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“Why aren’t you healing?” Theo stared down at the beta curled up into the side of him.
“Sometimes things take longer to heal,” Liam shrugged his shoulders. His face staring down at his hands, ringing the sleeves of Theo’s oversized hoodie; he looked so small, so fragile.
“It’s a few bruises. You have healed a lot worse, a lot faster.”
“I don’t know, Theo!” Liam stood up from the couch, running upstairs.
Theo sighed and stood up to follow him. He should have stopped this before it happened, only if he had gotten there five minutes earlier. Liam’s mother and step-father walked in just as the chimera was going up the stairs.
“Is he okay?” Dr.Geyer quickly asked.
Theo nodded, “he went up to his room; I was going to talk to him.”
“Theo, he’s going to be upset,” his mother stated, “and probably angry.”
“I’ll be fine,” Theo muttered, “he’s in jail right?”
“Broke his restraining order and assault charges were added,” Dr.Geyer nodded, “I don’t know why he thought he would get away with this. Liam’s going to heal without medical help, right?”
“He should; he just has a few bruises.”
“Theo, I know Liam didn’t tell you about his father before this, but you understand he wasn’t keeping secrets from you. He just usually gets triggered thinking about it.”
“I’m not mad or anything, I just need to make sure he’s okay,” Theo sighed.
He shuttered thinking about finding Liam two hours earlier, pinned in an ally on the ground, a man hovering over him. Liam called the chimera, but when he picked up there was no answer just the sound of his phone smashing against the ground. He quickly picked up Mason, Corey, and Nolan in his truck to trace his phone. The beta who always fought back was lying there; he wouldn’t throw a punch, just froze in a panic. Theo shoved the man off of him as Nolan and Corey held him before Parrish came to arrest him. Mason was at his side trying to get him to sit up, but Liam wasn’t moving, paralyzed by fear. Theo eventually pulled up his shaking body, but could barely get a word out of him as his parents arrived in panic. They pulled Theo aside to explain the situation as Mason wrapped his jacket around his best friend with Corey and Nolan beside him. His parents went to the station with Parrish after they eventually got what happened out of the boy. Theo picked him up and took him home, but he never saw Liam like this before, silent, hurt, and emotionless.
“Li?” Theo slowly pushed the door open.
Liam was lying there staring at the ceiling in silence, numb to the world.
“I’m here,” Theo laid down beside him; he reached for the beta’s hand. Liam flinched for a moment but returned it to the chimera’s grasp. Liam finally rolled over facing Theo as their eyes met.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” Liam said quietly.
“It’s okay,” Theo wrapped him in his arms as the boy finally broke.
Tears flowed from the beta’s eyes, soaking Theo’s shirt, he didn’t care he just wanted Liam to be okay.
“Liam, I’m-“
“Can we just not talk about it?” Liam whispered.
“Okay, Little Wolf,” Theo just held him until he fell asleep.
Theo woke up to Liam screaming; he felt the beta push his arms away, instantly jumping out of bed.
“Liam!” Theo tried to get him to come back, usually, he was the one awakened by nightmares, but this time it was his turn to calm Liam down. He found him collapsed on the bathroom floor, blood on his palms from his claws, staring down at the ground, a puddle of tears forming on the floor.
Theo slid down on the floor beside him, not saying a word, but reaching over and grabbing his hand.
“I should have fought back, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t move.”
“Liam, it’s okay; our bodies react to trauma differently.”
“I was five when it started; he just would do when he got drunk as first, usually just shove me then it just got worse. He would get home from work and swing at my mom, and I usually would step in. It happened until seventh grade; my mom finally got the courage to say something after she had to take me to the hospital. He broke my nose, and the doctor on-site knew the signs right away. My father was arrested, and my mom found a better partner. They sent me to Devenford to start a new life, taught me lacrosse, then I messed that up too. I thought being a werewolf; I would never have to be worried again, but apparently, I’m too weak to defend myself,” Liam told Theo tears in his eyes, “I should have told you before this.”
“You didn’t have to,” Theo stated, wrapping him in his arms.
“Did you know?”
“I had some guesses, usually IED is caused by something like this, you’re always willing to defend everyone, you are a fighter, you never talk about your childhood.”
“So, you aren’t mad?” Liam looked up with his blue eyes.
“Of course not,” Theo smiled, brushing his hair off his forehead. He gently laid his lips on his for a moment. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and go back to bed.”
Liam nodded as he let the chimera pull him off the ground. Theo ran his head under the sink, wiped the tears off his face, then picked him up.
“I can walk,” Liam mumbled.
“I know,” Theo smirked.
He sat him down on the bed then wrapped his arms around him, not letting him go.
“Thank you,” Liam smiled.
“I love you,” Theo whispered.
“I love you too.”