"Hik... I-It hurts.."
"It hurts so bad... Hik.."
Sobs occupied the entire room, a boy laying down lifelessly on the bed, his whole body sore and limp. Shakingly, he grabs the blanket to cover his bare self, biting his lips to stop another whimper from escaping as pain overtook his whole body and as his muscles ached.
Tears stream non-stop, soaking the sheets. This bed wasn't even his, but he didn't care. He was too tired to be thinking of anything.
"Not even aftercare... Jerk.." He mutters before finally losing conciousness.
-
A year has passed, and Naib walks out of his recent classroom, humming a lullaby. A shadow looms his top portion of his face, it being created by his hoodie. Dark circles were evident on his tired face, and a upturned frown laid on his thin, wounded lips.
"Subedar!!" A brunette approaches him, grasping his shoulders and giving the hooded boy a bro-hug. "How are you feeling..?"
"Mmh, I'm fine, Eli." Naib shakes his head, causing the hoodie to fall off and reveal his ponytailed hair. He reaches out to cover his nape, acting as if he was rubbing his neck nervously, but he was clearly trying to cover the visible bite marks and hickeys that were planted there.
Eli sighs as he stares at Naib with worry.
"Did he do it again?"
Naib nods, unable to hide anything from his close friend. Eli could see that the boy's free hand was trembling, signifying that he was badly hurt and scared. "He went harsh on me..." His breath shakes as he speaks.
"Hey, hey.. Um, why don't we have lunch first. Aesop and Mike must be waiting for us in the canteen already." Eli says, slightly panicking as he though of ways to calm his friend down. "You can continue talking to us when we get there. Okay?"
Naib only nods, clenching the side of his hoodie as a sting on his covered wrist causes him to wince. Eli notices the reaction, and he sighs, a frown on his lips. 'I'll ask about it when we meet up with the others..'
"Eli! Naib!" From afar, a grinning blonde waves at them, pointing to the table that they managed to save. Aesop, a silver head, had his arms crossed on the surface, but his face brightens when he spots the two walking to their direction.
As the two settles down, Aesop starts. "Naib, what happened to your bruised lips? Did he do this?"
The brunette, who was looking down, raises his head to meet the stormy grey eyes of Aesop, and he pursed his lips and looks down once more. Clearly, he tried to hide back the tears that dared to escape, and the other three knew this kind of a reaction as a 'yes'.
Mike's smile flips into a stretched frown, worried about the brunette beside Eli. "Did you cut yourself again?"
No answer, but the three could see Naib's wrists shaking, blood stains evident on the green sleeve. Eli reaches to them and grabs it gently, avoiding the wounded area from being pressured. He reveals it and what they see made their hearts ache. "Naib..." Aesop's eyes were wide, but he wasn't angry, he was worried, vexed and afraid.
This may only be what they see now but they don't know the lengths Naib might take soon. It was the thought that always rang in their head, knowing Naib was always trying to kill himself every hour. They were always afraid that one day, they'd only see his corpse, maybe hanging from the ceiling, or down the side of the building, smashed from the impact. The mere thought gave them the chills, and it only urged them to protect Naib more.
But what help can they do when one of the biggest cause of Naib's problem is only his dormmate? The man was always stingy and came out as a harsh, unwelcoming person, known to have a shady background. He hates visitors, so they couldn't see Naib out of campus that much, and the very thought of what he could possibly do to Naib scared them.
