#also on

He heard his parents fighting from the driveway on the way home from a long day at school. It didn’t sound like they were holding anything back this time. One fight away from a divorce, Reggie thought begrudgingly as he walked up the cracked pavement to his front door. After a beat of hesitation he dug his key out of his bag and slid it into the lock, walking into an all-too familiar scene. His dad seemed to be winning… if anything was won at the end of their fights Reggie was never able to figure out what it was. His dad’s back was turned to the doorway, so he didn’t see Reggie enter the house. His dad didn’t even acknowledge the sound of the closed door, he just kept railing into his mom. Continuing on his rant his dad was saying “-and do you think,” he shook his fist in the direction Reggie assumed his mom was standing. He stepped further into the room as his dad asked, “do you think I want to come home after a long day of work and not have dinner hot?” Reggie saw his mom, standing with her arms crossed and her shoulders pulled back. She seemed pissed off in her own right, and he really didn’t want to get in the middle of something this intense. His mom stepped forward, a dangerous sort of smile on her face.

“If you want to come home to a hot meal, come home on time.” His mom said through gritted teeth. Reggie’s dad scoffed,

“I’d be home on time if you weren’t an uneducated whore who can’t even hold down a fucking job!” Reggie winced, the anger wasn’t directed at him, but it didn’t stop him from feeling uncomfortable. He hated confrontations, even if he wasn’t a part of it. He shuffled closer to his mom, ready to jump in if his dad ended up getting violent.

“Mom, dad?” Reggie asked, voice squeaking. Heavy silence cut through the air, thicker than the thick crust pizza the band gets for dinner sometimes. His dad sighed heavily when he turned to face him, and Reggie suddenly found interest in his feet. He began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt, regretting saying anything.

“Reggie go upstairs to your room so your mom and I can finish this conversation,” his dad requested ordered, glaring back at his mom. Reggie hesitated then said,

“Sir I have uh… band practice later tonight.” His dad groaned,

“Do you have to go though? You’re killing my mileage and it’s such a waste of gas money.” His mom shifted her weight, scratching her arm awkwardly. Reggie ran a hand through his hair,

“Uh I guess I uh… don’t have to go today. We were just brushing up on a few of our older songs…” He trailed off and his dad deemed that the end of the conversation. Turning his attention back to his mom his dad said,

“Now what do you say to your son hmm? We don’t have the gas money to keep driving him to that kid’s house. How’s he supposed to play his music?” Instead of apologizing, Reggie’s mom just narrowed her eyes. Bobby’s house wasn’t even that far from theirs, just on the ‘richer’ side of the neighborhood. His dad always got petty when he had to drive through it to drop Reggie off.

“The reason behind us not having enough money for gas is because you keep dipping into the jar for your weekend benders. God knows why I ever married you in the first place!” It happened in slow motion, Reggie diving in front of his father’s glass just as he threw it at his mom. The glass shattered across Reggie’s face and a large chunk got stuck in his cheek. He collapsed to the floor, curling up as his parents continued fighting with each other. Reggie managed to crawl out of the room, leaving a thin trail of blood behind him. With slight effort he carefully pulled the shard of glass out of his cheek and winced in pain. Breathing heavily Reggie used the wall for support as he pulled himself to a standing position. He held one hand against his cheek as he fumbled in his pockets for his phone. He flipped it open and pressed one to speed dial Luke.

“Pick up,” Reggie half-whispered as he pushed his door open and stumbled into the sunlight. “Pick up Luke, come on.”

“Hey Reggie what’s up man?” Luke asked, voice floating through the speaker. Reggie sagged in relief, but pushed forward, trying to put as much distance between him and his parents as possible. A strangled sob escaped his throat,

“Luke,” Reggie said as he managed to turn the corner to their favorite hot dog stand.

“Reggie, what’s wrong? Where are you?” Luke asked sounding rushed. He shouted something Reggie couldn’t make out, probably to Alex. “Reggie you still with me?” Luke asked. Reggie sagged low into Luke’s couch, luckily no one else was in the studio. Digging through his bag he dug out a spare t-shirt and pressed it against his cheek.

“Studio, Luke it got really bad…” Reggie said, tears starting to roll down his face.

“I’ll be there in three minutes. Alex and I were just taking a break down the street.” Luke said. Reggie shook his head quickly, then realized Luke couldn’t see him.

“No, just you please!” Reggie cried out, he couldn’t let Alex see him like this. No one else should burden themselves by seeing him like this. Luke would’ve found out sooner or later, but Alex never had to know. Luke sounded out of breath, like he was sprinting from the restaurant just to make sure Reggie was safe.

“Alright, hang in there. I’m almost at the studio,” Luke said between pants. Reggie’s hand started to shake and he ended up dropping his phone, and didn’t have the energy to pick it up again. He tried to stay awake, to stay strong for Luke… but his sight got hazy and soon the ceiling disappeared under his eyelids. Through the haze Reggie suddenly heard Luke’s familiar voice urging him to wake up.

“Help,” Reggie croaked out as he felt something sticky attach itself to his cheek. Luke’s guitar-calloused fingers combed through Reggie’s hair. “Hmm…” Reggie hummed with content, snuggling closer to the wall of heat against his chest.

“Hey, hey, I know it’s hard, but you need to wake up Reg…” Luke said as Reggie’s eyes slowly blinked open. When he finally made eye contact with his boyfriend a watery grin smiled at him.

“Hi,” Reggie whispered as he pressed a soft kiss against Luke’s forehead. Luke let out a soft giggle. Reaching up to touch his cheek he felt a rather large band-aid somehow got stuck to it. Luke hummed softly to the tune a song Reggie didn’t recognize. It must be a new song he hadn’t shared with the rest of the band yet. “‘s pretty,” Reggie muttered, he always found it was easiest to relax when he was with Luke. Luke’s stupid grin stretched across his face and Reggie knew complimenting the song was the right call.

“Thanks,” Luke said. “Just something I’ve been toying with.” He paused, and Reggie could see the concern written across his face. “Do you want to uh… what happened?” Luke asked, and Reggie couldn’t bring himself to lie to his friend.

“Dad threw a glass at mom and I jumped in the way… Luke it was so, so bad this time. I don’t know what to do… I want them to stay together and I try so hard but they just keep fighting.” Reggie choked back a sob and Luke’s expression softened as he cupped Reggie’s uninjured cheek. Reggie leaned into the touch gratefully.

“It’s not your job to keep your parents together,” Luke said and Reggie looked away from him. “You know that, right?” Luke asked him, worry in his voice. Reggie shrugged,

“I don’t know man... sometimes it feels like the only reason they haven’t divorced yet is because of me.” Luke’s lips curved into a slight frown.

“So... I had this idea awhile ago…” Luke started, before trailing off. Reggie urged him to continue so he did. “Do you wanna move into the studio with me? You shouldn’t have to keep going home just for a place to sleep if it’s going to put you in harm’s way Reg. I just want you to be safe.” Reggie nodded as he closed his eyes and leaned against Luke’s chest.

“I would love to, especially if it means spending more time with my boyfriend,” Reggie said, and he didn’t have to look up to know Luke’s happy-puppy-dog expression had returned. “Love you Luke,” Reggie said as the two settled in for the rest of the night. Luke wrapped his arms around Reggie then said,