Ellis kept his face hidden. He swallowed, not knowing how to respond to Lloyd.
Cinderella AU // OxO // Closed
Lloyd carefully lowered himself onto the ground to sit beside Ellis and looked at his face, clearly very concerned. "What happened, El? Are you alright?"
Ellis took a deep breath, wiping at his face. "I-I…" he shook his head a little bit, curling tighter in on himself.
Lloyd gently reached out and took Ellis's chin to turn the other to face him. "Who did this to you? Was it Anton?"
There was bruising on his cheek and on his neck, and one of his eyes was black as well. He nodded a little bit, still crying silently.
"Shh, shh… c'mere." Lloyd hugged Ellis, careful not to hurt him. "What did he do to you?" He asked, his voice trembling with repressed rage.
Ellis leaned into Lloyd, crying into his shoulder. He shook his head wordlessly, not able to bring himself to say it.
"What did he do to you, Ellis? He's not getting away with it, I assure you."
"H-he…" he shook his head again, a quiet sob leaving his throat.
Lloyd pulled Ellis closer. "Please, Ellis… what did he do to you?"
He shook his head again. He couldn't say it. Couldn't say it.
Lloyd sighed and just sat with him. "Take your time, El… don't stress yourself…"
Ellis swallowed softly, leaning into Lloyd and crying quietly.
Lloyd rested his head on Ellis's, holding him close and trying to make him feel safe.
Ellis shuddered a little, sniffling quietly.
"You're gonna be okay, El… I won't let him touch you again…" Lloyd pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Ellis's head and held him close.
Ellis took a deep breath, shaking his head a little bit.
"I'll have a talk with my father and I'll have him kicked out. You can stay here. He'll never touch you again, El."
He sniffled softly, peeking up at Lloyd for a moment. His blue eyes were shiny with tears.
"You're gonna be okay, El. I'll protect you." Lloyd gently kissed Ellis's forehead and tucked him under his chin protectively.
Ellis blinked at the kiss, unsure how to take that, and pressed close to Lloyd.
"I'll stay here with you as long as you need, okay? I'm not leaving until you're okay, and then I'm going to go talk to my father."
Ellis nodded a little bit, taking a shaky breath. "I hate him." He whispered brokenly.
"I hate him too, El… I'm never going to let him touch you again." Lloyd gently ran his fingers through Ellis's hair, holding him close.
He sniffled softly, a quiet sob leaving his throat as he clung to Lloyd.
"Shhh… you're gonna be okay." Lloyd rested his head on Ellis's with a soft sigh.
Ellis shuddered a little, starting to cry again.
Lloyd wrapped himself around Ellis to comfort him, rubbing his back a bit. "You're gonna be fine."
Ellis stayed curled in a ball, pressed against Lloyd.
They stayed like this for a while with Lloyd whispering sweet nothings to Ellis while he tried to calm him down.