Darkness in the Neon Lights (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 38

My heart pounds heavily in my chest as Brock, Ze, myself, and the rest of the guys from the club sit in the middle of the courtyard. It's been a week since any of us got to see Mini, and we're all anxious. It wasn't even because he needed to rest in the hospital. Tyler told us that the reason he was taking so long to come back was because he was scared.

He told us that when Mini was discharged from the hospital, he tried driving him back to the apartments, but halfway there, Mini started sobbing uncontrollably. He had to pull into a random parking lot and pull him out of the car in order for him to try to calm him down. He told us that Craig was shaking, having a hard time breathing. The way he described it was that it looked like he was having a panic attack.

So, to calm him down, he rented a hotel room for a week and had Mini stay there. However, they both knew that he couldn't stay away forever. His family lived overseas, and he needed more than just Tyler. So, after taking a week away from the apartments, he decided to come back. And we were all ready to see him. At least, we thought we were.

The second we see Tyler and him walking up from the parking lot, we all stand up and start walking over to them as a group. Mini is a big guy, buff as hell and tall. But when we were walking over to meet him, I swear to god, I have never seen a smaller man. It felt like he wanted to shrink away and disappear, but Tyler wasn't going to let it happen.

Brock and I were the first two to make it to him, and he slowly raised his head to look up at us. He looked tired. He looked weak. He looked like he wanted to crawl into bed and hide away from the world...

The Mini we all knew was gone.

The confident man that would walk around with his head held high. The man who was the life of the party. The man who's personality was all that was needed to light up a room. The man who was loud, proud, worked hard and had so many amazing dreams. The man who tried to inspire others, and loved to make others happy. The man who worried for everyone, was headstrong, and was not afraid to speak for himself.

The man who, one week ago, was trying to help control the harassment we were all going through. The man who just over one month ago was happily getting into a relationship with a close friend.

All of that was gone. The person he once was was killed in his attack. Now, he is a shell of who he once was. Now, he is just fighting to live.

Taking a deep breath, I take a step forward. I look into his eyes and I can see that he is still fighting back tears.

Last week, Ze told me that most victims of sexual assault never like being touched. However, I can't stand seeing my friend like this. So, trying to hold back my own tears, I just ask, "Can I give you a hug?"

He blinks, allowing some tears to fall out. He doesn't say anything, but he nods.

With his permission, I take a few more steps towards him and tightly wrap my arms around him. He jumps at my touch, but soon he wraps his arms around me as well, burying his face into my shoulder. In a matter of seconds, I feel my shoulder start to get wet as he starts to shake.

Brock walks over and hugs us both, gently rubbing Mini's back as he starts to cry harder. Then Ze walks over and he wraps his arms around us as well.

He also starts gently patting Mini on the back, before he softly says, "It's okay, buddy. We're all here for you."

One by one, everyone from the club starts to join in on the group hug, including Tyler. As the group gets bigger, I notice that Mini is starting to cry harder and harder. His crying is turning into a heavy sob. His breathing has become so shakey...

"It's more important than anything that we are here for Mini."

... God knows how true that is...