Yates was never the sort to openly show his vulnerability. Well, it was something he avoided, something he didn’t want his peers or his children to ever see. There were very few that actually got that chance, got to see the truly messed up man that he kept behind bars in his mind as he didn’t want to reveal too many of the scars against his skin. His wife was one of those that got to see how vulnerable he could get, and how broken up he was when certain subjects reached his ears.
The male had been working for a small company that helped counsel and console teens that struggled with their home lives and that needed that extra someone there to support them. With personal experience in such matters, Lucas knew what these kids were going through and could see past the attitude and anger that could so very often be thrust into his face. But there were the nights when he’d come home, entirely emotionally drained from the stories he’d been told, from the tears he’d had to wipe away from a tired child’s cheeks. And tonight was one of those days.
Slumped on the sofa, the male lay back against the cushions, a mild comfort to his tired limbs as images flashed across the screen and sounds filtered out of the speakers of the television in front of him. The volume must have been louder than he’d thought, as only a few minutes after the television set was switched on, Frankie was stood in the doorway, a tired look upon her features. Frankie knew her husband, and knew when he needed someone to be there, someone to sit and hold his hand instead of demanding to know why he was just sat there in the dark. Wrapped up in a fluffy, warm dressing gown, she stepped across the carpet towards him, a concerned tint to her eyes as she settled down beside the male.
"Lucas.." Her fingers went to lightly rub against the material of his work shirt, thumb rubbing against his arm, hoping it may show that she was there for him, even though he seemed to ignore her soft motions.
"Babe, what's the matter?" Frankie wasn't the sort to ask the silly question of 'are you okay'. It was obvious that there was something bothering her boyfriend, something that must have gotten to him at work or some news he'd received about someone he had known before he'd come into her life.
Sighing softly through his nose, it didn't take too long for Yates to come up with his response. Voice quiet so as not to wake their slumbering Luke in the room next door, he whispered, attempting to hide the hurt in his tone.
"Um.. well, there was this kid that came into work today.." he started, gaze now focused upon his hands that were rested in his lap rather than upon the television screen as it had been before. "He.. he reminded me so much of how I was before I ran away from my mom. The dad was gone, the mom was drinking, abusive to the kid, he'd ended up in hospital a couple of times because of it.." Pausing, Yates took a deep breath in. His past was something sensitive to him, and it wasn't very often that he'd speak about it. Even though this story wasn't his own, it mimicked it to the letter. He might as well have been telling Frankie all over again about why he'd moved away from his hell hole of a first home, at least until he reached the end of the tale.
"He'd run away a couple of times.. one night, his mom went out looking for him when she was drunk and.." He took another deep breath in, trying his hardest to keep any emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him and instead focus more on the comforting feeling of his girlfriend's fingers against his arm. "Um, she.. stepped out into oncoming traffic. Pretty much died on impact, apparently." Yates swallowed back a lump in his throat, eyes closing tightly and jaw clenching shut. Frankie could see how much he was struggling to even speak about this, and she could see how much it was hurting him to think about it. She knew of what his mother had been like to him, but she also knew that he still loved her despite that, and there were times when he would think about her and debate going to see how she was getting on. But it seemed that, this time.. his worries about his mother were more serious.
"Frankie, what if something's happened to my mom? And I have no idea about it because I left her behind.."
"Lucas." The young woman slid her free hand down to rest on top of her boyfriend's, fingers slipping between his own, clasping against them tightly. "You needed to leave her behind.. she was hurting you and you couldn't do anything to help her." Trailing her other hand up from his arm and to the side of his head, she ran her fingers through his hair, noting how he tilted into her touch.
"I.. I think I want to go and find her. I want to make sure she's okay," the male's eyes avoided directly looking into Frankie's, but his gaze still turned to partly look at her. There was still a sense of worry about his words, but a determination laced between them. He wanted to find out what had happened to her - he needed to find out. No matter how much the thought scared him, he couldn't keep going without at least knowing whether or not she'd got through everything okay. His mind had refused to let him think about anything else for the entire day, and he was certain it would follow him to his dreams.. he needed to find out.
Frankie smiled softly at him, a reassuring gaze as she leant forwards to press a small kiss to his cheek.
"We can go and find her whenever you're ready," she said quietly to him, thumb now stroking gently against his cheek in slow, smooth motions. "We can let her know that she's a grandmother." Yates nodded his head as she said this, finally actually looking into her eyes.
"Yeah.. that'd be nice."
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