You're My Savior

Chapter Twenty-One

Jake's curiosity is piqued when Johnnie mentions Bryan. He can tell that there's a lot of history there, and he's eager to hear more. "Bryan? Who's Bryan?" He asks, trying to keep his tone casual.

"Dont'cha remember?" Johnnie asks back. "Um, when we were at that damn park and how I said I was gonna move in with that guy that one day?"

Jake's face flushes with embarrassment as he remembers that conversation. He had completely forgotten about it, and now he feels like an idiot for not paying attention.

"Oh, right... I remember now. You said you were going to move in with Bryan."

He chuckles nervously, hoping that Johnnie isn't too upset with him for not remembering.

"It's ok if you don't remember, it was years ago." Johnnie nods. "Well anyway.. I was seventeen and Bryan? He was twenty-four."

Jake's jaw drops when Johnnie tells him that Bryan was twenty-four. He can't believe that Johnnie was so young and that he was living with a much older man.

"Wait, what? How old were you when you moved in with him?" He asks, his voice is filled with concern.

"Seventeen." Johnnie repeated, nodding his head. He looks at his tatted hands, seeing they're a little shaken up.

Jake can't believe that Johnnie was only seventeen when he moved in with Bryan. He's worried that something bad might have happened between them.

"So, did you and Bryan have a romantic relationship?" He asks hesitantly, not wanting to pry too much.

Johnnie immediately gagged at that. "No, no." He laughs, shaking his head. "No, but uh, I was dating Alex. But, Bryan would always like.. I don't know, objectify me."

Jake's concern turns to anger when he hears that Bryan was objectifying Johnnie.

"What do you mean he objectified you? Did he make you feel uncomfortable?" He asks, his voice tinged with anger.

Johnnie nods. "Especially in the beginning when it was just me and him living there." He replied, zoning out into the distance.

Jake's anger turns to sympathy as he watches Johnnie zone out. He can tell that this is a difficult subject for him to talk about, and he doesn't want to push him too far.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Johnnie. No one should ever be objectified like that, especially by someone who's supposed to be taking care of them." He says softly, hoping to provide some comfort.

Johnnie shakes his head, staring in the distance. "Bryan would also like.. give me drinks, and uh," he clears his throat.

"Keep in mind I was like seventeen, eighteen years old. And uh, anyway – he would give me drinks, and pressure me into drinking. Now, I have an alcohol problem." He laughs and shakes his head.

Jake's heart sinks as Johnnie tells him about his alcohol problem. He can't believe that Bryan was giving him drinks and pressuring him to drink when he was still a minor.

"Oh my god, Johnnie... I'm so sorry. That's terrible." He says, feeling a wave of sadness wash over him. "You shouldn't have had to deal with that. It's not your fault that Bryan took advantage of you."

Johnnie shrugged. "Eh.. it's fine now. I don't talk to Bryan anymore. Um, he was also very sexual.." He cringed at the statement.

"He objectified me and my friends, recorded me making out with Alex, constantly shipped me and my friend Kyle, uh... made porn jokes, it– it was a mess."

Jake's face scowls as Johnnie mentions Bryan's sexual comments and inappropriate behavior.

"Oh my god, that's so messed up. I can't believe he would do that to you and your friends." He says, feeling disgusted. "You didn't deserve any of that, Johnnie. You were just a kid. It's a miracle that you turned out okay after all of that."

"I don't even talk to any of them anymore. Kyle sometimes by text but.. that's about it." Johnnie replied. "I was so depressed, I resorted back to self-harm, and drinking. Then.. you raided me on twitch, so.. here we are."

Jake feels a wave of guilt wash over him when Johnnie mentions that he resorted to self-harm and drinking.  "I'm so glad that you're doing better now, Johnnie. And I'm sorry that I didn't notice how much you were struggling before. I wish I could have been there for you sooner."

"I'm not necessarily better, I'm okay at most." Johnnie nods, laying his head onto Jake's shoulder. "I was about to kill myself that night. That night – you raided me on twitch, I was laughing and drunk as fuck, and i was going to overdose on my pills after streaming, but.. I saw your username and you raided me.. then, we started talking.. and here we are." His voice sounded so numb and tired.

Jake is stunned when Johnnie tells him that he was going to overdose on his pills. He feels a lump in his throat as he realizes how close he was to losing him.

"I'm so glad that I raided you that night, Johnnie. I don't know what I would have done if you had gone through with it."

He says, his voice choked with emotion. "You're important to me, Johnnie. You're not just a random stranger on the internet. You're my friend, and I care about you."

"That was last night.." Johnnie lifts his head up in realization.