MASON HELD ONTO his hand well into the morning. He kept his word and kept watch as Tommy slept, knowing full well what it would mean for him, how much it would put him to ease knowing that someone was there to keep him safe when he was his most vulnerable. Mason knew this because he used to be the same, sometimes it still was like that, but at least he knew that his family was also in the house and that they would protect him if it came to it.
For the most part, he kept his eyes on the street and beach as the sun rose, though, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder to see the boy sleeping restlessly on the couch at his back. Mason knew to keep as still as possible, that right now, Tommy was just like a cornered animal, prepared to flee at the smallest of movements. Mason hated how much he saw himself in him, that it was only a couple of years ago he had been the same. Tommy was in bad shape, more than Mason thought he knew himself. He knew from the moment he saw him walk through the shop doors, trailing behind his sister, scoping out every exit, moving with the possibility of running in the opposite direction. His predictions were made correct when Christian sent him to get him from the house a few days after his arrival. Tommy had looked extremely ill, obviously from being curled up on the couch for those days, hidden in the darkness.
Mason understood then that he was lying about who he truly was and where he came from and that Christian was lying for him too. No kid whose parents were going through something as trivial as a divorce nowadays was this hidden away, this fearful of opening the front door. Mason did not expect him to really be Hughe Tomas Sinclair, the second son to the man that took his own life for two years. He was thankful that Tommy obviously took after his mother's looks and it was in those looks that he could see - even under the state he was currently in - that he is handsome. He got glimpses of it over the past week at the shop, Mason noticed that he had started eating correctly and despite obviously not sleeping well, he seemed to be getting into a better mood which brought life into his face. Either way, Mason found him captivating and he wasn't sure whether that was a comforting notion or not.
It took him every last scrap of self-control and every last bit of convincing from Nicky not to run straight for the mines and beat Sam where he stood for what he did to Tommy. He'd get his revenge, but he at least wanted Tommy to be apart of that too. Mason thought that his attitude problem might come in handy, after all, Sam did hate when someone taunted him, and he had a feeling that is why the beating Tommy got was so severe for 'just a warning.'
Despite everything, Tommy did well at hiding his emotions at the shop, so much so that even Mason was becoming persuaded that he might be somewhat okay with what happened in his past, that it hadn't bothered him as much as it might do someone else. But what Mason saw just hours ago meant that the attack dredged up too much of the past for Tommy to handle, it broke him down and even if he could deal with the attack itself - the past wouldn't be as easy to manage.
Mason didn't want to leave his side, even after he finally got him to calm down, and he thought that maybe after Tommy caught his breath that Mason might receive some witty sarcasm out of him like usual. What he didn't expect was for him to take his hand... Mason had noticed how Tommy hated to be touched, how every time someone reached for him he would wince or evade it, so when he made the first move for comfort, it took Mason by surprise.
Sasha had told him that Tommy didn't like her like it had appeared to all of them because he was gay. Christian even clarified it, saying that it had never been a secret nor had it been an open secret, that it just was. So, naturally, Nicky and Harry turned the teasing to Mason who of course, ignored them. He didn't think that it was something either he or Tommy needed right now, but he did believe that Tommy was leaning on him for support even if he didn't realize it himself and he didn't mind that so much. So, he did what he thought Tommy needed him to do and kept watch, even though he knew that Sam wouldn't attack again until he was provoked. Tommy, who lay soundless on the couch, - jerking and flinching every so often in his sleep, but never letting go of his hand, - slept without waking, he slept more than Mason thought he must've in years.
His pale blond hair clung to his forehead with cold sweat. His blond eyelashes closed over those intense and always alert ocean green eyes, eyes that Mason found himself wanting to look at all the time as if they held secrets that were screaming to be heard. His dark bags under his eyes - now mixed in with the purple and black bruises on his cheekbone and temple. His pink and slightly blue lips, swollen from where he had been chewing on them in his blind panic. He was skinny, lean in a way that meant he was an expert at fleeing, but thin in a way that showed how he didn't care much to take care of himself. Mason wanted to help bring life back to these features, but he didn't know if he could be the one to do it.
At around 8:30, a key turned in the lock of the front door, meaning that Christian got Mason's text saying that Tommy was in a bad way. Mason watched him slip through, holding bags filled with breakfast from his mother's diner, shutting the door carefully behind him. He carefully toed out of his shoes and went for the kitchen first, giving Mason a grim smile as he passed. When he returned, he crouched down beside him, facing Tommy. Mason hated this look in his eyes, it showed that he was unable to mask how broken he was when it came to his Nephew. He'd always believed that Christian had been so strong and in control, but seeing Tommy again proved to be his most vulnerable spot of all.
Christian sighed softly through his parted lips and grazed his fingers across Tommy's forehead, pushing back his fringe that fluttered over his eyes. He looked at his Nephew with the same strain as he did when he thought about going back for him over the years. Mason despised it, but he was relieved that, now at least, Tommy was here and Christian no longer had to question if he was alive or not. A silent tear worked down his cheek as his thumb brushed over Tommy's eyebrow. Neither of them looked up when Sasha, Harry, and Nicky gingerly slipped in through the door.
None of them knew the dept of what Tommy was going through, and they all knew he wasn't prepared to let them all the way in. But one thing was for sure... They would help him, and they would protect him from his family as if he was apart of their own. Everybody got to work as if they lived there, Harry and Sasha cleaned the broken whiskey bottle, and Nicky set all the breakfast on the kitchen bench. Christian and Mason stayed by Tommy's side as he began to rouse from his sleep, his fingers tightening their grasp on Mason's, unconsciously tugging his hand into his chest and under the blanket. Christian glanced up at Mason and smirked softly at that as if he knew something that neither of them did. Though, Mason had a pretty good idea what they were all thinking when they noticed their interlocked fingers.
Tommy's eyes began to flutter open, he seemed dazed and confused, and it wasn't because he was just waking up. It was the same look he had hours before when he eventually understood that he was having a breakdown. His eyes flickered to his Uncle first, and to both Christian and Mason's surprise - he huffed in exasperation and leaned into Christian's fingers which were now frozen against his temple. He didn't let go of his hand, but Mason assumed that it might be that he didn't even realize he was holding it, that was until he closed his eyes again and curled into it as if cocooning their locked fingers.
"If I ask again, will you tell me the truth?" Christian spoke softly, and although the softness of his tone still came out gruff like usual, it sounded as though he was trying not to spook a cornered animal. Tommy lifted his gaze up at him momentarily, considering his Uncle's face like he did when he was obviously searching for trust or looking for the lies.
"Yes," Tommy responded, his voice was barely there, it was weak and diluted with the tears from last night.
"Are you going to be okay?" Christian repeated himself.
Tommy watched his Uncle as if the question was a knife, driven just centimetres from his heart. Not knowing why, Mason started rubbing his thumb gently over the back of his hand in a subtle encouragement, and oh, how Tommy melted into it. His eyes briefly moved to Mason, giving him the same sceptical look that he had given Christian just moments prior and as if deciding that there was no ill intention in the touch, yet he squeezed Mason's hand back.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Tommy whispered, and everyone in the room froze. He sounded as though he never thought of it as a possibility, or maybe had not been at peace with it before.
"We aren't going to let Jonathan -" Christian started, but Tommy instantly cut him off, an unreadable expression crossing his face as if he realized that he gave away too much.
"In the box, top shelf in the closet," Was all he said but it was enough for Christian to not question it and nod to Nicky, indicating for him to go look.
They all sat in silence, waiting for whatever Nicky was going to bring back. Tommy sat up carefully, groaning from the effort and obvious pain in his body. Mason wouldn't be surprised if he had a decent hangover to add to his already beaten body. The bruises were much dark and bluer today than they were yesterday and he was sure that they would be stiffening Tommy's muscles. Tommy reluctantly let go of Mason's hand as Nicky came back with a thin rectangle box, the length no more significant than an average sheet of paper.
"Here, you want your revenge, take it and leave," Tommy's words cut through the silence, and still, Mason found himself taken aback by the solid form that Tommy portrayed. When he looked over at Christian, he could see the blatant shock on his face as Tommy opened the box and pulled out a binder. Christian, no doubt recognizing it. Tommy dropped it into Mason's lap and waited for him to open it, a dull and apathetic stare replacing whatever emotion he had moments ago.
"What is it?" Mason asked bluntly, his eyes staying on Tommy despite knowing that he wouldn't be the one to answer.
"Proof," Christian whispered, his eyes hard on the brown binder.
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