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Chapter 11

The next few days at the Skinny Boy House seemed a little off. I mean, everything was more or less the same. When I ate, one of the staff always watched over me like a hawk eyeing its prey; that took some re-getting-used-to, but other than that, nothing else changed. Always having someone accompany me just reminded me of my early days in the house. Sure, I missed my privileges, but it wasn't like I would cease to exist just because Terry had to follow me into the bathroom.

I mean, he was pretty good company even if he wasn't talking to me as much these days. It was just nice to have someone there to sit quietly. Terry was my big, muscular shadow.

When everything finally seemed to settle around me, a stern knock on my bedroom door frame seemed to rattle my very existence.

Without waiting for me to answer, the door opened and three of the female staff pushed their way into my room. Ruth, Dawn, and Mrs. Taylor, the tutor, automatically began rummaging through my room.

I stood up from my bed, placing the fashion magazine down beside me. Ever since I borrowed money (and returned said money) to Geoffrey, he began sliding magazines under my door. At this rate, I would be able to build a fort with the things.

I had to admit that I was beginning to grow an interest in fashion.

Slightly.

Nonetheless, when I stood, Ruth stepped closer to me, using her body to cut me off from the other two women as they picked at my things. "What's going on?" I asked defensively. What had I done to garner such a response from the staff?

"We're inspecting your room," Ruth replied nonchalantly. She almost sounded bored. I imagined that in her time here at the Skinny Boy House, she and her staff went through many boys rooms.

I watched with wide eyes as the woman went through every nook and cranny of my personal space. They even emptied my backpack, checked every zipper, and left nothing but disarray behind them.

I felt violated. While this place wasn't my actual home, for now, it was where I lived. What had I done to make them distrust me to such a high extent? "What are you looking for?" My voice was raised ever so above usual. I sounded nervous.

This time, Mrs. Taylor stopped and loomed over me. She wore the only cardigan she seemed to own, a long skirt that covered her ankles, and velcro sandals. Geoffrey probably gagged at her fashion sense.

Or lack there of.

"Are you hiding anything, boy?" Her breathy voice boomed almost accusingly.

I shook my head hard. "I'm not hiding anything!" I shouted. "What would I even be hiding?" The image of diet pills and laxatives popped into my head suddenly. "You don't let us bring in diet pills or anything. How would I even smuggle those things in?"

At the sound of diet pills, Ruth spun around, meeting my eyes. "Why be so specific, Maximus? Did you sneak pills in with you?"

I blew out an exasperated breath. "Please, tell me how in the world would I have done that if you guys checked my bags when I came into this place?" I found myself almost shouting as the woman more or less ignored me. "Can you all stop?"

They continued to rummage, opening my closet and checking all the pockets of my jeans and jackets.

I blinked up at Ruth. She had a blank expression on her face. "I didn't do anything wrong!" I shouted.

Dawn breezed over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Max. I know this must be hard for you, but we have to check everything to make sure you aren't hiding anything from us."

"Like what?" I felt a headache begin to bubble in my temples.

Dawn looked between her two colleagues before sighing. "Max, we are making sure that you aren't hiding any vomit."

I blinked up at the women around me and laughed. "Oh, is that it?" I rolled my eyes defiantly. "If I told you that I wasn't hiding puke, would you believe me?"

Ruth spoke up as the two other women went back to searching my room for invisible puke. "One thing that I've learned, Max," she began matter-of-factly, "is that you can't trust any of the boys that come through those doors."

If I were a snake, my jaw would have been on the floor. So many words flew around on my tongue; however, none seemed to solidify. So instead of speaking, I stood with my mouth open dumbly as the women finally gave up on their pointless search. Without offering to help me put my room back together, they filed out just as quickly as they entered.

I heard them continue down the hall; I assumed they were continuing their inspections with the other boys. When I finally blew out a frustrated breath, I raked my hand down my face. Tension seemed to settle in my shoulders as I flopped back down on the bed.

I didn't even know what to think anymore. I was a prisoner here; I was a fish in a glass bowl on someone's nightstand.

If I were a fish, I would have probable been some generic, run of the mill fishes.

A goldfish?

Sighing again, I stretched, my bones cracking in annoyance, yet the tension seemed to only spread. "This is total shit," I grumbled to myself. Suddenly, I felt more like a brooding teenager than ever before. The thought almost made me smile.

Almost.

By the time I finally worked up the nerves to leave my room and see how my fellow skinny boys were faring during the staffs' rampage, a loud voice yanked me to my feet.

Rich was yelling something from his room; I couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, but I couldn't resist the urge to stand in the hallway like the town gossip. When I poked my head out of the doorway, I found Steven and Geoffrey doing the same.

"What's going on?" I kept my voice low as I addressed the boys.

Geoffrey turned to me; his face looked pained, as if he were physically hurting from whatever was happening with Rich. "I think Rich failed his inspection." Geoffrey's deep voice wavered and cracked. "This is really bad." He chewed on his bottom lip and turned his attention back to Rich's door.

"Screw all of you!" Rich exclaimed defiantly. "What the hell are you going to do, huh?"

There was a muffled voice. One of the staff must have been talking to him.

"I really don't give a flying flip if I'm causing a scene! You can't do a damn thing to me!"

At that point, I could almost imagine Ruth's condescending tone.

My heart began inching itself into my throat. I knew Rich had a somewhat rocky relationship with these people, but I couldn't imagine what would happen to him. I mean, just how much trouble would we get in for failing a room inspection?

My question was answered before I could spend too much time pondering it.

"That's it!" Ruth snapped, raising her voice to a level I could hear clearly. "Your time here is over, Richard. Obviously, we aren't what you need."

Richard laughed. It was a fake, forced laugh, but he laughed none the less. I almost wished I could see the expression on Ruth's face as he laughed in her face. "I seriously doubt that Ruthy-Ruth." Rich laughed once more; however, this time, it fell short, transforming into a nervous chuckle.

Ruth said something I couldn't hear, and all seemed to fall silent.

The staff began to file out of Rich's room. The three of us simultaneously darted back into our rooms for a brief second as to not get caught eavesdropping. When I poked my head back out, Ruth had a hand on Rich's shoulder as she led him to the top of the stars.

For once, Rich was silent, and when he reached the first step, he glanced over his shoulder, meeting my eyes. To my surprise, his eyes were shimmering and his cheeks were stained with tears.

He looked utterly defeated, and the look in his eyes seemed to slide into my veins like ice. Rich, the king of sass, looked as if his entire world had come crashing down around him.

I watched as Ruth led him downstairs, past my line of vision. The three of us seemed to gravitate towards each other, meeting in the middle of the hall. "What's going to happen to him?" I asked as Steven automatically wrapped his fingers with mine.

Geoffrey couldn't stand still. He began pacing in a circle, all while keeping his eyes towards the stairs. "I don't know," he breathed. "This is really really bad."

I turned to Steven; he was chewing on his free hand's nails. "Can they really just kick him out like that?"

Steven blinked and shrugged. "I've never seen anyone ever actually get kicked out. Sure, Ruth threatens it all the time, but I never thought she would ever go that far."

Geoffrey stopped and turned to us suddenly. "You guys don't understand! Rich is going to be miserable with his parents! I don't think he's going to survive it." Geoffrey let out a small whimper and fell to his knees dramatically.

I pulled away from Steven and sat next to Geoffrey. I hesitated slightly before placing a hand on his shoulder gently.

He was a creature to be admired from afar, not to touch.

Like a lion, a silver haired lion.

"Rich doesn't seem like the type to give up; I'm sure everything will be just fine." I did my best to sound optimistic; however, I had a hard time believing my own words. I didn't know Rich all that well, but he seemed adamant in his ways. I doubted anything could shake him.

However, that look in his eyes still haunted me.

"I don't think he's going to be fine. I really really don't think so." Geoffrey sobbed, wrapping his arms around me a little too tightly.

Wincing, I did my best to hug him back, but my arms were more or less crushed against my sides, so I ended up just kinda half patting him on the back.

I really did hope that everything would be ok.

The days that passed returned to normality quicker than I thought they would, and as much as it pained me to admit, I missed having Rich around. The house seemed ever so slightly dimmer without his presence. We all ate our meals without a single joke to lighten the air. Without Rich around, the group therapy sessions seemed to drag on forever. It was pretty evident that Rich's bad attitude, bad joke, and bad language filled the house with more than just hot air.

He kept us all distracted from how truly boring our days were.

Thankfully, on the fourth day of Rich's absence, on a day where the cold finally loosened its grip, the front doors burst open, and in walked Richard with a 100 watt smile practically ripping his face in half.

Of course, we all ran up to him to re-welcome him back into the Skinny Boy House. "Did you miss me, bitches?" He exclaimed, dropping his bag on the floor.

Geoffrey practically attacked him, wrapping his arms around rich nearly two fold. "Oh god, you have no idea how boring these two are!" Geoffrey wined as he jutted his thumb at Steven and me. "It was truly terrible!"

"Hey," Steven grumbled defensively, "you take that back! We did our best, but you complained twenty-four-seven and did nothing but cry about how boring we were!"

Rich chuckled, returning Geoffrey's hug. "Don't you worry your little butt off. I'm not going anywhere for awhile."

"How did you manage to snake your way back?" I asked, feigning discontent.

Rich scoffed. "How dare you insinuate that I had to sneak back in." He rolled his eyes playfully. "All I had to do was say pretty please, and the doors opened all by themselves. These walls know that I belong here; there's no keeping me out."

"Are you at least ok?" Steven asked with worry seeping into his voice.

Rich shrugged. "Peachy." Our eyes met for a moment, and in that moment, I still saw the terrified boy who left just a few days ago.

"Are you sure?" I asked this time, stepping closer.

He waved me away. "Everyone stop worrying about me! Instead, fill me in on all the gossip! What happened while I was in detention?"

At that moment, Ruth came over, stone faced. "I see you boys are welcoming Richard back into the house." She looked us all over as the laugher died away. Her presence seemed to suck the light in the room away. "Will you all go wait in the kitchen? Lunch is almost finished."

Begrudgingly, we began to file into the kitchen; however, Ruth called out once more. "Richard, will you please stay behind. I need to have a word with you."

Rich sighed. "I just got back, and you're already trying to take up all my time? That's not very considerate to my friends here." Something in Rich's tone sounded forced, as if he were pretending to be snide.

"Dawn's office. Now."

"Geesh," Rich mumbled, breaking from the line and making his way to Ruth.

Before we entered the kitchen, I watched as Ruth ushered him into the office.

The kitchen smelled heavily; it was pleasant; however, the thought of food made my stomach knot. I stopped short, grabbing Steven's wrist. "If anyone asks for me, tell them I forgot something."

"What?" Steven asked, lifting his brow. "What are you doing?"

I shushed him. "Just cover for me. I'll be right back." With that, I slipped back into the main room. Terry wasn't at his desk, so I quickly scurried past that and tip-toed to the office's door. Pressing my ear against the door, I held my breath.

"So, you understand that this is your last strike?" Ruth's tone was serious. "You realize the only reason that you are back in this house is because you begged me to take you back in."

Rich mumbled something I couldn't understand.

"I mean it, Richard, you owe it to yourself to take this seriously. Your life very well depends on it."

"Don't make me go back there," Rich said clearly. His voice sounded thick, as if he were choked up.

Ruth was silent for a moment. "If you do your best, you won't have to worry about that. If you follow the routine and stop trying to take the other boys down with you, you can stay."

I heard Rich sigh deeply. "I'll play by the rules, Ruth; I'll give it all another try."

"You will have-"

"Reduced privilages," Rich finished, successfully cutting her off. "As if that is anything new."

A silence fell over the two, and I took that as a divine sign to high tail it back into the kitchen before I got myself caught. I seriously doubted either Ruth or Rich would have appreciated being eavesdropped upon, and honestly, the last thing I wanted at this exact moment was more attention from Ruth.

Spinning on my heels, I scurried back to a concerned Steven. "Well?" he asked, lifting his brow.

I waved him away quickly. "After lunch."

Steven nodded begrudgingly.

I ate quickly, so quickly that I didn't even taste the food. Steven followed in suit, and when we were both finished, we were dismissed. Terry seemed to materialize out of thin air as he escorted us upstairs. Like clockwork, he took his place at the bathroom door silently.

Following Steven into his room, I left the door open and shot a glance over my shoulder. "Can I shut the door yet?" I did my best to keep the attitude out of my voice, but somehow a tinge of angst managed to seep into my words. In my defense, I wasn't actively trying to be a brat, I honestly didn't know exactly how these privileges worked.

Terry nodded a silent no, and I shrugged.

"Yes, sir."

Steven sat at the edge of his bed. "Are you going to tell me what's up or..." His voice trailed off.

"You're so impatient."

He squinted playfully dangerously at me.

"Fine; fine." I took a deep breath and began to detail my findings. "I think Rich is in serious trouble."

"That's nothing new. Rich is always in trouble." Steven scooted over, making a place next to him.

I sat, feeling my stomach heave in the process. Wincing, I went on. "I mean, I think he's in actual trouble. When he and Ruth were in the office, she made it seem like this was his last chance."

"Last chance for what?"

"Everything! I think if he messes up again, he's out for good."

Steven scoffed. "Ruth would never actually get rid of Rich. At this point, he's kinda like a skin growth or something that's always clinging on her hip."

"Nice visuals," I added as I actually imaged Rich as a lump of flesh bulging from Ruth's side. I giggled internally. "Seriously though," I began, forcing myself to stay on track, "Ruth flat out said the only reason he came back was because he begged her." I thought back to Geoffrey words. "Do you know anything about Rich's relationship with his parents?"

Steven shrugged. "Not really. If anyone knows stuff about Rich's life, it would be Geoffrey. Why?"

I shrugged. "When they were talking, Rich seemed like he really didn't want to be around them."

"Well, we could ask Geoffrey, but I bet he wouldn't tell us anything. Something tells me that he values his friendship with Rich too much to just run around spewing intimate details about his life."

I sighed. "Probably." Falling silent, I leaned against Steven, pressing my head against his shoulder. Slowly, I felt myself melt against him as a few layers of tension eased up from my neck and back.

"What's with the sudden fascination with Rich and his home life?"

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't find the words. "I'm not actually sure," I answered truthfully.

Steven dropped the subject, and we fell into our usual conversation topics. After awhile, Geoffrey and Rich made their way into Steven's room as well. Everything seemed to return to normal; however, I found myself keeping an eye on Rich.

He seemed thinner, more gaunt, and his actions seemed almost delayed. A couple times, our eyes met, but unlike Rich's usual style, he didn't make a single snide comment. Instead, he chose to return to the comfortable conversation.

I really didn't know why I suddenly found myself caring about Rich so much. The feelings could have come from just being cooped up in this house, but I suspected it had something to do with seeing myself in Rich's eyes.

I knew his desperation, and if he wanted so desperately to be away from his parents, I imagined he and I had more in common than I first thought.

With a sigh, I forced myself to pay attention to the boys.

"You all should let me dress you up and do your makeup!" Geoffrey blurted, one handedly shoving his hair over his shoulder. "All the models loved me doing their makeup!"

"I'm down," Rich agreed with a wide smile pulling at his lips. "Make me beautiful like on of your French girls, Jack."

Steven laughed loudly, leaving the bed and piling onto the floor with the other boys. "Is that supposed to be a reference to Titanic?"

Rich put a finger to his chin. "I think?"

I chuckled. "I don't think that's how it went."

Rich threw his arms around Geoffrey's neck. "Well, that's how it played out in my head, and that's really all that matters."

Grinning, I nodded. "I guess so."

Geoffrey basically skipped out of Steven's room to gather his (in his own words) beautifying tools for basic bitches.

I think we were the basic bitches.

"Do mine first!" I called after him.

Rich scoffed loudly. "Over my dead body!"

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I' so sorry that it's taken this long to finish this chapter. Honestly, I was so close to giving up on the story, but all of your kind words helped me get my crap together. Now, I'm not going to promise fast updates, but I am going to try my best to not get so wrapped up in my own head that I drop the project

ANYWAY, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! As always, please vote and leave me a comment down below!

<3

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