Tw- abuse,violence and death.
A bitter silence hovered over Kelly as he ambled towards his destination, nowadays his walk to school was always long and tortuous, every few minutes he found himself turning around expecting to see Andy beside him goofing around and every time he felt a stab in his heart as he realised he'd never walk to school with his best friend again. He'd been making the journey to school alone for nearly two months but it still felt strange; life without Andy would never feel normal . Kelly headed inside the dreaded building and slowly walked through the empty halls, he didn't care that he was late, he didn't care much about anything anymore. When he reached his class he mumbled an apology to the teacher before walking towards his desk. As he sat down his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody calling his name, he turned around to see an anxious Shay looking at him with eyes full of worry as she gestured to an empty desk in the corner of the room, Matt's desk. Kelly released a shaky breath as realised for the third day in a row Matt was absent. The blonde never missed school, his father was extremely strict on attendance, Matt would turn up to school even if he was as green as broccoli and struggling to walk straight, something bad was definitely going on thought Kelly soberly. A few weeks ago Kelly would have been pleased to see that Matt had disappeared but now he was consumed with worry. However Kelly refused to show his concern for the blonde, he offered Shay a small shrug earning a menacing glare from the girl. Just because he was concerned about Matt it didn't mean he forgave him. Kelly just wanted Matt to return so he could go back to hating him. He shifted nervously in his seat as he went through all the reasons Matt could be missing, none of his plausible explanations were comforting. The more Kelly thought about Matt the faster his heart thumped in his chest. Regret and guilt washed over him as he recalled the last conversation they had.
It had been Kelly's first day back at school after summer vacation, everyone else had already been back for a week but Kelly hadn't been ready to return straight away. He had been sitting at a table in the cafeteria , Shay was talking excitedly next to him but he hadn't been listening to what she was saying. His attention had been fixed on the blonde sat at another table surrounded by a group of boys smiling and laughing. When one of the boys called Jay playfully shoved Matt something inside of Kelly snapped, He shot out of his seat and stormed over towards an unsuspecting Matt.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he screamed as anger ignited inside of him.
"K-Kelly" croaked Matt looking up from his plate of untouched food. At the time Kelly hadn't noticed the dark bags under Matt's eyes or the pained expression that appeared on the blondes face every time he moved.
"Replaced us already I see" snapped Kelly as he angrily slid Matt's lunch off the table, sending it to the floor with a bang.
"Get a grip Kelly" Matt replied in a hollow voice as he stood up sluggishly and headed for the exit.
"Didn't Andy mean anything to you" yelled Kelly as he grabbed Matt's jackets sleeve .
"He's barely gone a month and you've already moved on" He continued clenching his fists in anger.
"So what you're allowed to hang out with Shay but he can't spend time with us" cut in Jay growing tired of Kelly's childish outburst.
"It's different and he knows it" growled Kelly, Matt shrugged off the angry boy's grip on his jacket and continued walking.
"How's it different Kelly?" Yelled Jay.
"I'm not the reason Andy's dead" roared Kelly, suddenly Matt spun around and launched himself at Kelly. Everyone froze in place and watched on in a mix of excitement and worry as both boys started wildly throwing punches, it didn't take long for Kelly to pin Matt's frail body to the floor, Kelly was a lot bigger than scrawny Matt, normally the other boy had speed on his side but his body had been battered even before the fight started.
"It should have been you" Kelly screamed as a teacher pulled him away from the damaged boy. Kelly would never forgive himself if those became his last words to Matt.
Donna Boden sighed as she stared mournfully at the phone in her hand. Her head was still spinning as she tried to process the information she had just received. Being the school's head guidance councillor meant she was used to trying to help children in tough situations but the past three months has been extremely difficult. losing a student would never be easy. During troubling times like this she often found herself lying awake at night think about her students, wondering if she had done enough. As much as she hated to admit it over the last few months there had been lots of times when she questioned if she was really making a difference and after her toughest days she even considered moving to an easier career, but with the support of her husband she always arrived at the belief that she was exactly where she needed to be. Donna had seen a lot of struggling grieving students over the past few weeks but the two who needed someone to talk to the most had been refusing to cooperate with her. After the fight both Matt and Kelly had been forced to see her ; so far neither of them had opened up. However Kelly talked nonstop about random things like television and hockey in an attempt to annoy her so much that she wouldn't want to see him again, but Donna refused to give up on the teen and often found herself trying to hide a smile as she listened to the boy's antics. Where as Matt stared at his shoes until he was told he could leave, he only nodded or shook his head in response to questions and his appearance had deteriorated over the past few weeks, the poor boy looked like a zombie, she suspected he was underweight and the dark bruises under his eyes revealed that he hadn't been sleeping. She believed there was more than just grief behind Matt's appearance but she didn't have any evidence to prove otherwise and as Matt was refusing to open up there was nothing she could do. Donna's worry over the boys hadn't been helped by the fact both boys came from difficult backgrounds. It had never been a hugger concern before because the two boys had become like family to each other and had always supported each other when their family lives became messy, but after Andy died the two boys had become enemies. Donna had an upsetting feeling that Andy and Kelly had been the only two people Matt trusted and could turn to. Donna was aware that both Kelly's parents were out of the picture but he lived with a kind family friend, after Kelly had moved his grades had dramatically increased and he spent significantly less time in detention.
Despite having a safe home she understood that Kelly still struggled with the absence of his parents, he harboured a lot of anger towards his father for leaving which resulted in his mother becoming unwell. Donna had encountered Benny Severide quite a few times as he used to work with her husband, she had never been keen on the man, he always seemed rude and entitled. As for Matt she and a few other teachers had suspected abuse but after an investigation CPS had claimed there hadn't been anything they could do as there was no conclusive evidence. Now as she sat her in office with her heart in her throat she wished she had pushed harder, surely she could have done more to prevent the horrible tragedy she'd just been informed of.
She wiped away a stray tear that had been trickling down her face and took a deep breath, once she had composed herself she rose to her feet and headed off in search of Kelly, the dark haired boy need to hear about Matt's circumstances from her and not some cruel gossiping teenagers. Despite his icy treatment towards Matt she knew Kelly would always see the blonde as his younger brother.
Kelly glared at the faded clock hanging on the wall, with every second that ticked by the knot in his stomach tightened. He couldn't face loosing another friend, as angry as he was at Matt he needed to know that the blonde was ok. Kelly felt completely helpless as he contemplated what he could do to help Matt, he tried texting him but there was no reply, which wasn't unusual as the blonde never answered his damn phone. Before if Kelly was concerned about Matt he could turn to Christie if he was desperate but now the older teen was away at college meaning there was only one way to find out what was wrong with Matt. He groaned internally as he accepted the fact he would have to ditch school and head to missing boy's house. He knew it was selfish but he despised going to Matt's house, to outsiders the house looked like your average family home but Kelly knew what happened when the doors were locked and no one was watching.
When the loud belle pierced through the noisy classroom Kelly jumped out of his chair ignoring the horrible scraping sound it made and started towards the door. He weaved through the chaotic crowds of people filling up the halls as fast as he could. Matts ok he's just sick, Kelly chanted to himself over and over as he darted towards the door when all of the sudden his body collided with something. Kelly quickly recovered from the shock and his eyes shot towards the cause of the collision, he was infuuriated to see Jay stood in front of him blocking the exit.
"Go away" snarled Kelly attempting to push past the stubborn boy.
"It's about Matt" Jay announced in a sullen voice which sent shivers through Kelly's body.
"What about him?" As much as he disliked Jay he knew Matt trusted him as they had grown up together. Kelly mentally scolded himself for not thinking of the other teen sooner,If anyone knew what was going on with Matt it would be Jay.
"Something seriously bad happened last night" admitted Jay trying to ignore how his voice shook with sorrow. He felt like he was suffocating as he found himself overwhelmed with guilt, he knew things had always been rough in the Casey household but he never thought it would come to this. For as long as Jay could remember Matt had lived in the house next door , they lived in a small rundown neighbourhood, everyone kept to themselves and there was an unspoken rule of staying out of each other's business. Growing up the two boys were always together, whether at school or at home. They spent many days outside playing catch together during the summer and when the harsh winter arrived the boys would often seek refuge from the cold inside Jay's cozy home, his mother had always been fond of Matt she stated he was a sweet gentle soul. Jay never asked Matt about the bruises littering his body or the yelling that often came from his house late at night, he knew the horrible answer and preferred to carry on as if he was completely oblivious. Matt spent most of his time at Jay's house but after Jay's mum died the summer before they started high school they drifted apart. Or more specifically Jay pushed Matt away, Jay was funny and popular meaning he found new friends easily but shy lanky Matt had been left all alone. Despite being athletic and highly skilled when it came to baseball the boy was extremely socially awkward and preferred to keep to himself to avoid being ridiculed. Fortunately a stubborn Andy had noticed Matt and had immediately felt drawn to Andy and Kelly befriended the meek boy and took him under their wing. After loosing Andy and Kelly, Jay took it upon himself to watch out for Matt but the blonde had become a shell of his former self. Jay wished he'd noticed how much pain Matt was in, he chalked up the blondes ghostly appearance to Andy's death but now he realised he'd missed the bigger picture.
A few days ago when Matt told him he was sick he'd believed him immediately, the blonde had been deathly pale the last few weeks , his cheeks were hollow and his movements were clumsy, Jay thought maybe it was due to a lack of sleep, after all if he had seen what Matt had that summer he probably wouldn't sleep well either.
The horrible truth about his friends gloomy demeanour had smacked him in the face the night before. Jay has been sprawled out on his bed reading a book for English class when the sound of sirens sliced through the air. He'd rolled off his bed and gazed out of his window, all of his breath was knocked out of him when he locked eyes on the alarming sight in front of him. A police car and ambulance were parked outside Matt's house. Jay wasted no time in sprinting out of his room, downstairs and through the front door. The voices of the Paramedics and police officer's floated through the air, he was about to move closer towards the house in search of his friend when his heart plummeted, two paramedics exited the house with a gurney carrying a bloodied unresponsive body, as they loaded the gurney into the back of the ambulance Nancy came stumbling out of the house sobbing hysterically, a police officer put an arm around her as let out an anguished cry's the doors of the ambulance slammed closed.
"Jay?"
"What happened? Did his father do something?" Stuttered Kelly, he knew Matt lived with a monster, he couldn't count how many times Matt had climbed through his bedroom window battered and bruised asking if he could stay the night. Kelly gulped as Jay nodded softly before opening his mouth.
"But Matt he-"
"He finally hit back",
A few moments after the ambulance sped off into the distance a man dressed in normal clothes with a shiny badge dangling around his neck led a distraught Matt towards a black car parked on the curb.
"Mum" Matt cried as he looked towards the woman who was sobbing uncontrollably into the arms of a police officer. Nancy kept her body turned away from her son as she spoke with a voice full of venom.
"You're not my problem anymore", Matt stared numbly at his mother, his eyes were empty and his shoulders were slumped in defeat. Matt's eyes flickered away from his mother and to the blood staining his hands and clothes. The events of the last hour replayed in Matt's mind and he began to shake. He never wanted any of this to happen, he didn't want to hurt him, he just wanted to be safe.
"Come on kid" gently coaxed the man beside Matt. Jay had remained completely still as he watched his friend being taken away from his place on the sidewalk. That night would forever stay with Jay but he knew whatever had happened leading up to that moment must have been a million times worse. He dreaded to think what this would do to his already distressed friend.
Hank Voight carefully observed the dejected boy in front of him, he'd been on his way home when he'd heard the call over the radio, his eagerness to get home had been quickly forgotten. The scene he was met with when he arrived would haunt him for the rest of his life, the young boy kneeling beside his father begging him to wake up as his mother remained frozen in the corner of the room. Hank had been trying to question the boy for hours but it was no use, the boy remained unresponsive as he stared at his hands. Matt had desperately tried washing off the crimson blood but no matter how hard he scrubbed his fathers blood clung to his pale hands.
