WARNING: slight eating disorder, mentions of abuse, panic attack

When Mitch went over to Scott and Kirstie's house for the weekend, he didn't know what would be in store. Kevin wanted him to come over for a sleepover, which he had no idea what that was until hi teacher told him about it.

"Hi, Mitch," Avi spoke loudly, smiling down at the young boy. Mitch blushed, waving shyly at Kevin's student. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"I guess so. Um, which room do you want me to sleep in? Do you have a blanket and a pillow? Please don't put me in a room that very cold."

Avi frowned, shaking his head as Kevin walked inside with the kids. He squatted, looking at Mitch with compassion in his eyes.

"Scott's bed is big enough for you and him. I'm pretty sure he won't care."

"Oh, okay. I never slept in a bed before."

Red flag.

"Okay. Where do you sleep?"

"In a room with a window that is always open. I sleep on the ground."

I'm going to kill them.

"That's all I needed to know. Thank you, Mitch. Go and play with Scott and Kirstie as I cook dinner. Cookies are on the table."

"Okay, sir."

Avi widened his eyes, surprised that Mitch didn't trip over the carpet while he ran. Kevin walked up to Avi, shaking his head as he looked at the small child.

"His aunt and her boyfriend are abusing him, Avi. We need to call CPS."

Avi nodded, looking up at the children while they played House. Mitch was obviously the child, listening to what Kirstie, a.k.a 'Mom', requested him to do while Scott was the 'amazingest uncle'. Kevin dialed the number quickly, sighing in relief when someone answered.

"CPS, how may I help?"

"Yes, I will like to report a case of child abuse. His name is Mitch-"

"We are already doing a case on him. We cannot advance any longer until we meet his guardians. Goodbye."

The phone hung up, causing Kevin to become angry. Avi rubbed his back, kissing Kevin's cheek gently as he shook his head.

"I'm so sorry, Kevin. I called them, but they old me that they couldn't even work on the case until I told them their names. What are we going to do?"

Kevin was about to answer when there was a scream in the living room. The couple widened their eyes, looking in there to find Mitch curled up in a ball while Kirstie stood over him. Scott stood farther away from them, tears rolling down his cheeks. Mitch was crying hysterically, breathing impossibly fast.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't spank me, please. The belt hurts."

"Why would I spank you with a belt?" Kirstie asked, her eyes filling up with tears now. She looked up at her parents, her eyes full of teary confusion. "Who would spank someone with a belt?"

Scott and Kirstie have been spanked a few times before but never with a belt nor a hand. Only with a spoon because Avi learned in his course for child development that children will associate the hand with punishment rather than love. Kevin and Avi will never even dream of spanking their children with a belt.

"Kirstie, Scott? Go upstairs, okay? I need to talk to Mitch."

They obeyed, going upstairs and forgetting about their game of House. Avi sat in front of Mitch, putting his hands on the small shoulders. Mitch looked up at him, his brown eyes full of pain, sadness, and innocence.

"Mitch, I'm just letting you know that  in this house we will never hurt you with a belt. Do o make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"You don't need to call me sir."

"What could I call you then?"

Avi thought long and hard, not knowing what to say. Kevin cleared his throat, sitting down so he could be at Mitch's height.

"You could call us Papa and Daddy."

~~~

"This dinner is amazing, Daddy! I love it!"

"Thank you, Kirstin," Avi replied, smiling at his daughter. Mitch sat next to her, eating slowly as he looked at his plate. "What's the matter, Mitch?"

"What's the matter with this food, si-I mean, um, Daddy? It's floppy."

"It's spaghetti," Kevin answered, helping Mitch get some of the noddles. "It's Italian food."

"Oh, I'm Italian! But I'm not spaghetti."

Avi and Kevin laughed, the adorableness of the small boy warming up their hearts. Scott smiled, finishing his food and looking at his parents innocently.

"May we have cookies now?"

"Sure! Kirstie, do you wa-"

"YES!"

Avi laughed, looking over at Mitch. The little boy are slowly as if he was trying to savor it. Kevin noticed this too, frowning as he set a hand on Mitch's small one.

"Mitch, do you want a cookie or do you want to finish dinner?"

"Um, may you please let me finish my dinner? My auntie Lila gives her boyfriend Paul all my food even if I don't finish it. Sometimes I don't even it at all. That's why I'm so skinny."

Avi shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes. Scott and Kirstie shared a look, trying to understand what was going on. Kevin sighed, putting a hand on the bottom part of Mitch's back,  noticing right away how the little big tensed.

Why did he tense?

"Well, here in this house no one is allowed to eat anyone else's food. You get to whatever you want. Okay?"

Mitch nodded, smiling as continued to eat his dinner contently. Scott moved over to be by him, smiling so hard that his eyes crinkled.

"You are the beautifuliest person I know, Mitch. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"No, my auntie thinks differently. She said, um, that I'm ugly and that I should have been aborted."

Avi dropped his fork, wanting nothing more than to scream. Kevin bent his fork, his anger getting to the point where all the kids could see it. Mitch became scared, his eyes full of terror.

"Did I something wrong, si-Papa? I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Papa, what does abort mean?"

"Why did Mitch's aunt want him aborted?"

Avi walked away from the table, unable to see Mitch's pain anymore. Mitch frowned, feeling like he is the reason why Avi is mad. Scott and Kirstie shared a frown, noticing that Mitch is done with his dinner.

"Mitch, do you want I watch a movie with us?"

"Umm...sure, why not? Which one?"

"The SpongeBob SquarePants movie!"

"SpongeBob has his own movie?! I didn't know that! Let's watch it! Wait...Papa, do I have to wash the dishes?"

Kevin shook his head, bringing a smile  to Mitch's face. The little boy hopped out of his seat, hugging Kevin tightly as he teared up a bit.

"Thank you so much, Papa. I always clean dishes. Also...thank you for letting me call you Papa. I haven't called anyone Papa in a long time."

"You're welcome, sweet boy. Do whatever you want to do. You are free here."

Mitch nodded, running off to watch the movie with Scott and Kirstie. Kevin sighed sadly, letting a tear roll down his cheek. He cant believe that this poor boy ha to endure all this and no one is doing anything, especially CPS. Kevin gathered the dishes, smiling when he heard Mitch laugh loudly.

Please stay like that forever, Mitch. You deserve all the happiness in the world.

~~~

Nighttime came and Scott and Kirstie were ready for bed. Mitch came into Avi and Kevin's room, becoming nervous as he looked up at them.

"Papa, Daddy?"

Avi and Kevin turned around, wondering why Mitch was in here. Kevin squatted, his eyes full of worry.

"What's the matter, kiddo?"

"Is it time to play the game?"

Avi and Kevin shared a look, not quite knowing what Mitch meant. Avi cleared his throat, looking at Mitch worriedly.

"What...what game are you talking about?"

"I can't say. All I know is that all dads play it with their sons. It's not that fun though. It hurts a lot."

Kevin and Avi still don't know what the little boy meant. Avi walked over, taking Mitch's hand into his.

He didn't expect what was coming next.

"Please don't put me in the Room, Daddy. I didn't do anything wrong."

Avi let him go instantly, looking back at Kevin with a scared look in his eyes. Kevin stood up, looking at Mitch with fear in his eyes.

"Mitch, this is the second that you have mentioned the Room. What is it?"

Mitch was about to answer, but a yawn interrupted him. He rubbed his eyes, looking up at Kevin and Avi tiredly.

"I'm going to bed. Night night, Papa and Daddy."

"Good night, Mitchy."

"Have sweet and amazing dreams."

Mitch smiled, going to the bathroom one last tome before going to bed. Avi looked over at Kevin, shaking slightly as he shook his head.

"These people are terrible towards them! Who spanks their kid with a belt?!"

"Who tells them that they should have been aborted?!"

"This is not healthy, Kevin! He needs to be in a house that is loving and warm!"

"I know. Also, he rarely eats. He has to clean dishes which is not bad but expecting a five year old to clean them? That's a big no-no in my book."

Avi was about to agree when they heard someone gagging on something in the bathroom. He raised an eyebrow, quietly telling Kevin to follow him. Kevin nodded, hearing something fall into the toilet. More gagging happened, the sound scaring the couple to no end.

"What is that?!"

"I don't know. Let's check."

Kevin nodded, walking up to the bathroom door. Scott, Mitch, or Kirstie might be sick so Avi ran to their rooms to make sure that they are okay. Avi and back, his eyes full of worry.

"Scott and Kirstie are okay. It might be Mitch."

Kevin nodded, opening the door and gasping at sight in front of him. Mitch had his fingers down his throat, barf on his chin. The little boy looked up at them, taking his hand out his mouth right away.

"I-I..."

Avi shushed Mitch, walking into the bathroom to wet a cloth. The bearded man cleaned the barf off Mitch's mouth, the teary brown eyes breaking his heart. Avi flushed the toilet, smiling when Kevin handed him a water bottle.

"Mitch, why did you do that?"

"I-I le-le-learned it from my aunt. She makes me do it all the time. She says that in order for people to like me, I have to lose weight. She doesn't like my weight right now. She thinks I'm fat."

Avi put Mitch on the scale, widening his eyes at the number staring back at him.

31.6 pounds

Mitch was far too skinny for his age. Avi shook his head, holding the small boy close to him. Kevin teared up a bit, wanting nothing more than to hurt those poor excuses of caretakers.

"Mitch?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"You are not fat. You are very tiny and that is not good for you. You have to be a bit bigger so you could grow up to be and strong. Make sure you eat, okay? Never do that again."

"Okay, Daddy. I won't. Thank you for letting me call you Daddy."

"You're welcome, Mitchy."

Mitch walked off, kissing Avi and Kevin's cheeks before going off to bed. All stayed quiet until Kevin looked at Avi, shaking his head as tears leaked out his eyes.

"I want them in prison, Avi. I want to adopt Mitch."

A/N: There's a few things in this chapter that describes what Mitch goes through. Also, please read with caution. This book is very triggering. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and remember that I love you all.:)

-Maddie🐶💕🎤