I sat there in shock, gasping at the sight of Joe's wounds. Mortified by the fact that a person, a human just like me, was responsible for inflicting burns as deep as the ones on his body.

"How could someone do such a thing? Let alone his own mother. Sure I don't remember anything about my own mother, but surely she wouldn't commit horrendous acts like this." I cried out in disbelief.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing at first, hoping it was all just a bad dream. But when I saw the look on his face, tears rolled down his cheeks. It was as if he had accepted defeat, causing my heart to crumble. I couldn't hold back any longer, so I let my tears pour down my face.

I didn't know what to do, I could barely figure myself out with my lack of memories. But with Joe, it was different somehow. He was important to me in every single way, so to see him in so much pain made my heart rip to shreds.

All these memories seemed to torment him for many years now. It wasn't something along the lines of survivor's guilt, but his brain was flooded with traumatic thoughts. Thoughts that poisoned his mind with haunting visuals that no one should ever see. Joe was forever changed, burdened by the abuse of his tormentor. After being hurt for so long, the scars had slowly ripped into him, with no signs of mercy.

"Eddie told him this himself, once our dad left, she changed from the inside out. It was as if something just snapped inside her, never to be the same. Did I cause this? Am I the one to blame? Even Eddie didn't like me, he could only put up with me for so long." Joe cried, shaking his head, his voice starting to crack.

"No! There is no way that this is your fault. Eddie should have treated you with respect and kindness, regardless if you were home or not. Instead, he chose to be the exact opposite of those things, letting all his humanity walk out the door! That was his decision, not yours. So please, don't blame yourself for something you had no control over. You were only a child back then after all." I explained, trying to calm him down with reason.

"Even so, look at me Ray! I'm covered in scars, I'm hideous. Just thinking about them makes me hate myself even more than before!" Joe screamed frantically.

"You shouldn't hate yourself Joe, you're too good for that. And you are not hideous! I have scars on me too, but that doesn't make me hideous. So neither are you!" I demanded, lifting my shirt up to show a giant slash on my stomach and the stitches on my shoulders.

"Wait you have them too? I thought I was the only one that was—" Joe asked in disbelief.

"Nope. Not by a long shot, my friend." I replied proudly, revealing my own scars.

Joe wrapped his arms around my waist and sobbed. He quickly apologized, then began to cry hot salty tears. He cried for his father, ridiculed his mother, and threw curses and unanswered questions at his absent brother. After letting go of all the pain and suffering he had endured, I rubbed his back, saying soothing words like "let it all out" and "it's ok, you're safe now". I hugged him tightly, as I tried to comfort him in some way.

We stayed like that for hours, listening to his voice harden from yelling out his frustrations. Until Joe eventually collapsed out of exhaustion. Not leaving a single tear, only a dry blank face. It seemed that all of his deepest fears and struggles that he had kept secret for so long, had now been put to rest.

I found myself in a state of misery, not knowing what else to do.

"Where should we go from here? Did I handle that well? Will he ever be able to find his own happiness in life?" I wondered anxiously.

All these questions were swirling around inside my head at record speed, and I had no clue how to answer them. But the idea of seeing him start to improve after talking through such a painful topic, made my heart full of hope. However, that little speck of hope didn't last long. Once I had dragged myself out of my thoughts, I made my way back to reality.

The call of the black-striped-eye deer filled the air with an ominous feeling. The trees and bushes rustling in the wind, animals cooing and howling, but none of them seemed to be there.

Everything seemed to be wrapping up, but what I didn't seem to realize was that we weren't the only ones out here. There was someone else in these woods, lurking in the bushes. Watching our every move from afar. But what were their intentions, were they a friend, or a foe?