=Normal POV=
[Friday, 4/18/2019; 2:30 pm]
[Berk High School]

The rest of the night when Hayden and Gabriel ate at the Raseri home was semi-easy. The meal was fantastic and then following that Dustin still had to speak with Hayden; it was about the murders involving his parents. Dustin wanted to see if Hayden remembered anything else about the night it happened. Also; that there were a few suspects in custody, and Dustin wanted to ask Hayden if he'd do a line-up and see if he recognized anyone from the night it happened. Hayden said that he would do it, and then after that Trayden and Hayden went out for ice cream. Gabriel took Spencer home to give Hayden and Trayden some time to enjoy themselves. Hayden went home around 10 pm after watching a movie and having a make-out session.

Over the remaining days in that week, plus the next one; Trayden arranged the sleepover at his house with the friends; he also informed his parents and Gabriel what was happening. Hayden was aware too, for obvious reasons. He would be staying home with Spencer, Dex, Aria, Cole, and Eliot. Also, Hayden did do the lineup; he only recognized one of the people by voice and the appearance height and weight-wise from behind and the side. This person was being used to find the rest involved hopefully.

Now, the time had come; it was Friday and school was out for the week due to Spring Break. Tomorrow, on Saturday the 19th at 3 pm; Trayden was going to tell the friends, Gabriel, and his parents what Hayden went through in foster care. The sleepover would have been today, but it was Silas's birthday, so Syrus and Alicia had to be present. The friends didn't know Trayden was going to give them the story Hayden didn't feel confident enough to do; Trayden had only told them that he was hosting on the 19th of April, and for them to come at 3 pm. This was to allow enough time to tell everything; then Hayden could come over afterward to enjoy the sleepover with them.

The bell for the day had rung. Hayden went off to the bathroom and would join after. "So, you all are coming tomorrow, right?" Trayden asked.

"We will be there for 3 pm, Tray," Miya nodded.

"Alright, good," Trayden replied.

"Is…Everything alright, Tray? You seem a bit nervous," Evan inquired.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Trayden assured. Hayden came to his side, and the two kissed.

"Hayden, are you coming tomorrow?" Alyssa wondered.

"Yeah…I-I'll be there later on, though. I've got some stuff to do first," Hayden responded.

"Awesome, maybe we can work on the talent show song a bit," Mindy smiled.

"Yeah; that's fine," Hayden said. "I better get going. Spencer has a doctor's appointment at 3:15," he kissed Trayden again and headed towards the student lot to leave. Trayden was nervous to tell the others, never in a million years did he think Hayden would permit him to reveal what happened since the night of murders involving Spencer and Valarie Haddock, then beyond to when Hayden was transferred to the Jorgenson Family. However, Trayden was entrusted this task, and he wouldn't let Hayden down. Tomorrow; it was all coming out.

. . .

[Saturday, 4/19/2019; 3:30 pm]
[Berk; Raseri House]

Everyone arrived right on time except for Gabriel, but it worked out because the friends had a chance to get settled into Trayden's room. Dustin dropped Dex, Cole, Eliot, and Aria off at Hayden and Gabriel's place; then brought Gabriel with him.

"So…Why are we in the living room?" Tyler decided to ask the obvious question that everyone was wondering.

"Before the sleepover starts, something needs to get done first," Trayden replied. The door opened as Dustin walked in with Gabriel.

"Okay…Last time Gabriel came; we learned Hayden got taken to the mental hospital…" Alicia frowned.

"Nothing like that, lass. No worries," Gabriel assured. "Hayden is at home with his son, and the younger Raseri kids,"

"I…Thought Hayden had things to do today, and that's why he was joining us later?" Hailey pointed out.

"His other things to do were watch his son, my brothers, and sister while I do this…" Trayden sighed. "Look…Just find a seat, and hush…I'll explain," he mumbled.

"What's going on, Tray?" Alyssa demanded calmly.

"There are only three people currently who know exactly what Hayden went through in foster care after his parents were killed. Those three are Hayden, Dr. Anderson, and myself," Trayden began, surprising the friends.

"What?" they asked.

"I know everything in full detail; I've been going to Hayden's psychiatry sessions with him since September because he asked me to go. Hayden was able to open up more with me there and get everything out to Dr. Anderson," Trayden explained.

"Alright, what does this have to do with us?..." Ford questioned.

Trayden sighed. "You may have noticed that certain words, gestures, actions will trigger Hayden. After I calm him down; I direct the conversation elsewhere before anyone starts to ask Hayden about things. I pull the attention off Hayden because he doesn't want to tell you what happened; he's scared to be judged or seen differently. Also; he's terrified of breaking down. It happened a lot in the sessions, even with me there, and Hayden doesn't want to go through it all again just for you to know, that way you can avoid bringing up the triggers…"

"Yeah, we kind'a figured. But doesn't he get that if we don't know; then we end up doing it by accident…?" Rylee asked.

"He does, and after the Sunday when he came over for dinner; I got him to agree to let you in on what happened," Trayden stated.

"You did?" Katie blinked.

"Well…Dad did Hayden into the cellar to talk, and Hayden got triggered by something that happened in foster care, so he freaked out. I told Hayden that it's going to happen by accident if everyone continues to stay in the dark…So he permitted me to tell you everything under the two conditions that he wasn't present for it, and nobody asks questions or draws attention to it after I tell you," Trayden looked sternly.

"Wait, you tell us?" Devon said as Trayden nodded.

"In full detail?" Bryan pushed. Trayden nodded again.

"That's why Hayden isn't here; he'll come later when this is over. And he didn't find that it would be appropriate for my brothers and sister, so he's watching them at his house," Trayden replied. "So, if you want to sit tight and listen; I'll tell you. But it never gets brought up again, especially with Hayden around. Understand? This is only, so no one else accidentally triggers him while he's still recovering. Hayden doesn't feel confident enough to tell you himself because it's taken months to get everything out with his psychiatrist, and it wasn't without difficulty, breakdowns, and a bunch of other things,"

"We understand," Miya nodded. Trayden grabbed the footrest and sat down on it in front of them. "First of all; you need to know that Hayden saw both of his parents get killed. His father first, trying to fight back the intruders and get his wife and son a chance to hide or get far away. His father died protecting both of them, getting shot three times to block the bullets from hitting Hayden and his wife. Valarie died protecting Hayden by herself, getting stabbed, then shot in the head. Hayden saw all this from under the bed," Trayden closed his eyes.

"Oh, my Gods!" Alicia covered her mouth quickly.

Dustin nodded. "Hayden might have been killed that night too, but he didn't give them an easy time despite what he saw happen to his folks. Hayden was discovered, and he fought back; just long enough until the police arrived. The intruders escaped through a window in the master bedroom, jumping down and escaping into the woods. When we found Hayden; he was curled up in the corner, crying, and rocking back and forth. Hayden refused to speak up until last July when Trayden got Hayden to agree to tell me what he saw that night so we could find the murders," he informed.

"I knew about this too," Gabriel sighed. "Seeing the deaths is what pushed him over the edge after going into foster care…"

"After the forty-eight-hour suicide watch in the hospital; Hayden was given to child services and went to a nice family of four. The family was good to Hayden for the week he was there until the first suicide attempt. Child Services told the family that after Hayden turned 18; they could kick him out, but the family loved Hayden; they wanted to adopt him. But Hayden was so shut down from the murders; that he just wanted to die. Hayden waited until late that night and tried to overdose; the mother found him when she was going by his room and heard him crying, saying he'd be with his parents soon. They called 911, and after Hayden was declared stable; he was admitted to Archian Psychiatric for five days," Trayden explained.

"It was too much for him so soon," Mindy frowned.

"After his release from Archian Psych; he was placed with the second family, and that's when everything in foster care started going bad. The family was a mother, father, and teenage daughter. Hayden was expected to clean the house top to bottom every day. If it weren't to the parents' standards; the father would beat Hayden with a belt, and the mother refused to feed Hayden," Trayden continued.

"That's barbaric!" Alyssa protested.

"Oh, it gets worse. Even if Hayden did a perfect job; his reward was one meal a day with the portion-size you'd give to a young child. The father would molest Hayden at night, and they kept him locked in an unfinished basement with nothing to sleep on or with; it was the cement only. They kept him in there all night, only allowed out during the day to clean, which he had to do all day. Hayden wasn't allowed to use the bathroom in the house; they made him go back to the cellar and use a wooden bucket, which he'd have to clean out himself," Trayden informed.

"And the daughter, was she being abused as well?" Rachel wondered.

"Only after she was caught trying to help Hayden…" Trayden looked at them.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked.

"The daughter, Savannah; she was 11 years old at the time when Hayden was there. Savannah tried to sneak Hayden water and food at night; she even tried to help him escape, but she was caught doing it and began to get abused as well. The caseworker did a late night check and uncovered the situation. Both Hayden and the girl were removed. Hayden wonders what happened to Savannah to this day, but he knows that he wouldn't be given any information," Trayden said.

"I might be able to look into that. Hayden happen to mention the last name of the family?" Dustin asked.

Trayden nodded. "Jansen. The girl's name was Savannah Rain Jansen; she was 11 years old back in July 2017. They were living in the city too. That's all Hayden has mentioned about it. This was the family Hayden was only with for four days; he and Savannah were removed on the same day and separated after half an hour,"

"I'll see what I can do; maybe it'd give Hayden a little piece of mind knowing she's okay. Hopefully, she is," Dustin replied.

"I think he'd like that," Trayden responded. "The next house didn't last long either; those people were purposely trying to get Hayden to commit suicide by not giving him his anti-depressants. They were also beating and not feeding him. Hayden admitted to me that he nearly killed himself there; the father was a hunter, had a lot of guns and left the cabinet with them unlocked for ease of access. Hayden said he was going to shoot himself in the head, but something stopped him; he didn't know what, but he described getting a warm, loving feeling wrapping around him. So despite the desire and ability to end things in an instant; he fought through the depression and pain until the caseworker came and there was no hiding the neglect and abuse,"

"There are ways to survive shooting yourself," Rachel pointed out.

"Not with Hayden there wouldn't have been, Rachel. Hayden was trained to shoot with various types of guns by his father and me…Trust me; that boy would not have missed his target," Gabriel stated. "I still take him to the range once a week,"

"You do what?" Trayden questioned. How did he not know about this?

"You didn't know? I take Hayden to the shooting range in the city once a week. The boy still has a perfect shot; he does it to let off steam…Or he's training himself to kill the people who killed his parents. Not sure…" Gabriel shrugged.

"Gabriel…You realize I'll have to arrest him?" Dustin remarked.

"I know, I know…He won't, don't worry, Dustin. Hayden has a temper, one hell of a fighting spirit, trained in mixed martial arts, how to shoot, stab…It's endless what he could do. But…And I say this with 100% certainty…Hayden's a lot of things, but he's not a killer. He'd never kill anyone unless it was self-defense. Even given a chance to end someone's life; he wouldn't. He's only a danger to those who threaten the people he cares about, and he'll never attack first. I promise that you have nothing to worry about,"

"I trust you on that," Dustin nodded. "Anyway…Continue, son," he urged.

"The next family, before the Holgersons, wasn't as awful. The mother was alright; she tried to help Hayden, but her husband and their son were assholes to Hayden and the woman. I guess the family lost a younger son in a car accident, and the kid was about 16, little younger than Hayden. The mother sort of latched onto Hayden; he reminded her of the son she lost. The father and brother despised it, so they purposely set it up for Hayden to get removed. Hayden said he has no idea what happened to the mother; she was a distraught mess when Hayden was taken from her," Trayden went on.

"And that brings us to the last family, Olivia and Bradley's, right?" Gabriel asked.

Trayden nodded. "Hayden told me about what Olivia did to him when I discovered what she was doing to him in school. Olivia started a week after Hayden arrived; she would sneak into his room at night, demand he do sexual things to her. If Hayden refused or fought her; she would rape him until he came; then say if Hayden talked, she would call rape on him. Olivia usually forced Hayden to eat her out or finger her, but at least twice a week; she would make him have sex with her. She always made him cum inside her, no condom or herself on birth control. She did other things that I'm not even sure I can repeat…"

"Hayden told you that you could tell us," Miya reminded.

"I know, but these things were just…Awful. As in I don't want to repeat them," Trayden muttered.

"I think I know what you're talking about, son. What Hayden mentioned the day in the gym, right? When he gave his statement?" Dustin asked as Trayden nodded. "I'll say it if you don't want to,"

"Please do," Trayden replied.

"Hayden stated that there were times he told Olivia to stop when he had to use the bathroom, and she wouldn't. Olivia made him urinate on or inside her. If Hayden fought; she would physically abuse and rape him," Dustin said.

"Dear Gods…" Gabriel gasped. "And with Bradley?" he inquired.

"No different. I guess when Hayden first came to stay with them, Bradley tried to get Hayden back so that they could be in a relationship. But Hayden rejected Bradley, and he didn't like it. So Brad raped Hayden, saying that Hayden liked it and to stop acting like it was so bad. Around the family, Brad acted like he hated Hayden, ignoring him, but alone; he only wanted sex and to hurt Hayden. Then there were times that Olivia and Bradley both went after Hayden sexually," Trayden stated.

"And the parents did nothing?" Katie asked.

"They didn't know. During the day, Olivia had college or whatever, and Brad was working or something. I don't remember what Hayden said, but the parents worked third shift, so Hayden was left to the nonexistent mercy of Bradley and Olivia. The parents, according to Hayden, were very nice. But Hayden couldn't deal with everything that he'd been through since his parents died, and what continued to happen to him, so he tried to hang himself, and that was the second suicide attempt," Trayden said.

"Who saved him?" Gabriel questioned.

"Didn't Hayden say once that the parents did?" Rachel stared. Trayden nodded.

"But that wasn't the truth, and I didn't even know this until recently as well…Brad saved Hayden," Trayden replied, shocking everyone. "Brad came home early and found Hayden hanging in the basement by an extension cord. Hayden seemed unresponsive; he was very still, but Brad cut him down and found he has still had a weak pulse, so he called 911. Hayden said that when he woke up; he was in the hospital and the doctor told him that if it hadn't been for Bradley cutting him down, performing CPR and chest compressions when he did…Hayden wouldn't have survived,"

"Hayden admitted to hanging himself just four to five minutes before Brad came home. Hayden hadn't tried to fight it and had lost consciousness. The doctor said another minute more, and Hayden wouldn't have been able to be saved. Right before the transport to Archian Psychiatric; Hayden asked Brad why he saved him, and Brad said it was because he still cared and loved him. Of course, Hayden didn't believe it after what Brad had been doing to him, but I think he's still hanging on to it; Brad saying he cares because Hayden is the reason Brad got leniency in court. Hayden requested for less time served, his thank you for Brad saving his life," Trayden looked at them.

"That was everything until he came to stay with us?" Syrus asked.

"Aside from the two-week stay in Archian Psych, yes," Trayden nodded.

"Odin above…That poor boy," Rachel frowned.

"He's come a long way; I'll say that much," Gabriel sighed some. "And Trayden…" he added as Trayden looked at Hayden's Godfather. "Thank you, for doing as much as you do for him. I truly don't think he'd have gotten this far without you breaking through him back during last June…"

"Hey, I'm just his security blanket," Trayden shrugged.

"No, Tray; you are much more to him. You're his best friend, his boyfriend, and someone he can go to and rely on to be there for him," Gabriel stood up.

"I promised he'd always have me, Gabriel. I intend to keep that vow for the rest of my life no matter what Hayden and I are to one another," Trayden assured. "Now, we all remember the agreement to this…I'm gonna tell Hayden it's safe to come over. Not a word about anything…No sympathy looks, no mentions; it's just another normal sleepover between friends," Trayden reminded.

"We got it," the group agreed.

Trayden got his phone and called Hayden on speaker. "Hi, baby,"

"Hey, ready to come over and have some fun?" Trayden asked.

"Depends on what kind of fun we're gonna have?" Hayden hinted.

"You know you're on speakerphone, don't you?" Trayden inquired.

"Do you think I care?" Hayden chuckled.

"The sad part is; I know you don't," Trayden laughed some. "Come on over pain in my ass,"

"Oh, love…I won't be a pain in your ass. I'll be a pleasure you feel for hours during and after," Hayden said.

"HAYDEN HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD!" Trayden yelled.

"You can yell my name later, don't wear it out so soon, handsome. Be there soon. Love you," Hayden replied as the call ended before Trayden could retort. "You heard nothing,"

"We heard everything," Tyler snickered with the others. Trayden grumbled a bit, as the others laughed, even his parents and Gabriel did. At least with the seriousness out of the way; the rest of the night could be fun.