He sat in his room uncomfortably, blasting his music through his headphones until his ears bleed just the same as his wrists. The dark red shade of the blood dripped onto his bed from his thin wrist, creating a small stain on his sheets. Colby sighed as tears fell uncontrollably. He wanted to disappear, leave the country if he had to. He was growing sick of himself, wanting to tear himself out of his skin. His thoughts wouldn't leave, occasionally demanding orders of slitting his pale wrists.

One more!

Colby's eyes drifted to an empty patch on his arm, seeing that there was no cut his thoughts started getting worse.

Don't be such a fucking baby and slit it.

Colby sighed, looking over to his nightstand which held the blade. Colby picked it up before placing it on his wrist, clenching his teeth as he pressed down. Colby winced, sliding the blade across. He removed the blade from his arms slowly as he looked at the blood oozing out.

Make it worse!

Colby groaned and fell back onto his back, covering his eyes with his hands. Colby rubbed his temple as he opened his eyes slowly, looking at his wrists again. Both wrists were covered in 8 deep cuts, leading in all different directions. His vision became blurry, making him panic. Colby shot up from the covers and got up, becoming even more dizzy from low iron. Colby rushed out of his room and into the bathroom quickly, avoiding his roommates at all costs. Colby slammed the door shut and locked it before looking through the drawers in an attempt to find bandages. Colby picked up the bandages and started to wrap them around his brutally wounded wrists, blood falling onto the cold tile floor. 

Colby didn't notice the calls of his name from outside the door, his headphones blocked every sound from the outside world.

"Colby?" Elton inquired, trying to get a response out of the happy kid. Elton didn't know about Colby's problems or anything about Colby really, it was all an act. Elton started to knock on the door, getting zero responses.

"Colby!" Elton called out, hearing the water faucet turn on. Elton's brows furrowed as he tried to open the door, noticing it was locked. Elton didn't process the signs. He thought it could be Colby getting ready for a prank or just washing his hands. 

Elton didn't have a single clue of what was going on behind those doors.

Oh, trust me, it wasn't nice.

Tears flowed while small whimpers and sobs came from his mouth. His knees buckled as he fell to the floor, his sobs becoming louder, signaling the unknown presence that Colby was not okay.

"Colby, you alright?" Elton asked through the door, hearing the sobs starting to get louder. Elton's eyes widened knowing that this wasn't good. Elton ran downstairs in a hurry, heading towards the garage. Elton rummaged through his drawers looking for the bathroom key. The shimmer of the key showed, notifying Elton that it was right in front of his grasp. Elton grabs the key and sprints out of the room. 

"Elton?" Aaron called out from behind him, noticing the bearded man's distress. Elton looked back at Aaron with wide eyes, they were filled with determination and worry. Aaron was taken aback by the expression but decided to pry into the situation.

"You alright?" Aaron asked. Elton nodded quickly, too lost to speak. With that, Elton rushed up the stairs in a hurry to get to Colby, the person who was now suffering from the inside out. Elton quickly put the key in the hole and twisted, unlocking the door. Elton pushed open the door quickly, the door hitting the wall. Elton gasped lowly once he saw the vision in front of him. Colby was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands while blood dripped from his injured wrists all while he was sobbing. 

Elton stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the slightly smaller boy, bringing him into a warm and comforting embrace. Colby continued to sob as he put his head into the elder's neck, seeking comfort in his foggy mind.

Hurt him!

Colby's mind screamed at him.

Kill yourself in front of him!

Colby wanted to kill himself, but he didn't want to inflict pain on others. He was afraid to damage his loved ones, especially Sam. He wouldn't be able to take the sorrowful look on Sam's face.

Slit it!

Slit it!

Slit it!!

Colby let out a wracked sob as he clutched onto the broad shoulders of Elton, crying into his shoulder even louder. Colby's tears bled through Elton's grey shirt, making Elton's heart sink. Elton hated seeing Colby like this, this was the first time he noticed Colby's agony. He would never leave the brunette alone again.

__________________________________________________________

Colby's sobs died down as Elton massaged his scalp in a comforting way. Elton had taken Colby back to his room a long time ago, trying to get the poor boy to sleep. Surprisingly, it was starting to work. Colby's eyes were fluttering, he was struggling to stay awake. Colby wanted to stay awake, so then nobody else would find out about his habits. But of course, it wasn't an option as sleep was taking over his fragile body.

"Just go to sleep, I won't say a word..." Elton whispered, comforting the brunette for the fifth or sixth time that night. It was definitely something that Elton never thought he'd have to do. Elton didn't understand, How is the happy kid suffering? He would have never expected it if Colby wasn't that broken to the point that he sobbed for hours in the bathroom. This made Elton scared. He felt disappointed in himself for not noticing sooner. Sure, Colby always wore hoodies and he never ate in front of them or he never showed any other emotions either than happiness or goofiness, but how was he that broken? What made Colby this way?

Elton shrugged off the thoughts as he looked over to Colby, who was sleeping like a retired eighty-year-old. Elton never realized how pale the boy became or how small his wrists are. It was sickening to Elton, not because it looked gross, but because he felt disgusted with himself for not noticing the drastic changes in the blue-eyed boy. Elton sighed before getting off the bed, standing up as he looked back at the brunette. Elton walked towards the door and flipped off the light switch, shutting the door behind him. 

What was he going to do?..