Once we arrived at Zak's apartment, we sat down at the dinner table. We just stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Zak was probably thinking while I was just waiting for him to say something. Then, we get startled by the sound of the front door opening. Looks like Samira arrived home. As she entered, she yelled out, "Zak! I'm home early today!"

     She then realized that there was no need to yell since we were at the table. She then joyfully says, "Oh, well, hello there, Darryl! I didn't know you were visiting today! What's the occasion?"

     She walks over to us. I was about to speak before Samira gasps. She pulls down my hood and says, "What the- Darryl- what happened to your face!?"

     Oh no... she already noticed. Samira looks between me and Zak, expecting us to say something. Zak glances at me nervously, as if wanting to ask permission for something. I think I know what he wants, so I nod at him. He takes a deep breath and looks at his sister before saying, "Samira, I think you should take a seat before we explain."

     By 'we', I think he means 'him'. Because there's no way I'm going to pull up the courage to explain to someone else again. Especially since I barely know Samira. But she is Zak's sister, and if Zak wants to tell her the truth, then I trust his judgment in trusting her with this information. He's known her his whole life after all. Samira looks concerned at us before she blankly sits down. She patiently waits for us to say something. Then Zak says, "Okay Sam, so I just want you to know first before I tell you everything is that I just learned today this information, so I'm trying to think of a way to take action on it. Which is why Darryl is here today."

     Samira slowly nods in understanding.  Then Zak starts by saying, "So, I'm going to begin at the start. So... today, I found out that Darryl was covering scars of cuts with makeup on his face. After I found the scars, I immediately brought him to the nurse, where he got patched up."

     Samira just nodded, paying attention and preparing herself for what Zak had to say. Zak then continued, "After he got patched up, I started asking him questions, and soon enough, he told me the reason why he had those scars."

     He paused, then took a deep breath. He then continued, "He told me that... his Dad abuses him."

     Samira was stunned from the information. But quickly, she turned from a state of shock to rage. She then said, "How could someone hurt their child like that!? When they should be the most important thing in the world to a parent!"

     Samira turned to me and asked, "How long has your father been hurting you!?"

     I look down and say, "A... a few years..."

     Everyone is silent for a moment. Then Samira speaks up and says, "So what you're telling me is that he didn't always abuse you, right? Do you know why he started acting this way?"

     "Um... not exactly, but he kinda got depressed after he lost his job. So, he started drinking..."

     Samira just looks even more mad. She then says, "That's no excuse to abuse your damn child!"

     Silence falls upon us for a while. But then Zak says, "Well, Sam, I just want you to know that Darryl is going to stay for the night. And I want to ask for your opinion on what we can do to help Darryl. I- don't want him to get hurt anymore..."

     "Well, I would immediately request to call the police, but since Darryl hasn't done that yet, he obviously doesn't want his father in jail. So that is out of the question."

     "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

     Wait- how did they both... Well... they are siblings... I'm not going to say anything. Zak chuckles and says, "Well, we're going to have to think of something. It's not like we can keep Darryl here forever."

     Samira looks like a lightbulb went on. She then says, "Wait... maybe with permission we can..."

     Me and Zak look confused. Samira then asks me, "Darryl... do you think we can have a chat with your parents tomorrow?"

     "Um... if I tell my Mom beforehand, then maybe. Why do you ask."

     "I was just thinking... if you want, we can try to convince your parents to let you live with us from now on. We promise that you'll be safe with us."

     The offer catches me off guard. I didn't think she would say that. Zak's eyes light up, and he turns to look at me. His eyes are basically begging me to agree to this idea. Even though it sounds nice... can I really just leave my parents like that? What about my Mom? Can I just leave her with my Dad? I was getting dragged deep into my thoughts. Well... we would be asking my parents if the idea is okay... I get snapped out of my thoughts once Samira says, "Or we don't have to do that if you don't want to! Sorry, it was just a sudden thought. We can always think of something el-"

     I then cut her off by saying, "Wait-! Um- I... the idea isn't bad... I'm up for it if my parents agree to it."

     Both Samira and Zak have wide grins on their faces. Samira abruptly gets up and says, "Well then- that settles it! First thing tomorrow, we'll go to your house, Darryl! Is anyone hungry? I think it's time for dinner."

     As the rest of the day goes on, I can't help but notice that both Zak and Sam are quite excited of the thought of me living with them. Especially Zak. Either they really like me, or just really care about me. Maybe both, even though I barely know Samira. But since I'm her brothers boyfriend, I guess I'm already somewhat important to her.

     We eat dinner together, which was very nice. We made good conversation, and Samira's food was quite good. After dinner, me and Zak work on our homework together in his room, and we end the day by going to sleep in each other's arms. Just like the last time I slept over at his place. But almost throughout the whole evening I couldn't help but think about how the conversation with my parents will go tomorrow. I hope nothing bad happens.