Escape from Abuse - Skephalo

Chapter 12 - Zak's Room

TW: Blood, Mentions of Self Harm, Swearing

Darryl

My eyes fluttered open, and I looked around at my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was Zak sitting next to me on the bed. He looked like he had fallen asleep. I looked out the window and saw it was dark. How long was I out for? I touched my face, and a wave of pain ran through my body. I kept looking around and realized it didn't look like any place I had been before. There was a computer with tons of other computer stuff on a black desk. There was a ton of decorations on the wall. All of which had a blue theme. I looked down at myself and noticed that I wasn't wearing my hoodie.

I always felt weird without my hoodie; It was so warm and comfy compared to the blue t-shirt I had on right now. I also always felt so vulnerable; that's why I've only worn hoodies and jeans to school this week. I didn't want kids to stare at my arms or legs.

I tried to think back to what had happened. It was all just a messy blur. I mean, I remember going to Zak before passing out-, and I think Noah had something to do with it. I sat there thinking before I heard the familiar voice.

"Darryl! Your awake!"

I looked in the other direction and saw Zak.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" He sat on the bed, his legs crossed, as he leaned in towards me, inspecting my face.

"No, I'm okay. I'm just wondering- what happened? And how long was I out for?"

Zak nervously looked around the room before sighing.

"You ran towards me before you passed out. You had blood all over you; I'm guessing from the deep cut on your face."

He looked down at the bed.

"You've been out for about three hours. I brought you back to my house because the nurse at the school had already left when it happened."

He then shook his head quickly before saying,

"I genuinely don't know how you got cut, though. It's so straight and deep it would have been done with a knife or something."

"How do you know so much about cuts like this?" I tried not to think about the cut and tried to focus on some conversation with Zak.

He nervously laughed.

"My dad used to be a doctor before he got fired."

"Speaking of that," He hopped off the bed before disappearing into a door and returning with bandages and some other things.

"I have to change your bandaging. I have a few things that will help it heal faster."

He stepped over to me and set the materials on the bed next to me. He then stepped over and held my chin gently with his hand. He then took off the bandage thing on my face. He then leaned down and put his face directly in front of mine.

I don't know why, but at that very moment, my heart started beating quickly, and I felt my face getting hot. Was this normal? Am I sick? What is happening-

"Okay... I have this spray that will help it heal faster. The only problem is- It might sting a bit."

Zak removed his hand from my chin, stepped over to all his stuff, and dug through it. He grabbed a small bottle before stepping back over to me. He held my chin again before a cool spray hit my face. I felt pain on my cut like little knives were stabbing me. I let out a little cry and tried to turn away.

"Darry,l it's okay- It's over, that's it-" He softly shushed me and held my face in his hands. I calmed down and let him put more stuff on my face. After he was done, he took everything and set it on his desk before getting back in the bed next to me.

"Why do you care so much about me?"

Zak looked shocked. The room was quiet before he said,

"Well, I can see you're a good person, and well, you're my friend!"

I sighed before resting my head on Zaks's shoulder.

"I just feel like everyone hates me."

"Darryl." He gave me a sad look.

"Sure, there might be people who hate you, but you can't have everyone like you. And even if everyone else hated you, I would never."

I stayed quiet. I guess he was right.

Zak

It had been about an hour of Darryl and me talking. I couldn't help but think about how Darryl had gotten the cut. It generally looked like it was from a knife. But if he did it to himself. He wouldn't be dumb enough to do it on his face, right?

I couldn't help but worry.

"Zak? Are you okay?"

I shook my head and looked at Darryl, who had a worried expression on his face.

"I'm- I'm just worried about your cut. I mean- Your okay, right-, You didn't do it to yourself right?",

He looked confused.

"Why would I want to hurt myself? That doesn't make any sense."

I glanced around the room.

"It's just- Sometimes people do it, and it's addictive in a way. Like caffeine."

I hoped he didn't understand in a way. He was dealing with his own life, and I didn't want him to care about my shit on top of his.

"Forget about it. Can you try to remember what happened for you to get the cut? Was it your locker or something?"

He seemed to think hard before saying,

"Well, I had just finished getting my stuff from my locker so, I went to go meet up with you, and then I was.. Oh yea. I was pulled into a bathroom by- Noah. Then he.."

His expression went from neutral to horror.

"He held a knife up to my neck. I thought I was going to die. He told me about how I'm with Cara only for the money." He was crying now.

"He was going to kill me, Zak!" He yelled through sobs.

I pulled him into my lap and let him cry into my shoulder. I whispered some "it's okays" and "everything will be fines." I pulled him away from my shoulder so I could look at him in the eyes. Even after he had been crying, his eyes were still the most beautiful things ever. I pulled him forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead before pulling him into my chest.

I love this kid so fucking much.