I woke up to Darryl's arms wrapped around me.

"Shh, it's okay baby, I'm here now." He coos in my ear while gently rubbing his thumb across my cheek. He held me tightly in his embrace, making sure to not hurt me. He played with my hair while giving me kisses every now and then.

This is what true happiness feels like. Being cared for by someone you love so dearly. Feeling safe and calm around them, even in the darkest of times. He gave me the happiness I had been desiring for so long. I had been so desperate for a love like this, and he just handed it to me. I love him.

~

I wake up in a cold sweat, all alone. I soon get faced with the reality I passed out to. I'm still covered in blood, but now dried blood. My entire body ached. My bones felt like they had given up on me. I had a hard time moving due to the pain I was in.

I miss the dream.

I looked at my phone to find out it was three in the morning, I had been knocked out for an extremely long time. I decided to use the fact I woke up to an advantage and go clean myself up. I made my way to the bathroom, careful to not wake my dad up, and turned the shower on.

I winced in pain as the water began to hit me. All of the dried blood was starting to fall from my body, causing the water that was running off of me to turn red. The colored water continued to hit the drain as I attempted to wash myself. My entire body stung, but I just had to brave through the pain.

[time skip to school time uwu]

I made my way out the door and got on the bus. I felt stupid as I was wearing some of my mom's makeup in hopes to cover up my bruises. I didn't get asked any questions when I got on the bus so I assumed I did a good job.

I went and sat by Zelk like I usually do when I get on the bus.

"Oh hey Zak! Where were you yesterday?" I wasn't too sure what to say. I didn't want to use the same excuse Darryl used with Vincent just in case it rose any suspicion, but I wasn't sure what excuse to use.

"I just felt like skipping." Yeah, that worked, I think. Zelk just laughed at me a bit and then we continued on with a rather normal conversation.

After we got off the bus and got inside I ran over to my locker to see if Darryl was there yet. I don't know why, but I was extremely excited to see him. He wasn't there yet, so I just went on to grab my first hour items and wait at my locker just in case he showed up.

I waited for a few minutes until I finally saw him walk over to his locker. I wanted to say something to him, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"Hey, Zak!" He said while walking over to me with his things. Seeing his bright smile already made my day. Seeing him made me forget the pain.

Soon after he spoke to me he got a worried look on his face. He walked closer to me and started looking a little harder before speaking again.

"Hey, Zak, what's this from? It wasn't there yesterday." Fuck. He pointed to a bruise on my chin while speaking. I didn't really know what to say to him. I couldn't tell him the truth, but I felt wrong lying to him.

"Oh hey look the bell's about to ring, bye Darryl!" Before I went to run off to class he put his hand on my shoulder and locked eyes with me. I could feel my cheeks immediately heating up.

"We'll talk about this later. Meet me after sixth hour." And with that, he walked away.

[another time skip to mid of sixth hour]

I sat there watching the clock move ever so slowly. Most days I'd be practically begging the clock to move faster, but today I was extremely thankful for it. Thoughts of what Darryl would say to me raced through my mind for hours. I was so frightened.

Great. I dreadfully made my way down the hall and to my locker. I put my stuff away and grabbed my bag. I wanted to just walk off, but for some reason I couldn't, so I just sat there and waited for him.

"Ready to go?" He came up to me and asked. I was slightly confused.

"Uh, yeah? I think?" I said to him with uncertainty. He gave me a light smile before speaking.

"Alright, then lets go."

"Go where?"

"With me, silly."

With him? Did he want me to go to his house with him. I pondered it for a moment before I saw him signaling for me to follow him. Before I knew it we made our way out of the school.

I wanted to ask why I was going with him, but I decided to just not question it. I was excited to see his place anyways.

The walk to his house was pretty short, he lived rather close to the school. We made our way inside and he quickly showed me around the place. It was pretty lifeless for the most part. It seemed as if nobody really lived there.

Once he was done showing me around we both went and sat on the couch. After sitting down he turned to me and grabbed my chin. I twisted my head back as him grabbing it caused me pain. It still really hurt.

"O-oh,, it's just- I just, uh I, I hit my chin on something yesterday.."

"Did you also hit you eye, nose, mouth, forehead, and neck on something?"

It's like he could see completely through the makeup. I wanted to lie but I couldn't.

"No...I- I...." My eyes started to flood with tears as the memories resurfaced in my mind. I tried to keep myself from crying, but it all poured out.

He gently grabbed my face while looking me in the eyes. He started into me with such concern and worry. I hated worrying him.

"Did he do this to you?"

The tears fell out even harder now, but this time I didn't try to stop them. I looked at him and nodded my head.

He embraced me similar to how he did in my dream last night and started to hum softly in my ear. He was so affable.

"It's going to be okay. You're safe here."

I never thought I'd be in this situation. I'm sitting here sobbing in the arms of someone who was merely an acquaintance just the other day. It was strange, but I didn't mind it. Not one bit.

Once again I drifted off to sleep in his arms, but this time he was gone when I woke up. When I woke up I was lying in his bed, all tucked under the covers.

I left the bed and smelled a very pleasant scent. I smelled kind of like chicken.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head." Darryl said to me as I entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Darryl." I said while walking over to him. As I got closer to him I realized what the scent was. He was making chicken noodle soup! I didn't eat it all that often, but I absolutely loved it.

"How'd you sleep, muffin?" I felt a wave of something wash over me upon hearing that. 'Muffin'. I loved it.

"I slept good!" I said while flashing a smile. He smiled back at me before turning back to the stove and stirring the soup.

"Aw, good. Also dinner's almost done, if you're ready to eat." I was beyond ready to eat. Home cooked meals were my favorite. They always gave me a warm feeling I couldn't explain.

I sat down at the counter while he fixed my bowl. He looked so graceful while doing stuff, I could watch him do almost anything for hours.

"Here you go! I decided to make you some soup to make you feel better!" He said while grinning like an idot at me. I truly adored his smile, it was so precious.

He went on to make his bowl and come sit next to me. His presence was so pure and happy. This was a meal I could never forget.

After dinner we sat and talked for the most part. I helped him clean up everything, even though he insisted I don't, and we watched a movie together. Half way through the movie I started falling asleep, I didn't think it was that obvious, until I felt Darryl picking me up and placing me in a bed.

"Goodnight, Zak. Sleep well, muffin."

Before I could say much I was already falling asleep again, the last thing I saw before entering my slumber was him smiling at me.

- Lil extra :)

I woke up early in the night due to a nightmare. I was shaking horribly and I felt sick. I made my way to Darryl's room before trying to wake him up.

"Mmhmm, what is it Zak?"

"C-can I sleep with you,,,? I had a bad dream.."

"Aw of course, come here."

He lifted me up and lied me down next to him. I immediately latched onto him and fell asleep again.

-

bruh I adore this part, the next part's gonna be rough though (spolier!)

i'm excited to write the next part, i've wrote like four parts in a row today !

also