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"He's isolated, he's throwing a tantrum." The guard said leading Marty inside.
"Isolated?" He asked. Aaron Stampler the scout boy, isolated?
"Yes, sir. Punched one of our doctors pretty good, broke his nose." The guard pointed to the door. "Do you really want to be alone with him? I'll have to lock you in."
"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry, I'll scream if something happens." Marty said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, wasn't sure if the guard was really talking about Aaron.
"Your choice, man." The guard opened the door and let Marty step inside before locking it.
Aaron didn't look at him, he had a guilty look on his face. He had a bleeding wound on his cheek, probably because he tried to resist.
"What happened?"
"S-some doctor." He said looking down.
Marty sat on his bed and tried to get him to look at him.
"What did the doctor do?"
"Someone t-tried t' steal my book, earlier. He-he punched m-me and the doctor wanted t' make sure I weren't hurt but uh-" Aaron hesitated and avoided Martin's gaze. "H-he wanted me to ta-take my shirt off but I didn't want t-ta. I'm s-sorry, s-s-sorry-"
Aaron shifted uncomfortably and grabbed his own head.
"Hey, it's okay. Let me- Does taking your shirt off make you uncomfortable?"
"S-sometimes, it's-it's really bad sometimes."
Martin furrowed his brows, Aaron wasn't hurt. 'It's really bad' it's something kids say when they've been hurt, when their elbows and knees are bruised and you can see the blood on their skin.
"Has it always been bad?" Marty asked, careful now.
"No, it-it weren't like that before-" Aaron clenched his fist on his hair and let go.
"Before what?"
"N-nothing, just meant when I was y-younger." The boy lied, he was so obvious.
Marty took a moment to think, if Aaron wasn't physically hurt then it must have been a memory that triggered his anger, but if there was a before and an after then it was something specific that could be named.
Body image issues, refusing to talk about sex, anxiety, regression to childlike behaviors, low self-esteem, self harm. The signs where there, Marty felt really bad missing them.
It was little things that he decided to ignore. Aaron feeling uncomfortable on clothes that actually fit on him, pulling at the shirts like his skin was on fire. Feeling anxious whenever he had to talk to someone new, always sucking on his fingers when he was distracted or changing the letters in words replacing the r's for w's. 'I don't weally want ta.' He remembered him saying a long time ago, his voice sounding like a small child. Feeling uncomfortable when someone told him he was handsome, thinking they were lying. Little scars on his arms in an angle that indicated self-harm.
"May I ask you a personal question?"
Aaron nodded and finally met his eyes.
"Did-Did someone ever touch you? You know, in a way you didn't want to. In a sexual way."
Aaron's face got red, his lip trembled. His pretty blue eyes filled with tears.
"Y-yes."
"Was it Bishop Rushman?" Martin feared the answer.
"One of 'em." Aaron replied, almost like he didn't want to believe it either.
Martin should have been thinking about the case, about motive, but his fist clenched and his mind drifted to something entirely different. Aaron, how could someone hurt him? Was he the only one?
If Aaron killed Rushman, then the son of a bitch had it coming.
Martin pushed away his homicidal thoughts and moved closer to Aaron, offering comfort. The boy immediately hid his face on the counsellor's chest, arms wrapped around his torso.
"I-I didn't kill him, I s-swear-" He was sobbing, oh.
"I believe you, I believe you." Marty had decided a long time ago that Aaron was incapable of lying. "Did he hurt someone else?"
Aaron nodded against his chest, sobbing and struggling to breathe.
"Alex, Linda, Billy and o-others. But I w-was his favourite, h-he always chose m-me." His voice started to break and his stutter started to get worse. "H-he fucked Linda and m-me, and made the others p-play with me-"
His voice was interrupted by a sob and his whole body started shaking.
"It's okay, we don't have to talk about it right now." The boy nodded, still hiding on his chest. "Come here, Aaron."
Marty rested his back against the wall and Aaron crawled to his lap, sitting sideways so he could be held like a baby.
"It will be okay, Aaron. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again, I promise."
The boy started to relax and fall asleep, his face now resting on Martin's bicep and still being held close to him. When his breathing finally slowed down, the counsellor carefully laid him down on his bed and kissed his cheek before calling the guard very careful not to wake Aaron.
Marty looked at his sleepy figure through the small window and sighed, if only he could take him home and protect him from all of this. Aaron deserved to be sleeping on a comfortable bed, to have someone to make all the bad shit a little bit easier.
Marty would be glad to be that person.
Aaron didn't belong in a place so rough, so grey, so sad. He deserved so much better, he deserved the world.
Marty left that day determined to set the whole world on fire if it could help Aaron's case.