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Eddie's hand fumbled to unlock the front door and he didn't utter a word to his uncle as he went to his room and slammed his door behind him. Wayne got up from his place on the sofa and he made his way to Eddie's door, "Eddie? You alright, son?" "I'm fine. It's just been a rough day." his voice was shaky, Wayne opened the door and he saw his nephew sitting on his bed, "You sure? You want to talk about it?" as Eddie turned his head to look at his uncle, Wayne noticed Eddie's bloodied nose, busted lip and black eye.
"Jesus son, what happened?" "I got jumped by a bunch of guys, I'm okay." Wayne's eyes grew wide, "What?" "I got jumped by a bunch of guys," Eddie repeated, Wayne walked over to his nephew and sat down next to him.
"Did you know them?" Eddie tensed up at the question and he folded his arms closer to his chest. "Don't go quiet on me, kid. I ain't gonna be angry." "Yeah...I know them"
Wayne sat there for a few moments, "Tell me about what happened, son." "I was just walking home and... it was Jason Carver and like three of his friends." "That Carver boy's been giving you trouble lately, did anyone say anything to you?" Eddie tensed again, his eyes got teary again. "What did they say to you?" "They called me a fag." his voice was weak as he spoke and he used his hand to wipe his eyes. "Did they say anything else?" "No."
Wayne sighed, "This isn't your fault, you know that right?" "Yeah, I know that." "But you could've fought back, right?" "I know that too." "I don't want you to be afraid to stand up for yourself, Eddie." "I'm not afraid, I just don't want to fight. What if I get in trouble for it?" "You won't, I can back you up on the shit those boys have been putting you through. I'm sure those friends from your club would say something too." Eddie huffed, "I don't think the police are gonna believe a faggot metalhead that runs a DND club." "Hey, don't talk about yourself like that. You might be gay but that's no reason for anyone to have anything against you. You hear me, Eddie?" "Yeah, I hear you." "I'm just saying that you should stand up for yourself, don't let them get to you. You're a good kid, Eddie." "Thanks, Uncle Wayne." "You're welcome, son. We need to get your lip cleaned, completely forgot about that."
Wayne took his nephew to the bathroom and he helped him clean his face up, he told Eddie to keep his mouth closed while he did it. "I'm sorry about this" "It's okay, kid. I'm just glad you're alright. Remember, it ain't your fault, you have nothing to apologise for." "I know, I know."
Wayne dried Eddie's face with a towel, "You want to go back to your room?" "Yeah, if that's ok." "It's fine, I'll be in the living room if you need me." "Thanks, Uncle Wayne." "No problem, kid." "I'm sorry again." "It's okay, kid." "I love you." "I love you too, son."