It was early Thursday morning and Seth laid awake in his bed, curled up under the covers. The house was quiet, except for the light rain that pattered against his window. It's been exactly fifteen minutes since his dad left his room and he was afraid to move. He laid there staring out the window until the light from the sun peaked through his blinds. Slowly getting up he removed the covers and swung his legs over the bed. Seeing that it was almost five thirty he got up and started to get ready for school. Walking to the window he didn't see his dad's car so once he was done he left the house. He got to school earlier than usual so he sat outside at one of the tables and laid his head down, pulling his hood over his head as well. Soon enough he fell asleep. It wasn't long before he felt someone tapping him. Looking up he came face to face with Roman.
"Seth are you okay?" Roman asked.
Seth sat up and wiped his face. "Yeah, I just didn't get that much sleep last night."
Roman nodded, noticing how red Seth's eyes were. Taking off his bag he sat it on the bench before sitting down.
"You don't have to do this Mr. Regins." Seth says. "You're not on the clock so you don't have to sit here and make small talk with me."
Roman smiled. "I'm not just talking to you because it's my job Seth. I want us to be able to talk and trust eachother. Hey have I ever told you about the time I gave my first speech in middle school?" Seth shook his head. "Well I was in the eighth grade and was given the honor of giving a presentation at my school assembly. I went in thinking that it was going to be a piece of cake but as soon as I got on stage I froze. Everyone was staring at me but I was just gone. Then the room just burst into a fit of laughter and I was confused at first. Then I looked down and realized what they were laughing about, I had pissed my pants."
"You're kidding."
"Nope." Replied Roman. "I was the talk of the school the rest of the year."
Seth laughed a little before smiling. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you looked like you could use a smile." He says. "You should do it more because it looks good on you." Seth looked away from him. "So what do you do when you're not here at school?"
Seth shrugged. "Nothing much."
"You don't have an after school job or anything?"
"Well I had one but it didn't work out." Seth says. "I guess they didn't like me showing up half asleep all the time."
"Well have you always had trouble sleeping at night?"
Seth shrugged. "I guess so, it started after my mom left." Just a little after the abuse started.
"Why do you think you're having trouble sleeping?"
Seth knew it was probably because of his father but he didn't say anything. "I don't know." A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again. "Can I ask you something?" Roman nodded. "I've heard people talking about you being..you know?"
"Gay." Roman replied.
"Sorry." Seth says looking down.
"Don't apologize." Roman says. "I don't really hide who I am, I'm gay."
"I was I was more like you." Seth says, voice low. "You don't seem afraid of anything."
"Everyone's afraid of something, even me. You just can't let that fear take over your life. But nothing is going to change unless you make the first move."
Seth nodded.
"Well I better go." Roman grabbed his bag. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, thanks for talking to me." Seth says.
"Anytime, I'll see you after school."
Seth smiled and watched as Roman left the table before looking back down to his hands which rested in his lap. He was actually looking forward to seeing him again.
...
The rest the day went by surprisingly well for Seth. No one really bothered him or gave him the time of day which was good and bad for him, while Randy was a no show. When last period ended Seth couldn't get out of the room fast enough. Clutching his books to his chest he made his way to Roman's office. The door was locked so he sat outside and waited. A few minutes later the door opened and Dolph came out. Dolph didn't seem to notice him sitting there as he left though.
"Hello again Seth." Roman says appearing in the doorway. "Come on in." Seth came in and sat his books down. "So how was your day?"
"It started out bad but got better." Seth says. "You."
"Pretty much the same for me." Replied Roman. "So what would you like to talk about today?"
...
Later that afternoon Randy found himself sitting in his car a few houses away from Seth's house. He had spent the entire day trying to figure out a way he could help Seth. When he saw Seth making his way to his house he got out and made his way to the front door. After knocking a few times he stepped back and waited. When the door opened he quickly stepped inside before Seth could say anything.
"Randy what are you doing here?"
"We need to talk." Randy says.
"No you have too go."
"I'm not leaving until you tell me how long your father has been abusing you."
Seth looked on the back of the couch and saw his jacket. He started running his hands up and down his arms but remains silent.
"Seth, come on talk to me." Randy pleaded.
Seth wiped his face and looked at his watch. His dad usually got home around eight so he moved to sit on the couch. Randy sat across from him on the table. The two of them talked for nearly an hour. Seth now found himself watching Randy as he paced in front of him. "Randy you can't tell anyone about this."
"Seth you need to talk to someone about this before it gets worse." Randy says. "Look I've heard that Mr. Regins knows people on the high. If we talk to him about your dad he'll help and get him locked away for life. He'll never hurt you again, don't you want to be free of him?"
Seth went to speak but stopped when he heard a door closing. Quickly making his way to the window he saw his dad making his way towards the house, his eyes grew wide. "Randy you have to leave now, just go out the back."
"Seth I'm not leaving you!"
"He will not only kill me but you too if he sees you here." Seth yells pushing him towards the back door but he froze when his dad's voice bellowed from behind him.
"What the hell is he doing in my house Seth?" Nash says.
His voice was calm and that only made Seth more nervous as he ducked his head. "He was just bringing me back my algebra book...right?" He looked over to find Randy staring wholes through Nash. "Randy just go, please."
Nash looked to Randy then back to his son. "You little shit!" Drawing back his hand he struck Seth across the face. He went to inflict more damage but Randy got in his way. "Get the hell out of my way boy, this doesn't concern you."
"I'm not going to let you hurt him anymore." Randy was scared out of his mind but there was no way he was walking away from Seth. He looked down at Seth and gave him a small smile but as soon as he turned his head something hit him like a rock and he fell to the floor, cradling his jaw.
Nash grabbed Randy by the collar of his shirt and practically dragged him outside. "If I see you again you'll live to regret it."
Nash slammed the door shut and Randy just laid there staring at the skies. Jumping up when he heard something crash from inside the house followed by silence. "Fuck." He took off running to his car.
...
Dean was currently engulfed in one of his favorite shows when there was banging at the door. "What the hell." The banging didn't stop until he opened the door. "Why the hell are you-"
"Is Mr. Regins here." Randy pushed his way in and saw Roman coming from the back.
"Randy?" Roman says. "What happened to you?"
"Seth is in trouble!"
...