chapter thirteen

RAFE SOUNDED REALLY DISAPPOINTED when dominic told him he couldn't attend the party. the nineteen year old immediately called to make sure everything was okay since the brunet rarely ever turned down a party and dom had simply said he had planned to stay in that night. it wasn't like he was lying. it was his plan to stay in. however, he wasn't staying in alone, but rafe didn't need to know that. they weren't dating anymore and the boy was not dom's keeper.

dominic had told jj a time and did what he had to do around the house before taking a shower. he told his mom he wasn't feeling well and that he was going to stay in his room for the rest of the night so that she wouldn't bother him. she had protested to staying away, but he promised to complete is college applications when he felt better and she happily nodded, asking if he needed anything before she let him be. when he shook his head she simply smiled and said she'd be in her room if he needed anything. thankfully, his parents room was further down the hall, so she wouldn't hear the two boys in his room. well, at least his mother never mentioned anything about hearing him and rafe all those times.

the thought of rafe made him frown and he shook it away before sitting on his bed. he looked at his phone, seeing that jj should be there any minute and he looked around the room, making sure it was clean. he quickly shoved his dirty clothes in his hamper and remade his bed. once he was satisfied with everything he turned on his tv and put a show that he actually liked on so if his mom were to walk by his room she wouldn't be suspicious. he double checked that he locked the door and nearly jumped out of his skin when hearing light taps on his window. he knew it was coming, but he still wasn't prepared.

he walked over to the window, opening it to let the blond boy in. he crawled onto his bed and dom closed the window before turning to see jj taking his shoes off. "sorry i'm late." jj mumbled, struggling with his laces.

dom looked at his phone again. he was only ten minutes late; it wasn't a big deal. "you're fine, jj." he let out a small laugh. "ten minutes is nothing."

"sorry." the blond repeated, wincing as he shifted his body to face the shorter, yet older, boy.

"are you okay?"

"'m fine." he said, looking up at the boy who was still standing. his hand clutched at his side and when he moved it away dom noticed the blood staining his shirt.

"oh my god, jj. what happened?" dom reached forward to lift up his shirt and jj let him. the cut on his side wasn't bad enough to need stitches, but it was bad enough that it was coating a section of his shirt in red.

"nothing." jj shook his head, pulling his shirt back down.

"i need to take care of that." dom stated.

"i'm fine, dom." the look on jj's face showed that he was sad and it made dom's frown deepen.

"please let me at least help you stop it from bleeding." dom pleaded with his doe eyes and jj caved, only nodding his head. "i'll be right back." he went into the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit from under the sink and a wet washcloth with soap on it before he made his way back to his room. he placed it on the bed next to jj and opened it, revealing everything that he needed to clean the boy up.

"why do you have all of this stuff?" jj asked, watching as dom quielty gestured for the blond to take off his shirt. jj did so, handing it over to dom who threw it in his hamper.

"you can wear one of my shirts when i'm done." he stated, grabbing the washcloth with soap. he lightly dabbed at the cut, rubbing it gently over it to clean it up.

"i'm getting blood all over your white washcloth, dom. it's gonna be ruined. i can just use one of these." he pulled a rubbing alcohol wipe from the kit and held it up.

"you're actually not really supposed to use rubbing alcohol on cuts. it can cause a delay in the healing process." dom said, tossing the bloody washcloth into his hamper before he grabbed some gauze and the medical tape.

"really?" jj looked surprised. "that's what i always use." there was a small silence as dom put the gauze over the cut and taped around it with the medical tape so it would hold. "how did you know rubbing alcohol is actually bad for cuts?"

"my aunt is a nurse." dom smiled. "she taught me everything i know."

"oh, cool." jj said before looking around the room. his eyes landed on the bottles of pills sat on his dresser and dom followed his gaze.

"oh, sorry." he quickly reached for them, shoving the bottles into the top drawer before he walked back over to the boy, closing the first aid kit.

"you don't have to be sorry, dom." jj's eyes followed him as dom brought the first aid kit over to his door. he placed it on the floor next to it before turning back to look at the blond. "can i ask what they're for?"

"nothing important." dom shrugged his shoulders. he sat next to jj on the bed and forced a smile. he felt like he could trust jj with anything, so he decided to be honest. "they're for my depression and anxiety. i'm supposed to take them every morning, but i forget sometimes."

"does it affect you when you forget to take them?" he asked.

"sometimes." dom pursed his lips. "i've been trying really hard to remember though."

"your mental health is really important, dom." jj eyed him. "please let me know if you're ever feeling anxious or need space or anything. i don't want to cause you any problems. if i'm ever too much just—"

dom cut him off. "you will never be too much, jj." he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to jj's cheek. "thank you for caring." jj only nodded and dom hesitantly asked, "what happened to you?" jj knew he was referring to the cut on his side.

"my dad. he—we don't get along very well." jj stated. "he broke a beer bottle and threw it at me."

"jj—"

"it's fine." dom could tell jj was trying his hardest to force a smile, but the tears in his eyes made dom's heart ache. "nothing i can't handle."

"that's not okay." dom said, placing his hand on jj's thigh for comfort.

"it's why i'm at john b's most of the time." he explained.

"you don't have to explain." dom shook his head, seeing that it was a rough topic for the blond. "you're always welcome to come here if you ever need somewhere else to go." he locked his lips. "i'm sure your dad will never find you here."

"thanks, dom." jj spoke quietly, unable to really speak at all because he was upset.

"you have no idea how much you mean to me." dom said. "i know we haven't known each other long, but you—" dom let out a small laugh. "you're so amazing and deserve so much good in your life."

"you're the good in my life right now, dom." jj mumbled, pressing his forehead against the brunet's. "i think i'm falling for you."

dom's heart was beating so hard in his chest that he was afraid jj would hear it. there was something about the way jj said it that made him feel so different from when rafe had told dom that he loved him. sure, jj wasn't in love with him yet, but there was still time. after all, jj was very well known for sleeping around, but here he was telling dom that they'd do it when the time was right. no one had ever said that to the eighteen year old before. that had to mean something.

dom smile was small because he was afraid he'd start blushing if it was any wider and he pressed a soft kiss to jj's lips. "i might be falling for you, too."

"cool." jj smiled before looking at the show on the tv. "so what are we watching?"

dom smiled as the two of them made themselves comfortable on his bed. "oh, you'll love this show."

dom obviously doesn't talk
about his mental health much,
which is why it's barely said,
but he is cared for very deeply 💛