|Weak Hero| Alones

Chapter 4

'Someone who was able to defeat Wolf was reduced to such a traumatized state,' Donald thought as he cleaned up the messes Gray made.

He thought back to his own trauma. His sperm donor was an abusive drunk that constantly beat him and his mother up. He clearly remembered the broken bottles, the smell of cheap booze, the scent of drugs, the feeling of barrages of punches and kicks raining down upon him, and the sound of his and his mother's cries for help that were never answered until it was too late.

'I'm not only helping him because I pity him and feel sympathetic,' Donald sighed. 'It's also because I feel guilty about being unable to save my own mother. Saving the White Mamba is me trying to make up for the fact that I wasn't able to do anything for my mother,'

"But am I really someone who's qualified to care for another person?" Donald quietly asked himself. "I still haven't completely gotten over my own trauma and it's already been years,"

XXX

Donald returned downstairs and found Gray hugging Jawbreaker as they watched Two Piece. 'At least Jawbreaker is able to provide him with some comfort,' He sat down in the empty armchair.

"Who..." Gray was reluctant to ask his question, afraid that he'd be punished for it. "Who are you?"

"I'm Donald Na," 

'Donald Na...' Gray slightly furrowed his brows. 'I think I might've heard that name before, but I can't remember where or when,'

"Do you want to call anyone?" Donald offered. "Like your mother or your friends?"

'Mom...if I call Mom...I can go home...' Gray hesitated though. 'Does she even want me home? Our relationship became strained after I got expelled from Byuksan and blacklisted from the local high schools. We...we rarely spoke to each other after I had enrolled into Eunjang,'

'I can call my friends but...they'll...they'll take me to the hospital and...' He trembled with fear. 'I don't want to be near any doctors! If they bring me to the hospital, the doctors' hands will...' He dreaded the thought of physical contact with people, even if they were actual medical professionals examining his wounds and not those monsters that had kidnapped him. 'Then they'll call the police and...' He didn't want to talk to any doctors or police, not after he had to perform in those revolting scenarios.

"Mamba, you're starting to hyperventilate again," Donald warned. "Take deep breaths. Inhale, exhale,"

Gray took several deep breaths and his breathing steadied. "I...I don't know..."

"You don't have to call anyone if you don't want to right now," Donald told him. "I'm just giving you the chance since you'd probably be more comfortable with someone you know instead of a stranger like me,"

"I don't know..." Gray repeated, curling up even more and hugging Jawbreaker even tighter. "I don't know..."

He didn't want his friends to see him in such a broken state. And what would they think if they found out what had happened to him? Would they be disgusted by him?

He screamed in pain as the blade dug into his back. His assailant slowly carved each letter into his flesh, ensuring that it'd still scar after healing.

"I bet no one would wanna be around a slut like you,"

"You're such a disgusting little whore, aren't ya?"

He hated those two words that had been carved into his back. He wanted to tear his skin off so that those words were no longer legible.

A sudden knock at the front door startled Gray and caused him to jump in surprise. 

"It's alright, Mamba," Donald tried to calm him down again. "That's probably just my friend, Kingsley. He usually helps me with things. He won't hurt you,"

'He hasn't hurt me so far,' Gray thought. 'The food he gave me doesn't seem to be drugged since I'm not feeling any effects. He knows to keep some distance between us since I don't like being near people or touched. But that doesn't mean I can always trust what he says. There's always the possibility of him lying and waiting for me to let my guard down,'

Donald stood up and opened the door. "Hey, Kingsley,"

"Here's your schoolwork from today," Kingsley handed a folder of papers to him. He glanced into the living room as he followed Donald up to his office. "How is he?"

"He panicked when he woke up but he calmed down a little," Donald informed. "He ate some soup and rice I made. I asked if he wanted to go to the hospital and he panicked again and refused. I gave him the option to call his family or friends, but he refused again,"

"He didn't want to call his friends?" Kingsley questioned.

"He probably thinks that his friends will be disgusted by him since he's been raped many times," Donald said. "Ben Park cares about his friends and would never think of him like that, but the trauma runs deep. Who knows what lies his kidnappers said to him?"

"You can't keep him in your house forever," Kingsley reminded.

"I know," Donald nodded. "I'll help him as best as I can until he's at least more stable,"