Chapter 9
Nick waited until Reggie felt up to it before the two of them got back in the car. Reggie agreed to stay at Nick’s until Julie told them to come home. Nick pulled his dads aside, explaining the bare minimum of what they needed to know, and he was thankful he had already explained Reggie’s gender identity when he asked his dad for help with the principal. His papa approached Reggie as they sat on the living room couch, knees pulled up to their chest. “Hey, Reggie. It’s good to finally meet you. My name is Chad.”
“Hi.” Reggie answered quietly.
“You can stay here as long as you want, and I know that because of what you’ve been through that you don’t do well with separation. So if you want, you can stay in Nick’s room with him. Or we have a guest room. You two could even have your friends stay, too. Whatever you need, just let us know, okay?” They nodded and Chad smiled, patting Reggie’s shoulder before standing and letting Nick take over. Reggie looked at Chad before he could walk away.
“Would it really be okay if our friends joined us?”
“Of course. I’ll give Ray a call.” Chad moved the kitchen with Ryan, and Nick stayed with Reggie.
“It’ll be okay, Reg. We’ll figure out.” It was already late, but Nick was right to assume the others were still up. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence until there was a loud knock on the door. Reggie was on their feet in less than a second, putting as much distance between themself and the wood as they could. Nick called for his dad to open it, and he moved to Reggie. “Reg, it’s okay. Breath. I’m right here. No one is going to hurt you.” Reggie’s eyes locked on Nick’s as they obediently took several deep breaths. Nick heard hurried footsteps, and spoke a little louder, hoping the others would hear, “No one is going to run in here, Reg. No one wants to scare you.” Nick heard the steps slow, and Julie was the first one around the corner. Reggie saw her and sped the way across the room themself.
“Jules.” They threw their arms around her, burying their face in her hair.
“It’ll be okay, Reg. I promise. We got you out of there once, they won’t touch you again.” She wrapped her arms around them tightly, like she was afraid someone would rip them away. Nick saw the others come in, the guys were carrying bags, and Nick’s dads took them upstairs.
Reggie pulled back after several minutes, “Did you-“
“Yeah, Reg. I told dad what was happening, and I told them like you asked.”
Luke’s voice cracked when he spoke, “I can’t believe your parents put you in the hospital.”
“That was mostly my dad.” Reggie said quickly, then shook their head. “Sorry. I still haven’t gotten defending them out of my system.”
“That’s okay.” Nick said quietly, running his hand over Reggie’s back. “You don’t need to apologize to us. We just want to be here for you.”
Nick’s dad, Ryan, appeared in the doorway. “I ordered some pizza for a late dinner. Nick, how about you take them upstairs? I put all the bags in the guest room since I didn’t know who’s was what. I figure the girls can take the guest room, the guys can take the living room, and Reggie can stay wherever they’re comfortable.”
“Thanks, dad.” Nick gestured toward the stairs, and Reggie immediately took his hand. Nick squeezed it as he led the way. They all sat on the floor of the guest room, until Reggie started shifting uncomfortably. “You okay, Reg? Are you feeling crowded or anything?”
“It’s not that. It’s-“ Reggie stopped, glancing at everyone’s faces before muttering something no one could hear. Julie was the only one that seemed to understand. She edged closer to them, her voice quiet.
“You can take it off, Reg. You’re safe here.”
“I need-I need help.” Reggie answered quietly. Julie immediately shooed the three boys out of the room, they didn’t question why. Flynn and Nick stayed behind.
“Who do you want to help you?” Julie asked.
“I don’t- I don’t know.”
Julie nodded, smiling softly, “How about we all help you then?” Reggie looked thoughtful but unsure before finally nodding. Julie turned to Nick, “Reggie’s binder. We need to help take it off. Just follow what I do, okay?” Nick nodded, moving closer to Reggie. Nick wasn’t sure what a chest binder looked like, but as Reggie pulled their shirt off, he saw rivets down each side. Julie undid some of them, before stepping away. Flynn was on the other side, and Nick could tell they had helped before. He gently took hold of the material, his fingers brushing Reggie’s skin as he undid the rivets. When they finished, Reggie looked scared before they started to pull it over their head. Nick could see why, the scars were still angry shades of red. Reggie quickly put their shirt back on, turning away from them.
Nick took a step closer, “Reggie, I’m not going to say it’s okay. Because that doesn’t sound right, it isn’t okay that your dad did that to you. But I am here for you. And I wish I could show you how beautiful you are, so I’m gonna try to do that every day. We can only be here for you as much as you let us, but I’m never going to turn away.” Julie squeezed Nick’s shoulder, and Reggie slowly turned around, lifting their shirt just enough until their scars were visible.
“Ju-Jules? Will you get the others, too? I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to do this again.” Julie nodded, opening the door and motioning for the guys to stay quiet. They were confused until they saw Reggie. Everyone’s eyes were filled with tears.
After a few minutes, Reggie let their shirt fall, and Nick took their hand in his. “I’m proud of you, Reggie. That took bravery, and I’m proud of you.” Reggie threw their arms around Nick, and he reciprocated with no hesitation.
Later in the night, after they coaxed Reggie into eating and watched a movie, everyone drifted off to sleep. Reggie stayed with Nick, curling into the boy in his bed. Nick just held Reggie, subconsciously trailing his thumb over the scars on their chest, whispering words of love until they both fell asleep.