Please Don't Tell My Parents - Espresseleine Highschool Au

♡Chapter 21♡

The smile on Madeleine's face faded as he read Espresso's text.

E: help

He stared at the text in confusion.

Another text popped up.

He froze.

E: Father hit me. It hurts to breathe

Without wasting another second, Madeleine rushed down the street as fast as he possibly could, running back towards Espresso's house.

His mind raced as he automatically assumed the worst. Espresso was probably dying. Maybe his father stabbed him or something. He shivered. He still couldn't believe Espresso lived with that monster.

Madeleine remembered what Espresso told him about his parents being really homophobic. They probably saw Madeleine kiss him. "This is all my fault," He thought as he kept running towards his house. "I shouldn't have kissed him in front of his house. Obviously that was a shitty idea."

Out of breath, lungs burning, he reached Espresso's house. Not taking a moment to rest, he tried to open the front door. It was locked. Panicking, he pounded on the door. Tears stung the backs of his eyes. What if he couldn't get to Espresso? What if he bled out because Madeleine couldn't get to him in time?

After a couple seconds of banging on the door, Espresso opened it. Madeleine audibly gasped when he saw him. He had bleeding wounds all over his shaking body—wounds that would only be made by another human. He had glass lodged in his arm, he was struggling to breathe, his arms had deep cuts and bruises with scratch and nail marks on them, and there were marks on his neck. It looked like someone had tried to strangle him.

They stared at each other for another moment until Espresso stumbled and fell into Madeleine's arms. "Jesus- H-Hey, it's gonna be okay, Espresso," Madeleine said as he laid him down on the floor, gently kneeling down next to him. He took a closer look at his wounds. He grimaced. They looked bad.

A slight chuckle came from Espresso. "H-He tried to kill me." He flinched in pain but chuckled lightly. "I didn't die. I was strong fo-for you."

"Good job, honey." Madeleine watched as Espresso struggled to breathe. "Just, uh, just keep being strong, okay? I'll-I'll make everything okay."

Espresso stared up at him, trying to smile. "I was-I was strong."

"Yes, and I'm so, so proud of you." He tried to figure out where his worst wounds were.

He kept trying to smile, but it slowly faded off his face. "He-He tried to choke me..." Espresso whispered, shuddering at the thought.

Madeleine turned to him, his eyes wide.

"He jumped on me and pinned me down... I tried to pull hi-him... him off, but I wasn't strong." Espresso's voice was no louder than a whisper. "I tried to beg him to stop, but I couldn't speak... I was silently sobbing as my mouth hung open. I was still trying to speak... only desperate and choked gargles came out." His eyes were wide with terror as he trembled.

Madeleine almost burst into tears. The image of Espresso being choked to death by his father wouldn't leave his mind. "Oh-Oh, my God... It'll be okay. I promise. I swear," He promised again.

"I felt the... the blood rush to my he-head. It felt like my throat was breaking. His full body weight w-was sitting on me as he tried to choke me..!" A broken sob escaped his lips as he continued. He took a deep breath, obviously in unimaginable pain. "But my mouth still hung open as I tried to beg him to... to stop. Blood, spit, and tears dripped from my face. I...I was dying..."

Madeleine shook his head. "Everything's okay now," He said, trying to calm himself as well as Espresso. He kept staring down at him with tear-filled eyes.

"He smiled."

"What..?"

"He smiled," Espresso chocked out. "The entire time. He wa-was... h-happy to kill me." He tried to breathe again but winced, letting out a groan of pain. He clutched his side.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"F-Father was kicking me, too... I heard a sna-snap. It hurts to... to breathe..."

Madeleine nodded. He clearly had to take him to a hospital. "Where are your parents now?"

"I dunno." A tear rolled down Espresso's face. "Am-Am I going to Hell..?"

"What?" Madeleine asked, gently wiping the tears from his face.

"Mother kept yelling at me. She said I-I was going to..." He winced in pain. "To Hell. Cuz I kissed you. God, I'm dizzy..." He held up a hand to his spinning and pounding head.

"No, no, of course not," Madeleine quickly assured him, pulling Espresso into a sitting position as he held him close.

"She wouldn't stop yelling at me... Father was hitting me and kicking me, but she kept yelling. She kept screaming at me that I was going to burn in Hell for all eternity," He mumbled, closing his eyes tight. "But-But I love you. I can't help it. I love you..." His breathing started to slow.

Madeleine tensed as he scooped Espresso up. It was obvious he needed medical attention. Now. "Espresso, stay with me, love, okay?"

Espresso didn't answer.

"...Espresso..?"

A/N: Sorry to ruin the vibe but thank you so much for 4,000 reads holy hell 😨