He's Been Damaged, He's Been Misused

Just before Chris knocks on the Olson’s front door, it’s opened from the other side, revealing Carter. The older boy flinches when he sees Chris standing there. Chris notices that he seems nervous about something all of a sudden and raises a perfectly drawn eyebrow at him.

“Hey, Chris,” Carter laughs. “I thought you were having a sleepover with Kevin?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to check up on Ricky,” he tells him.

“Oh, yeah? Well, he’s fine, don’t worry! Don’t keep Kevin waiting!” Carter says as he puts a hand on Chris’s shoulder, guiding him away from the door. Chris scowls and shrugs his hand off.

“Cool, so I’m just gonna go in now, then,” Chris moves to walk around Carter, but he steps in his way.

“His mom just sent me out, she wants to get some sleep and doesn’t want anyone here while she sleeps.”

“Mrs. Olson’s car isn’t even in the driveway…”

Carter’s face pales. Chris knows something’s up now.

Chris shoves past him and into the house. Carter knows that there’s no stopping the younger boy now and decides to get out of there while he still can before he finds Ricky.

Ricky’s laying curled up on the floor, crying into his knees. His back fucking hurts but he guesses that it’s his own fault. Ricky’s never wanted to die so much before…

“Ricky?” Ricky’s quiet sobbing stops when he hears Chris’s voice from the other side of the closed door.

Fuck.

Ricky shakily takes a deep breath before speaking, “Yeah?”

“Can I come in?”

“N-no, I look like crap…”

“It’s okay, I’m coming in.”

Before Ricky can protest, he hears his bedroom door creak open. Ricky rubs at his tear-streaked cheeks as he hears a gasp from his friend. He hears him drop to his knees behind him.

“Oh, Ricky…” Chris sighs, and Ricky wishes the floor would open up and swallow him away. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Chris gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. He searches through the cabinet and pulls out peroxide and a face cloth, that being all he can find to treat the injuries on his friend’s back. Chris enters Ricky’s room again and sits behind him again.

“Ricky, can you sit up for me?”

Ricky does as asked and Chris uncaps the container.

“Is it gonna hurt?” Ricky whimpers when he hears it.

“Shouldn’t hurt too much,” Chris answers as he pours the cold liquid onto his back, using the cloth to wipe away what spills.

When Chris is finished, he caps the peroxide and sets it aside. He didn’t have anything else for his friend’s back.

“Thank you,” Ricky whispers to his friend.

“What did Carter do?”

Chris feels that familiar burning in his ears that usually comes prior to crying when he hears a sob spill from Ricky’s mouth. Within seconds, Ricky is in his lap, crying into his shoulder as Chris rocks the smaller of the two soothingly. He tries not to cry for Ricky’s sake.

“I- I was talking to D-Devin before he came in,” Ricky starts when he calms down enough to speak a decipherable sentence. “He- he doesn’t like it wh-when I talk to you guy w-without him with me. He h-hits me with a belt b-buckle every time he c-catches me doing it.”

Chris is left speechless. What does he say in a situation like this?

“How long?” Chris finally asks.

“After w-we all hung out at Kevin’s.”

“Did you ever tell anyone?”

“He told me n-not to.”

“Oh, Ricky… I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s n-not your fault.”

Chris doesn’t say anything as he finally lets a tear slip. This was all his fault. He was the one who set the two of them up in the first place.

“H-He’s a good guy, C-Chris. He just has h-his moments…”

Chris shakes his head in reply as he moves to stroke his hair, massaging his scalp with his fingertips. The gesture calms Ricky as he leans into his friend’s touch.

Chris manages to speak after a few moments, “You’re coming with me.”

“W-what?”

Chris doesn’t answer his friend, he merely helps the smaller boy up to his feet. Chris grabs Ricky’s shirt and tosses it at him, instructing him to carefully put it on. Chris grabs Ricky his phone for him and leads him out. Chris left Ricky’s mom a message so she wouldn’t freak out when she finds her son not at home where she left him.

The two boys walk in silence to Kevin’s house. When they get there, Kevin runs straight over to Ricky.

“Ricky, what happened?” he asks as he notices the tears that still leaked from his eyes. Ricky shakes his head, he only holds his arms out for a hug. Kevin threw his arms around Ricky’s waist, the two boys holding each other. Kevin looks to Chris.

“Later,” he mouths to him as he watches the two younger boys.