Hey guys. I'm actually really happy with how this chapter turned out. In this chapter, it mentions that Kendall was twelve when the guys found out about what his dad was doing to him. I'm not sure what age I put in the other chapters, but because I need to have the boys be a bit old in the scene, I'm gonna leave it like that, and fix the age in the rest of the chapters if I put something else. Just letting you all know, so there's no confusion. Also, most of this chapter contains flashbacks. Hope you enjoy. :)

"Hey, it's me. I... I need your help."

After having seen the injuries Kendall's dad had caused James, Carlos knew that he couldn't just stand there and let him get away with it. He had to do something about it, or else he or one of the others boys would get hurt, and that is the last thing he wanted to happen. So instead of waiting around for something else to happen, he decided to call his dad, even though he knew the other boys would probably get mad at him afterwards. James had mentioned to him and Logan that Kendall's father had threatened him with hurting or even killing Kendall if they were to go to the police, so they were all very hesitant on calling the authorities. But Carlos knew that his father would never allow anything to happen to Kendall – the dirty blond was practically his brother, bound not by blood, but by a much stronger connection: love. Kendall and the other boys meant the world to him, so there was no way he'd allow the older Knight to lay a hand on any of them.

It wouldn't happen, not if he could help it.

Once his father had promised to get a plane ticket to Los Angeles as soon as he could, Carlos hung up the phone and placed it back on his nightstand. He carefully and quietly crawled back into bed and turned over, so that he was lying on his left side, facing the window. Through the slightly opened curtains, he could make out the moon that seemed to glow in the night sky.

He let out a soft sigh and curled in on himself, wishing that Kendall's dad had never made a reappearance. He was dangerous and untrustworthy – if anything, the fear in Kendall's eyes whenever he was mentioned, was a clear indication of that. Not to mention the horrible things he had done to the younger boy when he was just a kid. Carlos only knew bits and pieces, he had seen some of the evidence back then, and knew how emotionally scarred Kendall had been left after what had happened. But unlike Kendall, nobody else knew just how bad things had been. Nobody really knew what the dirty blond had to endure, or how many years he had to put up with it, until the boys found out when they were in sixth grade.

"Kendall, what happened to your face? It's all bruised," Logan commented as he reached forward and gently rubbed the pad of his thumb against Kendall's cheek, which was indeed a blackish-purple.

"Oh, I umm... Katie and I were playing with a baseball, and she kinda threw it too hard and hit me in the face," Kendall lied. He quietly chuckled, or feigned to do so, and gave the boys a small smile. "She's a lot stronger than she looks."

"It seems like it," James commented, to which Carlos nodded, but Logan seemed unconvinced and concerned.

"That looks really painful. Does it hurt?"

"Only a little, it's no big deal," he said in the most reassuring voice that he could muster. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of first period, which for once, Kendall was grateful for, since he was not in the mood to lie anymore. "Well, I better get to class. See you guys at lunch."

"See ya," they all said in unison, as they headed their separate ways, aside from Carlos and Logan, who had first period together.

The two boys entered their science class and took a seat in their usual spots beside each other. Carlos, having noticed Logan's change in mood, tapped his shoulder, succeeding in earning his attention.

"Is everything okay?" the smaller boy whispered.

Logan just stared at him and shrugged his shoulders. "Kendall seems to be having a lot of accidents lately," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Carlos asked, clearly puzzled by the boy's words.

"I mean, I think there's something he's not telling us."

Carlos frowned at Logan's response and shifted his eyes to the front of the classroom, where their teacher was now standing. His focus returned to Logan in a matter of a second, though. "Something like what?"

"Something like, maybe he's getting bullied."

The older boy shook his head. "No way. This is Kendall we're talking about. How many times has he fought off bullies for us? Plus, I'm sure he wouldn't lie to us, especially about something like that."

"Seeing us hurt brings out his protective side, so it wouldn't be the same."

"You're just worrying too much. I'm sure he's fine."

Sighing, Logan nodded and turned to the front of the classroom, his eyes no longer on the shorter boy. "I hope so," he whispered, but it was too low for Carlos to hear.

Carlos wished he had listened to Logan then, because what happened just a couple of months later, shocked them all.

"Hey guys, have any of you seen Kendall?" James asked as he approached both Logan and Carlos, who were busy putting stuff away in their lockers. It was just before lunch, and the brunet was worried, because Kendall had never showed up to third period.

"No, I haven't seen him. Didn't you have last period with him?" Logan asked, receiving a nod from James.

"I do, but he wasn't there, and I haven't seen him around today."

"I haven't seen him either," Carlos said quietly. "Maybe he's sick and stayed home."

"Maybe..." Logan mumbled, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Have you tried texting him?" he asked James.

"Yup, but he hasn't answered yet."

Logan nodded and turned to Carlos, then back to James. "Maybe we should go to his house after school, just to make sure he's okay? His mom's out of town for the week and his dad's at work, so he must be alone... Plus, he can't pick up Katie from school if he's sick, and knowing him, if he is, he'll still do it."

"Yeah, we should," Carlos said as he closed his locker door shut and locked it, "and maybe one of us can go pick up Katie while we're at it."

"I'll go," James said with a smile. "Now, come on. The lunch line is going to be huge by the time we get there."

"He hasn't answered my texts. He would've by now..." James said quietly as the three boys exited the school building.

"We tried texting him, too, and nothing." Logan sighed, locked his phone, and stuffed it back into his pocket. "I'm getting worried." Noticing how quiet Carlos had been all day, Logan turned towards him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're being awfully quiet today."

Carlos looked at him, tried to smile, but the tears in his eyes betrayed him. "What if... What if something did happen to him...?"

"We'll know in a few minutes," Logan said, hoping that Kendall would be alright. "James, go get Katie. We'll text you when we find out something, if you haven't gotten there by then."

James nodded and turned to leave, his feet scraping against the concrete below.

Wrapping an arm around Carlos' shoulders in an attempt to comfort him, Logan led them in the other direction.

It didn't take them very long to reach Kendall's house, but when they did get there and knocked on the door, they received no response. The house was completely silent.

"Let's climb the tree," Carlos said, referring to the tree by Kendall's window that they sometimes used to climb inside.

"Okay."

Carlos climbed it first, followed closely by Logan. When they reached the window, they both carefully lifted it open and climbed into Kendall's bedroom, only to find it empty, with Kendall nowhere in sight.

Quietly, Logan shut the window and followed Carlos, who was already opening the bedroom door to search the rest of the house.

"Kendall...?" Carlos called timidly, but received no answer. "Logan, where is he?"

"I don't know..." Logan tried to remain optimistic, but the anxiety and fear building up in his chest seemed to suffocate him. As Carlos searched the rest of the house, Logan walked back into Kendall's room. That's when he noticed Kendall's cellphone sitting on his bed. Kendall never went anywhere without it.

His fear only increased when he noticed a stain on the carpeted floor. Kneeling down to get a closer look at it, he realized what it was, and that's when his heart felt like it had stopped beating.

The sound of knocks against the front door forced him out of the shock. It was with wobbly legs that he walked out of the room and into the living room, where Carlos, James and Katie were standing.

"Katie doesn't know anything either," James said softly. "She said he dropped her off at school this morning, and then headed to school, but we never saw him..."

"Carlos, why don't you fix Katie a snack real quick?" Logan said in a monotone voice. Carlos gave him a puzzled look, but took ahold of Katie's hand and led her to the kitchen.

"What's going on?" James whispered.

Logan turned back towards the kitchen, making sure Carlos and Katie wouldn't be able to hear what he was about to say, and then let out a shuddery breath, tears pooling in his eyes. "There's blood stains in his room..."

James seemed to freeze in his spot. "W-What?"

"I don't know, but I have a horrible feeling about this. Maybe we should go to Carlos' house and talk to his dad, he'd know what to do."

"I think we should. If he's not answering our calls, isn't here, and there's blood on the floor, then something definitely isn't right."

Logan could only nod in response.

"Carlos, Katie?" Having heard James' call, Carlos walked back into the living room, with Katie close in his heels. "We gotta go."

"Where to?" Katie asked. "Where's Kendy? I want Kendall."

"Kendall's, umm... We're going to Carlos' house."

"My house...?"

"Yes, your house, now let's go."

Before either of the two could question them any further, James pulled Carlos by the wrist towards the door. Logan took ahold of Katie's hand and followed close behind.

"Logie?"

Logan looked down, meeting Katie's brown eyes. "Yeah?"

"Where's Kendall?"

"You'll see Kendall soon."

"Promise?" she asked as she brought her pinky finger up in the air. If Logan wasn't so worried, he would have smiled at the sight.

Logan hesitantly nodded in response and wrapped his pinky finger around Katie's. "Yeah, I promise."

So, the next chapter is going to continue where I left off here, with the boys getting to Carlos' house and talking to his dad, and all of that. I was gonna continue it, but I felt like this was a good place to end it.

Did you guys like it? I hope you did. :) Thank you so much for the reviews/favorites/follows and for reading. It makes me happy knowing you all like the story so far.

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)