The Darkest Secret

"How… what happened," Lacy stuttered out, his eyes wide with shock and concern. Reluctantly, Jason answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I met him when I was eleven, and the assaults happened until I was eighteen." The room fell into a stunned silence, the weight of Jason's words sinking in. The others were in total shock that he had been abused for that long, and at that young of an age too. Jason curled more into Ron, who was trying his hardest to comfort his closest friend. Ron's arms wrapped tightly around Jason, holding him in a gentle but firm grasp. Jason's body shook as he sobbed, the pain and trauma of his past finally surfacing. "He started raping me after he convinced my parents to let him tutor me after school," Jason sobbed out, his words cracking with emotion. The room was frozen, with some of Jason's friends trying to process the enormity of what they had just heard. Some tried to comfort Jason, with Lacy and Adapt moving in to offer words of encouragement. Others, like Silky and Rage, looked like they had been punched in the gut, their faces pale and shocked. Max sat there, his eyes fixed on Jason, a mixture of anger and sadness etched on his face. "How did you... how did you keep it a secret for so long?" Lacy asked, his voice shaking. Jason shook his head, still sobbing. "I was scared, and he threatened me. He said that if I told anyone, no one would believe me, and that my parents would leave me." The room erupted into a mixture of emotions, with some of Jason's friends arguing about what they should do next. "We should call the police," Max said, his voice firm. "Wait, let's not do anything rash," Ron cautioned, holding Jason tightly. "We need to make sure Jason is okay first." Silky looked like he was about to cry, his face contorted in a mixture of sadness and anger. "Dude, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Rage, on the other hand, looked furious, his fists clenched at his sides. "We need to do something. We can't just sit here and do nothing." As the room continued to argue and try to process what had happened, Jason remained curled up in Ron's arms, his body shaking with sobs. His friends were finally seeing a side of him that he had kept hidden for so long, and they were determined to support him through this difficult time.