Chapter 5

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   "Jace, are you okay?" I asked seeing him crying in his room

   "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He sighed

   "Come on. You aren't crying for no reason. What's going on?" I asked

   "Just stuff. Who's idea was it to make teenagers? We fuckin suck." He laughed staring at his phone

   I leaned over his shoulder reading his phone. It was a picture on his Instagram.

   Kill yourself you fag
   Do you actually think he loves you?
   Just end it you ugly bitch
   Why are you still alive faggot
   Nobody loves you. Your stepdaddy beat you, hey maybe he loved you. Fucking faggot
   Yeah. Stepdaddy lived you alright. Loved you a lot.

   I stopped reading and hugged him tightly.

   "How does Dad do it. I mean, I'm sure he gets stuff like this? All I want is to be happy, to show the world in finally happy again." Jace cried

   "Jace, it's going to be okay." I told him

   "Okay?! Do you even know what this is like Sean? I'm so fucking tired of being alone! I have people around me who care but they don't understand, you'll never understand my pain! I'm fucking exhausted. I don't want to feel this way anymore." He cried

   "Jace, did you ever wonder why I am the only teacher in the school you see with all the bracelets, or wearing a hoodie?" I asked

   "Cause you do whatever you want anyway." He laughed softly

   "True. But there's another reason." I said, removing my bracelets. It's been a long time since I've seen these

   One by one I removed my many bracelets until all that was left were my bear wrists. The scars still very visible. Especially the last two I put there. My final attempt, four years ago.

   "They seem new." Jace stated

   "The newest one is 4 years old. The last ones I ever put there." I said softly

   "Four years ago? Is that why you were gone for a few months?" He asked

   "Yeah. And then I came back and saw you guys. Mostly I saw you. The skinny boy. You were healthy as a kid, then I came back and all of a sudden you were skinny and bruised. I knew I had to be there for you." I sighed remembering the sight

   "I was 12. I didn't know you even struggled. I thought you were happy." He sighed

   "I am. And I was at the time. But I was, I am, dealing with a lot. Things that happened when I was your age." I said

   "Does this have anything to do with the picture of you and the boy you keep in your nightstand?" Jace asked

   "My brother. He passed away when I was 13, he was 9." I sighed

   "What happened?"

   "My father. After my ma passes away he was angry. He drank." I sighed stopping the story

   Jace just hugged me and began crying again. I didn't understand what was going on but I hugged him back anyway. I don't understand what he is going through, but I have an idea.

   "Thank you Sean, for trusting me with that." Jace smiled softly

   "I know things are rough right now, but they get better." I told him

   "Yeah." He breath

   "I'll let you be. I love you Jace." I said leaving his room

   I walked into the living room and sat on the couch as I put my last wrist band on.

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