Break Free

Chapter Twenty Four

It was a video of Mike rapping a couple verses, he looked a bit skinnier than he does now. He was preforming a song that the ad called Remember the Name. Brad had to admit it sounded incredibly good. The end showed the name Fort Minor, the album was called Rising Tide. It was being released suddenly everywhere today and apparently, it sold a ton already. The video was posted online and it went crazy, reaching all kinds of popularity. They were about to explode with fame.

"Do we tell Mike?" Brad asked Mr. Aoki but then they heard Mike yell and run into the room, not letting go of Chester's shirt. A song called Where'd You Go was playing through his phone, it was on Mike's favorite radio station.

"What the hell is this?! Fort Minor? WHAT!" Mike gasped and turned off the music. He looked at Steve.

"I have no idea. Scott must've released the album." He shrugged and Mike sighed, holding onto the shirt a bit tighter.

"It's not enough for him to take Chester? He also has to do this? What is he expecting to gain from this?"

"Mike, he just wants to hurt you and you need to stop letting him. Hell, he put you in the hospital because you're letting him use Chester to get to you. You wanna know how to help both Chester and yourself? Stop caring about him so much, don't let Chester's pain affect you and then his and yours will end. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yeah. It's easier said than done though." Mike sighed. "I don't even know how to start doing something like that..."

"You can give me his shirt and stop carrying it around so much." Steve suggested and Mike gripped it a little tighter. He definitely did not want to do that.

"Do I... Do I have to?" He asked in a soft voice, running hid fingers across the fabric. He'd feel so insecure and empty without it, he felt he needed it.

"No but it's a good start." He said and Mike gulped. He knew he had to let go of Chester a little so the both of them could stop hurting. He contradicted the thoughts in his head and eventually found the strength to slowly put his hand forward, that was tightly gripping the small shirt, to Steve, who gave it to Brad. "Better?"

"...No." Mike shook his head and Steve took him upstairs. The sight of Chester's things in their room made Mike tear up. Steve grabbed a bag and started to put Chester's things in it. "NO! What are you doing?! Don't touch his things! Stop it!"

"Mike, calm down. I'm doing this for you and for Chester. I'm just going to take his things into another room, okay? It's not going anywhere outside of this house." He assured Mike who did everything in his power to settle down.

"What is he going to think when he comes home and his things aren't in here?"

"You don't care, Mike." Steve told him and it caught Mike off-guard. He did care, why would Mr. Aoki tell him he didn't?

"But I do..."

"No, Mike. You don't care about him. He doesn't exist to you, let go. He isn't coming back." Steve said sternly and Mike teared up.

"No! He is coming back! He's my everything!" He cried.

"Mike, stop it. He's a boy you met when you were lost, he was the first kind stranger you saw, you don't love him, you don't miss him, you loathe him." Steve said calmly. He was giving Mike tough love so he can give that to Chester as well. He didn't mean anything he said but he needed Mike to think that way so Chester could be protected.

"...But... Don't I love him? I mean... He's... He's my life." Mike stopped crying and looked Mr. Aoki in the eyes. He was starting to feel empty, when Chester made him feel whole. What if he didn't really love him? He just thought he did because seeing another person made him feel full?

"You don't love him Mike." Steve repeated, shoving it into his head. Mike sat down on the bed, unsure what to think. He thought about his time spent with Chester. He had given the boy so much love and care but what if Steve really was right? Maybe he did only fall in love with Chester because he was the first stranger Mike had seen since being kidnapped by Scott.

The doorbell rang and Steve stayed with Mike, knowing someone else who was home could answer the door. He didn't know what else he could do with Mike, how to convince him Chester didn't really mean anything to him, at least for the time being. He couldn't tell if Mike was about to cry or give into the tough love, it seemed to be a hard decision for him to make. The former teacher didn't know if he should comfort him or let him be but his questions were answered when Brad came into the room. He handed Steve a piece of paper that was a few picture.

"Someone just left this outside and rang the doorbell..." Brad said quietly and left the two alone. Steve took a look at them.

One was of Chester working with some guy, probably his new band member. The other guy seemed to be really close to him, even having a hand on his leg, Steve was certain he had a romantic interest in the vocalist. The others were of Chester handcuffed to a bed but it slowly became worse until he finally dared to look at the last picture. This one was explicit and it shocked the life out of Steve. He didn't think Scott would go as far as to have someone molest his kidnapped pupil. On the back of that picture, it disclaimed that the man hurting Chester in the picture was his uncle. Steve wished he knew when this even happened.

He wondered how Mike would take these photos. He thought about keeping them to himself but he also wanted to see if Mike is finally letting go of Chester or if he'll be the protective person over him that he was. He handed Mike the pictures who buzzed through them until landing on the final picture. He stared at it for a long time.

He felt nothing.