I'm thinking that this story will most likely be at least twenty or so chapters long.

It's so funny because fifteen was the last chapter if I decided not to have flashbacks for all the characters.

I really love doing this, y'all. I really do.

Much love.:)

"Scott, answer. Now. Why did you steal the weapon?"

Scott refused to look up, his wrists in handcuffs under the table as he was interrogated. Alex watched through the one-way window, hoping that Scott will tell the truth and face what he deserves.

It'll be much easier.

"Scott."

Scott sighed, taking a deep breath as he looked over at the window. He mouthed something to Alex, but the older man didn't undertsand what he was saying.

He hoped it wasn't too serious.

"I-I do-don't know," Scott stuttered out, his voice cracking as he looked back at the interrogator. "I just now Mitch did this to himse-"

"Wrong. The surgeons that worked on his surgery said those stabs were too deep to be caused by him. You know something, Scott. Tell me now or you will go to jail for a long time."

Alex watched with a broken heart when Scott broke down in tears, his body shaking as he sobbed loudly. The interrogator looked over at Rick, shaking her head as she stood up so the older Hoying could take over. Rick sat down in front of Scott, slamming his hand down so he could get his son's attention. Scott jumped, his father refusing to give up.

"Scott Richard, you better tell me why you had that forsaken knife or I will make sure that you will stay behind a jail cell for as long as I could put you in there. Forget about being there for a ye-"

"The voices are talking," Scott interrupted, his voice shaking as he let out a shuddery sob. "They're mad and I don't know why. Why are they mad?"

"You better not be lying, Scott. I know when you are."

"I'm telling the truth," Scott yelled, his face crumbling as he gripped his hair. "I don't know! I do these things and I forget it and I hate it and I just want to be normal!"

Rick stopped yelling at his son, shaking his head as he teared up himself. He cleared his throat while Alex looked at the scene, trying to find something out.

What did Scott do, but then forgot all about it after he did it?

~~~

Mitch woke up after a few hours, his temple throbbing for some strange reason. He rubbed at it, hissing as Mario walked into his room, smiling as his best friend brought Ipbrofuen and a glass of water.

"Thanks, Mario," Mitch mumbled, taking the glass of water and the two little pills that were so small yet so amazing to anyone that has a terrible pain. Mario smiled, nodding as he sat back down.

"You're welcome, Mitchy. Um, Rick called back about Scott."

"Oh? What about?"

"As of right now, Scott will still have a trial," Mario recited, putting a gentle hand on Mitch's back. Mitch nodded, sipping from the glass and set it down after he had the amount of water he was satisfied with. "Um, I don't know if you know this, but do you know that Scott has-"

"Hey, Mitch? You okay?" Avi asked, running a hand over his face. The bearded man looked exhausted, yet he was moving around just fine. "You a nasty fall."

"Yeah, I'm okay, but Pops? You look very exhausted," Mitch murmured, standing up carefully. Avi shook his head, yawning as Mitch looked over his father's face. He looked very sick and tired, something that Mitch has never seen on his father before. "Pops, lay down. You look tired."

"I'm fine, Mitch. Promise," Avi lied, smiling weakly as he hugged Mitch. Mitch didn't believe him, worry consuming him whole as he tried to figure out what was wrong. "Don't worry abo-"

Avi was interrupted by a coughing attack, covering his mouth as Mitch backed up. Mario was confused while Mitch shook his head, knowing these kinds of symptoms from anywhere.

And they were bad.

"Avi, are you o-Mitch, call the doctor," Kevin commanded as he walked up, putting a hand on Avi's back. Mitch nodded, shaking his head as he took out his cell-phone. "Avi, we need to go to the hospital. You have symptoms."

"I'm fine," Avi chocked out, coughing once more. He felt faint afterwards, holding onto Kevin will all of his might. "Kevin, I don't feel good."

"I know, baby. I know. Let's go downstairs. Mitch, are you on the phone?!"

"Yes, Dad," Mitch called back, his hands shaking as he heard the doctor talk back. "Okay, he'll be there in a few minutes. Please make him okay. Please."

Mario heard Avi and Kevin leave, walking over to Mitch to make sure he was okay when he heard.

"His cancer came back."

~~~

( Mitch is six years old)

"How are we going to tell him, Kevin? I'm scared."

"He's bound to find out anytime now or later," Kevin replied, putting a gentle hand on Avi's back. Avi nodded, looking back at his young son. "Do you want to talk to him now?"

"Yeah," Avi whispered, smiling sadly as he walked over over to Mitch. Mitch was playing with one of his Barbies, singing a silly song as he brushed her hair. "Hey, buddy. You like your new Barbie?"

"Yes, Poppy. Thank you for giving it to me," Mitch responded, putting the Barbie down to hug his father. Avi smiled, hugging Mitch back as hard yet gently as he could. "Are you sad? Do you need kisses?"

"Kisses would be wonderful," Avi commented, smiling when Mitch kissed him on the cheek gently. Avi frowned, letting go of Mitch and put his hands on his son's small shoulders. "Mitch, there's something I need to tell you. It's serious, okay?"

"Okay, Poppy," Mitch replied, smiling at whatever Avi had to say. When he saw that both of his daddies were frowning, he began to frown too and looked worried for his parents. "You look sad again. Don't be sad, be happy. Happiness is important."

"I know, baby boy," Avi commented, pulling Mitch close to him as he thought of what to say. He didn't want to sugarcoat this. "Mitchy, before you came here to live with Daddy and me, I was very sick."

"You had a fever? Did you eat chicken noodle soup?"

"Not that kind of sick, baby," Kevin spoke up, sitting down next to his husband. Mitch looked confused, looking at his daddies for clarification. "Daddy had something else that was very bad. He was very sick because of it."

"What did he have?"

Avi took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he felt Mitch's gaze on him. He teared up a bit, wiping his eyes before answering.

Mitch deserved to know.

"Mitch, I had cancer. Soft tissue sarcoma."

Mitch frowned some more, this entire thing confusing him. He looked over at Kevin, his big brown eyes filling up with tears as he whimpered.

"Daddy, you're a doctor. What does that mean?"

This was much harder than it sounded.

"Cancer is when you have really mean cells in your body that make you sick. In Poppy's case, he had a tumor that had cancer in it and he had it removed, which is why he has a big scar on his chest. He had a really aggressive type and he needed to get better. He is now, but he could get it back."

Mitch whimpered once more, wiping his eyes before sticking out his pinkie. Avi was about to ask why Mitch's pinkie was out when Mitch answered for him.

"Promise me that you won't die."

"Mitchell, don't you ever-"

"No," Avi interrupted, shaking his head at Kevin. He put his pinkie around Mitch's, kissing the small finger gently. "I promise."

"Okay. I love you, Poppy."

"I love you too, baby boy."

Why Avi lied?

Kevin didn't know.

A/N: Yeah...so...uhhh...um...uh...how do you feel about Avi making that promise? That was interesting, lol. I'm excited for the course this story is going into. Anyways, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and remember that I love you all.:)

-Maddie🐶💕🎤