Group Therapy

61 - Tiny.

"Stay alive, stay alive for me. You will die but now your life is free."

Truce ~ Twenty O̷ne Pilots.

° ° ° °

Devin.

We practically grew up together.

His dad and mine were close friends and we were around the same age so we always got to hang out and got so close over the years.

After my dad left things got bad real quick, I never realized that he was being toxic until l became friends with alex and realized how a real man should treat me.

l gathered up enough courage to confront him about it with the help of alex only a few years ago in freshman year, he didn't take it well and blamed alex for 'ruining our friendship' causing them to get into a nasty fight, devin ended up with a broken nose and alex a bloody face. God l remember that day like it was yesterday, feeling so helpless while watching two of the people closest to you attempt to kill each other and having to stand there helplessly screaming at them to stop.

After that fight he switched schools and pretty much blocked me on anything and everything, l never saw him since.

I don't like to think about it, just another wound that hasn't healed.

"Hey, you there?" ryder asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah..."

"Judging by your reaction, you know him pretty well?"

"Yeah I-I do."

"So? Are you going to tell me?" he asks

I sigh and explain to him the situation the best l could, leaving out the part about the fight between alex and devin, thinking of it is something but talking about it is even worse.

"Damn.." he mumbles

"l still don't understand what information l have about him that could get him taken down or whatever other reason he came up with."

"Well that depends on what you know about him."

"l know that he's an ass, l know that his parents are also assholes, that's pretty much it." l try to remember anything that l know about him that could possibly get him taken down but fail to do so.

"Try to think of something else, can't you remember anything off about him or something?" he asks

"Besides being a complete dickhead, no."

"Wait is this shit even legal?" l ask, referring to devin being in a gang. "why am l asking you? you're in a gang too." l sigh at my stupidity.

"No laynie being in a gang isn't legal." he rolls his eyes

"Okay back to the main case, l cannot recall one thing l know about him that could possibly get him killed or whatever you mean by 'taken down'." l rub my temples in frustration.

"Try to think of anything, his past life, his weaknesses, etcetera."

"His weaknesses. That's it. I know his weaknesses, physically and mentally." the realization suddenly hits me.

"There."

"Okay so what now? Are we just going to hide here forever?" l ask

"No, so far we don't really have a plan, just keeping you safe." he admits

"Ryder?" l ask

He turns his head to look at me "Mhm?"

"lf l ask you a question, would you answer it truthfully?"