Moonbay

It wasn't until the next morning that she stood up from the chair, doing so only after he had awakened. If Liam was woken up he always became frantic, occasionally needing sedatives to calm him. Jen told her brother goodbye only to receive a blank stare that she recognized all too well. He had little memory of his family, or even that his sister had become a nurse. Nothing except for the abuse of their uncle who had lived with them and his time in Moonbay remained in the boy's broken mind.

"Time." That was what the doctors told her and her family. He only needed time for his mind to heal, and love to know he wasn't alone but how could you love someone who was so isolated? He was terrified of any physical contact, of raised voices, of amber colored items. Any of those triggers would send him into a frenzied state of screams and fighting.

At 15 he had been admitted. At 17, he seemed no closer to ever leaving unless it was to go to a center for adults instead of adolescents. He had already been quiet, reserved but when his uncle moved in while Liam was only 12 he stopped talking. Now they all understood why and there was no way to reverse the damage. Only time could do that.

Jen always found herself wondering what things occupied her younger brother's thoughts. Did he still dream? Did he still want to be a doctor for the terminally ill? At only 7 he had determined that to be the profession he was meant for. Was all that was left an animalistic reflex to flee from danger? Learned helplessness, it had been called in her psychology class, but all the knowledge and vocab in the world couldn't save her little brother.

Trying to focus her thoughts on her job she entered the room of her new patient. Her shift would end in another two hours, as they all worked odd hours so that each person could have at least some daylight to spend their free time in. It as healthy, the president of the facility insisted. She wandered into the room only to freeze where she was standing.

The boy in the room gave her an owlish blink but didn't speak. His deep amber eyes were the same shade as her Uncle Ryan's and his face held the same shape. It made her look down at her records, only convinced it wasn't his child or relation when it said the boy was from the west coast and they had moved to Pennsylvania for a fresh start. That was a botched attempt, she figured considering the boy was in here already.

"I'm your nurse for the next hour, Jen. You're name?"

The boy hesitated a moment before responding. "I'm Colby… Davis."

"Its nice to meet you Colby, though I'd prefer it have been under different circumstances. So, you're 17, correct?" He nodded. "Who put you in here?" The question obviously surprised the boy, as his eyes widened before he let a ghost of a smile form. Jen figured none of the others had had enough guts to ask. They all worked in the rape case unit of the hospital though, so it was an obvious thing to wonder.

"I like you. You're direct. Everyone keeps saying I had some "incident", like I embarrassed myself during class or something," he said, emphasizing it with an eye roll. "Our neighbor though. I never trusted her but my parents were oblivious so they told me to go help her move. Stupid bitch. Died in a car accident the next day. Karma's amazing." His smile had turned malicious, she noted and she sighed quietly. Some of the kids in the place turned quiet, scared. Other became like her brother if it had gone on for so long, leaving them broken and terrified. And then there were these. They tended to be the boys, with their hurt and violation becoming molten anger and violence. These were the most dangerous, in Jen's opinion. They could be helped but others in the wing were at risk until there was a breakthrough.

"Why are you here?"

"Parents were concerned so I got shipped here. They were too overwhelmed to deal with it or something. Like it was them who got shot up and raped or something. All they had to do was here their son had been violated." Again there was an eye roll and Jen knew he'd be hard to get through to. She wondered who he had been before. The school's star jock, she figured, but probably a soccer player and not football. He had a lean build, muscled but still thin. "What do I have to do here?"

"Right now is recreation time. If you're ready we can go down now. You can either chose the quiet room or the recreation hall. After you're deemed to be safe enough to be with others, you're allowed to socialize with any of the other wings and units."

"Quiet room then." She nodded, wishing she could tell him to go to the other. Even if he'd fought it at first, Liam always ended up being forced into the quiet room for recreation. He wasn't allowed to sit in his room. She quickly escorted Colby to the room before having to leave. She was required to fill out paperwork and sign out during her last hour of work. He waved briefly as she wandered down the hall.

Sighing, Colby looked at the others in the room. Four sat in a corner, talking and laughing quietly. There were others spread throughout who were reading. In the far corner was another boy who was simply staring into space, looking at the trees through the window. He was perfectly still, his shoulders rising only occasionally with his breathing but at least he seemed like he wasn't busy. Friend time.

As he started towards the boy one the of kids from the laughing group jumped up, standing in front of him and shaking his head.

"Don't man. He's fried out. Been here longer than any of us and Jacob's been here a year," he motioned to the boy reading. "I heard he hasn't talked in like… ten years. Just stopped one day. He got messed up pretty bad."

"So he needs someone to be his friend," Colby snapped quietly and Jacob simply shrugged.

"We've all tried. He doesn't want friends. Honestly I think he just wants to forget and find some peace. He's so trapped in his head. If you're going over though, name's Liam." Jacob gave him a tired smile before wandering back to the group.

"Liam? Hey, kid?" The boy jumped as he heard his name, head snapping to look at Colby. The resemblance made the boy visibly shrink, shaking as Colby reached a hand out to shake. Liam shook his head rapidly, terrified until Colby gave him a gentle smile and slouched into a chair a few feet away. "Well you don't seem to like me too much. Guys said you don’t talk. That true?" The boy just watched, not responding. "Apparently. So anyway, I'm Colby and I'm your new friend. Deal?"

Liam watched him closely, frowning. He looked so much like his uncle that it was terrifying but the fear subsided at the genuine smile on the boy's face. He hadn't seen that in years, at least not directed at him and it cleared his head briefly. For once he could think, could remember easier times and memories. He liked the change and he nodded eagerly.

"Cool." As Colby snatched a book from the small table next to him the feeling disappeared, leaving Liam once more in the dark. All he saw were amber eyes, not the same shade but in the same family. He took a deep breath. He didn't want the needles so he had to calm down. The boy hadn't hurt him. Colby hadn't hurt him. But what about later, when there were no counselors to watch?

Liam watched the boy next to him, eyes never leaving Colby. He'd be the first to know if the boy even thought about moving and he'd be gone, up and running before anyone could stop him. But maybe it wouldn't happen. Maybe it would be nice to have a friend, amber eyes or not. "Don't judge," he remembered his teacher saying years ago. So he'd accept instead.