Will I

Trust

WARNING: rape mention

"Do you guys want to hang out?" Kirstie asked after the group session, looking up at her new friends. "My boyfriend could watch my sister. It could just be the five of us."

"Sure," Avi replied, shrugging his shoulders. He took out his phone and quickly texted something, smiling up at everyone. "I have time. I would love to."

"I guess. My dad won't care," Scott murmured, ignoring everyone's looks of empathy. "It sounds nice. I'll finally have people to hang out with."

"My parents won't care either," Kevin pointed out, rolling his eyes. He looked over at Mitch, smiling sweetly. "How about you Mitch?"

"Me?" Mitch asked quietly, widening his eyes a bit. Everyone else nodded, waiting for a response. "I guess. I just haven't really hung out with people ever since...you know."

"You don't have to finish that statement," Avi spoke up, looking over at Mitch. The younger boy nodded, biting his fingernails a bit. "You don't have to hang out with us if you feel pressured to do so. We're not pressuring you."

"I know," Mitch responded, looking at the ground. He nodded once, smiling weakly. "I would love to hang out with you guys. My parents wouldn't want me to hang out super late though. How does hanging out at my house sound like that?"

"That sounds wonderful," Avi blurted out, blushing when Mitch looked up at him suddenly. "I'm sorry if that was loud. I mean, yeah. I like that. Let's do that."

Mitch smiled once more, a genuine smile to be exact. The last time he smiled like that was before Trevor hurt him. He forgot what having a real smile looked like.

"How about you guys?"

"I like that.

"Count me in."

"Sure."

The group walked to Kirstie's car, ready for the rest of the day. Nothing could go wrong once they are together.

Nothing.

~~~

"Who is this?" Nel called out, her voice soft. Mitch looked over at everyone shyly, smiling at them. "Mitchy, who are these people?"

"They're in the support group," Mitch answered, walking over to his mom. Nel smiled when her son hugged her, not seeing him this happy for a while. "They're my friends."

"Friends?" Nel asked, tearing up a bit. Mitch nodded as he wiped his mom's eyes, smiling softly. "Mitchy, how you go in the kitchen to get some snacks? Your dad is in there."

"Yes, Mom," Mitch obeyed, walking into the kitchen. The four others smiled a bit, wondering what it felt like having such loving and kind parents like Mitch. Nel sighed as she turned to the group, a solitary year running down her cheek.

"Mitch lost all of his friends after he was raped," Nel told them quietly, not wanting her son to overhear. Kirstie gasped, her heart heavy for Mitch. "His friends didn't believe him. It was hard as a mother to see my son lose his friends and become so sad and depressed because of some lowlife. It was like no one supported him throughout the aftermath besides me and his dad."

"Is that why he's homeschooled?" Kevin asked softly, his eyes full of pain for his youngest friend. Nel nodded sadly, sighing to herself. "What kind of things did they say?"

"When he first went back to school, someone wrote a derogatory term on his locker. He called home immediately and asked if he could go home," Nel began, her voice shaking. She led everyone to the living room and sat down, knowing that if she stood she would all on her knees. "He went to school for three weeks and those weeks were full of people calling him the cruelest names, telling him that it was his fault because of what he was wearing, and that he was a liar. Really one event that made him begin homeschooling was..."

Nel cut off right there, sobbing quietly. Kirstie and Scott shared a look, remembering everything that happened. They, however, did not know of Mitch before then not each other, but they knew someone was raped by someone at the school and being told these terrible things. They were never a part of it though.

"What happened?" Avi asked, his eyes full of tears. Nel took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, her heart breaking for her son.

"The principal called him up to the office and his rapist was there. Turns out that his rapist told the principal that Mitch made up the entire story just to get people to feel sorry for him and to get attention. I have never seen my son so depressed before. He thought that everyone, even me and his father, didn't believe him. It is hard to see your son, your beautiful son, to go through so much and nobody believes him because his rapist is loved by everyone at that school."

Nel began to cry harder, sons shaking her petite body. Kirstie hugged her gently, sobbing herself. Avi, Kevin, and Scott had silent tears running down their cheeks, their hearts breaking for Mitch. Why did he ever do to deserve that?

"I have cookies," Mitch called out, his whispery voice hard to hear. He frowned when he saw everyone crying, not wanting them to be sad. "What happened?"

"I told them a funny joke and they all laughed hard until they cried, including me and Kirstie," Nel lied, smiling up at her son. Mike came out of the kitchen, more cookies in his hands. "Mike, let's go to the kitchen. Let the kids talk for a while."

"Okay," Mike replied, looking over at the kids. They all waved, happy to see Mike again. "Be nice to my kid, okay? I'm not joking."

"Of course," Scott promised, looking over at Mitch. "How long have you been homeschooled?"

"Since February," Mitch responded, going over to the movies. He looked over at them carefully, not wanting to watch one that could easily trigger him. "Do you guys want watch the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie?"

"Yes," Scott blurted out, hopping on his seat. Everyone else laughed, enjoying the childlike behavior of the blond. "What? It's a classic!"

"We're not judging," Kirstie reassured playfully, winking a bit. She turned over to Mitch and nodded. "Sure. I do not mind at all."

"Go right ahead," Kevin answered, nodding too. "I like SpongeBob."

"There's no dragons, but I'll live with it," Avi replied, smiling when everyone laughed. "Let's watch it."

Mitch put the D.V.D in and sat down, separating separating from the group. He knows that they could be trusted, but he's still scared of being hurt. Also, he forgot what is was like to trust someone.

Trust meant nothing to him anymore. 

A/N: Each chapter will have a little backstory of each backstory, lol. I hope you are all enjoying the direction that this story is going in.:3 I am very excited, lol. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and remember that I love you all.:)

-Maddie🐧🐧🐧