Hey guys. :) Here's another chapter of Heart Stopping Comeback. I'm actually happy with how this turned out, though the ending feels kind of rushed, but I'm not sure... I hope it's okay. Trigger warning for mention of sexual abuse – it's not descriptive or anything, but just to be safe.

I hope you enjoy.

The past always came back to haunt him, no matter how much he tried to run from it. Not many people knew about his dark past – it wasn't something he often shared with others, and he liked to keep it that way. It was something personal, and the only people who really knew about it were James, Carlos and Logan, and his family, of course, but even they didn't know everything.

They didn't know about the awful things his father would say and do to him. They didn't know just how much his words and actions had affected him, even years after his father was put behind bars. They didn't know, and sometimes he was glad they didn't know everything, because he didn't want them to know just how broken he was.

He was the leader – the unofficial leader of the band, as well as the leader of their group. He was the one who the others often looked to for guidance; the one that was expected, at least in his eyes, to look after the other three. He wasn't supposed to be seen as broken or damaged, but that is what he thought of himself, and he was terrified the others would eventually see him that way too.

Abuse changes a person – it alters their personality and changes the way they see things. Whether the abuse was physical, sexual or emotional, it hurts, and it leaves scars that sometimes don't even fade away with time. For Kendall, the abuse he had been put through had left many scars, both on the inside and on the outside, and it was those scars that made him hate himself. The scars, along with the vivid memories that often plagued his mind, were what made him want to disappear into thin air.

He thought that he was over what had happened before, but once his father returned, he was proved wrong once more. He hated himself for thinking that he was fine, because he now realized that he was far from it.

The return of his father had brought back memories – memories he thought he'd put behind him. They were memories that often accompanied him in his dreams, and that for years had made his every waking and sleeping hour a nightmare he could not escape from. And now, the cause of that nightmare was back, and he didn't know what to think, feel or do to get rid of him.

He was glad Carlos had called his dad. He was someone that Kendall trusted, and he knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure that he and the other boys were safe from harm's way. But he also felt useless and powerless, because having him there reminded him of what had happened when they had all found him unconscious on the side of a road, and that's something he didn't want to think about. But that's all he could think about now – that, and about how it had all started.

"Mommy, please don't go!"

Kendall ran down the stairs, a stuffed moose held tightly in one arm as he headed towards the front door, where his mom was standing. The 4-year-old clung to the hem of his mother's coat once he reached her, an expression of sadness and fear present on his face. "I don't want you to go, mommy." Tears pooled in his green eyes as he looked up at his mother, who kneeled down to his level and pulled him into a hug.

"I'll be back soon, sweetie. I really have to go. Daddy will be here to look after you though, okay?" she said softly, pushing him to arm's length. "I won't be gone long. Please don't cry."

The little blond boy wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his pajama shirt, which reached a bit past his fingertips. "O-okay," he hiccuped as his mother stood back up and ruffled his hair affectionately.

He watched her reach for the suitcase standing beside her and then walk out the door, leaving him alone with his father.

"D-daddy, when is mommy coming home?" Kendall asked as he looked up at the older man.

He smiled and lifted the boy off the floor and hauled him over his shoulder. "She'll be home soon enough," he said, his voice void of emotion. Kendall didn't say anything as his father headed in the direction of his room, where he sat him down on his bed, and then turned around to leave.

"Aren't you gonna tuck me in like you always do?" he asked, swinging his legs on the edge of the bed.

The older man sighed and walked over to the little boy, kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, daddy," Kendall said with a smile as he snuggled up against the fuzzy blanket draped over him and hugged his stuffed moose to his chest.

Kendall's father did not smile back as he turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door shut behind him.

That night, it took Kendall a while to fall asleep. He couldn't stop worrying about how his mother wasn't home. And when he finally did fall asleep, he was awoken by a vivid nightmare and sprung out of bed and towards his parents' bedroom. Sobbing, he climbed onto the bed and shook his father, who seemed unfazed by the boy's behavior.

"D-daddy, can I sleep with you?" he asked once his father's eyes had shot open, but the older man only grumbled in response and pushed him back. "I-I had a nightmare," he hiccuped, tears falling down his face freely.

"Kendall, you're a big boy, you don't have to sleep with me," his father finally said, rolling his eyes at the toddler. "Just go back to sleep in your own bed."

"B-but then the monsters will get me."

"There are no monsters. Go to bed."

"But daddy—"

"Now!"

Frightened by the tone of anger in his father's voice, Kendall ran back to his room and closed his bedroom door. He then climbed back onto his bed and pulled his blanket over his body, until it was covering him from head to toe. He couldn't stop shaking or crying. All he wanted was for his mom to come back home and make everything okay, like she always did. His father had never spoken to him with that kind of tone before, and he didn't know what to think.

Little did he know, that was just the beginning of what was to come.

"He sexually abused me." Kendall stared straight ahead as he said those four words, grasping his bed sheets in both hands with a tight grip. It was the first time he had ever said that out loud, and he didn't know what had led him to say it, but he did know he couldn't look James, Carlos or Logan in the eye. "H-he didn't just physically and emotionally abuse me. He did way more than that."

James was the first to react and try to reach out towards him, since he was the one who was the closest. Carlos was just a few feet away, sitting on Logan's bed, and Logan was seated on the desk beside his mattress. However, as James' hand made contact with Kendall's arm, the blond flinched, making him pull away, despite desperately wanting to pull the smaller boy into his arms.

"Kendall..."

"Don't... don't say it. I know I'm damaged goods, you don't have to say it."

"That's not what I was going to say at all," James said softly, feeling tears prick at his eyes. "And you are not damaged goods. What happened does not decrease your value as a person."

"James is right," Carlos said as he stood up and took the few steps towards the blond, stopping in front of him. "We're not gonna think any less of you because of this. We're proud of you for telling us. I'm sure it's not something that is easy to talk about, but you did it, and that was really brave of you."

"Brave? You think I'm brave?" Kendall finally looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. "I'm not brave. I'm the furthest thing from brave. If I was brave, I would've told someone about what was going on. If I was brave, I wouldn't be as fucked up as I am now. I'm not brave, Carlos. I'm not."

"Kendall, you don't understand—"

"I don't understand?" Kendall asked, interrupting Logan. "You don't understand. All three of you don't understand... nobody understands."

"We're trying to," James said softly from where he sat. It broke his heart to see Kendall this upset – it broke all of their hearts, and what was even more upsetting was knowing that there was nothing they could do or say to make things any easier for him. All they could really do was be there for him.

"I know. I just... don't know what to think anymore. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. You've done nothing wrong." James reached for Kendall once more, and when he saw that he didn't flinch again, he placed an arm around the boy's shoulders, pulling him close to his side. It didn't take long for Kendall to turn in his hold and bury his face against the crook of the taller boy's neck, his tears dampening James' t-shirt. "It's okay, I've got you," he whispered, rubbing circles against Kendall's back. "It'll all be okay."

Only problem was, he didn't know if he could even believe the words he was saying.

Just wanted to mention this really quick, but there's a new challenge in the BTR Plot Adoption Forum, in case anyone's interested. It's an era challenge, so basically just a story that takes place in a different era. If anyone wants to participate, let me know. :)

I hope you all liked this chapter, and if there's anything any of you would like to see in the future chapters, let me know. I usually have a lot of trouble with coming up with ideas for this story, so any suggestions/ideas would be really appreciated. :) Thank you for reading.

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)