STUTTER

Chapter 10

He sat in the corner of my room, hands over his ears and eyes wide as he stared at the floor. His neck was slowly bruising with shades of purple, blue, red, and brown.

I gave him space, sitting on my bed and watching him quietly. He would flinch every now and then at his own mind.

"Scott please. You're scaring me."

His eyes darted to me, shaking hands slowly leaving his ears. "S-sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's okay. But I think I should take you to a hospital. Your neck looks really bad."

"I'm okay." He stood up, his movements timid. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"I just got my hood stuck on-"

"Scott. Be honest."

"If I'm honest, I'm gonna puke." He looked down. "Actually I-" he then held an arm over his stomach. "I think I might puke anyway-"

"It's okay, come here." I pulled him out of my room and to the bathroom, watching him immediately fall to his knees and vomit in the toilet. I held his hair back so it wouldn't hang in his face, even if it wasn't long enough to get puke in it. I used my other hand to gently rub his back, listening to him cough.

With a bruise like that, I couldn't imagine the pressure to his esophagus. It could have caused damage to it, which is what's making him throw up.

My sister stepped into the doorway, worry on her face and a glass of water in her hand. "What happened?"

He sat up, to which she walked over and handed him the water. He drank some of it but I could tell that swallowing hurt.

"Oh my god. Baby....your neck." My sister noticed it too, holding a hand over her mouth in shock.

"It's okay." He shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Sweetheart what happened to you?"

He threw up again, the look of horror on my sisters face shared by my own. I was worried, but even more so angry. "Don't ask about it, just help."

"Of course. I'll make something he can eat that won't hurt too bad. Take care of him, okay?"

She left us alone as he sat up again, groaning. "Ugh.....I feel gross."

"I know, we're gonna get you to eat and change clothes. Then we can lay down and watch movies, okay?"

"Okay..."

"We'll watch some American stuff so you can understand it better."

"But....you won't understand it."

"That's what subtitles are for." I smiled and helped him stand, taking him back to my room and finding pajama pants and a t-shirt he could wear. When I left him alone to change, I went into the kitchen.

My sisters daughter was sitting on the counter while she made soup. "Can he stay here tonight?"

"He can stay here whenever he needs." She sighed. "Mind telling me what happened to him?"

"I don't exactly know but I have a hunch. He's usually got bruises but never that bad. He hinted at his dad being abusive."

"That poor kid...should we call the police?"

"I don't think he'd do well in a court room. Let's calm him down first, he needs to feel safe. If we call the police, it'll blow the situation up and he doesn't need that right now. It's better if we wait."

"You're right...the last thing I want is to freak him out."

"Uncle Keiji, is that your boyfriend?" The young girl on the counter asked me, kicking her legs back and forth.

"Uh- I-"

"Yes I am." I felt arms snake around my waist from behind, Scott resting his chin on my shoulder. "Who's asking?"

"Sara!" She laughed at him. "My name is Sara."

"How cute." He mumbled into my neck, sighing. "Thank you for letting me wear your clothes."

I ended up calling Mai over, she stood in the hall with me while he slept on the couch after eating. "Since he'll be staying here for a bit, I snagged some clothes from his place. Got his phone and charger, pain meds too. If he needs anything I'll, I can get it."

"What about his dad?"

"He left for work before I went by, so it's okay. He's got a spare key under the doormat."

"Thank you. I'd tell you what's going on but I don't think it's my place. I just thought he'd like to see you."

"You don't have to tell me, I know what's going on. His dad called and asked if he was with me which he only does when Scott runs off without saying anything. And there's only one reason he'd do that."

"So you know."

"Yeah. I've known for a while now. And I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Is he doing okay?"

"Better than he was."

"Glad to hear it." She smiled and handed me the bag with his things inside. "I've got his uniform in there too if he's up for school."

"I don't know how to thank you for this."

"You're a nice guy, Keiji. I never would have expected you to take him in like this."

"He'd do the same for me."

"How can I help?"

"Just stay by his side, I'm heading to get groceries for my sister. He's in the living room on the couch, fell asleep watching something. I wanna get some things for him. Since he'll be staying here, I want food he likes."

"He likes strawberries and black tea. Likes to cook but he lives off of microwave meals at his place so don't get those. He also likes soft things if you get him something other than food."