Chapter 5

TJ arrived home while his mother was hanging washing out the back. He raced up to his room and pushed past his sister, Becky, on the way past.

"Watch where you're going, you little dweeb!" She as he spun around. She gasped when she saw his face.

"TJ, what happened to you?" She subconsciously reached out to his face but he flinched back violently.

"Nothing happened!" He yelled scrambling into his room and slamming the door.

He dove into his bed and began to cry. He suddenly felt so dirty.

He looked around his room and noticed it was a pig sty. He got up and began cleaning it, after he had scrubbed every service multiple times he went into the bathroom and began to shower.

He looked in the mirror and noticed the bruise that had everyone so shocked. It was mostly red but was already starting to shade various yellow colours, worst of all; it was very definitely a hand print. He began scrubbing his face ferociously, drawing blood from the tender flesh.

He heard a knock on the door and pulling on pyjamas, to hide the bruising on his hips, he opened his bedroom door.

On the other side was his mother, who began talking without looking up from her list of chores. "TJ, Becky came down a little earlier saying something about a bruise-", she had only now looked up and stopped as she saw the bruise, now accompanied by blood trickling down his chin.

"TJ! What happened to you?" She drew him into a hug and he felt more disgusting than ever. He could feel his hands all over his body.

"I... uh got beat up on my way home", he winced at how obvious that lie sounded but apparently his mother was too absorbed in his injuries to notice.

"Was it someone from your school?" He knew where she was going with this. If she thought it was someone in school she would call to complain and only draw attention to it and give the man more reason to hurt him.

"No mom. It was some high school students".

His mother pulled him into another rib crushing hug and cried, "My poor baby".

"I'm ok mom I just don't feel well and want to go to bed". His mother looked at him. She knew he was lying about something. This was not normal behaviour for her ten year old son. But still she would find out without distressing him.

"Ok you go get into bed and I'll bring you up some soup later".

With that she left and TJ crawled back into his bed and cried again.

Xx—Next day –xX

"TJ! Time for school", TJ didn't answer her but in all honesty had not fallen asleep once. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that monster, felt his touches and TJ found himself staring into the toilet bowel half the night as he wretched all his non-existent stomach contents into it.

"Mom! I don't feel well. I don't think I can go in", TJ mentally counted to three before his mother can bustling through the door and began taken his temperature and blood pressure and being generally over protective.

"Well you do look quite pale. Okay, I'll call the school, you go back to bed", TJ smiled at his mother as she went out to call the school.

He was beginning to fall into a light sleep when his mother re-entered his room, phone in hand.

"Oh TJ, your lovely teacher wants to speak with you about how you are feeling", she handed the now slightly trembling child the phone and went to prepare some tea for her sick child, not realising that the very being making her child sick had spent the last ten minutes buttering her up.

TJ gazed at the phone for more than a minute before he lifted it to his ear.

"Hello?"

He paused as there was no reply on the other end of the phone until he heard the man, who had caused his rough night, begin to whisper harshly.

"I suppose you think that not coming into school will help you don't you? I'll admit you are my favourite umm... let's say victim, however if you do not turn up in class today then I may have to give Vince a detention, because he has been quite rowdy since he arrived."

TJ could hear Reilly's laughter echo down the phone as he replaced it on the receiver.

"Mom, I'm feeling better and am going into school now!"

Xx—At school –xX

His mother had tried to talk him into staying in bed, even for the rest of the day, but TJ could not get the horrible images of that monster hurting his Vince.

My Vince? When did he become my Vince?

TJ stood outside the classroom door attempting to gather courage as he leaned forward and tentatively knocked the door before entering the room.

There was a slight gasp as everyone saw that TJ had actually come in.

"Mr Detweiler, nice of you to join us", TJ almost jumped out of his skin as Reilly suddenly appeared behind him.

Reilly paused a second and TJ assumed that meant he could sit down but as soon as he heard the classroom door slam closed Reilly had his arm bent painfully up his back and bent over a table before leaning over him and whispered, although due to the dead silence everyone heard it, "Don't you ever miss any of my classes again or I will break you in two".

The bell rang signalling break, and were there would usually be a mad rush to the door everyone appeared frozen by fear until Reilly snorted.

"Well, Detweiler you chose an easy time to come in but we will continue our talk after recess".

TJ ran ahead of the others and when they went to follow him Vince stopped, "Let me talk to him". The others knew TJ and Vince had a special friendship and agreed.

Vince continued after TJ and nearly tackled him to stop him from running.

Vince flung TJ around to face him only to see the tears running down his face, "Why did you come in, your mother said you could stay home today because you were ill".

TJ broke down into sobs and gripped onto Vince for fear that if he released him that Reilly would appear and magically take him away, "H.. he called me, ..this morn.".

Vince seeing TJ's distress and lack of control of his vocals hugged him tighter. He turned his head to see his friends had approached and slightly further behind practically the entire student body stood in case TJ needed help.

"Did he threaten you?"

TJ became near hysterical at those words and threw Vince back from himself, "NO! He threatened you! He said if I didn't come in that he'd ..."

He broke off remembering he hadn't told his friends or anyone about what Reilly had done during his detention.

"He'd what? TJ? What did he say he'd do to Vince?"

Gretchen had approached and put a comforting hand on TJ's shoulders. She was beginning to understand what was going on.

"H.h..he said he'd r. you".

The colour drained from Vince's face as he said that but it was Gretchen who hit the nail on the head.

"Like he raped you?"

There was a collective gasp as TJ fell down crying. Vince knelt down in front of TJ and grasped his hands.

"You would risk being raped for me?"

TJ looked up and nodded.

"TJ, I need my best friend, now more than ever so I don't think we should let him destroy us do you?"

TJ looked Vince in the smiled before standing up. He twisted his cap behind his head.

"Guys, I have a plan".

The others stood up too and looked at him expectantly.

"I'm going to see Prickly".

Ok what did you think so far? Sorry it took me so long to update I had swine flu and was in hospital so I'm back and I'm bad. Hopefully.

Sorry if in this chapter TJ comes across as a bit of an angsty teenager but you know post traumatic stress and all that.

Anyway I want lots of reviews please!