Teen Years - Big Mouth (Updated Version)

06

I quietly walked through the front door, not wanting to disturb anyone. As I walked up the stairs, Leah's door opened. A boy who closely resembled Jay came out, waved and turned towards the stairs. "Oh, hey. You must be Leah's new boyfriend." I said, extending a hand. He took it and grinned. "Val. Val Bilzerian." "Dylan." He was one of Jay's older brothers, someone I was explicitly warned about. "Okay," I said after a few minutes of silence. "I'm gonna go to my room now." I walked away, not bothering to give him a second thought.

I talked to Judd about it and we shared a good laugh. My theory was they were just naturally creepy. What Nick told me the next morning proved otherwise. I guessed he'd heard Judd and Leah talking about it.

I was finishing up that book when there was a quiet knock at the door. "It's open!" I called to the person on the other side. The door slowly creeped open, revealing an anxious looking Nick. "Hey little dude. Come sit with me." I patted the bed then motioned for him to close the door. He looked upset and as narcissistic as he acted sometimes, I wanted to help him.

(TW : MENTION OF SA)

He took a seat on the foot of the bed, exhaling slowly. "Andrew and I heard Leah and Judd talking. Something about a weird encounter with Val?" I nodded. "And I just wanted to tell you some things.." He trailed off a bit. "It's cool, Nick. Take your time." It was quiet for a while. Then he started spilling out all of these stories. Abuse Val and Jay's other brother, Kurt, had put Jay through. And honestly? A bit of it sounded like sexual abuse. I was horrified. The things they put this boy through. I believed Nick, there were details that no one should know. And as far as any of us knew, Nick had never been sexually abused so how would he have even known some of these things?

I shrugged it off but inside, I was terrified. For Leah, for Jay, and anyone else who had contact with those two. Nick and I talked for a bit longer until Judd came home. Then Nick ran to his own room. Judd and I laid together for a while, enjoying our Sunday together. We had plans for after school and I was greatly looking forward to them.

I'd agreed to walk Jay home after Lola left. I worried for him and his safety, honestly. I kept a hand on his back but stood in front of him a bit. I opened his front door and led him inside, shaking my head. Filthy. "Jay, I'm gonna make you something to eat before I leave, cool?" I knew his mom didn't cook and no way his dad ever did; we'd all seen Guy's ads.

I stood in the kitchen, piling together what they had in their cabinets and fridge. I'd managed to make something decent though Jay said he loved it. I heard two sets of footsteps stomping up the basement stairs. I ignored them the best that I could and washed the dishes I'd dirtied. Jay watched me clean my mess. "If I paid you, would you help me clean our house?" He finally asked, his face a bright red. "I'd love to help you, Jay. We'll start tomorrow." I hated the state of his house, maybe things would be a bit better if it was clean?