Haines's Home For Mistreated Boys *on hold*

Chapter 2

I sit in the car, having a panic attack. My chest is tight. My hands are shaking, even as they rest on my thighs. I take out my headphones, putting them back in my hoodie pocket with my phone. I take a deep breath, before nodding at the woman and stepping out of the car.

I pull my bags out of the trunk before walking around to where the woman was standing, talking to a taller, older looking male. He has darker skin, black hair, and what look like hazel eyes. He notices me and gives me a warm smile, "Hello, Riley. My name is Griffin Haines and I run this institution. Come on in to my office and we can talk a bit more. Leave your bags there, one of the boys will grab them and take them to your room." I nod and follow him inside the huge house.

He leads me to a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves on the back wall with a desk in the middle of the room. He sits down behind the desk and I sit in one of the two chairs in front of it. He opens a file, which I assume is mine, before starting to speak. "So, I see you've gone to the hospital for a suicide attempt and were in therapy for about a year. Is that right?" I nod in response. "Okay, well luckily I'm a licensed therapist and you're in a house full of people who have felt that way before, so if you ever need to talk to someone we are every where." I nod and give a small smile in thanks.

He smiles back at me, "You look tired so I'll show you to your room. One of the boys will be up in about an hour to get you for dinner."

I follow him up the stairs to a door. "Here it is! Let me know if you need anything!"

"Thank you," I manage to spit out before opening the door. I collapsed onto the bed, not looking at my surroundings, falling asleep almost instantly.

I woke up to a knock on the door, "Come in," I said weakly. The door opened revealing a short, skinny red head with bright green eyes and freckles.

"Hi! Sorry to wake you, but dinner's ready. My name's Dakota, by the way."

I gave him a small smile, "I'm Riley."

He lead me downstairs, through the kitchen and into the dining room. All of the seats are already filled, so I take the one empty one next to Dakota and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes. "Hi, your Riley, right? I'm Blaine." His voice is soft and quiet, a change from the excited voice of Dakota.

I try and give him a small smile, and he returns it. Griffin clears his throat, stopping everyone's conversations. "As you all know, we have a new member joining us. So, we're going to go around in a circle and introduce ourselves. Okay? Hayden you can go first."

The boy sitting next to him nodded,"I'm Hayden and I'm 17." He had light purple hair,brown eyes, and fair skin with a light dusting of freckles across his nose.
Then the boy next to him spoke,"My names Eric and I'm 15." Eric had black hair, brown eyes, and dark caramel colored skin.

"The names Blaine and I'm 18."

It was my turn. I felt panic surge in my chest. I can do this, "My name is Riley and I'm 16."

Dakota spoke up,"I'm Dakota and I'm 16!"

Now it was back to Griffin, "My names Griffin and I'm 21."

The conversations picked back up, I sat eating in silence. Once everyone was finished, Eric collected the plates, taking them into the kitchen. I left the table, going back to my room to unpack. 

When I was about halfway through my things, there was a knock at my door. I yelled out a come in, before the door swung open, Hayden and Blaine walking in.

"Hey! We just wanted to get to know you more," Blaine said as he sat on the edge of my bed, pulling Hayden down next to him. 

I nod, putting clothes in the dresser. "So, why are you here?" Hayden jabbed Blaine in the side at the question

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Hayden added.

"Um, I came out to my parents as gay, and they weren't too accepting."

Blaine frowned, "I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but fuck them. Parents should be supportive of their kids no matter what."

I nod in agreement, "You're right, but that doesn't mean that everyone will." 

They ask me more questions, and I ask some myself. It was basic questions, favorite color, favorite food, etc. I was glad they seemed genuinely interested in me.  

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