His Color Is Red (Voltron Highschool AU)

Explain (Five)

The next day

"Explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain explain--"

"Lance for the love of God stop saying that word! You called me at midnight and that's all you could say, just any other word, I'm begging you!" Shiro pleaded.

The next day went by quickly. Keith had no issues. Shiro knew that Lance would have questions, so he told Keith that there was no club due to Coran being sick, which was a total lie. He told Adam, who knew as much about Keith as Shiro did, to walk him home. Keith did so reluctantly. He barely knew Adam, so he was a bit anxious, but hung in there for Shiro's sake.

Shiro and everyone sat down in the club room (the astronomy classroom) and was very confused as to why Lance kept telling Shiro to explain.

"Lance, what's going on? And where's Keith?" Asked Hunk, curiously.

"Yesterday, I accidently saw Keith while he was changing -- Pidge not one word!" He pointed to Pidge who was just about to say something about his sexuality, but she knew he got the message. "His entire body is covered in scars and bruises. And he's skinny. Too skinny. Now, Shiro, explain. What exactly happened to Keith?"

Shiro sighed.

"I've... I've technically known Keith since he was 7 and I was 9. His dad died when he was young and we often visited our dads, because mine died when I was his age," Shiro said, looking down. "But, one day, he just stopped coming. He got adopted."

Shiro looked down. His heart was getting heavier and heavier. Lance put his hand on Shiro's shoulder. Shiro glanced at him but turned back to the ground.

"So, his new family did that to him? Abused him?" Allura asked, carefully choosing her words.

"Not that family. Not his first adopted family. That family was made up of just a dad and two other adults, Keith's new brothers. They only adopted him to be a..." Shiro trailed off and squeezed his eyes. He wanted to vomit at the thought. "A sex slave..."

"What? Didn't you say he was 7?" Hunk asked, tears forming in his eyes.

"Don't cry, yet, his life gets worse. Keith ended up running away and they found help. They got him out of that house. But then came family number 2. That family really did a number on him. But, I only know what Keith tells me. Even he hasn't told me much about them. Just that they gave him a lot of the stab wounds on his body and called him ugly. He actually didn't even say anything when I asked him, he just lifted his shirt and pointed to the scars he got from them. According to CPS, the dad used Keith took take his anger out. This was when Keith was 10-13." Shiro explained.

"How could any human being be so cruel?!" Coran yelled. Everyone was very invested in Keith's story narrated by Shiro.

"That's what I asked myself. But, there is one more family that took him. The worst one. I had the honor of punching that dad." Shiro said with a sad smirk.

"Hope you did more than punch him..." Pidge said.

"Family 3 was more neglectful. Keith was relentlessly bullied in his old high school because of his shy demeanor and not very wealthy family. He would often get into fights and that's where a couple more of his scars are from. But, his so called parents did nothing. He broke his wrist and they just let him suffer. Luckily he went to the hospital and they fixed it up for him. His parents were so angry that they beat him to a bloody pulp..." Shiro said, remembering the state he found Keith in.

"They threw him in a damn cage. Only feeding him rice and water. In the same bowl. He stayed in that cage for 5 months until I came." He explained.