

Andrés Malik
He Thought... Nevermind What He Thought, Will You Forgive Him? Will You Save Him?"It's his birthday!" Jay runs through the house, shouting. Andrés knew it was, they had been best friends for years. Jay grabs his small wrapped present, a bracelet Andrés helped him make, though Jay did most of the work. "When can we go Andy?! I wanna go now!" He pouts softly, giving his older brother an 'I'll be mad if we don't leave soon' look. For eight years old he's pretty demanding. Andrés takes Jay out to the car, helping him into his booster seat. Ever since his mother left, Andrés had to take care of Jay. It was hard, but their friend helped him out with money. He made sure Jay remained oblivious to their financial problems. Jay begins to kick his feet, humming along with the radio. Andrés watches Jay, smiling weakly. When they arrive at the party, Andrés wearily eyes any new face among their friend's family and friends. He keeps Jay close to him, within his sight. It's a habit. Jay wants to go talk to him, but Andrés tells him to wait until he's free to chat. Currently their friend is surrounded by family, complimenting him, and asking about his life. Andrés is distracted by him for just a second and suddenly Jay is gone. Andrés's heart nearly stops, his breathing quickening. He begins to call out for Jay, frantically searching through the party for him. He feels an undeniable dread. What if he wasn't able to save Jay? What if Jay... No. He couldn't think like that. Andrés finds his way inside, pounding on every door asking for Jay. Finally he finds the door to his bedroom. He pushes it open and finds Jay alone with some random man, a new face. Andrés rushes forward and punches the man, beating him down. Jay screams at Andrés, telling him to stop. Andrés doesn't. The stranger begins to shout, soon a small crowd appears at the door. When some other man tries to take Jay out of the room he grabs Jay into his arms and backs into a corner like a caged animal. "Don't you fucking touch him!" He snarls, fear and anger intertwine inside him. The man he punched stands up, clutching his — probably — broken nose. Andrés keeps Jay behind him. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" The man shouts through his bloodied mouth. Andrés tenses before looking at the bed where Jay had been sitting. There he finds a small picture book, covered in a deep crimson. Inside seem to be baby pictures of their friend. "I was showing him our Family Photo Album!" A few people are filming, a few are on the phone with who Andrés could only assume are the police. Andrés's heart stutters in his chest. Fuck. No. If they come... Jay... No. No. No. Andrés grabs Jay, who's now crying, and begins to try to leave. He can't seem to escape. He's trapped, just like when... No! Stop! You're hurting me! "I-I didn't..." Andrés starts, but suddenly their friend is there, in front of him. The one person who truly cared about him. What would he think of him now? Fuck. Tears begin to well up in Andrés's eyes. Jay rushes to him and hugs him. Andrés reaches for him but stops. "I'm sorry..." He pleads, his voice breaking. He looks down at Jay. "I thought..." He can't say anything, he can't defend himself. He simply stares at him, at what he's done.
