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Chapter 68 : Rocky's plan

Chapter 68

Later...   

Rocky POV

When we came back from the lake, Riker was fast asleep, cuddled into mom's side. Perfect.

I just need to get Riker alone with dad now.

While my siblings were getting changed out of their swimsuits, I went to go find dad. He was outside doing some yard work.

"Dad," I said, walking over.

"What's up, Rocky?"

"I have an idea for you."

"What?"

"For Riker. He's asleep on the chair in the living room with mom right now. I made Ross, Ryland, and Rydel hang out at the beach today so Riker would have to hang out here with one of you. So it seems like he trusts mom if he's comfortable enough to fall asleep next to her. So you need to spend time with him alone now."

"How would I do that though? He keeps trying to avoid me."

"Well... What if you took him on a camping trip to that campsite not far from here? Then it would just be you and him."

"You don't think he'd just hate me even more for forcing him to go camping?"

"Not if he spends enough time with you and actually gets to know you. He needs to be with you for long enough to get to know you and trust you. And if you're the only person there, he's going to have to trust you."

"How many days should I take him camping for?"

"I don't know. As many as it takes for him to trust you. Maybe 2 or 3. I think that would be long enough."

"Why are you so sure he'll trust me just because we spend a few days together?"

"Because he's scared of the dark. And camping is outside in the dark. He'll be scared. So comfort him. Make him feel safe. He's looking for comfort. He hasn't had it his whole life. Give it to him."

"Ok... I'll talk with your mother about it and see what she thinks. But you know him best, so if that's what you think will work, then maybe that's what I should do."

Later...

Rocky POV

Riker was helping clean up from dinner when dad told him he wanted to talk to him. Mom thought my camping trip idea was great so she told dad to do it.

I was in the living room, so I couldn't really hear since Ross and Ryland were playing video games on the tv, but all of a sudden, Riker stormed upstairs. And I knew dad had told him.

I was just going to let him cool off when I heard him shut the bathroom door. I need to make sure he's not cutting.

I sighed and got up. To be honest, I'm getting tired of Riker avoiding dad and having a problem with him. He's had no problem trusting the rest of us. But he won't give dad a chance.

I slowly walked up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Riker."

I got no response.

"Riker."

Still nothing.

I got the key from above the door and unlocked it. Sure enough, Riker was sitting on the floor, cutting.

I went over to him and tried to get the razor blade out of his hand, but he held it behind his back.

"Riker, give it to me."

"No."

"Yes. You need to stop. This is dangerous."

"I don't care anymore."

"Riker."

I tried to get the razor blade from him again, but he wouldn't let me have it. So I grabbed his hands and tackled him on the floor. I held his hands above his head and got the blade. I threw it in the garbage and then looked down at Riker since I was sitting on him.

I was surprised he wasn't crying. He's not upset anymore. He's mad. I'm sure he's scared too, but now he's mostly angry.

"Get off," he said, struggling under me.

"Stop. You're going to get blood all over the place."

"Get off!"

I got off of Riker carefully.

"Let me clean your wrist."

"I can do it myself."

Riker turned on the sink and ran water over his wrist for about a minute. By the time he was done, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. And it was dad.

"What's going on up here?" He asked.

"Riker cut."

Riker held his wrist close to his chest, hiding it from dad.

"Let me see," dad said.

"No."

"Riker, let me see."

"No!"

Riker backed up against the other wall. Dad followed him over.

"Stop!" Riker yelled.

I was surprised how he was acting now. He used to be too scared to go against whatever we told him, but now it seems like he doesn't care.

Riker slid down the wall to the floor. Dad stood there, looking at him.

"Stand up," dad said.

Riker shook his head no.

"Stand up," he said again.

Riker didn't move, so dad grabbed his upper arm and pulled him up kind of forcefully. And he dragged Riker out into the loft and made him sit down on his bed.

"Rocky, give us a few minutes please," dad said.

I nodded and went downstairs.

Riker POV

"You need to pack a bag so we can leave to go camping tomorrow. Do you understand me, Riker?"

I stared down at the floor, not answering him. I'm not happy.

"Riker, you need to get on the same page as me. We're going camping tomorrow. We're going to get to know each other."

"I don't want to."

"I know you don't want to, but you have to."

Mark took my hand and flipped it over so he could see my wrist. I was still avoiding eye contact with him.

"You need to stop doing this."

I stayed silent.

"Riker."

I took a deep breath and finally looked up at him. He didn't look angry, like I was expecting.

"Stop hurting yourself. If you can't stop doing this, we're going to have to figure something out because you can't keep hurting yourself. I don't know if that means a therapist or some sort of consequences, but if I were you, I'd stop now so you don't find out."

He got up and left. Or so I thought. He came back a minute later to bandage up my wrist. He didn't say anything. He just picked up my hand, cleaned my wrist, and bandaged it up. And then he left for real.

I sighed and laid down on my bed. Tomorrow is going to be miserable.