Chapter 7

Finnian had hardly rolled out of bed before hearing the knocking on his door. He grumbled, knowing it was probably the church representatives again, coming to guilt him into attending each week. He ran a hand over his face, trying to put some life into his sleep-worn expression; his fingers tangling in his curls in an attempt to look decent. He plodded over to the door and threw it open, fully expecting to tell the people outside where they could shove their religion.

Instead, he was met by the weary, bruised face of Abbott McClellan hovering just outside the door. Their eyes met, and Finnian instantly recognized the pain hidden inside of Abbott’s. With a look of relief, Abbott muttered a single unintelligible word and began to pitch forward dangerously.

Realizing what was happening, Finnian threw the door open quickly and grabbed onto Abbott’s limp body as he fell, catching him against his chest. What the hell?

He looked around to see if any of his neighbors were watching. Surely if they were, they thought he was crazy. He sighed. This kid was ruining the reputation he worked hard to build. Seeing no visible people, he hefted the other boy over his shoulder without a hesitation and carried him inside.

Finnian looked around the room, trying to find the most comfortable piece of furniture in his house. He didn’t want to put the boy in his bed, because all he wanted to do was climb back into that himself. He decided on the sofa that sat in the middle of the front room, and set Abbott down on it gingerly, wincing as the dirt caking Abbott’s clothes smeared on the light gray upholstery. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts: Abbott clearly needed his help, and he wasn’t going to turn him away. Especially after what that horrible shop-owner had done to him.

Finnian wasn’t quite sure what happened there, but he could tell there was more to the story than Abbott had revealed, especially after his eyes had gone green with that weird glow and that voice that wasn’t quite his had spoken to Finnian. He had wondered after seeing the small room that Abbott had lived in if the older man was holding him against his will, but if he was here, in Finnian’s house, that couldn’t be what was happening, right?

Abbott chose that convenient moment to groan from the couch, his glassy eyes flickering open. “What…?”

Finnian helped the other boy sit up, shaking. He fetched him a blanket off his bed and wrapped it around him, then sat down on the coffee table, right at Abbott’s eye level.

“Look,” he started. “I’m not sure why you’re making it a habit to faint whenever you see me. Like, I get I’m good looking, but that’s laying it on a bit thick.”

He waited a few seconds to watch the heat creep up Abbott’s pale face, then grinned. “Just joking with ya. Seriously, though, are you okay?”

Abbott went to nod his head, but then seemed to think the better of it. He opened his mouth instead and squeaked out, “F-fine.”

Finnian leaned in, eyeing Abbott out of the top of his vision. He pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. “Look, this is how it’s gonna go. I’m going to say ‘are you okay?’ and you are going to answer with the right answer, which is, ‘no, I’m not. Please, O Mighty Finnian, help me.’ Got it?”

The corner of Abbott’s mouth twitched, and Finnian felt a strange sense of satisfaction. He was getting through to the boy. He watched as Abbott regained his shaky composure.

“Okay. Let’s try this again. Are you okay?”

Abbott took a deep breath, trying to keep the pain off his face, but Finnian could see it. “No, I’m not,” he muttered.

Finnian smiled cheekily. “You forgot a part.”

Abbott raised an eyebrow indignantly. “I’m not saying that.”

Finnian pretended to be hurt. He gasped deeply, clutching one hand to his heart as if shot with an arrow, killing him instantly. “Do you mean to say you think I’m not worthy of that title?”

Abbott spluttered, clearly unsure how to respond. “No-no,” he stammered. “No, I’m sorry, no, please don’t be upset with me, I just-”

Finnian cut him off. “Stop, stop! I was just kidding again. I do that a lot. There’s no need to apologize.” Someone had obviously hurt this kid when he was younger if he felt the need to apologize so severely, and Finnian was sure he knew who had done it. He also had no sense of sarcasm at all, Finnian realized. He made a mental note to tone down the joking until Abbott was more comfortable. He looked Abbott up and down, taking note of how he was shivering- shaking?- even underneath the blanket. He could see the outline of his body, and the thought crossed his mind that Abbott was far too skinny- when was the last time this kid ate? He was sure that if he looked, he would find ribs jutting out of the boy’s chest.

“Okay,” he started. “How can I help? Are you hungry?” Abbott quickly shook his head. Finnian sighed, knowing that this boy was going to be the death of him. “I know you haven’t eaten. Do you feel like eating something, or would that just make it worse?”

Abbott knew he should eat something, as his stomach was utterly empty, but he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in so long, he couldn’t even handle the thought of eating. “I don’t think I can eat right now,” he admitted, shame coloring the edges of his voice. “I’m sorry.”

“What did I tell you about apologizing?” Finnian asked, sounding dangerously close to something O’Leary would say. The difference, however, is while Alastair required apologies in the form of pain and totrutre, Finnian required no apologies at all. “It’s not necessary. All I want you to do is get better and not feel bad about it. Asking for help isn’t a bad thing. I assume that’s why you came here, after all? To get help?” he questioned after a second thought. If not, why was Abbott here?

Abbott mused over this thought, finally settling on a simple nod. Apparently this was the wrong answer, and Finnian sighed again, standing up from the table and sitting next to Abbott on the couch. “Scoot over.”

Abbott did, and Finnian turned sideways so that he was facing Abbott, who did the same. “Okay. I get that you’ve been through some shit, and I don’t wanna discount anything that happened to you in your past. But I can’t help you if you refuse to talk- if you won’t let me help you.”

Abbott looked up, into those bright blue eyes, so full of life yet laced with worry and concern, and the cage that he had locked his heart in long ago opened with a small click. He began talking, started with how he had gotten to the Empyrium in the first place, and soon his entire life story was pouring out of his mouth like an uncontrollable waterfall. Not even the dam he had built could hold the intense floodwaters that yearned to be released, that had never seen the light of day in all his years of life. He spoke of the seemingly unmentionable torture he had endured in the Empyrium, the terrible things that O’Leary had done to him, things that he had showved so deep in the back of his mind he thought he would never think of them again, let alone share them with another person. But there was just something so comforting about Finnian, something so inviting that once he started, he couldn’t stop. And Finnian didn’t seem to discount anything, he sat at attention and watched Abbott’s emotions seep out. Abbott was worried that Finnian would think him a terrible, damaged person after all he had gone through, but if anything, Finnian seemed to respect him more.

He finished with the story of how he had found Finnian, sheepishly skipping over the part where he thought the cat was going to kill him. He knew that Finnian would find something to tease him about there. When he was done, he looked up, his fingers laced together in worry, dreading the look he was going to find on the other boy’s face. Instead of the disgust he thought would be there, however, he saw a spark of concern intermixed with sympathy.

Finnian scooted closer to Abbott on the couch. They were practically touching, and Abbott felt a small spark of something flood through his body. It was over before it started, though, and he pushed it aside to look back at Finnian’s face. Finnian ran one hand through his hair, sweeping the curls to the side as he smiled sadly. “Damn. I’m so sorry.” He blinked hard, unsure of how to continue. He normally had a lot to say; he wasn’t used to being at a loss for words. “Well, I know I barely know ya, but I’m really honored that you chose to come here to me and told me all of this. I- I can’t change anything that happened in the past, I just… we can make sure this doesn’t happen again, okay?”

Abbott ignored the tear that was welling in the corner of his eye. He couldn’t cry; couldn’t show weakness. “Okay.”