Group Home (Discontinued)

Chapter Seven

"Alrighty, two minutes till bell. Make sure you have all of your things for the long weekend." Mrs. Frizz grins. I shove my other earbud in and let myself drown in the music. Gerard Way's voice like a soundtrack while I pack my things up.

My finger tips have smudges of pencil led from my most recent drawing. It's easy to draw someone you find comfort in, but I'd never EVER have the heart to show him. It's too soon and he'd probably find it creepy.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and quickly pause my soundtrack. "Are you ready to go, Virgil? You've been sitting there for a few minutes." Logan's brow is furrowed and his head is tilted to the side.

I nod quickly, looking around and finding we are the only students left in the room. Patton's not even here, which surprises me.

"Patton had to get get his extra cookies from Mr. Novak's room." He practically reads my mind, but I know he's just particularly good at reading facial features.

I nod again as we start from the room. The school has cleared out quickly, which isn't surprising considering it's a half day. I shove my phone and earbuds into my bag as we walk, not wanting to be rude to Logan by listening to music.

"Mister Sanders won't be home when we get home, his work doesn't let out for another few hours. But you know that." The closest thing Logan has to a smile appears through his sharp features.

"Excuse me, but what the hell!" Logan yells and I quickly turn back to him. It's those boys from the locker room, the ones always teasing and prodding me. Logan's bag has been thrown to the ground, it's contents spilling everywhere.

"I have some unfinished business with little Virgil here." Zeke grins. "Ethan, Lucas, make sure to hold onto him while I deal with the kid."

I shuffle backwards, my fight or flight instinct wanting nothing more than to flee. But I can't leave Logan. Roman already saved me from these pricks, I can't leave Logan. I raise my shaking fists with a glare.

Zeke scoffs and rushes forward. Then I feel hands around my neck. My eyes become wide and fearful as I scratch at the hands. I'm shoved against a wall, my small body pushed up so my feet can't touch the ground.

"Leave him alone!" I hear Logan's words but it sounds like I'm underwater.

"Goddammit, Virgil!" I turn quickly to the voice.

"Wh-what is it father?" I creep into the kitchen were my father is holding an empty beer bottle.

"It would be so much better is you just SHUT UP!" He screams and launches the bottle my direction. It smashes against my head, shattering. But I don't cry out in pain. It will only make things worse for me.

"Because of your BIG MOUTH the school called me about your bruises. You just had to tell someone didn't you, it was supposed to be our little secret." His face forms into a sadistic smile.

RUN! My mind screams at me, but I'm frozen in place. "I-I didn't say anything, I swear."

"I'm pretty sure you did, or else the school wouldn't be calling. I feed you!" No you don't. "Give you a safe place to stay!" Not even close. "And in return you make my life a living hell!"

"I'm-I'm sorry." I squeak as he steps closer.

"You better be." He scoffs, "You really are just like her. You look just like her. But she's gone now ain't she, and who's fault is that."

I stay silent, not knowing if what I want to say will get me into more trouble or not.

"You ungrateful brat! You're the reason she's gone!" His hands shoot out to my throat. His strong, meaty hands raise me from the ground and tighten around my neck.

"N-no!" I claw at his hands as tears stream down my face.

"If you just shut up. If you never spoke again, it's help everyone around you. JUST SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" He slams my head against the wall as I hear sirens. Or maybe it's just my head ringing.

"V...Vir...Virgil?" Hands are one my shoulders and I jump back. My eyes search my surroundings. Lockers. My bag. Three school bullies on the ground. Logan.

Wait? Three school bullies on the ground. They're all unconscious. How?

I touch my neck, knowing more bruising will soon appear. I look to Logan, then to the boys, and back to him, hoping he'll get my message.

"I read a book about pressure points once, figured it could come in handy." He shrugs. "But never mind that, are you okay? You weren't responding even after I got Zeke to release you."

I shrug my shoulders. But that's not a good enough answer for Logan, "Will you talk about it once we get home?"

I sigh, which hurts, but nod. "Let's get going, the others should be waiting." Logan hands me my bag as I rise to my shaking legs. Logan rests a gentle hand on my back, a sorrowful look in his eyes as the exit comes into view.

"Goodness, we've been waiting here for- what happened!" Patton squeaks and we come into view. I'm aware I look worse for wear, but Logan is handling it pretty well with a bruised jaw.

"Three boys ganged up on us, I wish I could have handled it better. Zeke strangled Virgil." Logan's words send a shiver down my spine as I shuffle over to Roman.

"Oh, Virge." I hear him sigh before I flop against his chest. His arms wrap tightly around me. "You're trembling again."

"Those pricks are asking for it." I hear Remus growl, I didn't even realize he had waited for us.

"Don't handle this yourself, idiot. We'll talk to Thomas, if nothing happens then we can take things into our own hands." I nuzzle myself further into Roman's embrace while I listen to Janus speak.

TIME SKIP THANKS TO CAMP CRETACEOUS

I wake up with a silent scream. My hand covers my mouth so I don't wake Patton. That damn dream again. It's fine, he won't get out. He's in prison and he won't get out. You're safe here. But my words feel far from the truth.

I pull my covers back and slide myself from the bed. I've learned to walk silently, walking quietly made life a little less painful.

I shuffle for the room and down the hall. It's dark, probably not even past midnight as I creep into the bedroom at the end of the hall.

I gently shake the shoulder of the person I've grown closest to. I'm not sure how it happened, but he's just so easy to be around.

"Virge?" Two tired green eyes are peering up at my glassy ones. "A nightmare?"

I nod as I wring my fingers. I feel guiltily for waking Roman, I should've just tried to get back to sleep.

But shock fills my system when he pulls the blankets back. I quickly crawl over him, to the side of the bed closest to the wall. I don't like the outside of the bed, it makes me feel vulnerable.

"You can always come to me if you have nightmares, you know that right?" I do now, so I nod and tuck my head under his chin. He rests his hands on the small of back, rubbing circles.

I feel him bury his face into my hair as a small smile curls onto my lips. This is safe. In Roman's arms. In this house. With all of these people. This is a home. And I deserve it.

1288 words. Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for so long. It's kinda hard to create content when you have zero motivation and don't know if people actually read your writing that you've put a lot of effort into. I really really liked my last chapter and since I got so few comments I didn't feel motivated to write. It's not your fault at all though! It's me and my fucked up brain. Please comment and vote. Until next time, Zoe signing off.