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Finney Blake and Robin Arellano had a tendency to ‘accidentally’ leave their windows unlocked.
Some days, Finney would walk into his room and find a disappointed Gwen, arms crossed, “It’s the middle of Winter, Finney! Are you trying to catch a cold?”
Or times when Robin would come home smiling from school and his mother would hold up a small key, “Lock your window, bebé! No puedes estar enfermo de nuevo.”
The two would share a unanimous answer, nodding and apologising as one would run up to their room while the other would be ushering someone out of it.
Despite all of the times they’d be reprimanded, they never listened. They never listened because the reason for keeping their windows unlocked could either be considered cute or concerning.
Some nights, when the thoughts got too loud for the two, they’d seek comfort in each other.
For example, It was a Saturday. There wasn’t any school following and Robin’s mum was working on a night shift. Chances were, she wouldn’t be home till late morning and even then she’d head straight to bed. As well as this, his younger brother, Ernesto, was staying with their uncle.
So, Robin slipped on his trainers and made a run out the house, not before checking that the door was locked first of course.
He ran and ran until his best friend’s house came into view. The lights were on, but that was to be expected in the Blake household. It just meant he’d need to be more quiet.
There was a ladder leading right up to Finney’s bedroom window. Sure, it was a bit icy, but nothing Robin couldn’t handle.
He kept a watch on where he was stepping as he scaled up the ladder, letting out a sigh of relief as he finally reached the top.
With the least amount of noise he could, Robin pushed on the window, a smile tugging on his face as it opened. The curtains were shut so he made sure to, again, be careful where and what he was stepping on. He wasn’t exactly keen on bringing the fabric down.
Finally, his whole body was wrapped in the heading of the Blake house. He pushed back the curtains, taking a step onto the desk positioned right by the window.
To Robin’s surprise, the room was empty. No Finney Blake in sight. Robin let out a squeak of surprise, clambering over towards the bed. He could wait. Finney was probably just in the bathroom.
Before Robin could even sit down on the bed, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the house.
What the fuck. That was not from any horror film Robin had ever watched. It was familiar though.
Dread filled Robin, a memory from the back of his mind tugging forward:
“My dad, he sometimes gets.. Angry. It’s always Verbal, though. Never physical. I promise.”
So much for promises, ey? Robin slowly creeped out into the upstairs hallway, sobs loud in his ear. That was definitely Finney, no matter how much he didn’t want to believe so.
“How many times have I told you! Stop crying!” A more masculine voice yelled, Robin flinched. That was Terrance, Finney’s dad. He’s never directly spoken to him, but has heard Finney speak to him whenever Robin had stayed over previous times.
“I’m sorry!”
“Are you? Because you’re still crying!”
“Please—“
Robin's heart shattered. No one, let alone a boy like Finney, should have to go through something so… God, he couldn’t even think of a word to describe it!
There was nothing for a while, just hushed sobs, then Terrance’s voice again,
“Get out of my sight.”
Then, there was the scurrying of footsteps. Robin watched as a beaten Finney dragged himself up the stairs. Finney wiped his nose before staring up, sensing someone there. He wasn’t expect that someone to be Robin.
Robin could see Finney’s face, and probably stomach, drop as he recognised Robins heartbroken expression.
Not wanting to alert Finneys dad, Robin mouthed a sorrow, “Finn”. Finney shook his head, rushing his way up the rest of the stairs before grabbing onto Robins wrist and dragging him into Finneys bedroom.
At the same time, both boys said the same thing, “Are you OK?”
Robin pulled a confused face, “Are you seriously asking if I’m okay right now?” Finney nodded, he wasn’t sure whether he should be embarrassed that his Crush was seeing him in such a state or grateful for someone to help him patch up as his sister wasn’t home. This, however, made Robin angry.
“Did I say something wrong?” Finney had now let go of Robins arm, hands trembling as they sat at his sides. Robin let out a shaky breath before trying to form a response. He had to be careful, he didn’t want to freak Finney out even more.
“Finn this isn’t ok.” Robin gestured towards the bruise blossoming on Finneys jawline. Shamefully, Finney brought up his hand to cover the mark.
“Im fine.” He argued, refusing to meet Robins pitying gaze. He didn’t need to be pitied.
“Really? Because this doesn’t look fine to me.” Robin gestured forwards then resting his arms on Finney’s shoulders, mindful as though to not injure him further.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Finney fell forward, his face cushioned in the crook (?) of Robins neck.
“Ok, we don’t have to,” The older (?) reassured, tapping a rhythmic beat on Finney’s back, “Is Gwen home?”
Finney shook his head, “at Suzies’.” and though his voice was muffled, Robin understood perfectly well.
“We could go back to mine? No ones home, ’s why I came here” He laughed, trying to ease the depressing atmosphere into more of a calm one.
“M’k..” Finney sighed, lifting his head to look directly at Robin now.
“Ok.”
Finney Blake and Robin Arellano had a tendency to ‘accidentally’ leave their windows unlocked.
But one day, the reason to why could save a life.