topics. [discontinued]

everyone

"Ryan Blystone will be completely fine physically. The bruises, scars, and bones will heal within a month or two possibly," the doctor explained to the array of worrying children, each and every one felt a sense of relief rush over them until he decided to continue talking, "But we currently don't know about his mental situation. Living with an abusive parent after losing the other to suicide is extremely difficult to deal with and can possibly lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc. Mental illnesses aren't as easy to cure as a broken bone, it'll take lots of time and patience from not only him, but his friends and family as well until Mr. Blystone is back to his normal self again. Make sure you all understand the situation he is in before jumping to conclusions."

"Got it. What about Coby, he's only fourteen years old and we haven't seen him in days?" Brayden asked, nervously twiddling his thumbs, "Where is he? Not with his dad, right?" He wanted the two Blystone boys to be as far away from their father as possible, he had been a danger to them for so long and now that he knows about it he wants them to feel as safe as ever.

"Coby is missing as of now. He is nowhere to be found. But don't worry, we have tons of people on a search to find him and he's completely safe away from his father wherever he may be," the doctor explained, "The boys' father is held at the police station currently undergoing the interrogation process. We can't tell exactly when the court order will commence, but it'll have to hold off until we have successfully pinpointed Coby's location. We need not only him, but Ryan as well, to testify." A few nods and mumbling words sounded through the small crowd of friends until the doctor flashed them one last smile and got back to work.

The teenagers sat in complete silence, letting all the news they had just received sink in. Zack sat the quietest, not sure what to say to anyone or anything. He still remembered the panicking phone call from Jordan alerting him and Joe what had happened and where to go. He still remembered the look on Jordan's face when the doctor told him that not only were the injuries severe, but Ryan's own father was the one who caused them in the first place. That was one thing neither Zack or any of the other kids could wrap their head around.

Zack's thinking got interrupted and he shot his head up when he heard his best friend, Will, walking down the tiled hallway towards the group. The thin boy immediately rushed past Jordan, avoiding all eye contact, and plopped down next to Zack. "Bee and Liam are outside," he mumbled to him, "Could you tell Jordan to meet them out there? They told me to tell him, but..." The boy immediately nodded, understanding the situation Will was put in, and told Jordan the orders.

"Meet me at the bridge in like ten minutes, yeah?" Will spoke up, turning towards Zack after moments of useless silence. He nodded. Will stood back up from his chair and began to walk out of the hospital before nearly crashing into another person who was walking the opposite direction.

Jordan immediately stopped walking when he saw Will's small body come into his vision. He rushed in front of the taller boy, stopping him in his tracks. "Get out of the way, Jordan," Will mumbled, eyes now glued to the tiled floor. If he even made the slightest bit of eye contact with Jordan, he knew he'd be done for.

"Please let me speak," Jordan whispered and took a step backwards so there was some space between the two. He looked back at the few people who were also sitting in the chairs. They were clearly watching the scene play out. Jordan mentally debated with himself on whether or not he should pull Will into more private surroundings, but he didn't care if anyone heard. He wanted the whole world to hear what he had to say.

"Ever since the first day I laid eyes on you I knew that you were different. And I was fucking terrified," he began, "It took me years to finally gather up the courage to speak to you. Words cannot explain how afraid I was. Not of you, but my feelings for you. My feelings for a boy. But I learned how to become a sarcastic asshole just to make it feel normal." Will cracked a small smile, but immediately covered it with his hand to shield it from Jordan's eyes.