TRIGGER WARNING
14 year old Chandler Russell has a hard life to say the least. His dad is a drunk who beats him, and his mom is too strung out on drugs to notice. He's managing his own personal hell somewhat well, until someone takes a closer look a...
Jamie looked at him and smiled, a tear running down her face.
"You know, I never thanked you. For saving me." She said and wiped the tear off her cheek.
"You don't have to." Chandler replied. She thought for a moment. "What made you do it? What made you step in?" She asked.
Chandler thought before answering.
"Because if I didn't, who else would've? B-before I don't know if I would've thought twice about the sounds coming from the bathroom. I don't think anyone would've unless they've lived it." He started.
"A-and people who've lived it don't want other people to live it. So now that you've lived it, I hope you'll be able to help someone before it gets that far." He finished.
Jamie smiled sadly and nodded.
"I never really thought it happened to boys." She admitted.
"Me neither." Chandler admitted back. They sat in silence for a little while, until Chandler broke it. "Watch out, okay? There are more people like Derek, and even worse than just him. Be careful, alright?" He warned. Jamie nodded.
"Thank you." She smiled and went back to her table.
{Fourth Period} Chandler was sitting in Mr. Addams' office, telling him about how his Christmas break went and asking Mr. Addams how his went.
Mr. Addams let Chandler ramble on, talking with him and answering his questions. Mr. Addams noticed that he seemed a lot happier, probably the most he's ever seen him.
He was being a kid.
For a second Chandler stopped rambling and sighed.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to talk so much." Chandler apologized sheepishly.
"Don't apologize, kid. It's good to hear you sounding so...happy. It's the way that it should be." Mr. Addams smiles.
Chandler grinned and nodded.
"I think Jamie's doing better. I think you should talk to her." Chandler changed the subject.
"Her homeroom is at the beginning of the day. I do talk to her, but right now I'm talking to you. Are you doing better?" Mr. Addams asked.
Chandler thought about that for a moment. Was he doing better? He still has dreams about Keith, but other than that he seems better.
He's taking his anxiety medicine and his ADHD pill and he's okay for the most part.
He can heal from what he's been through.
"I am. I really am." Chandler smiled. "That's good to hear. Now all you've gotta do is control that temper of yours, don't you think?" Mr. Addams suggested.
Chandler sighed. "Yeah, I know I do. But when I see someone get hurt...t-the same way I've been hurt before it's really hard. It scares me because what if something like that happens to someone I care about? I don't want to hurt people..." He explained.
"I know you don't. And you've gotta try to remember that you don't like hurting people. And you gotta remember how bad you feel afterwards. That's not you, you're a good kid. Remember that." Mr. Addams told him.
"Am I though? I've gotten into so many fights a-and...I don't know. It doesn't feel like I'm a good kid anymore." Chandler shrugged.
"But you are. You've got a heart of gold, and you've experienced pain that no other person should. Which means maybe, the people who hurt you, are also hurting. It's not an excuse, but it's something to think about." Mr. Addams explained.
Chandler hesitated before replying. "I-I know we aren't really supposed to talk about it b-but...you know the man who came here with a gun? A-and took me and Laura?" He asked quietly. Mr. Addams nodded.
"What about him?" He asked.
Chandler sighed. "H-his name's K-Keith. And he's the one who hurt me like Derek tried to hurt Jamie." He started, talking just above a whisper. This is the first time he's really talked about what happened.
Everyone else already seemed to know what Keith did before Chandler really understood.
Mr. Addams looked at him sympathetically and nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"B-but he actually um...n-no one was there to s-stop him. A-anyways..." Chandler wiped his face.
"D-do you think someone hurt him when he was a kid?" Chandler finally asked. Mr. Addams thought for a while.
"I think it's very likely. Maybe when he was a kid he was also sexually abused, or maybe not. Some people are just monsters." He answered. Chandler winced when he said, 'sexually abused', because he hated the fact that's what happened to him.
He didn't have time to respond because the bell rang, cutting off his thoughts.
"Hey, it'll get better, okay?" Mr. Addams said to Chandler on his way out.
Chandler smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Addams. It already is."
A/N: Hi, hello, sorry this was kinda bad butttt I wanna talk about something serious.
If you, or someone you know is suffering from any kind of abuse, sexual, physical or psychological please talk to someone, an adult or maybe even just a friend.
That's the real sexual abuse hotline number, maybe you can give them a call. Thank you for reading and please stay safe.
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