First of all, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been busy, so I haven't had much time to write, and I was also having trouble with this chapter. This chapter isn't quite as long as I hoped it would be, but I'll try to make the next one longer to make up for it. Also, for those of you reading Broken Wings, Shattered Heart, I have been working on the next chapter, so that should be updated within the next few days.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. :)

"...So I thought maybe we could go outside, play some street hockey... anything. We miss you."

"You see me every day at school," Kendall pointed out, agitated by the fact that James and the other boys kept trying to convince him to get out of the house. "Besides, I really don't feel like playing right now."

"Kendall..." James' voice trailed off as he stared at his best friend – the best friend he no longer recognized. For years, Kendall had done his best to hold himself together, for the sake of his mother, his little sister, his friends, and everyone else around him. But now that it had been a few months since they had all found out about the abuse his father had put him through, he had finally put down the façade. It was until now that they could all see the real damage that his father had done to him, and it broke James' heart to see him like this.

"What?" He didn't even look up at James as he uttered that one word – his eyes remained staring at his feet and away from James' worried stare.

"Kendall, look at me, please," James pleaded softly, tears pooling behind hazel eyes.

Sighing in defeat, Kendall looked up at him, feigning an angry expression in hopes that it would mask the sadness that hid behind green eyes. "What do you want from me?" he asked, swallowing the lump that had grown in his throat. "I just wanna be left alone."

"I want to talk. You've been shutting everyone out lately. We barely see you anymore. We miss you, Kendall. We miss the real you, this isn't you," James said in the verge of breaking down. "We're worried about you."

Kendall sighed and looked away, letting his body fall back on the bed. He turned around so that he was no longer facing James. He didn't want him to see him break down. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Kendall, please—"

"How would you know?" His tone was bitter and angry as he sat back up, tears pooling in his eyes and slowly making their way down his cheeks. "For years I hid what my dad was doing to me, and nobody noticed. So how would you know if I'm lying or not?"

His words hurt, more than James would dare to admit. Even though he knew that Kendall didn't mean what he said, he couldn't help but allow the guilt to consume him, because just like everybody else, he felt guilty for not having noticed how badly his friend was hurting. Hearing the words come from Kendall's mouth only made it hurt even more.

"I'm... I'm sorry, James." Kendall choked on his own words as he stared at James, his facial expression softening into one of guilt and regret. "I didn't mean that. I just..."

"It's okay, I get it. If you wanna be left alone, I'll leave," James said in a monotone voice, ready to stand up and walk out of the room, but he stopped as Kendall grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, his grip on his arm not loosening until he was sure he would not walk away.

"It's not okay," he whispered, drying his eyes with the heel of his hands. "I hid it well; you couldn't have known. It's just that..."

"It's just that what?" James asked, turning to face him as Kendall looked away.

Seconds ticked by, with no words being exchanged between them. The younger boy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, until he finally looked up, with tears swimming in his eyes. "I just... I k-keep replaying everything in my head; everything that he did to me, everything that he said. And I keep asking myself, 'Why? Why did he do it? Was it something I did? Is it my fault after all?'"

"Ken... What your dad did to you wasn't your fault. Why do you think it was?"

Kendall shrugged his shoulders in response and closed his eyes, wishing that the earth would swallow him whole at that very moment. "Lots of reasons," he said, his heart feeling like it might beat out of his chest. He hesitated for a moment, being too afraid to say what he was really thinking, but deep down he knew that he could trust James, so he let the words slip without a second thought. "He told me that it was, practically every d-day. He'd blame me for everything, and would say that I deserved what he did to me." He then looked up at the older boy, the tears now cascading down his face like a waterfall. "I'm such a screw up, James..."

"No. No, you're n-not." James was unable to hide the shakiness in his voice once he saw Kendall break down. He scooted closer towards the blond and carefully wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer to his body and allowing Kendall to seek refuge in his arms. "I don't know exactly what he told you or what he did to you, but I do know that you are not to blame for his actions."

"H-How do you know that?" Kendall asked, his voice muffled by the fabric of James' shirt, which he was clinging to for dear life. "According to him, I was a mistake, and he and mom n-never wanted me."

Anger ran through James' veins – anger for the man who stole the light that was once present in Kendall's eyes. He had stolen his happiness, taken away his innocence, and left behind a shadow of the person James once knew. And as much as James hated it, he knew that this was real life – it wasn't some nightmare that he could awaken from and leave in the past. But he also knew that no matter how long it took, he would find a way to make Kendall happy again. He wouldn't give up on him so easily.

"Is he okay?"

Logan's voice startled James out of his thoughts. He looked up, his eyes moving in the direction in which his voice had come from. "Yeah, he knocked himself out," he whispered to the shorter brunet, who was standing beside his bed, looking visibly worried. Beside James, Kendall laid, head tucked under his chin.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked as he took a seat on the very edge of the bed and placed a hand on James' knee.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," James said flatly. "Besides, I'm fine. I'm just worried, as I'm sure all of us are."

"About Kendall?" Logan whispered in fear that he would awaken the sleeping boy that laid curled up against James' chest. James nodded his head, his hold on the smaller boy tightening as he nuzzled his face against soft tufts of blond hair and closed his eyes. "It'll be okay, James," Logan assured him softly, frowning when he saw James' shoulders start to quake. "Papi will figure everything out, and before you know it, things will go back to normal."

"What if they don't?"

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, clearly puzzled by the question. "Why wouldn't they?"

James sighed as he carefully got up and moved Kendall, so that his head was now resting on a pillow and not on his chest. He motioned towards the bedroom entrance, and the two of them walked towards it, not stopping until they were outside, where they were sure Kendall wouldn't be able to hear what James had to say.

"I guess I'm afraid that things will get bad again. Do you remember how badly Kendall was hurt when we first found out about what his dad had been doing? He wouldn't talk to us – he'd isolate himself in his room. He became so withdrawn, and he just seemed so... dead on the inside. I don't want him to go through that again."

"That's not going to happen. We won't allow his dad to hurt him that much again. You said it yourself, we won't let him come near him."

"Yeah, but what if—"

"G-Guys?"

James was interrupted as Carlos slowly made his way towards them, cellphone held tightly in his hand. The expression that was on his face was of pure fear and disbelief. "Something happened, and it's not good..."

Any guesses as to what might have happened? You'll find out in the next chapter. ;) I hope you guys liked that. I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner. Thank you for reading. :)

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)