Plattenbau - 7. Chapter 7- Get Out

p style="text-align:center;">

Ed was about to make himself ready to head out to the pub when he heard familiar screaming and shouting from next door. It wasn't the first time he had heard Alex and his mother fight like that, but it seemed like it had worsened over the past two weeks. He didn't understand what they were arguing about because they were talking in Russian. But one thing was sure, it caused them to constantly be at each other's throats.

The blond had wanted to ask Alex multiple times what was going on but he never really found the right moment to do so. To ease his mind, he told himself repeatedly that it was none of his business. But, no matter how often he did that, he couldn't keep himself from keeping an eye on the boy. He just wanted to make sure that their fights remained verbal.

Ed knew he couldn't be one-hundred percent sure because most people hid that kind of stuff. But, he still hoped that his own experiences would help him spot any major red flags. With a shake of his head, he went to his bathroom to shower, hoping that the sound of the water would drown out the muffled yelling that had forced him to remember things he would have preferred to have kept forgotten.

He turned on the light and was greeted by the hideous snot-green tiles and bathroom fixtures that were properly even older than he himself was. I should change them; they look horrible. Ed reminded himself for the umpteenth time, knowing fully well that he most likely would never actually do it. The man took off his clothes and looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

Years ago, people had called him handsome. But now with the deep circles under his eyes, his crooked nose (that had been broken one to many times), the yellowish teeth from years of heavy smoking and the wrinkles on his face that made him look even older than he actually was, nobody in their right mind would ever call him that. Alex probably would, a small voice in the back of his mind told him, making him shake his head.

Even if that were true, it only would be a sign that the boy either had really bad eyes or was completely nuts.

His gaze fell lower, and he noticed he'd gained a few more kilos again this month. Though he wasn't surprised, it irked him that his once-muscular body had become so bloated and sluggish. But, then again, it wasn't called a 'beer belly' for no reason.

"What happened to you?" He asked his reflection and pushed back a few strands of his dirty blond hair. Noticing his overgrown, unkempt beard, he added with a chuckle, "At least shave, you lazy pig."

Ed turned away from his reflection with a tired smile and got into the shower. He had just started to enjoy the warm water rolling down his body when the doorbell rang. The man paused for a moment, but chose to ignore the sound as he continued applying shampoo to his hair.

When he was just about to rinse it out, it rang again, and after a few seconds, another ring. Ed swore under his breath and rushed to rinse the shampoo out, knowing that the person probably wouldn't stop until he answered the door. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips. Not bothering to dry himself off, he stormed towards the door and swung it open, ready to tell the person to fuck off.

But when he saw Alex standing there, with his eyes all puffy and his right cheek featuring a vivid red mark in the form of a hand, Ed immediately paused.

"Sorry to...I'm sorry...Uhm..." the boy stammered with head held down.

Ed didn't need to see his face to know that the teen was holding back tears. He shook his head, his anger about the disturbance now completely gone. "Don't. Just get in. I have to finish my shower."

Alex finally lifted his head, ready to thank Ed for his kindness. But, as soon as he took a good look at the man before him, his mind went blank. Except for a towel around his waist, Ed was completely naked. This granted him the opportunity to see his massive, hairy body in all its glory. While Ed wasn't in the best of shape, the teen couldn't care less. The man was downright perfect in his eyes, and was a real symbol of masculinity. His eyes slowly wandered from the bare chest down to the towel, imagining how the proportions of that body would most likely correlate to the size of what was hidden beneath the fabric. Alex didn't even notice how long he had been staring until Ed grabbed his shoulder and shoved him inside the apartment.

"Get inside. And for fuck's sake, stop drooling, you damn weirdo!"

Ed returned to the restroom, finishing his shower while Alex sat on the couch. When the older man was done, it dawned on him that he had no idea how he would approach the topic of Alex's mother raising her hand at her son. The blond remembered he'd planned to trim his beard, so he did just that, hoping it would give him enough time to come up with an idea. When he could no longer stall for more time, he headed out to the living room. Ed still hadn't been able to come up with anything that would broach the subject, but he hoped that Alex would just start talking by himself.

It took almost fifteen minutes of awkward silence before Ed realized that that wasn't the case. "So, uhm...you wanna talk?" He tried but only got a no in response. "Do you want a beer?" He asked, hoping Alex would say yes so he could grab himself one too.

"Uhm...no thanks."

The silence stretched taut between them. While concerned and wanting more information, Ed didn't want to push the teenager to say anything he didn't want to talk about. Meanwhile, the young man in question couldn't heft himself out of the discontent that had overcome him.

"Okay." Ed mumbled, feeling a mixture of relief that he hadn't been asked to do more as well as disappointment that he hadn't been able to be of any help.

"Can you drive me?" Alex suddenly asked while giving Ed the cutest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen, making it near impossible to refuse.

"Sure, but... you live next door, so..."

"I meant can you drive me to my actual home?" Alex elaborated.

Ed glanced quickly over to his clock, realizing it was already late in the evening. He had planned to meet up with his friends at the pub but he figured that they probably wouldn't even notice if he didn't show up. So after a short moment of consideration, he sighed and nodded. Alex seemed to really need this. "Sure, kid."

The two of them headed downstairs and, after a short walk down the street, approached Ed's old car. The vehicle was over a decade old and sported many scratches and indents. However, it still worked, so Ed had never bothered getting a new one.

Alex slipped into the passenger seat and told Ed the address of what he still considered to be his home. He knew it would take around two hours to get there, but he didn't mind because he felt happy about spending the time with Ed, even though he didn't expect the other man to say much. Noticing the necklace with a metal plate hanging from the rear-view mirror, he asked if Ed had been in the army but the guy only answered with a simple grunt.

"That's cool," Alex said nonchalantly, making Ed flinch.

"There is nothing cool about war. It's just ugly and nasty."

Alex figured this was probably not the best topic to discuss, so he tried to ask other things but, unsurprisingly, got shot down every time. After a while, they finally reached Alex's childhood home. The boy thanked Ed for the drive and headed over to it. The big house with the nicely trimmed front lawn. The teenager knocked on the door, his heart filled with the feeling of finally being back home after a long time.

Ed was about to drive off when he took one last look at Alex. He saw the boy's face become even more miserable upon seeing the person that had opened the door. Well, shit.

—----
 

p style="text-align:center;">

a/n: I'm pretty sure everyone already knows my art style enough to recognize that all of these chapter images were NOT created by me.

They were all done by Luna herself. 🥰