The Runaway Boy

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SUNLIGHT PIERCED TOMMY'S eyelids, he rolled over, blinking a few times to let his eyes adjust to the light. Both him and Mason had forgotten to close the curtains the night before, and Tommy was surprised to see that Mason hadn't been woken by the sunlight yet, he was still soundless asleep on his couch. Tommy pulled back his blankets and silenced his yawn into his elbow as he got up and walked towards the window. He stretched the kinks out of his back and neck, looking out at the oceans and the cliffs in the distance.

He wondered if there was a path to take up the cliffs, he was sure it would be a beautiful view once at the top. The cliffs were at their highest along the ocean and gradually descended back down towards the woods surrounding the town. He wasn't in any condition to climb up to the peak, but he thought once he put on a bit of weight and wasn't sporting the number of bruises and stitches that he currently was - he'd drag someone up with him.

Tommy looked back over his shoulder at Mason who flinched in his sleep but still didn't wake. He thought of the kiss last night, the heaviness of lips pressed to his, he wanted to do it again, but he was selfish with even the thought of it. People that got close to him tended to get hurt or killed, that's why he always distanced himself from the good people he came into contact with over the last two years - no matter how depressed he got from the loneliness. It was always better for them that way because at the end of their encounter with him... They survived.

He padded his way into the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine before grabbing Mason's cigarettes from the counter and heading out the front door to the porch. The morning sea breeze wafted over him as he leant against the railing, pulling his hoodie over his head, so his ears didn't get cold from the Autumn chill. He breathed in a heavy sigh and closed his eyes, listening to the echo of waves crashing on the shore, to the seagulls fly overhead, to the hiss of the long sea oat plants brush against each other in the wind.

He lit the cigarette, placing it between his lips and taking a drag to make sure it was burning before putting it back between his fingers and letting it burn. He watched the ribbons of the smoke coil up through the air, the soft glow of ember as its source. Jonathan smoked, especially after their father died, he smoked whenever he beat him or cut him, the smell of cigarette smoke was always there, clinging to the air of his pain. Mason hadn't really smoked around Tommy after he mentioned that he didn't like it, Mason didn't ask why - he just stopped after it was mentioned.

Tommy heard a clatter of dishes inside, and he guessed that Mason had been woken up by the coffee machine boiling. Tommy twisted the cigarette in his fingers, tapping his thumb against the side, dislodging the clump of ash. The twist of unease started to unravel itself in Tommy's stomach, and when he opened his eyes again, he was still back in Winchester, he was safe. The front door opened and Tommy glanced over his shoulder briefly even though he knew it was Mason.

"I thought you didn't like smoking?" Mason exclaimed, holding a cup of hot coffee out to him.

"I don't," Tommy replied, stubbing out the cigarette on the rail without taking another drag and pocketing the rest for later before taking the mug from him, holding it in both hands. "But a person can only have so many things to be afraid of, I'm trying to shorten my list," Tommy added before taking a sip of his coffee. Mason hummed in agreement, not taking his eyes away from Tommy.

"Your brother smokes a lot, is that why you hate it?" Mason said.

Tommy raised an eyebrow at him, it was the first time Mason had opened the discussion about Jonathan that somewhat included him, you would only know that information about his brother if you knew him on a personal level, or a tortured one. The only way he'd no if Jonathan smoked a lot was from being around him in the last five years, and the only time Mason had been around his brother was almost four years ago when he had been hurt by him.

"It reminds me of him, is he why you smoke?" Tommy asked warily, he didn't want to intrude, he had told Mason he wouldn't ask and that he would wait for his answers, but Mason had opened up the conversation, even if it was slightly. Tommy traced the rim of the mug with his index finger and waited, his eyes on the black coffee.

"Partly," he said bluntly, and Tommy nodded. If that was all, he was going to get he was just thankful for that.

"I was having a severe panic attack one night, and I couldn't breathe, I was on the verge of blacking out, and Christian shoved a cigarette between my lips and told me to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling through it. After a while, I just got used to the smell and taste and started to associate it with calming my panic instead of Jonathan," Mason didn't seem uncomfortable with sharing, his voice was levelled and held the same apathetic tone, and his expression was neutral. But Tommy knew better, he saw the white-knuckled grip on the railing in front of him.

"And it still works?" Tommy questioned.

Mason glanced down at him again and shrugged, taking the packet from where it sat on the railing and turned it over in his hand. He took one out and placed it between his lips, shooting Tommy a look as if asking permission first even though just moments ago he had one lit himself. He nodded in reply and watched Mason light it. Tommy watched Mason's lips curl slightly as he breathed in the smoke and groaned in annoyance, slapping his hand over his eyes.

"I can put it out," Mason offered which just made Tommy laugh, he really was going crazy. He couldn't let himself like him, it was selfish for him too and yet here he was standing on this porch in this small town with Mason Hartford, a man who had been at his side since he arrived, and he found himself liking him more and more each day - the kiss did not help.

"The cigarette is fine, it's you that is infuriating," Tommy mumbled against his hand, deciding that it was a lot safer to stare at the ocean than look at Mason.

"And you accused me of having mood swings," Mason sighed, taking another sip of his coffee.

"I don't have mood swings."

"Seems like it, is it your time of the month? Are you experiencing cramping? What about cravings?" Mason teased him, and Tommy shot him a glare. It was weirdly amusing when Mason taunted somebody, his tone was always the same deadpanned one which always made the teasing come across as serious.

"Are you accusing me of having a period?" Tommy scoffed, and Mason's grin twitched.

"Don't you?"

"Don't you? You seem to know an awful lot about a woman's menstrual cycles?" Tommy shot back, a smile threatened to claw it's way onto his lips when he heard Mason's laugh again.

"Sasha forces us to go to the supermarket for chocolate every month, I hear way too much about it," Mason shook his head as if clearing the thoughts from his mind and Tommy chuckled.

"I can't believe we are talking about periods right now, this is an all-time low, and that is really saying something," Tommy laughed bumping his shoulder against Mason's.

"What are you two bonding over?" Nicky called out as he, Sasha, and Harry came down the street holding brown bags of food which was the apparent sign of breakfast from the diner. They had done the same last weekend after Tommy's panic attack though he didn't really have the stomach to each much of it.

Tommy exchanged a look with Mason and grinned smugly at the tense look on his face. He knew that if he answered Nicky's question, there would be endless teasing for the both of them and he didn't know if he wanted to put himself through that. Though, he was sure it would be funny to see them hold something over mason for a change.

"Mason's terrible coffee making skills, it really is just s**t," Tommy mused, and his smirk hurt his cheeks when he felt Mason's glare burning holes into the side of his head, Harry practically gagged on his laughter.

"You were the one that made the pot!" Mason protested, and Tommy rose his eyebrows in feigned shock.

"Now didn't anyone tell you that it's not nice to lie like that, shame on you," Tommy chastised him and took pleasure in hearing Harry going from choking to wheezing as his brother was mocked in front of his eyes.

"Should we go down and eat on the beach?" Tommy asked the others, cutting in as Mason was about to argue.

"Great idea! Mason why don't you grab some blankets from inside," Sasha couldn't hide the grin as she played along to Tommy's teasing. Tommy pressed two fingers under Mason's chin and pushed his mouth closed, accentuating the false politeness in his smile.

"Close your mouth sweetheart, it's rude to gape like that," Tommy batted his eyelashes and took the cigarette from between Mason's fingers and placing it between his own lips. If looks could kill, Mason would have murdered the lot of them by now, though it was the redness in his cheeks that meant that Tommy had finally won a round against him.

"Oh and look who's glaring now! didn't Sasha tell you to go get the blankets?" Tommy wondered how much teasing he could get away with before Mason officially lost control; instead, Mason just grumbled something under his breath, grabbing Tommy's almost empty cup of coffee from him before disappearing inside.

"You kid, have a death wish," Nicky shook his head with an equally as bright smile over his face as the other two had.

"How the f**k did you do that?! teach me your ways, I have been trying to win a bantering match with that asshole for years, and I have never come close to a reaction like that!" Harry preened, slinging his arm over Tommy's shoulders as they walked down to the beach together.

"Only Sasha has ever come close," Harry pouted.

"I would hardly call brooding in defeat a reaction," Tommy laughed back as they found a nice place to set up for their breakfast.

"No that was a goddamn victory, I call for a replay! God if I had known I was going to witness that this morning I would have recorded it, Nicky, what the f**k! why didn't you record that!" Harry turned a glare on Nicky and Tommy was taken aback slightly at how much Harry looked like Mason when he had that look on his face. Harry had always been a ball of energy around Tommy, it didn't sit right to see him with an expression that wasn't relaxed or happy, even if it was in mock frustration.

Before Nicky could even protest, he went silent and looked past Tommy and Harry to something else on the beach. Tommy thought he hated the glare on Harry and Mason's faces, but for some reason, it didn't even come close to the look Nicky wore. Sasha snapped her hand around his wrist as he was about to step forward. Tommy glanced over his shoulder, and his body instantly went rigid, his teeth gritting together and his fingers twitching into fists.

"Oh, I am really not in the mood for your bullshit today, why don't you come to pester us another time?" Tommy said cooly to Samuel Morgan, who had now stopped two meters in front of him with his pack of mutts behind him. Harry's arm was still slung tightly over Tommy's shoulder and his hand clenched against the fabric of his hoodie.

"Always so cute and feisty, but not so cute under that hoodie. I'm sure after I gifted you that mark that your little clan here saw the mess you are underneath, well Sasha at least, she has always been so good with her hands, stitching up her brothers, I'm sure she did a fine job of stitching you back up, though I can't say whoever did the rest of you made much of an effort," Samuel's lips quirked, and Tommy glanced over his shoulder when he heard the food drop, Nicky was now the one holding Sasha back. Tommy felt Harry's full-body flinch and grabbing the back of his shirt to hold him back.

"You're not so cute yourself, you look like s**t," Tommy deadpanned, pointing up at his own face, referencing the fresh bruises that littered Samuel's face courtesy of Mason.

"Oh, where is that asshole anyway, I've heard that you two have been playing house together, what? You afraid of the dark or something? need him to hold your hand?" Samuel replied, but Tommy just couldn't help but grin at that, little did this guy know.

"Why? You jealous or something?" Sam clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth at that and chuckled, shaking his head as if that was the stupidest thing he's ever heard.

"No, just curious. I do wonder though, how do you even get along, how did you get him of all people to protect you in the way he does?" Sam said nonchalantly, stepping towards Tommy. Even though he could see the relaxed nature in the was Sam moved, Tommy could see the real danger behind his eyes, he screamed 'threat'. Tommy stayed silent, digging his fingernails into the palm of his hand.

"I didn't think anyone could turn out to be more broken than him, but here you are, and things just don't add up. The talk around town is that you ran away to Howard because your parents are going through a rough divorce, but no kid simply running from a broken family has those many ouches on his body or take a beating as you did and not report it to the police or go to the hospital. So I'm curious, what type of f****d up are you?"

"Samuel, what game are you trying to play at?" Nicky spat, stepping up beside Tommy with Sasha right in tow.

"We are not broken," Tommy seethed under his breath. 

Mason had told him as much yesterday, and he believed him because he trusted his words... Mason had said to him that he wasn't broken and Tommy knew that neither was he. Samuel ignored Nicky and kept on taunting. Something clicked inside him, he didn't know if it was anger-fueled because he hated this guy with a burning rage. It clicked into place and he felt oddly protective, he didn't care if Samuel took out whatever it was on him, he just hated that he was bringing Mason into this, Mason who time and time again had defended him too; he wouldn't let this asshole get the better hand, not again. 

"Oh, how sweet, defending him like the good little boy you are, but you don't really believe that do you? No, it is written all over your face, just as it is his. I bet fixing you is a nice little distraction for him, isn't that right?" Samuel's words were malicious and ate through Tommy like acid through his veins. Samuel directed the last question to the rest of them before his eyes flicked back down to Tommy.

"What do you want from me?" Tommy exclaimed, tightening his fist in Harry's sweater in an attempt to ground himself. He'd been called a 'good little boy' before and it made him sick, it ravaged his body in a shuddering coldness that rattled and ached his bones. Harry must've felt it too because he shifted even closer, clenching his own hoodie at his shoulder.

"Oh, I want nothing from you. Don't get me wrong, seeing you like this is amusing to me, but what is better is how it effects the Sinclair's, who even after just two weeks are so adamant to protect you... I wonder, what you had to do to earn their trust? to earn Mason's trust the way you have, I guess with a face like yours, maybe when you look a little less dead; you could get anyone to-"

"You are fortunate Samuel that I am not breaking your face any further than it already is, but I will if you don't shut the f**k up" Sasha ground out through gritted teeth, and Tommy didn't dare look over at her.

"Oh yes, you made a promise to Mason you wouldn't get involved with me, how boring, what about you Tommy? Made any promises? maybe all you had to do was open you're-" Tommy didn't think when he let out his seething hatred and swung his right fist, too quick and potent, into Samuel's defined jaw; the impact was like thousands of venomous blades piercing apart his closed fist, pain lancing up his arm to his elbow.

"Shut the f**k up, would you? I told you that I wasn't in the mood for your bullshit today," Tommy exclaimed as Samuel was already scrambling back to throw a punch.

Samuel had been caught off guard and had stumbled back into his friends, his hand gripping his jaw as if afraid it would fall apart. Before Samuel could swing though and before Tommy could attack him again, Mason stepped in front him, and even just looking at his back, he could practically feel the anger radiating from him. As if in sync, Harry and Nicky took up a position at Mason's sides and Sasha swapped with Harry, pulling Tommy back and out of the way.

"Time to go," Mason said in a low and dangerously threatening voice that even had Tommy considering running back to the house. Samuel tensed up, his hand still holding his jaw as he looked past Mason to Tommy and forced a smile through the pain in his face.

"Yeah well, it's been nice, see you around," He winked before turning, giving one last dirty look to Mason before strolling back up to the street, tailed by his friends.

"Thank you for standing up for my brother, I'm sorry for what he said to you," Sasha whispered into Tommy's ear, but he hardly caught her words as Mason turned and looked at him.

When his eyes rested on Tommy, the tensions seemed to melt away; that was until he saw him cradling his hand as he flexed his fingers. He sighed in annoyance and walked over, his eyebrows knitted together in frustration as he grabbed Tommy's hand carefully and looked over his knuckles, assessing the damage. Tommy knew that his hand just hurt because of the angle he hit Samuel on, that only by looking at it you could tell that it wasn't that bad, but he let Mason check it over anyways.

"I leave your side for two minutes, and-" Mason muttered which made Tommy laugh, cutting off whatever he was about to say with, maybe because it came out slightly choked.

"I'm fine, really, don't worry about it," he said back, the only give away that he was lying was the slight trembling in his hand as he patted it on Mason's knuckles.

"You are not fine," Mason exclaimed in a low tone, his eyes flicking to his siblings who were preparing the blankets and the food, giving the two of them privacy.

Tommy sighed and freed his hand from Mason's before reaching forward and curling it in Mason's hoodie. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, taking a deep breath on each count. Mason grabbed his other hand and held his two fingers at his own pulse point on his wrist; which was beating only slightly faster than usual, but it was enough, their two heads bowed together. Mason was always enough to calm his nerves, he had proven that time and time again, even when Tommy thought he was nothing but a rude and arrogant asshole.

"I will be," Tommy murmured softly when he finally had his nerves under control. He let go of Mason and found that his hands had quit trembling and his heart no longer felt like it was going to burst from his chest. He smiled up at Mason, and this time it didn't feel like it was splitting open his face, nor did it feel forced.

It felt real.