Caleb was staring at his right arm that was out of the long-sleeved shirt that he always had on. Caleb was so pale that Dyson expected him to faint. He reached forward and quickly covered the hideous scars with his hands.

"Caleb, look at me." Dyson shifted his hands so he could cover Caleb's forearm with only one and lifted Caleb's face by tucking his finger under his chin. "You are beautiful. They're just scars. You're okay. You're safe. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Why did they do it?" Caleb asked as a tear slid down to meet Dyson's finger.

"Caleb, we're home. I need to clean you up." Dyson whispered as he ran his fingers through Caleb's hair. Dyson had wanted to go to the hospital but Caleb had become hysterical when he mentioned it and he couldn't handle causing any more pain.

"Caleb, I need to see your arms." Dyson sat Caleb down in the shower in his bathroom and hurried to lock his bedroom door before returning. When he got back in the room his heart broke even more. Caleb was looking at the bloody mess that was his arms and he wasn't crying, he didn't look angry or in pain, he just looked empty. It was like Caleb was no longer there and Dyson was left with a shadow of his best friend.

Dyson worked quickly. He stripped both of them down to their boxers and turned on the water making sure to keep if off Caleb until it was warmer. Then he used a washcloth and slowly wiped at the blood carefully because he knew it had to hurt immensely. The blood kept flowing but he could actually see what they had carved into his arms. It wasn't just cuts, it was words. How could someone be so cruel? He was going to end them. Caleb hiccupped but besides that, he remained unresponsive. He didn't even flinch when Dyson accidentally hit a particularly deep cut.

Dyson decided that he would first get Caleb cleaned up and in bed then he'd go after the guys that hurt him.

It took him another hour to get Caleb dried off and then he wrapped the wounds up, thankful that his mom was a nurse who had passed along her skills. He only wished they could go to the hospital and have his mom stitch up the gouges but he couldn't do it to Caleb.

"Why did they do it?" Caleb asked.

"I don't know," Dyson said because that was all he could think to say even though he had an idea. It was his fault.

"It hurts."

"I know it does."

"I wish they had just killed me."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I don't."

"Caleb, nothing bad will ever happen again. I promise you." Dyson wrapped his arms around him again and kissed his hair. "I will always keep you safe.

"Where were you that night?" Caleb asked one of the questions that had been on his mind for all of those months; the question that kept Caleb from being able to forgive Dyson. At first, he had thought that maybe Dyson had tricked him and sent them up there, but by the time it was too late Caleb knew he hadn't. Dyson was almost more hurt than Caleb was by what happened.

"I'm so sorry, Caleb." Dyson squeezed his eyes shut.

"Why didn't you stop them before it happened?"

"I didn't know. I was getting us a drink, remember? And then my mom called." Dyson lost all of his strength and cried as they slid to the floor. "I couldn't ignore it. Don't think I don't regret taking so long to get back upstairs but I was scared. I had no idea what we were going to do. Everything was changing. But, God, this was so much worse." Dyson slid his thumb over the bumpy, ugly scars. His vision was blurry from his tears but he could still make out the words "faggot" and "snitch". It made his blood boil all over again.

"I can't take it any longer," Caleb whispered. "I haven't been able to even look at myself since that night. And every night I see them in my dreams. I need t-t-to-"

Dyson covered Caleb's mouth with his finger to quiet him. "You need to get some sleep."

"I can't." Caleb shook his head.

"I'll be here." Dyson helped Caleb up and lead him to the bed. He got Caleb to sit down by moving him like a Barbie. Caleb stayed still as Dyson turned off the light and closed the blinds. Then Dyson went to the bed and pulled back the covers. He got in and pulled Caleb down.

"Sleep. I'll make sure nothing happens. I will never leave again, ever. I promise." Dyson whispered and he held Caleb silently listening to his choppy breathing until it became steady. He thought back to what had happened the next day and even then he didn't regret what he did, but he wished that Caleb could get beyond it because there was no way Dyson was going to let Caleb go again.