WARNING: eating disorder

A week passed since Kevin and Avi were able to learn more about Mitch and what he endured on a daily basis. It broke those hearts to know that such a beautiful and kind soul endured so much pain. No one deserves that.

"Kevin?"

Kevin turned around, gathering his stuff for school. Scott and Kirstie went on the bus because Avi and Kevin didn't want them to hear what they are talking about.

"Yes, Avi?"

Avi handed his husband a paper, his hands shaking crazily. Kevin took the paper, reading it right away. The arrive made him widen his eyes, looking at Avi with tears in his eyes.

How to Know if your Child has an Eating Disorder

"I researched this all night," Avi managed to get out, his voice thick with tears. Kevin nodded, his entire body numb. "Mitch has an eating disorder."

"What-what is his called?"

"There's no binging, but I'm pretty sure there is purging," Avi confirmed, shaking his head. "We need to see if he eats food endlessly for an hour or so. It's one of the symptoms for, um, bulimia nervosa."

Kevin shook his head also, reading the article once more. Mitch is five years old and suffering from an eating disorder while enduring abuse. Who in the right mind will hurt a child for their own sick and twisted pleasure while teaching them how to suffer from an eating disorder?

"I have to go," Kevin replied, getting his stuff together. He kissed Avi sweetly, letting his lips linger on the shorter man's forehead. "I love you so much, baby. We're going to take Mitch away from that terrible place."

Avi nodded, gather in his own stuff for work. Kevin yelled goodbye, walking over to his car to make sure that he made it on time to pick Mitch up. He sighed to himself, groaning when he remembered something.

Parent-teacher conferences.

Every month, there are three days reserved for parents and teachers to have a conference about their child if the child is in kindergarten to second grade. The teacher talked about how far or how behind they are in their studies and offer places for their child to go if they need help. Scott and Kirstie had one too today, only adding more to Kevin's stress.

And I have to talk to those horrible people today.

Kevin shook his head, pulling up to Mitch's house. All was quiet.

Too quiet.

"What in the world?" Kevin whispered, wondering what was going on. He checked his watch, becoming more anxious. "Come on, Mitch. Come quickly. You're going to be free for a little while."

A minute turned to five and Kevin became even more nervous. He was ready to hop out his car when the front door opened, showing Mitch. Kevin sighed in relief, a smile growing on his face that disappeared when he noticed Mitch's limp. The pain on Mitch's face was clear as day, making Kevin forget all about conferences.

What happened?!

Kevin hopped out the car, opening the door quickly so that Mitch could jump in. He bent down to get Mitch, his heart breaking when the little boy flinched. Kevin looked into the brown eyes, his heart breaking when he saw heartbreak, vulnerable, pain...

Hope.

"Are you ready to go to school?"

"Yes, sir."

Kevin's heart broke some more, covering his face as he tried his hardest not to cry. He put his hands out once more, making Mitch flinch again.

"Please don't hurt me. I promise I'll be good. Please."

Kevin shook his head, picking Mitch up carefully. The little boy screamed, punching Kevin with all his might.

"NO, NOT THE GAME AGAIN! PLEASE! I'M A GOOD BOY! STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

Kevin buckled the screaming child in, not being able to look at Mitch right now. As he drove, he looked at Mitch through the mirror. The boy was still crying, his face red with tears rolling down his cheeks.

And Kevin felt a tear roll down his cheek too.

~~~

The bell rang, signaling the day's end for the kindergarteners. Mitch played with the dolls silently, waiting for Lila and Paul to come for the conference. Kevin observed Mitch carefully, his eyes full of pain.

Mitch, pleas tell what's wrong.

"Mitch?" Kevin asked, getting Mitch's attention. The small boy nodded, putting his fingers in his mouth. "Are you hungry?"

Mitch shrugged his shoulders and that's when Kevin realized how skinny the little boy looked. He looked skinner than he did last week, scaring Kevin to no end. His collar bones stuck out and his cheeks are hallowed in. Kevin also watched Mitch's shirt go up a bit whole playing games with the children, his ribs and hip bones prominent. It scares him to no end.

"Okay. Do you mind if I weigh you?"

"Yes. Only if I don't see me my weight though. I don't want to see how fat I am."

Kevin shook his head, offering his hand to Mitch. Mitch looked at it, waiting to be slapped the back of his head, his cheek, or his bottom even though Paul used a belt or whip to spank him. When no pain occurred, Mitch smiled and took the hand gently. He stood up, his legs shaking a bit.

"You are one of the first adults that I trust, si-Papa. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mitchy."

Kevin led Mitch to the weight, putting him on his weight. After a few seconds, Kevin looked at the number and widened his eyes.

26.8 pounds

"Mitch, you need to eat something. How does GoldFish sound?"

Mitch nodded his head excitedly, cupping his hands while Kevin took the box out the cabinet. Kevin poured some crackers into Mitch's hands, his heart breaking when the small boy practically shoved the crackers in his mouth. When Mitch swallowed them, he held out his hands once more.

"May I have more, please?"

"You don't need to ask," Kevin reassured, taking a paper bowl out the cabinet. He poured more crackers into the bowl, a warm smile on his face. "Eat all you want, okay?"

"Okay, Papa," Mitch replied, eating the crackers slowly. He tilted his head, looking up at Kevin innocently. "Papa, I have a question."

"Yes, Mitchy?"

"Why is making myself throw up bad for me? It makes me lose weight."

Kevin swallowed the growing lump in his throat, squatting down so he could look at Mitch. He offered his hands so that Mitch could hold them, smiling when the little boy did not flinch but set his bowl down and held Kevin's hands with all his might.

"Making yourself throw up is bad because it makes you lose weight the bad way. What your aunt taught you is bad. You need to lose weight naturally."

"How do you do that?"

"Don't eat junk food all the time, that doesn't mean that you can't have it, but you should not have it all the time," Kevin answered, putting a gentle hand on Mitch's shoulder. Mitch nodded, smiling brightly. "There's also working out; however, you need to eat. You're very tiny. You're nowhere near fat."

"Oh, okay," Mitch whispered, his eyebrow raised. He hugged Kevin's neck, a smile on his face. "You make me so happy, Papa. You don't even know it."

Kevin smiled, hugging Mitch tightly. A knock and a slamming door interrupted them, Paul and Lila coming in angrily. Mitch put the bowl in a drawer, walking up to his aunt quickly. She grabbed Mitch's hand, glaring at Kevin angrily.

"What do you want, you slave? You're supposed to be in the fields and picking cotton."

"Well, first of all, I do not appreciate those words in this classroom," Kevin practically hissed, looking at Lila. He looked at Mitch, smiling softly. "Mitch, how about you go play outside? We'll call you back inside when we're done."

"Okay, Pa-sir."

Mitch ran out, causing Paul to scoff. Lila shook her head, looking back at Kevin with a glare on her face.

"What did the idiot do this time?"

"Um, nothing," Kevin answered, wanting to glare at the couple. Lila snorted, shaking her head. "The only thing I'm worried about is Mitch. He is very tired some days and very hungry on other days."

"You're solving that while taking him home with you. I could have you arrested for kidnapping."

"Well, if you two don't take care of him, who's supposed to?!" Kevin yelled, slamming his fists on the table. Lila and Paul smirked, refusing to fall weak under Kevin's scolding. "I know you don't feed him, I know you make him throw up, I know you hurt him!"

"What else do you know?" Paul asked, laughing a bit. Kevin glared at him, trying his best to not punch the man.

"I know about the game."

Paul widened his eyes, becoming angry as he stood up. He pushed his chair, stomping to the door. He opened it, screaming Mitch's name.

"MITCHELL!"

"Yes, sir?" Mitch asked, recognizing that look in Paul's eyes from anywhere. He began to shake, looking at Kevin say. "I have to go home, sir. Bye."

Kevin was about to stand up, but Lila pulled out a gun and put it on his forehead. Kevin sat back down, noticing how Paul picked Mitch and slipped a hand under the small boy's shirt. Mitch visibly tensed, not wanting to go back home.

"Don't you dare take it back to your house or I will call the cops on you."

Lila and Paul left, leaving Kevin by himself. Kevin couldn't take the image of Paul putting a hand under Mitch's shirt, wondering why he did that.

Why did he do that?

~~~

"Hello, Kevin and Avi," Tori replied, a big smile on her face. They smiled back, sitting on the chairs. "I'm very excited to have Scott and Kirstie in my class. Talkative little ones they are."

"You got that right," Avi replied, smiling at Tori. She smiled back, taking some drawings out. "How are they doing academically?"

"Very well. They are in the top five in my class and top ten in the rest of the first grade classes," Tori answered, a frown on her face. Kevin and Avi frowned themselves, wondering why Tori looked sad all the sudden. "I am very concerned with these drawings they drew. I just want you two to view them and try to figure out why they few the pictures."

Avi and Kevin nodded, viewing the drawings. They widened their eyes, looking up from the drawings. Tori nodded, her eyes filling up with tears.

"I know, that's I what I did."

The one Scott drew showed a little boy with a frown on his face. The M from McDonalds was on there and crosses out, along with ice cream, milkshakes, and what appeared to be chicken nuggets. Little brown and blue circles appeared on the little boy's body, into making Avi and Kevin start to worry, wondering why Scott would ever draw something like this.

Kirstie's was a bit more terrifying. A black line that resembled a belt appeared on here too, one with spikes. A little boy was on there too, only one side of his face showing. Specks of blue decorated his cheeks, making it look like he was crying. The same brown and blue spots Scott drew were on this little boy too, bringing Kevin and Avi's attention back to Tori.

"I have a question for you two."

"Yes?"

Tori sighed, sitting back down. She took the drawings back, putting them in an envelope as she looked at the young parents. She knew that they would never do this, but she has to ask them this question. It's her job.

"Are Scott and Kirstie being abused at home?"

"No, why would you ever ask that?!" Avi yelled, glaring at the teacher. Tori tried to explain herself, but bribing came out. "I'm a psychologist that works with abused children! Why would I, or Kevin, ever abuse our children?!"

"Avi, it's our jobs as teachers to ask parents of their children are being abused," Kevin reassured, putting a gentle hand on Avi's arm. Avi shook his head, going back outside. "I'll talk to you later, Tori. There's too much on my mind."

Tori nodded, waving goodbye to Kevin. Kevin walked outside, noticing how Avi was talking to Scott and Kirstie. The kids nodded, their eyes full of wonder as Avi explained something.

"What you two drew are very scary. Why did you draw them?"

"We were asked to draw something scary so we drew Mitch without McDonalds and with a belt," Scott answered, looking down at his feet. Kirstie nodded, her face full of fear. "That's what we had in mind."

"Daddy, Papa?"

"Yes, Kirstie?"

Kirstie sighed, immediately thinking of Mitch. She looked up at her dads, her eyes full of tears as she thought about Mitch.

"What does Mitch has owies and weird brown things in his arms? They look painful."

A/N: Well...this is very sad.:( I don't when Special will be updated. Until then, Special is on a very short hiatus. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and remember that I love you all.:)

-Maddie🐶💕🎤