Ray shut the door and made the two sit down, rummaging around in his bag to find a bag of crisps which he slid across the table to them. The room that they were in was empty, as it always was before the school day started, and the maps and posters that blanketed the walls seemed too bright for Gerards dim eyes.

"Listen...." Began Ray, he sat opposite them whilst tilting his eyes to the side a little, "what's going on?"
"W-what do you mean: What's going on?" Asked Gerard, crunching down on the crisps.
"Gee! You haven't been at school for days and then you show up, eating everything and looking like you haven't eaten or seen the light for days! You're both covered in bruises and you look half dead! Don't even thing of saying that nothing is wrong!"
"It's fine...." Mumbled Gerard defensively while avoiding making eye contact with Ray.
"Gerard!" Yelled Ray, "I know something is god-damn wrong! Don't lie to me! I've known a kid called Frank for years and I can tell when something is wrong. When he is nervous or scared and when he needs supporting! You two need help so just please! I want to help you!"
"Just tell him Gee!" Cried Mikey."Please."
"What is it?" Asked Ray.

Mikey looked to his brother in hope that he'd explain everything to Ray, but he did not react. Mikey began speaking with tears welling up in his eyes and making the surface of them turn glassy.
"Well..." He began, "we currently live with our uncle after, um, after our parents were killed."
Rays expression changed suddenly, he took Mikey's hand and squeezed it gently as Mikey continued speaking, Ray telling him to take his time and doing his best to comfort him.

"We were sent to live with our uncle and he, he hurts us for doing nothing. Um, h-he locked us under the floorboards and wouldn't let us out for days and and he never feeds us and we have no-one to go to help us an-" he broke down tears streaming down his face like a waterfall, they dropped onto the floor after they escaped the red that crept in around the edges of Mikey's desperate eyes.
Ray had no words that he could have formed in his mouth, and nothing to say because just saying that everything will be okay will not make everything automatically okay.

"Is there anybody that you can talk to?"
"T-there was Finley and Alex. They work at Airdale care home but Nick ripped the numbers up and told us that under no circumstances we could call them."
"Thank you..." Ray whispered.
"What for?" Asked Mikey, he looked to his brother who had his head rested on the table to hide his tears.
"For telling me, Mikes. It will get better."
After helping to calm Mikey down and after his teardrop ridden face was disguised enough, Ray supported Mikey and Gerard (one on each shoulder) and they both headed to a surely excited Bob who lay in wait at their first class of the day. Sure enough he did, enveloping them all in a comforting hug and whispering to them in their ears, not just happy that they had returned to school but also worried for the two young bothers.

"Hey...when's Frank coming back to school?" Asked Bob as he waited outside his science class with Ray and Gerard slumped next to him.
"I dunno," replied Ray, "he's having some trouble settling in with his new foster
parents at the moment, though he should be back soon after he's talked with Finley."
"Good." Bob cheered excitedly, "and then Gee and Mikes can meet him!"
"Oh good." Gerard pointed out as he wondered who Frank was, and what he looked like. But the stand-alone thing that Gerard desperately wanted to know was how Frank could cope, how he could live without his parents: probably being passed around from foster parents to foster parents like a broken rag doll.

---

"Take this!" Ray muttered handing Gerard a carrier bag that was being pulled to the floor by the weight that was laying in the bottom. Mikey and Gerard walked out of the school gates at the end of the day with Ray and Bob in tow, following the huge influx of students that streamed out onto the pavements and poured out onto the road with car horns blaring and raging in anger.
Mikey and Gerard peered into the bag to see masses of food stored in its bottom. Sandwiches and biscuits and water and crisps and chocolate and sweets and fruit and tins. All stacked up in a huge pile.

"Should get you through a few days..." Ray continued smiling to Mikey and Gerard.
"T-thank you. Thank you so much." Gerard replied, staring longingly at all of the food.
"Sorry, it's all that I could get from the vending machines and the school canteen but it should hopefully be okay."
"It's fine. Thank you."
"You know," continued Ray, waving to Bob as he hopped in his car and was driven away by his mum who smiled as much as himself (you could obviously tell who he gained his smile from). "You know? It will get better. I promise that it will. You'll be safe and it will end. I will be here by your side."

Ray pulled the two in for a hug, stroking his hands through their hair and squeezing their shoulders gently for comfort. Mikey and Gerard collapsed into the warmth, savouring every last second before they pulled away.
"It will end, not all is lost."
And Ray walked away.

Notes

This was supposed to be 2 chapters but oh well.....ta da! Thank you for reading. Next update probably tomorrow. Thank you for reading and hope you are doing well. :) x
-Lou