Max had his hands tucked into his hoodie pockets while looking off to the side with an irritated expression. His attitude was the polar opposite of Nikki’s, who was excitedly tugging at his sleeve, much to the annoyance of the pessimistic boy.

“C’mon guys! Let’s go play!” she yelled with a big toothy grin stretched across her face.

“Who said that I wanted to play some shitty game?” he snarled. Just a few minutes ago, Nikki had convinced all of the other campers to join her in a game of hide and seek. Everyone else seemed excited, but Max, being his usual grouchy self, thought the idea was stupid. Neil, who was also standing next to him, rubbed his own arm as he spoke to the hoodie wearing boy.

“I dunno, Max. Hide and seek does actually sound pretty fun,”

“Yeah!” Nikki agreed.

“But it wouldn’t be as much fun without you!” she whined. Max just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m still gonna have to pass on that,” he growled, turning away from them. David, who had been listening to their conversation, walked up closer to the trio and put his hands on his hips, while he stared down at Max with a small smile.

“Well, if you really don’t want to play with the rest of the kids, you can stay here and hang out with me until dinner time!” he chirped cheerfully. Max nearly grimaced at just the thought of having to hang out with that stupid happy go lucky camp man all by himself. He’d rather jump into the lake or, better yet, shove David into the lake. Coming out of his thoughts, he sneered and stared at his shoes.

“On second thought, maybe playing with you guys doesn’t sound so bad after all,” he grumbled.

“Yay!” Nikki cried as she happily bounced up and down. She then turned to the rest of her fellow campers, who were standing behind her.

“All right everyone! Let’s get this game started! Now, who want’s to be the seeker?” Preston shot his hand up into the air and dramatically waved it around.

“Ooh! Me me me!” He yelled out. He liked the thought of having the most important role in the game.

“Okay then!” Nikki yelled back.

“How about you count to… ummm… one hundred fifty! That should give us all enough time to find a good hiding place!” everyone seemed to agree with that.

“All right then! Let’s go-“

“Wait!” David suddenly interrupted.

“Before you guys play, I need to set some ground rules.” All of the kids groaned.

“Now don’t be like that, it’s nothing too strict. You guys can still hide in a whole bunch of different spots, but only if it’s within the camp grounds. That includes the tents, mess hall, cabins, lake, and everywhere else in the near area, but no hiding in the woods. I don’t want any of you to get lost or hurt out there. Especially since it’s getting pretty late.” Nikki quickly nodded her head several times.

“Don’t worry David! We promise to be careful and stuff!” She once again looked back at the rest of the campers.

“C’mon guys! Let’s go hide! Preston, start counting!” Preston nodded and ran to and faced a nearby cabin. He then put his hands over his eyes and started to loudly count from one. The rest of the campers immediately ran off to find a good hiding spot, most of them giggling in the process.

Nikki suddenly grabbed Neil’s and Max’s hands, sprinting off into the direction of the lake. Neil let out a yelp in surprise, while Max was too stunned to say anything. While Neil wasn’t nearly as athletic or as fast as Nikki, his long legs helped him keep up with her extremely fast pace. Max, however, had very short limbs, and even though Nikki also had a very short and small build like him, Max was having a very hard time trying to maintain the same speed as her. He finally shook off the initial shock of being basically dragged across the camp so quickly, and angrily opened his mouth to speak.

“N-Nikki! Jesus Christ, slow down!” he yelled, yanking his hand away from her tight grip. Nikki skidded to a halt, in an almost cartoonish manner, causing Neil to fly forward. Luckily though, Nikki kept her firm grip on his hand, preventing him from face planting into the ground.

“What’s the matter, Max?” she questioned innocently.

“We have to hurry up and find a good spot before Preston finishes counting!” she said, as the sound of said person’s counting loudly echoed throughout the camp grounds.

“O-okay, but did you have to try and break the fucking sound barrier in the process?!” Neil asked, panting like a dog and shaking violently.

“Yeah Nikki, God. I can find my own hiding place without you almost ripping my fucking arm off,” Max snarled. The green haired girl shrugged.

“All right then, suit yourself. C’mon Neil, we gotta go!” she yelled excitedly.

“W-wait, hold on a se-“ before Neil could finish, Nikki once again sprinted off while tightly clutching his sweaty hand. Neil’s legs weren’t prepared this time, and he was being literally dragged off to wherever Nikki had decided to go, his shoes leaving two twin trails in the dirt. Max watched the two until they were completely out of sight. He stood there for a moment before staring off into the tall trees just left of him. They led into the woods, where their daily hikes took place. He started to walk through them, ignoring the rules that David had set earlier. He didn’t give a shit if that camp man didn’t want him going in there. He just needed to find a quiet place to get away from all the chaos at this hell hole.

The hiking trail was found as soon as Max stepped out of the tall trees that separated the woods from the camp grounds. He followed it as he walked through the forbidden territory. Even though he was just barely a few yards from the camp, he could already feel a wave of relief and solitude wash over him. He continued on his way for an unknown amount of time, getting lost in his own thoughts. The obnoxious sound of Preston’s loud counting had been long gone, and the only noises that the ten year old could hear was the rustling of leaves and the cheery chirping of birds. He looked up through the towering trees at the sky, taking notice of all the different shades of orange and pink and the setting sun peaking from behind the mountains. He had to admit, the sight was quite beautiful.

More time had gone by, and Max cleared enough of his thoughts away to realize that he had wandered off the path at some point. He stopped in his tracks and surveyed the area around him. He couldn’t see any sign of the trail, just more rocks, tress, and pine cones.

This made him slightly worried. He really hoped he didn’t get lost or some shit. That’d be embarrassing, and he’d have to deal with David freaking out and Gwen yelling. He looked over to the side of him, and noticed a tree that seemed a lot thicker than the others around it. He slowly walked over and sat down in front of it, resting his back against the trunk. It wasn’t very comfortable, and the bark sort of dug into his back, but he was tired and needed to rest for a while.

He once again let his mind wander, not really thinking about anything in particular. Minutes had passed, and he had grown quite sleepy. He let out a few yawns as he felt his eyelids become heavy and start to droop. He stuck his hands into his hoodie pockets and closed his eyes, feeling sleep starting to take over him.

Max jerked up and awoke with a strangled yelp. He felt his chest rise and fall in synch with his heavy and shaky breaths. His hands shook and his green eyes darted around wildly, searching for an attacker.

The nightmare he had just woken up from was still fresh in his mind. He could almost still hear the angry screams coming from his parents. They were directed at him. He had fucked up again. He didn’t how or when, but he didn’t need to know. He was always fucking up. He himself was a fuck up.

He slowly started to physically calm down as he realized it was just another shitty dream. His breathing became more controlled and he finally surveyed the area around him. The first thing that he noticed was that it was extremely dark. He could still vaguley see the silloughets of the trees and other objects around him, thanks to the light of the stars and moon, but it was still hard to make out everything in front of him. Shit, just how long had he been asleep?

Letting out a whimper, he slowly and shakily stood up, lightly brushing the leaves and dirt off of his jeans. Before he could even think of what to do next, he felt a few drops of water land on his head and shoulders. He looked up at the dark and cloudy sky, and discovered that it was lightly sprinkling. Great, just what he needed. Some fucking rain.

He hesitated before deciding to walk in a random direction, not really paying attention to whether it was east or west or whatever. He clutched the sides of his arms, shivering as he felt a cold breeze flow through. He was starting to get pretty damn scared. What if he couldn’t find his way back to camp? He’d be in some deep shit. He just hoped to whatever god might be out there that he’d be able to locate the hiking trail again.

As he continued on his journey, he felt the rain get heavier and heavier, turning the dirt beneath his feet into mud. Soon after, mother nature decided to be an even bigger bitch and made it start pouring. Fat and heavy drops of water drenched his hair and clothes, making him violently shake from the cold. Max started to get desperate, and turned his head around in every direction, praying that he’d find that Goddamn trail.

His eyes then landed on what looked to be a large pile of boulders and rocks. His heart leapt a little bit in happy relief. Maybe if he climbed to the top, he’d get a better view of his surroundings and find the path.

Hurrying over, but being careful not to slip in the mud, he reached the front of the mountain of granite. He reached out his arms and searched for a good place to grab onto. Once he found a decent crevice, he pushed himself upwards and carefully found his footing.

The rain was still just as merciless as ever, and made climbing almost impossible. Max gritted his teeth as he continued the physically exhausting journey up the boulders. He knew it’d probably be hard, but this was insane. Suddenly, he felt his left foot slip from it’s spot. His hands gripped even tighter around the ridges of the rock, and he dug his other foot in even deeper. The water continued to pour heavily from the sky and down on him, making the rocks incredibly slippery. He dared a glance down below him. He was only about six feet off the ground, but for a young child of his height and size, it might as well have been ten stories.

Max realized that just staying in the same spot would get him no where. He needed to continue climbing. He needed to reach the top. Slowly and as steadily as he could, he tried to get his left foot back up. He tried bouncing his right foot up and down to give his other one some leverage. Big mistake. Suddenly, his shoe completely lost it’s footing. He felt his stomach drop in fear as his skinny legs dangled from below him. The only thing keeping him from falling to the earth below was his tight grip on the crevice above him. His knuckles turned white from effort, but it was no use. He was only able to keep himself up for a few seconds before his strength failed him.

He let out a cry as he fell from the tall height. On his way down, he could feel his hip and elbow painfully scrape against the side of the boulder. He made contact with the ground below a split second later. His hands grinded into the dirt and rocks while his knees scraped across the earth. Dirty water splashed around from the weight of his small body. Thankfully, the ground had slightly softened thanks to all of the mud created by the rain, but that didn’t prevent the poor boy from getting hurt.

Max lied there for a while, shaking like a leaf and still in shock. He then started to feel intense pain from his new injuries. Slowly, he sat up and sat on his bottom. He winced as he pulled his legs up closer to his chest. Looking down at them, he discovered that his jeans were ripped, and both of his knees had large gashes on them. Blood gushed down his caramel colored skin from each one, mixing with the rain. He looked at his palms, and found similar injuries there as well. He didn’t even bother to look at his aching elbow and hip, knowing that it would probably be the same story.

The mud and other bits of debris in his injuries made them sting even worse, and he hissed at the pain. He sat there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. All of the sudden, he began to sniffle and shake even more. Less than a minute later, he broke down into a soft crying fit.

He was terrified now. He was never going to find his way out of these stupid woods. But that wasn’t even the worst of his worries. He was more scared of what would happen if he did find his way back. David and Gwen would be furious. Usually, the disobedient child wouldn’t give a shit if he broke the rules and got his counselors angry. In fact, he normally enjoys seeing them in distress when he disregards their orders.

But the nightmare that he had awoken from earlier replayed in his mind over and over, and reminded him of what adults did to bad kids when they disobeyed. There would be no mercy for him. Adults aren’t supposed to feel sympathy. They’re supposed to dish out punishments when needed and enforce the laws that they set. And Max had broken David’s rules. He was going to be in a world of pain.

Max sobbed from both the pain of his injures and the intense fear he felt. Suddenly, he heard a faint noise in the distance. He perked his head up slightly, still crying. The combination of the darkness, rain, and tears in his eyes made his vision almost completely useless, so he couldn’t find any source of the noise.

He continued his emotional break down as he heard the same noise once again, this time louder. He finally realized that it was another person yelling. He pulled his head up even higher. He wasn’t sure of what he should do. Hesitantly, he opened up his mouth and spoke.

“H-hello?” he called out softly, waiting for a response back. None came though. He had yelled too quietly.

The ten year old gulped and sat there, listening to his own pitiful sniffles and hiccupping, when he heard the same person yelling once again. This time, he could finally make out what they were saying.

“Max! Max, can you hear me?! Max!” He immediately recognized who that voice belonged to.

“Da… D-David?” Max called out, louder than he had the first time. He didn’t realize how terrified he had sounded.

“Max?! Is that you, buddy!? Max! Yell out so I can find you!” David’s voice echoed. Max couldn’t tell if David sounded worried or angry. Oh God, it was probably the latter. He fucked up. He fucked up so bad and now he was gonna get it. He didn’t want David to find him. He was going to punish him. He was going to hurt him. What he was about to do would feel ten times worse then the injuries he currently had now.

Max didn’t call back. Instead, he scooted backwards into the pile of boulders that he had fallen from not too long ago, and clamped his hands over his mouth, trying to quiet his sobs. But it was no use. He continued to loudly cry. He hoped that the sound of pouring rain hitting the forest floor drowned out his wailing. He hoped that David wouldn’t be able to find him.

Moments later, he heard leaves loudly rustling from behind the trees a few yards in front of him. He cried even harder, becoming more horrified by the second. Suddenly, a bright light shined on the boy’s face, making him flinch away and squint through his tears. A tall, slender figure then burst out from the shadows. With the new source of light, Max could immediately recognize the figure as David.

Said counselor was wearing a yellow hard hat with a light glaring from it and holding a large purple umbrella in his hand. He had an extremely worried look on his face, and once his eyes landed on the cowering Max, his expression combined with a look of both relief and surprise.

“Max! Oh, thank goodness!” David rushed over to the ten year old, but stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he approached him. Max had violently flinched away and let out a small yell in fear.

“N-No! Don… don’t f-f-fucking touch m-me!” he sobbed out. He tried to sound threatening, but instead gave off the complete opposite effect. David stared down at him a bit longer, slightly in shock. The boy looked nothing like his usual cold and angry self. He looked completely helpless as he shook and loudly sobbed into his tiny hands. David almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He was positive that when he eventually found the child that he would be in a bad mood, but not like this. He thought that he’d just be irritated and pissed off like usual. He had never excepted to find him in this condition.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he quickly bent down to eye level with Max and put his hand on his slender shoulder. But as soon as his hand made contact, the hoodie wearing boy flinched away and cried out.

“I s-s-said to f-fuck off!” he yelled through his tears. He tried to shrink away even further.

“P-please… please d-don’t hurt me…” he whispered. David’s heart broke as soon as the words had left his mouth. Why would Max ever think that he’d want to hurt him? Had he ever done something to the kid to make him think that? Thousands of thoughts and questions raced through David’s mind, but he realized that he needed to ignore them and get back to helping the wailing ten year old in front of him.

“Max, I’m not going to hurt you. I would never intentionally harm you. Please, it’s gonna be okay,” he said softly. Max wanted to believe him, but his anxiety kept telling him that he was lying. But then he told himself, c’mon, this is David we’re talking about! One of the most sickeningly cheerful people in the world. Why would he ever want to hurt Max, or anyone, for that matter.

Besides, Max was in no position to refuse help from anybody. He finally decided it was safe, and lunged forward into David’s chest, wrapping his short and skinny arms around the tall man.

David almost fell backwards in surprise. He looked down at the weeping kid clutching his torso. He couldn’t believe that Max, the most cynical child, no, person he had ever met, was now willingly hugging him and letting all of his emotions out. David didn’t hesitate to stand up and hold the boy tightly in his arms. He shifted the umbrella that he was holding in his hand so that it’d be easier to carry him.

David could now feel how cold and soaking wet the poor little guy was as he continued to bawl loudly as ever into his chest. He then started to slowly cradle him in his arms.

“Shh, Max, it’s okay. You’re okay. Everything’s gonna be fine. I’m here now,” he softly shushed. He continued to comfort him as he inspected his small quivering form. He noticed that his clothes were soaked in mud and water, and could also see some red liquid trickling out and staining certain spots. That scared him. He really hoped that the kid hadn’t gotten seriously hurt. But since there seemed to be quite a bit of blood, there was no doubt that he was injured to some bad degree. He could only hope that it was nothing too serious. Maybe just some cuts that he could tend to without having to go to a hospital or something.

Max still let out a steady string of depressing sounds. His wailing was a little quieter than it was a minute ago, but he continued to sob and hiccup as he clung to David’s sweater for dear life. David rocked him back and forth as he spoke up once again.

“Let’s get back to the cabins now, yeah? We’ll fix you up as soon as we get there.” David felt Max very gently nod as he continued to cry. The tall man smiled down at him before starting the journey back to camp.

David knew these woods like the back of his hand, so finding the hiking trail that lead back to Camp Campbell took no time at all. Eventually, he walked out of the thick forest and down to the counselor cabin, still holding Max, who’s sobbing had finally died down to sniffles and the occasional hiccup, tightly to his chest.

He opened the door to the cabin, entered the small room, and stepped towards his large bed. Slowly, he gently sat Max down on top of the bedding. The muddy boy let out a whimper, not liking the fact that he was no longer stealing David’s body heat.

“Oh, you finally found the little shit?” questioned a voice from across the room. David, slightly startled, jerked his head up quickly, only to relax once again once he realized it was Gwen, who just exited the small bathroom within the cabin.

“Aw, Gwen, now’s not th-“ Gwen quickly cut David off before he could finish his sentence.

“God, Max, I can’t believe you made us stress out like that. We can’t afford to lose any campers, y’know,’

“Gwen, ple-“

“Seriously, asshole, it’d be really great if you’d quit running off trying to escape and shit. I’m getting real fuckin’ sick and tired of-“

“Gwen!” David suddenly shouted, causing the female counselor shut her mouth in surprise. Before she could question David’s sudden outburst, the lanky man gestured to the small camper in front of him, who was shaking like a leaf and sniffling loudly, with small tears running down his cheeks once again. Gwen was immediately taken aback. She didn’t even notice the state Max was in when she had entered the room just moments ago. It made her stomach twist uncomfortably, seeing him like that. She’d never thought she’d see him with any other emotion other than irritation, let alone crying in what seemed to be fear.

“Oh… Woah, uh… what happened?” she asked softly. David just shook his head and walked over to her, whispering something in her ear that was too quiet for Max to hear. The tall brunette quickly nodded in understanding, swiftly walking out the door and mumbling something about ‘being right back.’

Once she had shut the door, David turned back to look at Max, who was still sitting on the bed. He hesitantly open his mouth to speak.

“D… David… I… I d-didn’t m-m-mean to get l-lost…” he stuttered out pitifully. David felt nothing but sympathy for the poor kid. Seeing one of his campers in so much pain like this made him wanna cry.

“Oh Max, I know it’s not your fault. And you’re not in trouble or anything. I’m just glad that I was able to find you,” he stated. Max shifted his weight around uncomfortably.

“I... I-I’m really… I’m r-really sorry,” he mumbled, green eyes filling up with fresh tears once again. David rushed over and sat down next to him on the soft bed.

“Max, please, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you. The fact that I know your safe right now is the only thing that matters to me” he smiled sweetly at the young boy. Just as he had finished consoling, Gwen opened up the door and walked back in. In her arms was a first aid kit, a towel, Max’s pajamas, and Mr. Honey Nuts. Max’s eyes lit up as soon as he spotted the bear lying on top of all the other things in Gwen’s arms. He almost wanted to give a tiny squeal of joy, but remained quiet instead.

Gwen stepped over in front of him and held the stuffed animal out in front of her. Max stared at it in awe, but then quickly turned his head to the side, trying to avoid Gwen’s gaze. The brunette was confused. She thought he’d immediately take his precious toy from her arms.

“What’s the matter?” she asked softly. Max just pouted, not looking back at her.

“You’re just g-gonna make fun of me like last time,” he mumbled sadly. David looked at her, confused and slightly disappointed. Gwen immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Crap, she’d almost forgotten about how she humiliated the poor kid in front of everyone. How could she’ve been so cruel? Even if he was being a little asshole, she had no right to mock him like that, especially over something that was probably very dear to him. That bear was most likely one of the only childish things about Max, and she just had to make him feel ashamed of it. She literally harassed a young child over a toy. Shit, she really fucked up.

“M-max, I… God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it, honest. There’s nothing wrong with having a teddy bear, especially if it helps comfort you,” she said. She knew a simple apology wouldn’t completely make up for what she did to him, but Max seemed to perk up a little. He slowly reached out and grabbed Mr. Honey Nuts out her hand, hugging it tight to his chest and softly nuzzling his face into it. David had a small smile on his face.

“Okay Max, seeing that your completely drenched in water and your clothes are filthy, I think it’d be best for you to dry off and change into your pajamas. Can you do that for us, please? The bathroom is right behind you,” Max turned around and stared at the door that led to the restroom. He nodded and was then handed his fresh clothes and towel. He slowly got up and walked towards the bathroom, entering inside of it.

Gwen looked over a David as soon as the door was shut.

“So uh, care to explain why the little shit was crying and acting so afraid?” she asked. David just sighed and looked down at the ground.

“I’m honestly not entirely sure. I mean, he seems to be injured and must’ve been so cold and scared out there all alone in the dark. Any normal kid would’ve broke down like he did. But the thing is, both you and I know Max doesn’t act like your typical ten year old. I highly doubt that being lost out there in the woods was the only thing that made him so upset. I think… I think there’s something else going on. Something he’s not telling us, or anyone for that matter.” Gwen remained silent and nodded, not really sure how else to respond to that. She completely agreed though. Max was a tough kid. It’d take so much for him to show any emotions like fear, let alone cry like that.

Soon after, Max exited the bathroom, wearing a long, plain yellow T-shirt and baggy plaid pajama bottoms. He carefully made his way back over to the bed, hopping back up and sitting next to David while still clutching Mr. Honey Nuts to his boney chest. He was a lot more dry now, having followed David’s orders and drying himself off with the towel.

“Good job, Max!” chirped David.

“Now we just need to look you over for any owies!” Max cringed at his choice of words.

“Owies?” he questioned with a sneer.

“David, I’m not two fucking years old. You can just say ‘wounds’ or some shit.” While David didn’t approve of his foul language, he was glad to see Max acting a little more like his normal self and not so scared any more.

“R-Right, haha, sorry,” he apologized. He didn’t really mean to baby talk him like that.

“Now, uh, where does it hurt?” he asked gently. Max looked down at his knees. David followed his gaze and noticed that blood was already starting to stain through his pajama pants.

“I think I got some cuts right there…” he said quietly. David gently rolled up his baggy pants above his knees, revealing two large scrapes that were gushing blood and still had some mud in them.

“Oh goodness! Those are some nasty scrapes!” he gasped concernedly. They must’ve been incredibly painful.

“Gwen, could you pass me the alcohol wipes please?” he asked nicely. Gwen snapped out of her transfixion on the blood and awkwardly pulled some wipes out of the first aid kit she still had clutched in her arms. She quickly handed them to David, who started to rub them on Max’s injured skin. He yelped a little at the sudden burning sensation.

“S-sorry! This might sting a little,” said the red head. He really was sorry. He hated seeing Max, or any of his campers, in pain, but this had to be done in order for the wounds to not get infected.

Max hugged Mr. Honey Nuts even tighter and hissed through gritted teeth. Gwen could see how much pain he was in, and worried that he might start crying again. Really not wanting to see that, she gently placed her hand on his arm and rubbed in a comforting manner. When the kid didn’t yank away or curse at her, she continued to try and soothe him.

The method seemed to work, as Max calmed down a little bit. While continuing to disinfect the scrapes, David heard Max let out a small sneeze. Oh dear, being out in the freezing rain for so long must've given him a cold. The symptoms of it probably wouldn't go into effect until morning though. He decided to worry about it tomorrow.

Once David had finished cleaning out the cuts, he asked Gwen to pass him some band aids. She hurriedly obliged, and so David placed a thin layer of cotton on each knee before putting two large bandages on each one, to make sure the soft fabric sheets remained in place.

“All righty, that should be good! Do you have any other owi- er, I mean, ‘injuries’ any where else?” he questioned. Max told him about the pain in his elbow and hip. When David had inspected them, he found that the wounds were almost exactly the same as the ones on the boy’s knees. So the same process from moments ago started again. With David patching up the cuts and scrapes and Gwen doing her best to comfort Max. After the cycles finally completed, David adjusted Max’s clothing back to normal, covering up all the bandages that he had placed on him.

“There we go, all done! Feel any better?” he asked softly. Max nodded his head, staring down tiredly at his bear.

“Well, this has certainly been an exhausting day,” said David, standing up to full length and stretching his long arms above his head.

“It’s super late, so I think now would be a good time to hit the hay, what do you say guys?” Gwen nodded, yawning.

“Yeah, I’m about to pass out. C’mon Max, I’ll take you to your tent-“

“W-wait!” Max suddenly shouted. Both David and Gwen raised their eyebrows.

“Could I… C-could I… u-umm…” Max squirmed around on the bed, trying to get his words out.”

“C-could I, uh… sleep in here w-with you guys?” he whispered, barely audible. David shared a surprised glance with Gwen, before finally speaking up.

“Why, of course you can, Max. It’d be no trouble at all.” David smiled. Max just looked off to the side, blushing in embarrassment.

“Gwen, could you make sure all the other campers are still in their tents sleeping? I’ll tuck Max in while you’re off doing that.”

“Sure thing. Be right back,” Gwen smiled as she walked out the cabin door, shutting it behind her. David turned back to face the small boy in front of him.

“Now, why don’t you go under the covers,” he asked kindly. Max obeyed and slowly crawled over to the top of the bed, pulling the blankets over himself and laying his head down on the soft pillows. He pulled Mr. Honey Nuts up above the covers and hugged him to his chest. David reached over to the small table beside the bed, about to turn off the lamp.

“H-hold on!” said Max quickly. David stopped and looked down at him.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, slightly concerned. Max avoided his gazed and stared off at the wall to the left of him.

“C-can you, um, sleep in the b-bed with me?” David was really surprised by his request, but happily agreed to it.

“Of course!” he beamed. Max scooted over, making room for the tall man. Once David wormed his way under the blankets with him, Max moved back closer to the counselor, and pressed his face into his chest. David’s heart fluttered as he wrapped his long arms around the kid, pulling him closer into a warm hug. He almost teared up at the amount of trust he could feel Max give him. He felt like he was making a lot of progress with him.

David rubbed soothing circles on Max’s back and hair. A few minutes later, he could hear soft snoring, and discovered that the ten year old had drifted off into a peaceful sleep. It was surprising that he had fallen asleep so quickly, but what David didn’t know was that it was one of the first times in years that Max had felt positive physical affection. It had comforted him enough to calm him down and have the most tranquil slumbers he had had in a long time.

David slowly and carefully turned off the lamp next to him before going back to cuddling Max. As he lied there, his mind wandered to many concerning thoughts. He remembered what he had told Gwen earlier, about there being something else going on with Max to make him as scared as he was earlier. He didn’t like how Max assumed that David was going to hurt him. He didn’t like the way that he flinched when he tried to comfort him. He didn’t like how light he felt when he picked him up and how he could feel his spine through his shirt as he continued to comfortingly rub his back. He didn’t like the dark scars and marks that he’d noticed on the boy’s skin as he cleaned out his wounds earlier. Slowly, his mind connected the dots. Maybe there really was something going on in Max’s home life. Maybe his parents were the cause of his cynical outlook on life. Maybe his parents were badly mistreating him.

David shuddered at the thought. The idea of anyone intentially harming a child was so bizarre and sickening. And he had a bad feeling that Max was going through some awful things back at home. Even as these awful, and most likely true, ideas swarmed through David’s mind, he decided to shake them off for now. It was already extremely late, and he needed to get some sleep. He decided to tell Gwen about his theories when he awoke the next morning.

Slowly, David’s eyelids began to flutter. He allowed his eyes to close, and listened to the soft but raspy breathing of the sleeping boy next to him. It helped put him at ease, as he soon found himself finally drifting off and falling fast asleep, still hugging Max closely to his chest.