Beneath The Surface

Chapter 7

After a while, Ethan arrived at the mall, wearing a mask and a hat to conceal the aftermath of what happened at home. He looked around for his friends and spotted them at the shop they'd agreed to meet at.

"Hey, guys," Ethan greeted them as he approached. He attempted to sound cheerful, despite the pain and fatigue that weighed on him. Even though he tried his best His sound came out a little raspy because of the previous day

"Hey, Ethan, here, sit with us," Sam welcomed him. As he sat down, Emma couldn't help but look at him suspiciously. She asked, "Why are you all covered up, Ethan?"

" Well .... " Ethan knew he couldn't keep it hidden for long , after all They noticed it right away after they saw him , Ethan hesitated for a moment before Slowly, he removed his cap and mask, revealing his bruised face.

The moment they saw his face, both Sam and Emma gasped in shock , Sam was the first to regain his composure. He offered a cautious side hug to Ethan, but the touch, even if gentle, sent a jolt of pain through Ethan's bruised body.

"Sam," Ethan gasped, causing Sam to quickly withdraw his hands. Emma was equally shocked, her voice quivering as she asked, "Did they...?" She struggled to find the right words without breaking down, "Did they do this to you ?"

"Yeah," Ethan confirmed in a small voice while nodding slightly.

Concerned for their friend, Sam took Ethan's hand in a comforting gesture. "Come on, let's go to the hospital, right now " he urged.

Ethan tried to argue, "No, no, not the hospital."

"Ethan, you're hurt. You need proper treatment," Sam said firmly, with worry in his eyes.

"Yes, Ethan, we should go to the hospital," Emma added, after finding a way to control her tears.

"Guys, calm down. It's only a few bruises, it doesn't matter, okay? It will heal soon," Ethan tried to reassure them.

"What do you mean 'a few'? This is clearly not 'a few' bruises, Ethan, who knows how much severe you have under the shirt you are wearing " Sam said with a hint of anger, not towards him but towards the people who had done this to their friend.

"Look, i know what you meant but if I go to the hospital, they're going to call the police because they'll clearly understand what happened. And if they call the police, I'll be the one who gets in trouble. So, for my sake, please listen to me... okay?" Ethan pleaded.

There was a few minutes of silence between them after he said that , Ethan looked at them with worry

Emma decided to break this awful silence as she asked gently to Ethan, "Do you want to talk about it now, or would you rather wait until you're ready?"

Sam added, "Ethan, don't feel pressured to talk about it , We're here for you no matter what ".

Ethan took a deep breath and began to share everything that had happened the previous day. Tears flowed freely as he talked about everything that happened even though he left the part of Eleanor's past attempt towards him from them , he didn't want them to involve more then they are right now ,  all the while he talked Sam and Emma were right there, comforting him.

Emma's controlled tears flowed more freely as he spoke, and Sam gently patted Ethan's hair as he rested his head on Sam's chest. Emma embraced him from the side, trying to be as gentle as possible.

They stayed like that for a while, finding comfort in each other's embrace.

Time skip

A few minutes later, Sam got up and brought them some ice cream to lighten the mood. They decided to talk about happier things instead of dwelling on the distressing events. As Ethan enjoyed his ice cream, he giggled as they exchanged jokes. Both Emma and Sam looked at him with affectionate smiles, wondering how anyone could have the heart to hurt such a sweet and innocent soul.

After eating the ice cream they all went to shopping , Sam and Emma brought a cute hoodie for Ethan to light up his mood even more , at first they forcefully made him try it , when he did that they found him so cute , " oh my god ethan you are so cute if you were not like a brother to me i would have married you " Emma said which made him blush .

After he changed back to his old shirt they immediately took the hoodie he tried on into the cash counter and brought it , even though Ethan refused them many times they still insist on getting it , after few minutes later Ethan finally give in and accepted their kindness

After shopping they went to the nearest park and sat there and talk each other , that's when Emma asked, "Ethan, are you coming to the class on Monday ?"

Ethan thought for a moment and replied, "I think so. Is there something special happening on Monday ?"

Sam chimed in, "Oh, don't you remember? There's a program for the business students. The main guest is the CEO of one of the biggest companies."

"A program? Really ?" Ethan asked with a puzzled expression. " Well .. Who is this CEO?"

Sam tried to recall, "Well, they said her name was Athena, or something."

"Athena or something? Are you for real, Sam? You don't even know who she is when you are also a business student ,I can't believe you Emma said looking seriously at Sam , she is Athena Evans She's one of the biggest CEOs ever. She built her empire to what it is today, and, Ethan you should see her , she is gorgeous as hell !" Emma continues to ramble about Athena's greatness.

Somehow Ethan felt a smile on his face as they talked about the successful CEO , he didn't know why .

After a while later , he peacefully left his friends and return to his home with a calm mindest , they hugged him and kissed his forehead while remaineding him to take care of himself as they said farewell to him , after a few minutes later he arrived at the mansion , to his surprise the mansion was empty

The maids informed him that the family had gone out or something , he didn't have much to do so he went to his room and lay down on his bed, he looked out side and saw the bright full moon than he took his phone and started to surf through internet that's when a poem caught his eyes

" Torn apart, a heavy heart,
Broken soul, an empty part.
Can't bear to see their cruel play,
Can't find safety, night or day.

Can't hold onto hate, though it stings,
The reason for it, unclear things.

Once they cared, held him near,
Now they've gone, left his fear.
Once a dream, now a fright,
Butterflies turned into bees overnight.

The pain they left still lingers on,
A shattered part, feeling withdrawn.
Yet he can't find the hate,
Why? It's a mystery, his emotional state "

(A/o written by me)

He put the phone down ,He felt like this poem expressed everything that happened in his life , how his loving father turned into so distance , how his family hurt him so bad yet couldn't hate them ,he thought and thought later he started thinking about the events of the day ,he was so greatful that he had friends like them ,slowly His mind started wandered back to the CEO, Athena, whom Emma had raved about . Lost in thought, Ethan eventually drifted off to sleep , under the moon light like an angel who got broken by his rotten family.

To be continued.......

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How was this chapter?
Hope it was to your liking

it was not good enough , I tried my best

Well how is the poem , it is something I am confident in since I wrote it a while ago

Thank you for reading this chapter
See you on the next chapter
Bye

Be safe, happy and healthy