TW // Mentions of abuse
CW // Swearing
Logan reached home too quickly for his liking. He unlocked the door and crept into the house and crept inside, trying his best not to make noise. Luckily, he passed through the house undetected. He got to his room and shut the door, sighing as he placed his backpack on the ground. He rubbed his wrist where Mrs Woods had grabbed it. A light bruise was starting to form. At least it was his non-dominant wrist. It would have been troublesome if it was the other.
He sat at his desk, pulling out his unfinished ELA homework. He assumed Kuro assigned the same homework and set to work on it, underlining passages and filling out notes as he read.
Soon enough, his alarm set for five minutes to six rang. That meant it was nearly time for dinner.
You see, in the Matthews house, meals were very orderly. Dinner, for example, started exactly at six. If you weren’t at the table by then, you didn’t eat. It lasted until 6:45, regardless of when they were finished eating. At 6:45, they were dismissed. Then, at 7:15, they were to come back down for dessert. They sat in another awkward silence for fifteen minutes. At 7:30, they were to check into their rooms for the night. They meant Logan and his sister, Kristen. Kris, really, but their father never honoured her wishes of going by Kris. Nevertheless, their father, William, was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Joshua was off on his own, and the same went for their mother.
So it was pretty much just him and his sister. It made it worse for both of them.
Logan didn’t mind when it came to himself. But when his father hurt his sister, it was a different story. Kris was precious to him. He would get hurt ten times more often if it meant Kris would be safe. But William was not one to bargain, so Logan was never successful.
He made his way downstairs and slipped into his chair just as the clock began to chime six. His father gave him a disapproving look. Shit. That wasn’t good. Luckily, his father left it at that; their steak was served just seconds later. Steak. William seemed to love it, given how often they had it for dinner.
His father was a rich and prominent figure. He made enough for ten people to live comfortably. He and Logan’s mother had been in an arranged marriage between prominent families. When she had left, William had been outraged. But her family had taken her back under their wing, so there was nothing he could do.
Thus, he took out his anger on Logan and Kris, who were the ones who could do nothing in this situation. Logan had tried going to the police, but after a short investigation, they concluded that nothing was wrong. He tried again and they just brushed him off. “Listen, kid. Quit trying.”
It had hurt when they said that, but Logan hadn’t given up. He had walked in there once, fresh bruises on his face and stomach. But they never bothered to give him the time of day anymore, and he couldn’t get their attention easily, given that he couldn’t use his voice. Eventually, he stopped trying.
Dinner was a tad bit less awkward that night. Logan’s father ranted about the upcoming election the whole time and how the left-wing candidate had done so many things wrong. As if you haven’t, Logan thought to himself. He could tell Kris was thinking something similar. But at least there were no awkward silences or staring daggers at each other. That was nice, even if they had to listen to their father drone on about stuff like this.
So, at 6:45, they all went back to their rooms. Logan finished his ELA homework, and then skimmed the online library for something to read. He found a new book just before his alarm rang once more.
He plodded down the stairs towards the dining room. Dessert was a simple apple pie. It was good, but Logan wasn’t a huge fan of apple pie. Those fifteen minutes were awkward. Everyone was done by 7:22. Eight minutes of silence and staring at each other. If they had been alone, Logan and Kris would have made weird faces at each other until one of them laughed. But William was there and he would get angry. He had before.
“Logan,” William finally said, at 7:29. “I’d like a word with you.”
The clock ticked to 7:30.
Logan got up and followed his father, even though he knew it wouldn’t be anything good.
He had been correct in his idea that it was nothing good. Pain screamed up his side from a fresh cut. It went from halfway up his abdomen and curled around his side, stopping at his Ilium. It hurt. But that was why his father did it, wasn’t it? He wanted to hurt someone. And Logan was an easy target.
He moved his shoulders up and back, sitting down on his bed. Boy, he was tired. He laid down on his bed, curling into the fetal position. That made the cut hurt more, so he unfurled and stretched out across the bed. The cut wasn’t his only injury, it was just the most prominent. He closed his eyes, willing his mind to shut off.
It didn’t. He fell asleep quickly, but bad dreams ran rampant through his mind. He woke in a cold sweat no less than three times that night. The third time, it was 5:57 AM, so he started getting up to get ready for school on time.
He left for school at the usual time of 6:50. The school wasn’t far, but he walked there most days, and he didn’t want to risk being late. As he got closer to the school, the number of cars on the road increased. He grew more cautious, staying aware of the cars on the road just to his left. However, as per usual, he made it to school without a hitch. He didn’t know why the cars made him anxious. Only that they did. That was part of the reason he left for school so early; he liked it when there were fewer cars.
School technically started at 7:40, but students were allowed in the building at 7:10. He arrived at the school normally around that time, maybe a few minutes later. Today he arrived at 7:13. He immediately put his stuff in his locker and made his way to Kuro’s classroom. Kuro was already there, along with one other student. Kuro offered Logan a smile as he approached the teacher’s desk. “What d’ya need?”
“Can I talk to you at lunch?” Logan signed.
Kuro’s smile dropped for a split second; he knew what that meant. He quickly adjusted himself, however, and nodded. “Yeah. Meet me in here, alright?”
Logan nodded, then turned around and walked back to his seat. He grimaced as he sat down, the cut on his side sending a wave of pain through his body. That was going to be annoying for the rest of the day. Or at least until Kuro gave him some mild pain medication at lunch. Ibuprofen typically worked wonders in terms of pain.
Students trickled into the classroom at a steady pace, save for the last group, the one that hung out in the hallways until right before the bell rang. Kuro called attendance, then everyone stood for the pledge.
Kuro got right down to business, as usual. “Alright. Page 99 in your textbooks, please.” Huh. It turned out Kuro hadn’t given the same homework as Mrs Woods. Well, at least he hadn’t been bored. He would turn it in to Kuro anyway. He might get some extra credit for a classwork grade.
As Kuro droned on and on, Logan let his mind drift. He vaguely wondered if Kuro got bored out of his mind during his own lessons. Teaching the same topic four times a day had to be tiring, right? Plus Kuro had already been to high school. He already knew everything he was teaching. It would be concerning if he didn’t, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Kuro had to be fed up with his classes. How he kept it all in, Logan would never know.
He figured he should probably stop zoning out of Kuro’s lessons or he would fail the class. He didn’t particularly fancy having to repeat a grade because he didn’t pay attention in English.
He zoned back in just as Kuro was explaining the answer to a question. He scribbled down what Kuro was saying, his handwriting sloppy and quick. Kuro then passed out an assignment and told them they had the rest of the class free. Great, more time to be bored. The assignment was easy, too. It was classwork; it had to be easy if they were to finish it by the end of class. After turning in his paper, Logan sat at his desk and drummed his fingers on the top of it. He let his cheek rest on his palm as he did so.
He wouldn’t have noticed the note coming across his desk if it didn’t hit his pencil and send that flying into his palm. He looked at the note, then at Jax, who was staring at him. “Sorry,” Jax mouthed, and he did look apologetic.
Logan simply turned back to the note and opened it, reading its contents.
Hi
He couldn’t help but smile at the note. Such simple words.
Hello
He penned the words and gave the note back, setting it neatly on the side of Jax’s desk.
Jax grinned at him as he passed the note back.
You look bored.
Logan snorted.
Nah, staring at the walls is fun. Is it not for you?
Jax seemed surprised for a moment, then looked up at Logan to see if he was serious. Seeing that he wasn’t, he wrote a response.
You scared me for a moment. Thought I had started attempting to befriend a psychopath.
Logan frowned, raising an eyebrow at Jax.
Is that what this is? An attempt to befriend me?
Jax nodded enthusiastically after he read the note, head bobbing up and down.
Okay then.
Jax grinned at him after reading his second response. Logan offered a small smile in return. It worked out perfectly, actually. Logan had been meaning to talk to him. He just didn’t know how. Being mute for six years didn’t exactly help you be good with words.
So, pronouns? I prefer he/him.
Great, that was just more confirmation that Jax was an ally.
He/him, thanks for asking.
This time, it was Jax who offered a grin. He paused for a moment before scribbling something down.
I’m not really sure how this whole making friends thing works. How am I supposed to talk to you?
Logan grinned at him shaking his head.
What, do you expect me to know?
Well, yeah. It’s you I’m trying to talk to.
For some reason, that was funny to Logan. His shoulders shook as he laughed soundlessly, a grin stretched wide across his face. Jax smiled in return, his own shoulder shaking. “Come on, you can’t laugh, or I’ll laugh!” he whispered to Logan. His tone was light and humorous. It only made Logan laugh more, and Jax had to cover his mouth to stop himself from making noise and attracting attention. They continued laughing for a moment until the bell rang. Even so, they both had large smiles displayed on their faces as they walked down the hallway.
Perhaps befriending him wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
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