Silent Cry (BoyxBoy)

Forty

Mitchell sat at the edge of the lake, crying his eyes out. Not even the light breeze or the chirping of the birds, or the warmth of the sun could soothe him. With his knees drawn up to his chest and his head resting on them, he allowed his tears to fall freely, cursing himself every second for his bad and selfish decision.

How could he do this to Ethan? Not only had he left Ethan and shredded every bit of trust the boy had in him, he had also left Ethan at the hands of the monstrous man he called father.

Mitchell had thought that by leaving, the man would leave his friends alone and come after him instead. That way, he could lead him in circles and be able to return to Ethan. He hadn't anticipated how smart his father was and that the man would see through his deceit. Of course, Mitchell did not mean to hurt Ethan but he realized now that he had probably caused more harm than good.

He knew that his father could do whatever he wanted to Ethan and the others since he couldn't get his prized possession.

Thinking about the kind of things his father could do to hurt Ethan and his friends made his heart hurt in ways unimaginable and the volume of tears in his eyes increased. He wept so much for his stupidity. So so much that it got to a point, he could only let out short breaths.

Mitchell rubbed his eyes and stared off at the disappearing sun and rippling water. He could not enjoy the beauty of it however, as all he thought about was the magnitude of trouble he had caused since he arrived.

He had been sitting near the lake for close to six hours and nothing in his gut told him that the man was coming after him, which proved his fear. His deceit had been seen through and there wasn't much he could do to change it. Lost in his thoughts, Mitchell didn't hear or see the figure behind him and quickly jumped, startled when a hand tapped him.

He looked up at the figure, gasping when he saw Max staring at him, looking worried.

"Mitchell?" the tall boy asked.

"M-Max?" Mitchell stuttered. What was he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" the boy questioned when Mitchell said nothing more and sat down on the grass beside him. Mitchell's mouth opened a few times, at loss for words because he really didn't understand what was happening.

"Don't look so shocked," Max laughed as he turned to look at the water in the dark. Mitchell's eyes followed him, and it was then that he realized how late it was. "I come here too when I need to clear my mind," he explained and turned to look at Mitchell again.

"Wait... Are... Are you crying?" he asked.

Mitchell shook his head whiles rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. No, he wasn't crying. These new tears were just remnants of when he had been crying earlier.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mitchell answered.

Max scoffed at that, but not surprised that Mitchell would lie to him. "Your red and puffy eyes tell me something different," he stated.

Mitchell just sighed as he looked off into the darkness. It was none of Max's concern, he thought. There was no way that Max, of all people could help him.

"I know what you're thinking. That I'm probably too much of an assignment to help but I'm trying to do better," Max explained. "And I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

Mitchell shook his head. "You can't help me."

"Try me."

***

"What's going on Shane?" a tall boy with wavy silver colored hair asked worriedly as he got down a white sports car. Shane rushed to the boy who had arrived a few minutes before him and Dave got to Mitchell's house and hugged him tightly.

"We think Ethan's been kidnapped," he choked.

"What? How?"

Before Shane could answer, Dave stepped in. "Mitchell, who's Ethan's boyfriend run away about an hour ago and Ethan came here in search of him. But he isn't here anymore. We think Mr. Anderson has him," he explained. "I'm Dave by the way."

"Jeremy," the boy nodded. "I wish we could've met under different circumstances. Shane said you need me to track Ethan's phone?"

"Yes, as fast as now, if you can."

"Sure, I'll do what I can whiles you catch me up on how y'all got in this mess," Jeremy stated as he opened the trunk of his car and set up his computer. The boys watched as he started up a software on the monitor.

Dave decided to be the spokesman since Shane seemed too shaken up and was holding onto him for dear life. He gave Jeremy details on what had happened so far, starting from when they found out that Mr. Anderson was Mitchell's father and that he was involved in identity theft.

"That's rough," Jeremy stated when Dave finished the story. He had never encountered an issue like this before, and seeing the worried looks on the boys' faces, they too had not. But he guessed it could also be because they were terrified for their friend. "But no worries, his phone is on and I found him."

"Where is he?" Dave asked frantically.

"In Angel Falls. Close to the Covington border," replied Jeremy as he showed the boys the map on his computer. "Very close to the waterfall actually but for all we know, it could just-"

"Let's go," Dave stated, cutting Jeremy off and already walking to his car in haste.

"I'll call the police," Jeremy said as he looked at Shane worriedly. He could only hope that they found Ethan soon.

***

"Where do you think Ethan will go first?" Max asked as he stood up a few minutes after Mitchell told him what had happened.

"What do you mean?" Mitchell questioned as he wasn't sure what Max was asking.

"To look for you, I mean. Where will he think to look first?"

Mitchell pondered for a second and said, "My house?" he replied, mostly because he had gone there right after he left the school. He had to get a few of his things before leaving.

"Great, so, we'll check there first then. He's probably still waiting for you to come home," Max said, a cheerful tone to his voice, as if to tell Mitchell that all will be well. "Come on!" he insisted as he took Mitchell's hands and pulled him up.

"How... How do you intend to find him if.. If he's not there?" Mitchell questioned as he toyed with the ends of his shirt sleeves, already nervous about the outcome of their search. He knew not to doubt something before he even began but he could not help it. There were so many things that could happen, the first and foremost being that his father had already got to Ethan and friends, and the second being that Ethan wouldn't want him anymore after what he'd done.

"Just trust me," Max said and started walking off even though he didn't know the way to Mitchell's house.

Mitchell sighed at that but followed the tall boy anyway. Even though he was still confused as to why Max was helping him, he knew that going back to Ethan was better than anything else.

***
I feel like we went for a long ass commercial.