Page 71 of Alpha & Omega

“Thanks. I will.”

After he was fully dressed, he gave me a quick kiss and ran out of there.

Igrippedthesteeringwheel tight enough to crush the thing as I sped along the highway toward DC. There wasn’t much traffic, being so late, but I had to be careful of speed traps, which were when cops loved to nail you the most.

When Tony called me sobbing, my instinct knew exactly what had happened, recalling why his face was bruised from a while ago. The lying and dismissing made things clearer. I should’ve known, dammit! I should’ve pushed him to admit the truth. His situation could’ve been prevented had I been more insistent and protected him. Instead,I failed him.

At the center of my worry was rage. I wanted to fucking hurt his boyfriend, making him feel the very pain he inflicted on Tony. He better not be a boyfriend any longer, but I had doubts after the way Tony lied to me the first time, protecting that fucking bastard.

I understood all too well the need to be loved and accepted after foster care, so much so that you easily looked past the red flags. It wasn’t uncommon for foster kids to grow up and suffer from domestic violence. Still, Tony knew better, right? Though he was also by himself and no doubt lonely. With his alcoholism, finding someone to like you made it that much harder.

I finally reached Tony’s apartment, parked, and rushed inside to take the elevator. The thing moved fucking too slowly, inching upward at a snail’s pace. All the while, my brain kept flashing to horrors, imagining what Tony looked like before I flashed to fantasies about what I wanted to do to his fucking boyfriend.

When I got to his door, I knocked instead of pounded, not wanting to wake up the neighbors since it was close to midnight.

It took a grueling minute, but Tony finally answered and let me in. As soon as the door closed behind me, I saw red. His face was battered, his eyes nearly closed from the swelling, and his lip was busted and crusted with dried blood.

“Jesus, Tony. Where else are you hurt?”

I reached for his face, but he backed away from me.

“I’m fine,” he said, brushing me off as he gripped his ribs and walked toward his living room.

“You’re not fucking fine. Far from it. We’re taking you to the hospital.”

“No! Ugh…” He winced in pain. “I don’t want to have to file a report and…”

“File a fucking report!”

“He was only having a bad day, and besides, it was my fault.”

And there it was, the self-blaming for someone else’s shitty behavior. “How long has he been doing this to you?”

“I’m fine! Just leave this alone, King.”

“If you wanted me to leave you alone, you wouldn’t have called me.”

“I called you because you would’ve found out, anyway.”

“Bullshit. You needed me here. And please tell me you know that this isn’t your fault. There is never a good excuse to beat someone like this.” Except what I wanted to do to his boyfriend. Hurting Tony was a good enough excuse.

I stopped in my tracks to see a bottle of amber liquor sitting on the coffee table.

“What the hell is that, Tony?”

He sighed and sagged onto his couch. “I haven’t had any. You can tell it’s unopened. I’ve just been fucking staring at it for the past several hours. I want it so much, King. That right there tells me how bad my drinking was.” He looked at me with his swollen eyes, begging me. For what? I had no clue. Forgiveness, maybe? Understanding? “But I don’t want to. I do, but I don’t. Does that make any sense? The craving is there, but I fucking hate it, too. I hate how it lures me when I’m at my weakest.”

“Yes, it makes perfect sense.”

I sat next to him and gently lifted his T-shirt. There were large bruises along his ribcage.

“You need to go to the hospital,” I said again, desperately trying to calm my inner rage. “They need to check for internal injuries.”

“No, I can’t… you’ve done enough. You pay for everyone, and you’re struggling. I can’t let you pay for it again. I can’t afford it, and I’m afraid he’ll find out. If he learns I told anyone…”

“You can and you will. If I need to do it again and again, I will. And if he dares come at you, I’ll… I won’t stand idly by and let it happen. Now get up and get your things. I’m going to pack a bag for you in case they make you stay overnight. Please, Tony. Put my mind at ease.”

He sighed and nodded again. When he stood, he winced from the pain and went to grab his keys and shoes.

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