what he deserves- camp camp (dadvid)

Chapter 3

David's POV
Max began to speak with tears of anger and frustration streaming down his face, his eyes baring a pained expression all the while he spoke. When he spoke, the words flooded out of him like he had needed to tell somebody this information for so long and had been practicing how he would execute it. His voice carried emotions I had never thought I would see the small boy show, at least not to me or Gwen. It sounded angry and embarrassed but most of all, scared.
"T-they would lock me away for days at a time, no food, no drink, no nothing. I-it was my own fault really, I should never have pushed them as far as I did, I guess.' I watched him squirm at the memories. As he continued to talk, I noticed a pattern in his words- every other sentence, he seemed to put all the blame onto himself as if any of it justified his parents disgusting actions. ''All t-they did w-was drink and smoke and yell. I don't think I remember a time when they didn't. I wasn't w-wanted at all and I was constantly reminded of it. I-I don't blame them I wouldn't have wanted me around either but it's my fault for never d-doing something about it. B-but, when I was old enough to say stuff back to them, the w-work got harder and the punishments got worse. They s-sometimes just yelled but that was on good days. S-sometimes they would do things like..."
We leaned in closer, scared of what he was going to say next.
''W-well, um, they would hit and scrape me until I would b-bleed a lot with broken glass and sometimes they would inject me with some shit? I d-don't know what it was but it made me sick for days but they still sent me to school."
I felt as though I couldn't speak. I felt my cheeks burning red with anger. Oh my God, how could somebody do something to their child like that? I tried to speak but the words couldn't seem to escape from my mouth. I nodded sadly at Gwen who spoke for me, instead. We were both thinking the exact same thing and we both knew it.
"Jesus Christ... is that why you started harming yourself, Max? You feel angry with them so you take it out on yourself?" she asked. Ha. I guess her duel major in psychology was actually useful to her when she needed it to be.
Max stuttered a little. "I-I guess? I never looked that deeply into it but maybe? I-it just makes me feel better sometimes, knowing I've gotten my p-punishment for doing stuff wrong. I don't feel it any more. I-I don't really feel anything any more," tears began to roll down his cheeks again.
Max... I needed to help him. I just needed to rescue him from all the absolute awful... bullshit he'd been subjected to all those years. Yet... it had taken me this long to find out what was wrong... I was forcing him to be happy when... he really, really wasn't. No wonder he acted the way he did. No wonder...

Max's POV
Now they both know. They both know everything I had promised myself at the beginning of camp that I wouldn't tell anybody. Ha... what an absolute fucking failure.
Although it wasn't great, I felt something. Truly felt an emotion.. It had been ages since I had felt anything, properly and truly, other than fear. That had to be a start, right? It felt like it was stabbing me through the chest but it was still there.
"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. God, why couldn't I just speak normally and without fucking up every two seconds? No wonder they didn't ever want to hear you. Speak to you. Listen to you. I bit the inside of my mouth for a short moment, desperately trying to collect my thoughts. "I-I didn't mean to tell you all this, I-".
As I got up to leave the councilor's cabin, I felt David grab me, gently, by my wrist. I was told to "sit the fuck back down" by Gwen. But not in her usual snarky voice. In a sad, almost sympathetic voice that made me more scared than ever. Did that voice mean it was serious? I wasn't just... overreacting this whole time, right? It made me feel relieved in a way but my anxieties increased again, the second that David began to speak.
"Max... Max we can't let you go back there. We can't let you continue to do this shit to yourself, its, it's just not healthy!" David cried.
"For real Max. We care and it's not healthy what's happening to you and what you're doing to yourself because of it. Please, let me and David help you." Gwen looked serious and it made me embarrassed. I couldn't believe they were saying all that stuff... about how they cared and shit. Nobody had ever told me those words before and meant it... damn. I looked down at the floor.
"Okay..." I whispered.