Welcome To Hell, I Meant School

Third POV

As Devin collapsed, several people ran to his side and screamed for help. Because he had no ID, no phone and no way to contact anyone, he was taken to the medical tent until they could ID him and find a contact for him, or at least someone responsible for him. It was not done often (it was actually quite rare, if not a first time thing), but they made an announcement during a set to try and find anyone who knew who he was.

“There is a young man with dark black hair, a long sleeve black shirt and a new years days shirt, a black skirt and black tights with black shoes. He is roughly 5 feet 6 inches and looks to be about 16 years old. If you think you know this young man, please come by the medical tent to ID him, so he can get medical treatment.”

Ash and Chris looked at each other the moment they heard the announcement and ran for the tent. It was Devin and they were sure of it. No one else could fit the description. When Ash almost tripped on her heeled boots, Chris gave her a piggyback ride and ran with her on his back. By the time they got to the tent, they were out of breath from running from the other side of the venue. Once they could talk and not choke on air, they said they thought they knew the kid who was unconscious.

“This kid looks like hell, whatever he is going through it’s not pretty. He has bruising all over. His makeup came off and he has a bunch of bruising on his face. I’m warning you, its gruesome.” The EMT said warningly.

Ash and Chris nodded as they then were led to where Devin lay on a cot behind a curtain. The moment they laid eyes on him, tears formed in their eyes. Devin lay there unconscious on the cot with lots of bruises on his face. His cheeks were sunken in way to far and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Chris picked up his hand and it was burning hot. “We think he is severely dehydrated. And he appears to be severely malnourished.”

Ash texted all of the guys and informed them that it was Devin that was found. Chris rode with an unconscious Devin in the ambulance to the hospital where he would then be treated. Chris sat there and waited for any news to come on how Devin was doing. It took about two hours but news finally came. Devin had been severely dehydrated and malnourished. They had to insert a feeding tube through his nose in order to help bring him back into a normal blood sugar levels. His current weight was 112 lbs and was severely under weight for his height.

“Are you his partner?” a doctor asked Chris.

“ We dated several months ago but he broke up with me.” He answered.

“Do you know who he may currently be with? The wounds he has are common with those who are in abusive relationships. There is a lot of bruising on his chest, back, hips, thighs and neck along with his face. His only broken bone was a rib. We would like to contact the police on this matter, so if there is anything, anything at all you could tell us, that would be greatly appreciated.”

“ I know that while we were dating and before I left for tour, his ex Liam came into town. Dev said that Liam was his Ex, he had moved several times to get away from Liam but he would find him every time. He was absolutely terrified of him. There would be times where he would get panic attacks and end up throwing up, or he would pass out.” Chris answered him.

“ Does your friend take Xanax?

“Yes, why?” Chris asked.

“We believe he may have been taking a lot more than the recommended dose. If it were true, that Mr. Sola was being abused, it would explain why he used the Xanax over the recommended dose.”

“What’s going to happen to him now?”

“ Well, he’s going to be sedated for a few more hours while we run a few more tests then we will bring him out of the sedation. Once he is awake, we will have the police talk with him. His recovery is another story. Because of his current weight, he will most likely be admitted as an impatient until he is cleared to leave.”

Chris was upset. If he would have dealt with Liam sooner, none of this would be happening, and Devin wouldn’t be sick again. Or at least that’s what Chris was thinking. He blamed himself for what happened to Devin. But it was not his fault. And it wouldn’t be until Devin woke up, would the older boy be told it was not his fault.

Chris waited by Devin’s side holding his hand. Running a thumb across Devin’s Cheek, he mumbled how much he had missed him. Ash came up with Ricky and Nikki while everyone else was cleaning up the stuff from the sets and loaded up for the next date. They all sat around the room in silence waiting for Devin to wake up. It took about two hours, but Devin woke up. The first face he saw was Chris’s.

When he had trouble remembering what brought him here this time, he asked whether it was the kids at school, lack of food or Liam. Chris hide the rage he felt at the mention of Liam’s name. Ash answered him saying, “ You passed out at warped tour for dehydration and malnutrition.”

“Oh.” Was all he said.

The doctor came in and told Devin what would be happening. The police were currently here to speak with Devin, and one person could remain in the room with him if he wanted it. Devin allowed Ash to stay with him. Chris was confused to why he asked Ash to stay but let it go as he and the other two guys went down to the cafeteria to get a bottle of water.


As the police interviewed Devin, they asked him all sorts of questions. Mostly about Liam, whom he was, where he was from and what their relationship was like. The things Devin said made Ash cringe. The stories of how Liam had violated Devin on multiple occasions made her sick to her stomach. She did her best to comfort him, but she knew that Chris would be the only one to be able to comfort him. By the time the interview was over, it was decided that Liam would be taken to court and arrested for his crimes.

By the time Chris got to see Devin again, Devin was asleep. Chris knew he would have to leave to be at the next venue but there was no way he could leave Devin like this. Against his better judgment, he woke Devin up.

“I don’t want to leave, but in order to make it to the next stop, we have to leave soon. Ash called Brett and Tony; they’re on their way. I don’t want to leave you like this. Everything is telling me not to.”

“I understand that you don’t want to leave, and that’s why you need to go. Your band needs you. Those four need you more than me. I’ll be all right. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Just promise me that you are going to get better. That while I’m away, you’ll begin to recover.”

“I want to. But it’s going to be forever before they’ll let me out this time. But I’ll wait for you. Somewhere somehow, I want to be with you again, someday.” Devin said softly. Chris kissed him softly and held his hand until he had to leave. Walking away made Chris physically sick. He got down the hallway to the bathroom where he threw up. Getting in the van was one of the most difficult things he ever done. Ricky patted his shoulder and said, “its better for him to get better while we’re away so you wont be obsessing over his every breathe. And the doctor’s are going to monitor him. If he wants to come home and see you, he’s going to have to get better.”

Chris understood what Ricky said; he just didn’t want to leave Devin like this. He wanted to kiss him until he turned blue from the lack of oxygen. He wanted to hold the smaller boy in his arms and watch horror movies together. More importantly, he wanted Devin to be healthy, and happy.

Tony sent a message to Chris, it read: “Devin’s mom just showed up here, shortly after we got here. She’s upset and is about to go kill Liam. She said that she didn’t know you and Dev broke up, nor did she know about what Liam was doing. If she did, and I quote, “The Fucker would have been dead the instant he laid a hand on my baby boy.” We’ve figured out that Liam was forcing Dev to do things he did not want to do. Dev can barely look at any of us. He’s at rock bottom now. Shortly after you guys all left, he began to cry and let down his walls. The nurses had to sedate him because he was raising his heart rate and not breathing right. If his blood pressure got any higher, and with the condition his heart is in, any massive elevation of his blood pressure can lead to cardiac arrest. I’ll keep you informed as best as I can. He’s being admitted tomorrow morning. They said he will be there for at least a month, and however longer it takes him to reach a weight they will release him at.”

Chris was now beyond furious. He had a set of brass knuckles that had Liam’s name on them. He also had a bunch of pocketknives, which he would gladly coat in lemon and a bunch of salt packets that would go lovely with it. Ricky tried to get Chris to go to sleep, but failed to. Chris was the only one awake other than TJ who was driving. TJ minded his own business and didn’t bother Chris since Chris was in the back of the van. With no distractions, Chris began to plot Liam’s slow painful death, and how he would hide the body. Sulfuric acid was a possibility. Dumping the body in shark-invested waters also intrigued him. He wanted the bastard to feel the pain he inflicted on Dev, and know justice.

He ultimately knew that if he took justice into his own hands, he would be behind bars and Dev would be alone. That’s why, at 4’oclock in the morning, he finally let him self sleep. Sleep was anything but peaceful. He tossed and turned, thrashed around a bit and made noises. Ricky was a hair away from killing Liam himself so Chris would stop having mumbling in his sleep his plan to kill Liam. Ultimately, Ricky covered Chris with the blanket and fell back asleep.

Things at the hospital were not going well either. Devin had to be sedated about an hour after Chris and company had left. Once his mom arrived, all barriers that held his emotions up collapsed and had no sign of stopping. Tears came pouring out of his eyes while he sobbed and blamed himself for his current situation. Devin felt guilty that Chris had to see him like this, and knew what he had become. He knew that Devin was basically addicted to his Xanax prescription. Tony, Brett, and Ashley all watched as Devin broke. They didn’t know what to do in that moment, but they all swore that Liam would see hell before he got arrested.

When Devin woke up the next morning, his mom explained how the three boys had some business to attend to. Hearing that made him nervous, he knew that whatever was to come to Liam, it would not be pretty. And pretty it was not. When the three boys later returned that afternoon, all they said was that Karma had been served on a platter.

Karma was actually about a several hour drive but it was worth it. Tony had called up his friend Vic, who had been in college for the last year, and asked him for some help. Vic then brought his best friend Jaime and his younger brother Mike. Mike and Jaime looked like two guys that you did not want to ever mess with, and if you messed with Vic, there would be hell to pay. Tony was a brother to him and anyone who was a friend to Tony was a friend to them. So when he had asked them for some help with a “friend” they said they’d be at the address given and asked no questions.

Brett had called his best friend JC and his other friend Alex to come and help him. Alex looked mean, but was actually very nice and funny. JC looked like he couldn’t hurt a fly, but when he was mad, and he wasn’t mad often, there was hell to pay. When Brett explained the situation to him, it upset him. Devin was innocent and had been hurt far to many times and Karma was a little to slow at the moment.

Ashley made the call that brought two unlikely people with him. Craig Mabbit and Ronnie Radke. Both boys were not fond of each other but for this, they would temporarily bury the hatchet and deal with one another to serve Karma to Liam.

All 10 boys were reading for an ass whopping to give. Now, the 10 of them knew they all couldn’t beat him up, because it would draw too much attention. So instead, they formulated a plan. Brett played the young innocent boy looking for a good time. Liam was not back yet from his trip with his parents, but when he would be, they would get him before the police. Tony, Brett and Ashley would not partake in the ass whopping because they could be tied it, so by them not doing it, they could pass a lie detector test if necessary.

Because Liam wasn’t back yet, their trip back to Salem was shorter than planned but informational. Apparently sneaking into a school office and stealing a file was not as hard as it seemed. Ronnie got in, got the file, took a picture of it, and got it back before ever getting noticed. With the information in the file, they knew where he lived, and what his parent’s contact information was. Mike, Jaime, Craig, and Ronnie broke into Liam’s house and searched it top to bottom. Liam’s parents did not live there whatsoever. There was no evidence of them ever living there either.

Liam’s room was quite bare. Although the pictures of Devin, were quiet creepy. There were pictures from when he was younger, until quite recently. Some were of him sleeping, others were of him wearing nothing or wearing inappropriate clothing. It disgusted the four. They instantly realized they needed to get out before they got caught because their presence could jeopardize the court case. They then made sure that they wiped down all the surfaces they touched, left no hairs behind and got away quickly. The four told the others about what was found and then all went their separate ways.

The police interviewed Devin before the boys got back. As the boys drove away and to somewhere less criminal, they noticed the police going to Liam’s house. Realizing how close they were to being arrested, they breathed a sigh of relief that they got out of their soon enough. It took several hours, but a warrant for Liam’s arrest was announced. He was tracked down on his supposed cruise and would be arrested the moment he reached shore.

Devin was admitted to the psychiatric ward to be observed and treated later that afternoon. The police would still be able to contact him for questions if needed, however. Tony, Brett, and Ashley were hoping that the arrest would be quick, and that the trial would be quick and Devin would not have to spend a lot of time in court. If Devin went to court, it would hinder his recovery. The police also had to build a lot of credibility for Devin that way Liam’s attorneys would not tear him to pieces. Luckily, his Xanax use was hidden in his file and because it’s health related, it cannot be used in court. They could try to make him look willing, but the bruises spoke more than Devin could say. The fact that the boy was reduced to a mess by the mere sight of Liam, said a lot. Devin knew the upcoming weeks would be difficult, he just hoped that it would not contain more problems then wanted.

Notes