"Dad..," was all Kellin could sputter out as his drunken father stood before him.
"Kellin, my boy… You look as pathetic as usual," he sneered, clutching an empty beer bottle in his fist.
"Go away… You're not welcome here anymore…" Kellin shakily tried to stand his ground as he faced his father—the nightmare he thought was over… Without another word, Kellin's father rushed at him, bottle overhead, knocked Kellin straight into a wall. He slammed the bottle over Kellin's head, causing the glass to shatter and pierce his skin.
"Stop!" Kellin screamed, but to no avail. His father kicked him in the side, sending him to the ground in a fit of sheering pain. He slammed his fist into Kellin's jaw as he fell.
"You never were a fighter," Mr. Bostwick snarled. "Just a worthless disgrace." He kicked Kellin again, this time in the ribcage, and almost instantaneously bruised him. He then stumbled over to the old family photos and swiped them right off the shelves. The photos fell to the floor and shattered into thousands of pieces as they met the wood panels. Tears and blood streamed down Kellin's battered face as the sounds of the frames crashing and shattering echoed through the house. Mr. Bostwick spat in Kellin's direction and headed for the door, leaving a bleeding and shaking Kellin curled up on the floor. Agony rushed through his body. Even breathing caused him pain.
Kellin struggled as he picked himself up off the ground, limped over to the couch, and practically let his body go limp as he hit to soft cushion. His eyes flooded with tears at this point, Kellin buried his face into his hands and cried to himself.
"Vic is going to hate me now…" Kellin whispered to himself between sobs. He just wanted this all to end…
And that's when he did it…
He got up and ran to the bathroom, pulling out the blade he thought he'd forgotten about.
Vic burst into his and slammed the door behind him. He was too upset to even notice Tony asleep in Mike's arms on the couch. He simply stalked past them and fled up the stairs. He locked himself in his room and buried himself beneath his blankets. How could Kellin just stand him up like that? He probably didn't even care about him… It was probably all just some cruel, sick joke that Mike planned to get back at him for the other day. "I was stupid to believe him…," Vic whispered to himself as he shut his eyes, a single tear slowly running down his cheek.
Vic awoke the next morning, his eyes swollen from having cried himself to sleep that night. He got dressed and headed downstairs, only to find that Tony had driven Mike to school. Vic arrived to class a little later, and noticed Kellin sitting all the way at the back of the classroom. He was wearing long sleeves and a hoodie that looked two sizes too big for him. His head was down, the hood of his jacket and his bangs covering his face. Odd… He always seemed so happy… Vic took the empty seat next to Kellin's a waved at him to try to get his attention, though he was still pretty pissed. Kellin lifted his head slowly at Vic's greeting, and turned to him, tears brimming his eyes as they faced each other. All anger immediately vanished from Vic as he caught sight of Kellin's bruised jaw and black eye.
"Kellin what happened?!" Vic exclaimed.
"I'm… sorry… My father…" Kellin could barely even speak through the tears that were now pouring down his face. Vic brought his chair closer to Kellin's and sat down beside him.
"Kellin… you have to tell me what happened. I need to help you…" Vic whispered, staring Kellin directly in his beautiful blue eyes. Kellin stared back, and didn't say anything or a moment. But he nodded and started to shakily explain what happened yesterday. Vic just sat there in astonishment, his eyes glued to Kellin as he spoke. He felt terrible for being angry at Kellin now…
"I'm so sorry that I didn't—…"
"Don't be sorry, Kellin," Vic interrupted. They sat there for a few minutes in silence as the class went on around them. However, everything seemed to be silent. As if it was just the two of them by themselves, finally alone.
And then the bell rang.
Kellin got up to grab his stuff and walk out, but Vic grabbed him by the wrist.
"Ow!" Kellin yelped as Vic made contact with his wrist. He hadn't told Vic about the cuts, but he figured he'd just given it away now…
"What?" Vic asked, removing his hand.
"N-nothing…" Kellin shook his head and turned to leave. Vic sighed and grabbed his stuff, watching Kellin as he left the classroom. The rest of the day was painful for Vic. He still couldn't figure out what had hurt Kellin during class, or why his father would ever do such a thing to him. The two sat together once lunchtime came around, but this time away from the guys. Kellin didn't really want to be seen by anyone right now. Other than Vic, of course.
"Kellin, what's up with your wrist? Did that bastard break it?" Vic questioned eagerly.
"N-no… I…," Kellin couldn't even say it, it disgusted him so much. So, instead, he just pulled up his sleeves to reveal his bandaged wrists.
"Kellin…,"Vic whispered, looking down at the bandages and then back up at Kellin. He didn't say anything else, though, and just pulled Kellin into a tight hug.
"It'll be okay," Vic whispered, his arms wrapped tightly around Kellin. "I'm here for you."