Traumatised

Beyond The Numbness

A month. That's how long he had been in Slade's care. When he had first come to be with the man, he had been numb. Uncaring about whether he lived or died. But now, the numbness was fading. He wasn't sure what Slade was doing, but piece by piece his mind had been returning. But beyond the numbness was pain, and day by day, he was becoming more aware of it.

Joey had been dropping by every few days. Dick liked Joey, he was an interesting man, and he seemed to have taken an interest in the younger boy. He would sit and help him with his studies and they would talk through sign language for hours. Dick liked it when Joey stopped by, the son of Deathstroke allowed him to forget everything for a little while. He was the one person in the world who didn't seem to know his secret.

But these moments of distraction were few and far between. He was growing more tearful and he found himself holding the tears back to the point that his throat and chest burned. There was rarely any real cause for the tears, which made him feel childish and stupid. He would just get caught up in his own thoughts and the next thing he knew, his eyes were welling up. But worse than the tears were the new-found anxieties of being alone. He couldn't explain it, but unless he was distracted by Joey, he felt a need to be in the same space as Slade. Even if the man simply went to the next room, Dick found his heart beating faster with panic.

He felt like he had taken a million steps backwards and worried that everyone would be disappointed in him. What would happen if Slade thought he couldn't help him anymore? Would he send him back to Bruce to be put on medication? What if Bruce didn't think he could handle him? After the incident with the train, what if Bruce had him sectioned!

These thoughts were rolling around inside his head and he found himself just staring at the screen in front of him. He couldn't concentrate.

A knocking sound from his side made him jump. But he relaxed when he saw it was just Joey. The older man was trying to get his attention. He had a look of concern on his face.

You alright? – He asked.

Dick nodded and then looked around. He realised Slade was gone. The eldest man had started regularly going to meetings, at least once a week. He would leave Joey with him, which Dick didn't mind. But when he had left for his second meeting, he had said goodbye to Dick and had noticed that the boy had become distressed. The kid hadn't said anything, but his body language betrayed his anxiety. They soon worked out that Dick was always better if Slade just left while he was distracted.

Joey noted the dark circles beneath the boy's eyes. His father had said Dick's sleep was becoming disrupted. Nightmares were beginning to plague his sleeping hours. But the kid looked exhausted.

You look tired. Time for bed.

'I'm not a child.' Said Dick, as he stifled a yawn.

Then don't argue with me. Joey stretched his arms above his head. He wasn't particularly tired, but he knew Dick wouldn't go alone, so he resigned himself to at least attempting sleep. Half an hour later, he was led in bed, once again reading his book. He looked over and saw that Dick was already asleep. He smiled at him. Slade hadn't told him all the details of what Dick had been through, but he gathered it was something terrible. The poor kid was so genuinely likeable, it killed him a little to see him in pain. Drawing his attention back to his book, he waited for his father to return.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The more the two met, the more comfortable they became in each other's presence. Bruce rubbed his face wearily.

'How is he?'

'Distressed.' Slade admitted, which gained him a surprised look.

'Why is he distressed? I thought he was doing better?'