They Don't Know (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 55

When he's done, he takes a moment for his words to rest in the air until the silence kills him. He opens his eyes and looks around at his friends. Sevyn is staring at him, Malcolm is at a lost for words, Monica is shaking her head, Shaun is pulling at his hoodie strings lost in thought and Ty looks like he wants to kill someone. "Why didn't you ever tell us any of this? Or at least tell me?" Malcolm questions.

Corey knew this would be the first question and he just shrugs his shoulder. "I thought if I didn't tell anyone about it then I could convince myself it wasnt really happening. I was embrassed that the person who gave me life was the one ruining it. I thought the bruises and scratches would make me look weak so I hid them from you." He rubs his hands over his hot face. "I didn't want to look like a charity case."

"Charity case!? Corey you're our friend, we all have issues. How many times has Sevyn cried to you, how many times have you had to fixed Shaun and Ty's dumb arguments? Malcolm is your best friend and you're like my older brother. The last thing we see you as is a charity case."

Monica's eyes blaze like a wild fire. "That day I saw your black eye...you lied about those boys jumping you?" Corey nods his head sheepishly and she shakes her head. "How could you keep us in the dark like this?"

Corey shrugs his shoulders feeling like a bug under a microscope. "I didnt think it would ever come to this point." He admits, tapping the pulse monitor on his finger. "None of you know what's is like to have a parent abandon you, while your other parent looks at you like you disgust him. I didnt think you would understand so I never spoke up. And if I did, you would all just tell me to call the cops on him."

"Because that's the smart thing to do instead of being beaten by grown men." Malcolm says.

Corey furrows his eyebrows, "So DCF could be all in my face? So they could take me away from my father? He's the only parent I had, he wasn't the best but at least he was there. If I called the cops I would be thrown into some state house, living with kids who are going through almost the same shit as me. I didnt want that. I wanted to keep my life as normal as possible and if getting beat everyday meant I could live in my own home with my own father without DCF dropping by every week, so be it. Like I said before, you all have your parents. I only had my dad and I wasn't going to loose him."

Once again it falls silent as everyone thinks about this. The heaviness of the situation makes every uncomfortable but at least now they know what's truly been going on. Corey feels relieved that his friends now know what he's been hiding from them and why. But he knows they'll never be able to connect with him on an emotional level.

He looks at Sevyn who's staring at the floor, her arms crossed over her chest. She's been really quiet since hearing his story and hasn't moved an inch. Corey nudges her with his knee, "You ok?"

She looks up at him wither her mouth is turned down in a frown. "You broke your promise." She says softly and Corey scrunches his eyebrows in confusion. "You promised you you would tell me if things got out of control but you didn't."

The guilt eats away at him again, he knows how serious Sevyn is about promises and he broke the one he made to her anyway. "Sevyn--

"And you fabricated the truth. You told me his friends did all this to you, not your father." She feels like hitting him but he's already in enough pain. "I thought we were closer than that Corey."

He stares at her not sure what to say. A part of him is angry at his self for even telling her pieces of what's been going on in the beginning. The other part of him is angry with Sevyn for not understanding where he's coming from. She of all people should know how it feels like to shut down when you have so many problems crammed into your life.