Notebook

Twenty-Four

The pink-haired boy was beside himself with fear.

He felt sick to his stomach, fighting hard not to throw up; that wouldn't have been pretty whilst still inside the coffee shop.

Aiden couldn't look up from the table because Evan glared at him every time he did, furious with his cousin for hiding such a massive part of his life.

Nathan was trying to keep him calm, squeezing his hand and pressing up against the younger boy's shoulder, but it wasn't stopping the consuming dread. The panic was coming thick and fast.

The last few days at home with the older boy had been calm, free of stress, and violent memories. But now they were back.

How was he going to tell Evan about being so viciously beaten?

How was he supposed to explain being held back and tortured?

Aiden quaked with anxiety, scrubbing at his face until the mark was red, raw and sensitive, but that didn't stop him. He continued to rub and rub as if it would remove the scar from his face.

His hand squeezed Nathan's so tight that it was beginning to hurt; the older boy's fingers felt like they were about to snap under his grip.

"Tell me what happened!" Evan demanded, looking his older cousin up and down.

Reid attempted to calm the youngest boy, but it was futile.

He was distressed because something awful had happened to his pink-haired cousin, someone he had worshipped and loved since early childhood. Someone he thought he could trust with any secret and someone he thought trusted him in return.

But here they were.

Aiden's usually flawless, youthful face was scarred beyond measure.

The youngest boy couldn't stop the fire from raging inside him. He needed to know what had happened. Who else knew?

His family?

His friends?

Was it just Evan who didn't know his cousin was involved with something life-changing?

"Is this why you had to leave Croydon?" Evan asked, smacking a hand on the table in frustration.

It all seemed to fall into place for Reid with those words.

He saw how the pink-haired boy trembled and winced at the sound of the dark-haired boy slapping the table, Reid could see the building terror in his eyes, and he'd experienced a minor attack with Aiden on his first day at school.

Large crowds, sudden movements and embraces made him freeze or flinch away. He didn't talk about his hometown unless questioned, and even then, the other boy didn't give away many details, almost like it was a rehearsed story.

Nathan could see the puzzle falling together in his blonde friend's eyes.

He was working out why Aiden was always on edge and terrified all the time.

Why he couldn't join in properly with their game of full-contact water polo at the pool, or couldn't walk the school corridors alone. He needed constant supervision because something horrible had happened.

"Aiden," Reid's voice called out as he pulled the dark-haired younger boy towards him, trying to cool his uncharacteristic temper.

Evan wasn't usually hot-headed, but this wasn't a normal situation.

"Did somebody do this to you?"

With that, Aiden's remaining resolve crumbled as he folded over into Nathan's lap, trying to suppress the sobs and whimpers from his mouth as his heart broke.