Camp camp
David adopts max
Lots of angst
⚠️TW⚠️
Self harm
Depression
Suicidal thoughts
Intrusive thoughts
Anxiety
Eating disorder
Please do not read if any of these trigger you! This list may be updated!! Check before reading every time!!
I'll publi...
TW- self harm If you are thinking about harming yourself, please talk to a trusted friend or adult. If neither of these options are accessible, please consider calling a hotline if necessary. If you do self harm, remember to frequently clean your wounds and blades to prevent infection. By writing this I am not condoning self harm - I personally believe that if someone is going to harm themselves, they will find a way to do so, so I want to make sure that they stay as safe as they can despite still harming themselves if you get what I mean - there may be small notes on bandaging or cleaning etc. please stay safe!
Okay now we're back to when Max gets back to the tent, 3rd person, following max and Neil.
Max saw a soft glow coming from the tent. "Shit" he mumbled, realizing Neil must be awake. He checked to make sure his toothbrush was in his bag, just as an excuse for why he took his bag with him. Max climbed into the tent setting his bag down at the foot of his bed then sitting on his bed. "Hey" Neil says "Hi. Did I wake you?" "Not really, I'm just a light sleeper. Where'd you go?" "The restroom" "Ah. You seem on edge. Is there anything you want to talk about?" Max fidgeted for a second before responding, "not really" "Hey max, I'm worried about you. Are you sure?" Neil said trying to get max to tell him what was wrong without making him feel too cornered. Neil was pretty sure he knew some of what was going on judging by Max's wounds, but he wanted to hear it from max himself. Max didn't respond. "Max, are you comfortable telling me how you got some of those scars?" ". . . . . Which ones?" Max didn't know why he had responded, but somehow he felt more at ease with Neil. "How about the lines on your arms?" ". . . . Those are from. . . Me" Neil felt tears start to well up in his eyes but he pushed them back as he went over to sit next to max. He began to rub in circles on Max's back. "Is this okay?" Neil asked Max responded with a nod. "Is that what you were doing in the bathroom?" Neil questioned Max nodded again. 'There's no point in hiding it now. He already knows' max thought to himself Neil pulled him into a gentle hug while continuing to rub his back. "Do you not hate me?" Max asked quietly with fear in his voice. "Of course not! I could never hate you. Sure I'm worried but I want to help you and be here for you" Max couldn't hold back his tears anymore and stared crying into Neil's shoulder. A few minutes passed like this - Neil and Max hugging each other, Max crying into Neil's shoulder, Neil rubbing Max's back. Once max was done crying Neil asked "did you clean and bandage them properly?" Max hesitated then said, "kinda?" "Can I see?" Max nodded and began to roll up his sleeve revealing his makeshift bandages. Neil said, "we should find some gauze to wrap that in. Do you want to come with me or wait here?" "I'll come with you" Max said faintly while rolling his sleeve back down. 5he two boys ventured outside of the tent searching for gauze. They walked over to the storage shed next to the mess hall, and thankfully, it was unlocked. They walked inside and after a little bit of digging they found packages of medical supplies. Neil grabbed a bunch of gauze, a tube of neosporin, a bottle of batting (antibacterial spray), a bottle of Advil, bandaids, some packages of bottled water, and 2 cups of pudding. Max and Neil made their way back to their tent and put all of the stuff they got in a cardboard box (from a package that Neil's dad sent him) Neil started thinking about their tent and said, "do you want to rearrange in here a little real quick so we're more comfortable when changing your bandages?" Neil asked Max. "I'm cool with that" Max responded. They spent a few minutes rearranging the tent like this - (Please ignore the embroidery ideas, I couldn't find any other paper)
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After rearranging the tent max and Neil sat down together on their bed(s) to fix up Max's bandages. Max took off neils shirt so that they didn't get any blood on it. Max hated being so vulnerable in front of others. He didn't want Neil to see the marks on his body that weren't made by him. Neil noticed how uncomfortable Max was and handed him a vest so that he wasn't so uncovered. Neil began unwrap the toilet paper on Max's arm, revealing blood soaked paper towels. Neil felt a pang of guilt for not following max and stopping him before he did this. Max noticed and said to Neil, " none of this was your fault. It's okay - you don't have to feel bad". Neil gave him a half smile in response. He still felt as though he could've prevented it but then he reminded himself, that was in the past- there's nothing he can do about it now except make sure to be there for max in the future. Neil continued taking the makeshift bandages off Max's arm revealing 5 cuts across his bicep and forearm, already partially covered in dried blood. Neil didn't have a washcloth so he grabbed a clean sock instead (note - socks are actually softer but emphasis on CLEAN).He poured some of the bottled water over the sock then began gently wiping away the dried blood then continuing on to spray them with bactine, dab with neosporin, then wrap with gauze. "Are there any others?" Neil asked. "Yeah around here" max said, pointing to his thighs. "You'll probably have to take your pants off for me to bandage them. Is that okay?" ".yeah.." Max continued to slide his pants off Note - this is not sexual. Dont try to sexualize it please
Neil nearly gasped at how much space was covered by the bandages 'that looks a lot worse than his arms' Neil worriedly thought to himself. "I want to make sure you are comfortable, so do you want to cover yourself with this blanket here?" Max agreed and covered all but the leg that Neil was rebandaging with the blanket. Neil repeated the same process on Max's legs that he had on his arms. Once he was done he said, "hey max, if you ever need to talk im here for you." And "What did you use?" Max responded with a little smile then hesitantly said, "a razor blade" "Are you going to take it?" Max asked "What would you like me to do? - I don't want you to harm yourself but if you do, a razor blade seems a hell of a lot safer than some rusty nail you find on the ground" "Thank you. . . I'm going to try my best" Max and Neil gently embraced eachother for a minute until Neil asked, "are you comfortable telling me why?" ". . . I'll tell you some of it for now, but I don't know that im up to telling the whole story tonight"
Word count: 1276 Two chapters tonight! I should post another by Tuesday at the latest I would like to work up to a chapter every day or every other day but I'll have to wait til I'm less busy getting Christmas gifts and preparing for my act Thanks for reading spuds! (please tell me someone watches jamiedogger and gets why I said that)
