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when josh leaves his house to go pack, tyler doesn't expect him to come back ten minutes later.
to further surprise him, he certainly doesn't expect him to come back beaten bloody and bruised.
he's in the kitchen when the doorbell rings; usually, his mother would run and grab it, but he's still the only one at home. he's still waiting for her to come home from work so he can ask about 'staying the night at josh's house'; he feels guilty for lying to her about the camping trip, but he knows it'll be the only way he can pull it off.
of course, no one gets it. it rings again, and tyler sighs, putting down the dish in his hand he was cleaning to go and invite whoever it is to fuck right out of his life.
he moves into the main hallway, swings the door open with a less-than-impressed expression; it's quickly wiped away by shock, jaw dropping as he gasps.
josh's nose is bleeding profusely, leaking all over the hand cupped underneath it; there’s numerous new cuts adorning his face at random intervals that make tyler's head spin. one of his cheeks is swollen up to twice its usual size, and over half of his face is dotted with steadily purpling bruises.
it’s the worst tyler’s ever seen him. his gaze is hollow and pained as he tilts his chin up and looks tyler in the eye.
“someone told him about us,” he explains dully, monotonous.
tyler’s eyes blow wider in shock. “josh, what the fuck?“ he immediately beings, before cutting himself off; there’s more important things to be concerned with, like the fact that he’s still standing outside, bleeding all over himself. he shakes his head and shakily whispers, “get in here.”
he wraps a hand around the wrist not held to his nose, tugs him toward the downstairs bathroom; he points to the counter, but it’s an unnecessary gesture, as josh is already sliding up onto the surface. they've been going through this too much for comfort.
blood stains his fingers, pouring from his nose in steady streams and pooling in his palm; there’s almost an ocean of crimson in his hand. how long did they have to go through this? how many times would he be patching josh up in his bathroom?
not many, any longer. josh wasn’t safe there.
“you can’t go back there,” tyler echoes his thoughts, ripping toilet paper off the roll and clumping it up to tenderly press it against josh’s nose. he carefully inspects him, heaving a sigh of relief as he assesses the damage. “it doesn’t look broken. just a nasty nosebleed.”
josh groans in disagreement, ignoring his concern about his bleeding nose. “i have to go back. i live there – where else am i supposed to go?” his words are thick and muffled as blood, thick and hot, pours down the back of his throat.
“here. you came here,” tyler supplies, pausing his frantic movements around the bathroom as he gathers supplies to grip at josh’s shoulders. the atmosphere of the room changes drastically within a few seconds. “we’ll figure it out. you just can’t go back there. who knows what he could do to you the next time, j? he obviously isn’t against hitting you – piece of shit.”
the rest of his sentence is mumbled and josh drops his eyes, shakes his hands off of his shoulders. “can we please just clean me up and talk about it later?” he’s whispering, and tyler’s heart breaks when he sees tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.
“yeah, j, of course. just keep that under your nose, tilt your head forward a little – there you go.” he opens the cabinet and fumbles through its contents, pulling out packets of antiseptic wipes and bandages. “i’m gonna clean your cuts. might sting a bit. how many times did he hit you?”
“lost count after six.” tyler's heart angrily pangs at the thought. his hatred for josh's father knows no bounds. josh's vision blurs together, and he barely hears the package being ripped open, barely feels the sting as tyler swipes it over the cut on his cheekbone. he’s numb. “i can’t stay here, ty, your mom –“
“josh,” he interjects sharply, presses a little harder where he’s wiping away the blood on his cheek. josh winces but stops talking, starts listening. “we’ve been best friends for four years. i’ve been in love with you for three. my mom will understand if you just tell her. you have to let us help you.” he softens up on his touch, tilts josh’s jaw into his free hand; his eyes are sad and tired, sunken in, and tyler realizes just how exhausted he’s been looking lately. things must’ve been getting really bad for him at home and he’d hardly even noticed. “j, i love you. you need to let me do this for you – you can’t go back there. i can’t lose you.”
“you won’t,” josh whispers, wiping away more blood from underneath his nose before staunching the flow. thankfully, tyler sees, it seems to be slowing down into only a slow trickle. “you’re not losing me, i promise. i love you too much to do that to you.”
“okay.” he rips open a bandage and plasters it over the cut on his cheek, moving to the one just above his left eyebrow; he opens another antiseptic and cleans it off before bandaging it. “it’ll be okay. we’re gonna figure it out.”
cut after cut, he gradually cleans josh up and bandages the worst of his injuries; the bruising on his face is a different story, but at least his nose has quit bleeding for the time being. josh smiles softly at him, sliding off of the sink to clean up, and tyler runs to fetch an ice pack for the swelling in his cheek.
“here,” he murmurs as he walks back into the bathroom; he finds josh drying his face with a towel, smiling faintly at tyler as he takes the ice pack from his hand with a small ‘thank you’.
“okay. my room. we’ve got a lot to talk about.” he holds his hand out for josh to take, and he slips his palm against his, twining their fingers together; tyler leads them up the stairs and into his room, and josh kicks the door closed behind them, holding the ice pack up to the bruise forming on his cheek underneath all the swelling.
his heart breaks a little further at the sadness his slumped shoulders carry; his eyebrows furrow together as he crosses his arms over his chest and asks, “what happened, j?”
josh hauls in a deep breath, collapsing backwards onto tyler’s bed and tangling his legs in the sheets. he doesn’t want to talk about it, doesn’t want tyler to know that he couldn’t even protect himself against the piece of shit who called himself his father. he’d left his entire family behind to be beaten at his disposal.
but it had to be addressed, at some point.
“someone told him,” he begins, pausing at the sudden angered gleam that shines into tyler’s eyes, continuing, “i don’t know who. they’re fucking dead when i find out.”
“josh,” tyler chides, but josh shakes his head. he knows tyler hates it when he talks like that, but he’s in too deep this time to stop himself.
“no, ty, they’re fucking dead. they’ve ruined my life. now that i’m gone, who’s gonna take care of my mother? my sisters? jordan? they won’t be able to take care of themselves. he’ll kill her.” a fresh spike of panic courses through his veins and he shakily suppresses a sob. “he’s gonna kill her.”
“josh, stop –“
he suddenly cries out, throwing the ice pack across the room; it hits the wall with a thud, slides down and finally comes to a stop at the floor. tyler jumps, heart racing, eyes widening in fear; he debates leaving the room and coming back when josh is more in control, but he needs him.
it’s the first time he’s ever been scared of josh.
angry, hot tears pour freely from josh’s eyes and he quakes, sobs, curls in on himself and presses his face to the tops of his knees. “she’s dead, she’s dead,” he’s crying, rocking back and forth; tyler is frozen, rooted to the ground, clueless as to how to comfort him.
he knows that josh has anger issues, but this is the worst he’s ever seen them.
“j,” he murmurs softly, takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and walks over to the edge of the bed; he sits next to josh’s quivering, balled-up frame, lays a hand flat on his back and rubs it around in a slow circle. “your mother will be fine, baby. we’re gonna get help for everyone, okay? your dad won’t get away with hurting you anymore.”
he sobs so hard it shakes his entire body, and tyler feels him quiver underneath his palm. tyler sighs, his entire chest aching, heart seemingly beating out all of his pity and fear for josh and his family; he cups his jaw in his hands and carefully tilts his head up, looking into his watery eyes. “things are going to be okay,” he promises, even if it feels hollow and empty on his tongue; he can’t help but wonder if he’s lying straight to his face. how did he know if things would ever be repaired again? he doesn’t. he can’t promise him shit. “we’re going to get through this. i’m not going to leave you and we’re going to get your family help and put him where he belongs.”
josh sniffles, tilts his chin in his hands and blinks big, watery eyes at him. “i threw something,” he finally mumbles. “i scared you. i’m so sorry. i’m just like him. what if i’d hurt –”
“joshua dun,” tyler reprimands suddenly, interrupting the rest of that horrific sentence as his face grows sharp with irritation. “you are nothing like your father. don’t ever say something like that again. your anger can be worked with and controlled. he never tried. you can. you aren’t anything like him.”
he sobs, again, pushing into tyler’s arms and pressing his face against his chest; tyler wraps one arm around his upper back, curls the other through his hair and gently begins stroking against his scalp.
he’s at yet another loss of what to do.