Jayden was not okay. He had just barely avoided a beating when he got home and went straight to bed after showering and finishing his homework. His stomach grumbled faintly but he ignored it and pushed on. He didn't want to go back to school tomorrow. He didn't want to come home after school. He didn't want a beating. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter what Jayden wanted. If he skipped school, his parents would get a call letting them know he had unexcused absences and he would most definitely get a beating then. He didn't want to get hit. He didn't want a beating. It was such a simple thing. He was just so tired of all of this.
He made his way out of his bed the next morning and got dressed as fast as he could. Right before he was about to walk out the door of his room he decided that he really did not want a beating first thing in the morning and then a plan started forming in his head. He turned around and made his way to the window in his room. It was a two-story house and he was on the second floor so when he jumped, the impact would hurt. Of course, he endured plenty of pain on a daily basis so he figured he could withstand it.
Jayden noticed a ledge right beneath his window and figured that would lessen the impact so he managed to climb onto it. Surprisingly, it could withstand his weight and he began the careful process of getting down from there. Before long he was hanging onto the ledge by his fingertips and the ground wasn't too far down so he let go. The impact was jarring but something he could walk off. He began the walk to school when another thought popped into his head. He did not want a beating. So instead, he made his way to the park.
He found an empty bench and sat down. Pulling out his homework from his bookbag, he figured he might as well get ahead. The project wasn't due for another month but he wanted it done as soon as possible so he could just relax. The hours passed by a lot faster than they felt and before long he was almost done with it. He checked his watch and realized with a start, that it was 4 pm. He packed his things back up and made his way out of the park. He knew that if he went home, not only would he get a beating, but he also wouldn't get fed so he went to the pharmacy and bought a bag of chips, a bottle of water and a sandwich then walked to the public library.
Jayden sat at the empty table next to a rowdy group of boys. From what he could overhear, two soulmates just met. For the first time that day he remembered the names on his wrist and for the first time in his life, he pulled his sleeve down past his wrist and pretended there was nothing there.
He didn't want a beating.
A sudden surge of desperation hit him and he made his way to the table of boys. They turned to look at him and Jayden found himself at a loss for words. What was he just about to ask them? What would they even be able to do?
"Um, hi? Did you need something?" One of the boys questioned him but he kept his eyes locked on the ground. What if they could see his freakiness just by looking into his eyes? "My name is Aiden. Is something wrong?"
Jayden finally looked up to see them. Aiden had warm, golden skin. He looked bright and welcoming. Like the sun. The boy next to him had shaggy black hair and if the arm draped around Aiden's shoulder was anything to go on, was probably his boyfriend and most likely his soulmate too. At that thought, he burst into tears. He didn't think he was going to live to meet his soulmates and they probably wouldn't want him anyway. His parents didn't even want him, so why would they? He'd heard of people who were beaten by their soulmates and all Jayden could think about was how he didn't want a beating. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never again.
Aiden embraced him in a warm hug and rubbed his back in soothing circles but all Jayden could think about was the burning sensation on his wrist and how he did not want a beating. So he backed away and ran. He burst out of the doors only to find that it had begun to rain while he was in there but he shrugged it off and kept running. He had no idea where he was going but the rhythmic pounding of his feet on the pavement did nothing to calm his racing thoughts.
He didn't want a beating. There was no place in this town where he was safe. There was nowhere for him to go. Home meant a beating, school meant a beating, society meant a beating, but he was tired of it.
No more.
No more.
He was too tired to continue. For once he was going to do what he wanted. He was going to do what made him happy. He was tired of going through life scared all the time. He was tired of going through life in general. He was better off dead.
"Wait! Stop!" Two sets of steps were coming his way and Jayden cowered in fear while covering his head.
"Please don't hurt me!" He didn't dare voice the fact that he didn't want a beating because what would they care? His soulmarks burned again and he tried to ignore the sensation but found it to be harder than anticipated. He realized then that the two boys before him had to be his soulmates and sobs racked through his body as he remembered those stories of people getting beaten by their soulmates and he didn't want a beating and he was just so so scared all the time and he didn't want this.
"Hey, hey. We won't hurt you. Ever okay? My name is Riley and this is Jake. I promise you are safe with us and our friends. Would you like to come to my house where we can talk and get some food and dry clothes for you? How does that sound?" Riley's voice was calming and gentle. He had dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. He was just a little bit shorter than Jayden. He was beautiful. Jake seemed to be the tallest of the three with black hair. He had sharp features and piercing blue eyes. They were both stunning. Jayden was still scared but nodded anyway. He didn't want to go back home.
Riley led them back to the library where they got in his car. Jake was in the passenger seat while Jayden cried silently in the back seat. Before long they were pulling into the driveway of Riley's house and making their way inside.
"My parents are on a date right now," Riley explained the reason for his empty house as they made their way to the couches in the living room and sat down. Jayden sat down on the couch by himself and they let him, making sure that he had all the space he needed and wanted.
They sat in relative silence for a minute as Jayden tried to smother his sobs. He was not successful.
"Please talk to us. We just want to help you." Jake begged and Jayden found that he liked the sound of his voice.
"Can you show me your wrists?" Jayden's voice was quiet but they still heard him loud and clear. They both stuck out their left wrist and sure enough, they were soulmates. Jake's wrist had the names: Jayden Nicholson and Riley Howard while Riley had Jayden Nicholson and Jake Lee. Jayden pulled up his sleeve and showed them his left wrist. Riley Howard and Jake Lee. Jayden wanted to cry for a year. "Please don't hurt me. I don't want another beating." He whimpered.
"Another one?" Jake sounded angry and Jayden caved further into himself. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry with you and we will never hurt you. Right, Riley?"
"Right," Riley confirmed. "I promise you are safe with us. You don't have to go back to where you were being abused. You never ever have to go back. I don't know who did that to you but they had no right."
"Everyone hits me. My dad beats me, my mom calls me names and my sister just laughs and then I go to school and the kids beat me up while the teachers do nothing."
"I don't care who they are. No one has the right to touch you without your permission." Jake answered. The idea sounded so foreign to Jayden. People always touched him without his permission. He eventually just started believing that it was their right. He was just a freak. His family always did whatever they wanted with him. If he tried saying no he would get an even worse beating until one day the word no was just beaten out of him. How do you voice what you do or don't want if you were never taught to?
"Do you want to stay here tonight? We have a spare bedroom and tomorrow morning before school starts and before my parents go to work we can talk to them and make an arrangement that we all feel happy with." Riley asked him. Jayden knew what he was referring to. There were several laws surrounding soulmates. One of them stated that if a minor found their soulmate they could move in with said soulmate if they were either kicked out from home or they were being abused by their parents.
At the knowledge that he didn't have to go home, his body relaxed and he allowed himself to feel tired. Jayden nodded and Riley led him to the spare bedroom. On the way to the said bedroom, Riley grabbed a towel, a toothbrush and a pair of PJs.
"You can take a shower in the bathroom across the hall and I will be in the bedroom down the hall if you need me," Riley informed him. Jayden nodded and then Jake told both of them that he had to get back home. They said goodbye and Jake made his way out of the house. Riley showed Jayden how to get the shower running and he quickly got ready for bed. Making his way back to the bedroom in a pair of pajamas slightly too small for him, he found Riley sitting on the bed.
"Sorry. I just wanted to say goodnight," Riley blushed and Jayden tried his hardest not to coo at him.
"Thank you,"
"Of course," Riley answered and they both blushed.
"Please don't make me go back home!" Jayden blurted out. Riley looked back at him in astonishment.
"You never have to go back there again unless you want to. No one will hurt you ever again and absolutely no one will touch you unless you want them to. You're safe now." Jayden felt himself tear up again and he embraced Riley in a hug as he tried not to let the tears fall. "It's okay to cry," Riley whispered into his neck and just like that it was like the dam broke all over again. He wasn't ready to talk about everything that happened just yet but for once he felt like he was safe.
That night Jayden found safety in the arms of one of his soulmates and at that moment he knew that he would never leave them. He was going to live. For them.