tightening on his side. Cigarette pressed between his fingers.
“Thought i told you not to call me that, come in.” you tut, opening the door wider. Billy took one last puff of his cigarette before flicking it out onto the street.
He walked into your house, standing awkwardly in the hallway as he waited for you to lock the door. “Come on,” you said softly as you made your way to the kitchen, Billy followed silently.
Your cat seemed to have heard the commotion and waltzed into the kitchen, brushing against Billy's leg “hey pretty boy, have you missed me,” he groaned as he bent down to stroke your cat.
You were searching underneath your sink to find the first aid kit, you didn't used to have one but Steve liked to get beat up and he’d always come to you to get checked out.
“You wanna tell me how this happened,” you said gently as you opened up an alcohol wipe.
“just a misunderstanding with tommy,” he said as he stood up and lent his back against your kitchen isle. Your cat wondered off to the couch laying his head down and yawned as he closed his eyes. “He looks worse.”
Tommy was small, way smaller than Billy. There was no way he had done this to Billy. Your eyes crinkled as he lied through his teeth. You also knew that Tommy wasn't even in the country, it was summer time and his parents always took him to Italy this time of year.
You dabbed the swab across the cuts on his cheeks, “wanna tell me the truth Bills or are we just lying tonight.”
“Not really, no,” he responded, his eyes trained on your kitchen wall, trying to work out the words to a recipe you had taped to the fridge.
“okay,” you responded softly as you wiped over his split lip, whispering a soft sorry as you watched him wince.
You both fell into silence, no more words left to say as you patched him up quietly. You placed butterfly tape over his split eyebrow, but you couldn’t do much more for his face other than clean the blood off it.
“lift your top up Bills lets see the damage that’s underneath,” you asked as you threw the bloodied wipes in the bin.
Billy gingerly removed his leather jacket, folding it on the counter top and removed his shirt placing that above the jacket.
There was bruising that was starting to bloom on the right side of his body.
“can i touch you?” you questioned as you stood in-front of him, eyes raking across the damage. Due to the dim lighting in your kitchen, you could only make out the colour purple.
“yeah sweetheart,” he had replied, hands clenched at his sides.
You gently placed both hands on each set of ribs, “can you take a deep breath for me please.” He did as you asked him too, his breath faltered the deeper he breathed.
“I'm no nurse but i think at the very least you have a bruised rib, maybe even a broken one.” you said your diagnosis as you stepped back.
Billy said nothing as he put his shirt back on wincing at every move. "okay can you follow my finger for me," you asked gently as you moved you finger from side to side, up and down. His eyes followed easily.
"okay thank you, do you have a headache or any fog?" "nah nothing like that sweets" you hum quietly to his answers. "do you know where you are?" "in your kitchen, your cats name is pebbles, you have posters of Bruce Springsteen on your bedroom walls."
"okay okay, i get it you're not concussed." you said with an eyeroll. "ive gotta make sure though."
You walked over to your freezer pulling a bag of frozen peas out, "hold that against your ribs," you say to Billy holding out the bag.
"come on, bed time." you say mid yawn, grabbing onto his hand. He follows suit, leaving his jacket on the kitchen isle ill grab it tomorrow he thinks to himself.
You walked through your bedroom door, sitting on your bed. You turn your head and notice that Billy is loitering in the door way.
"i don't bite, not the first time you've been in my room nor is it the first time you've led on my bed, don't get shy on me now." you said as you crawled under the covers, throwing the left side open and patting the mattress.
Billy toed off his shoes in the door way and walked over to the bed, waiting for you to stop fussing with the pillows.
"i've propped the pillows up for you, let me know if its uncomfortable."
Billy scooted his bum up the bed and heavily pulled his legs up onto the mattress, laying on his back "its perfect, thank you" he said softly watching as you turn to face the other way from him, opting to lay on your side.
Time stretched over you both as you lay in comfortable silence, it was Billy who broke it. "it was my dad, its always my dad," he mumbled the last part so quietly that your ears had to strain to listen.
You turn your head slightly, "you wanting advice or for me to just listen." you asked gently
"just listen please." he had asked. "i did everything right, i picked max up from school, drove her to and from the arcade. i listened to Susan complain about swatches of paint and how there was oh so many to choose from," his voiced heightened at that last bit.
"i did everything right and it still wasn't good enough for him, i don't know what more he wants from me," he finished his voice broke with anger. He couldn't cry, he was too in pain and way too tired to do that but he thought he could've if those things weren't in play.
You turned to lay on your back, eyes trained on your ceiling. "im sorry you have to go through that, there's nothing i can say that you haven't already thought of a thousand times and then some." you say softly has you grab his left hand with your right, running your thumb up and down the side of his palm.
"thank you for listening," he said with a quick smile, his hand squeezed yours once.
"hey, that's probably the one thing I'm great at." you responded with your own smile, your face now turned to the side to look at his.
"I'm here okay, you're safe here. just go to sleep we'll figure out the rest tomorrow." you whispered as you watched Billy struggle to keep his eyes open.
"goodnight sweetheart." he whispered back already drifting off to sleep. "goodnight billy," you responded as you closed your eyes and let sleep take you.
