I Bet I Can Make You Speak (Boyxboy)

Chapter Sixty-Seven

(Riley's POV)

Michael pulls up to the curb and I say goodbye to Luca. I don't hug him even though every part of me wants to and I get in the car. Luca looks kind of sad, but Michael told me I need to stop hugging him. So, I just won't do it in front of him. I should probably explain that to Luca later. I don't want him thinking he did anything wrong. 

"Mom said you need to clean your room when you get home and catch up on your chores," Michael says. 

"Yeah, yeah. I know. She told me when I asked if I could go over Luca's tonight." Michael rolls his eyes and turns on his blinker. 

"You spend way to much time with that kid. Next thing you know you're going to start acting depressed, too," he says and I look at him confused. 

"Why would that happen? Depression isn't something you can just get from hanging out with someone who has it. It's a serious mental illness and you need to learn that," I say. 

Michael shrugs and says, "I don't need to learn anything. Depression isn't really a big deal. You can't die from it." 

I groan and facepalm before I say, "Ugh! Haven't you heard of suicide? People die from it every day!" 

"Suicide is stupid. You shouldn't kill yourself over something so little." Michael pulls into our driveway and I roll my eyes. 

"You're stupid. I'll be in my room." I walk into the house and go up to my room. I sit down on my bed and sigh before running my hand through my hair. 

Why can't people just understand mental illness? They're all so stupid and clueless until it happens to someone they love. Hell, I used to be that way. When Joshua told me Luca is mentally ill, I asked why he isn't in a mental hospital. But I learned quick enough that it's more than just a feeling. It controls every aspect of your life. I just hope one day people will be more educated on it. 

I start to clean my room and then do my chores. Afterward, I grab my phone and head downstairs to see if Mom or Dad is home. I need to talk to them about Michael thinking suicide is stupid. I want to make sure they don't agree. "Dad?" I call as I walk into his office. I see him doing his paperwork and I bite my lip. I don't want to bother him again. . . "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll go." I go to walk out but he shakes his head. 

"No, you can talk to me. What's up?" he asks as he puts his piles of papers away. 

"I need to talk to you about Michael," I say and he rolls his eyes. 

"What did he do this time?" 

"Well, I was talking to him about Luca and he told me that I shouldn't hang out with him so much because I might start acting depressed, too." Dad nods slowly and I sigh. "That's stupid, right? People don't get depressed just because someone they know has depression." 

"Well, no. They don't just get the illness themselves, but they could get depressed if they see someone they love suffering from it. That's a whole different situation, though. I can tell you get upset when Luca isn't having a good day, but you don't have depression yourself," Dad says. 

"That's what I tried explaining to him. Then he said it isn't a big deal because you can't die from it. But depression is a major factor in suicide and people die from that every day. Michael just said suicide is stupid and that you shouldn't kill yourself over something so little." 

Dad sighs and says, "Suicide isn't stupid. Pushing someone so much they want to commit suicide is stupid. But you should never kill yourself. It's not worth it. All it does is pass the pain onto the people around you. Everybody has their way of coping with life, and sometimes it's not healthy. But you can't call it stupid. You don't know what they've been through." 

"Thank you! Finally, someone in this house agrees!" I say and Dad chuckles. 

"Riley, I try to educate myself on many different topics. Back in college, I actually talked a girl out of committing suicide and that's what made me learn about it."

"Oh," I say and he smiles. 

"I'm still friends with her today. Actually, she's now a therapist I believe. Her name's Emma. Don't go around telling people about it because she likes to leave that in her past. Now, I have to get my work done, but we can talk later if you'd like," he says and I nod. 

"Sure. Thanks, Dad," I say and walk out of the room. 

I can't believe it! Dad actually understands mental illness! He's even helped people before! All this time I thought I was alone in this house when really I was just talking to the wrong people. I smile and go into the living room to watch TV. 

(Luca's POV)

Kyla left about an hour ago, so I decided to start working on the painting. I'm first sketching out a rough draft in my sketchbook. I think it's going to be a realistic painting of Riley with his ash costume on and me in my Pikachu costume. I hope he likes it. If he doesn't then I don't know what I'll do. 

What am I saying? Of course, he's going to like it! He told me he'll love anything as long as it's from me. 

"Luca!" Storm calls. 

"Y-Yeah?" I ask. 

"You have an appointment with Emma tomorrow, so you won't be at school in the morning!" he says and I sigh. 

"O-Okay!" I say and continue drawing. After I'm done with the sketch, I go to my closet and get out my painting stuff. I draw the outline on the canvas and make sure I'm happy with it before sitting down on my bed to take a break. 

It's getting a little late. I think I'll go to bed and finish the rest before Riley comes over tomorrow. I put my stuff away and put the canvas in one of my drawers so no one will find it. After that, I get into bed and go to sleep. 

*I hope you like this chapter! Please tell me what you think in the comments! Don't forget to vote too! Thanks for reading! I love you all! <3*