Daniel's P.O.V.

             "If you don't talk about it now, you'll never be ready. I promise. Readiness doesn't just pop up one day. It is either there or it isn't. So Joseph, tell me," I tell the boy who is draining everything from me.
      "Stop calling me Joseph. My name is Joey. And if you don't shut the fuck up right now I don't think you'll ever even hear me say hello ever again," he yells back to me as he lays down on his bed and cuddles up his sheets.

          I basically fall down whenever I sit on my bed. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, and all of my purpose is slowly falling out of me. I stare at him in his bed. I watch as Joey'a body moves up and down with every breath he takes in, and I watch his body become smaller with every breath he lets out. I begin to mimic his breathing patterns in hopes that maybe, just maybe, I will have the feeling of holding him right against my chest, and that would calm me down.

          What feels like hours of me staring at Joey was probably just minutes. But people who mean everything to you stop time. They stop time when they kiss you, talk to you, laugh with you, tell you how much they love you, oh and when they are being evasive and won't answer any of your questions without lying. Yeah, especially that last one.

        "Daniel, I need to talk to you," my guard whispers to me considering it must be nighttime and Joey is dead asleep. I nod and walk over to him at the cell door. He opens it and cuffs me to walk me to a special room.

      "What's wrong?" I ask my guard as he sits me down in my chair.
      "I know these past two days have felt like years. I mean heck, they probably would've taken up so many chapters in a book. But sometimes you just have to realize that long days are what make the short days so well lived," my guard tells me as he walks around the room scratching his head. A small head of sweat rolls down his temple and drips off his chin.
       "If these were chapters in a book, in sure they would be the most frustrating things ever. I mean, but then maybe the audience would know what the fuck is wrong with Joey. I sure as hell would like to know," I tell him as he begins to pace all around the room back and forth. Occasionally, he whispers to himself just low enough where it sounds like a mumble.
      "Do you think there is something wrong with Joey? Mentally? I just know that if I was ever in a situation where I was raped I wouldn't try to cover the ass of the person. I mean, I get it, Joey is terrified. He has all the right in the world to be. But if you cover the ass of someone who assaults you, I think there is something going on up there," the guard says taping his head.
       "You think Joey is going crazy? Joseph Michael Graceffa? Fuck, he's just scared. He is so scared that he is at a point where he won't talk to me about it. Me. The boy who was absolutely adoring him and then he broke up with me," I say tilting my neck to the left and right to hear it pop.
       "I figured it out, Daniel. I know what is wrong," my guard tells me sitting down in front of me. He looks at me like he just won the lottery and then runs a hand through his hair.
       "Okay tell me before you piss yourself," I say laughing and then becoming much more serious when he opens his mouth.
        "Joseph is in love with you. So much that it is hurting him that he broke up with you. And he realizes how much of a mistake this was but he doesn't want to come crawling back to you. He was just going to give up. But no. You keep pushing him and you keep trying to be close with him. You're still showing Joey that you care. And you caring is making him love you more," my guard tells me slamming his hands on the table and then standing up quickly from his seat.
        "I don't treat the people I love the way he treats me," I whisper when a tear falls down my cheek. And it's true. I don't. I love Joey. And I would never be mean to him like he is to me. Damn I can't believe I love him.
        "Come on. I need to get you back to your cell. You need to sleep so you can talk to Joey tomorrow. Come on now," my guard says lifting me up by my arms but I slam back down in my seat.
       "You don't understand. He doesn't want to talk to me about anything. I have tried. I even tried to ask him where he went today and he bit my head off about it. Can't you see? He doesn't care like I do," I say as the guard looks really surprised that I wasn't jumping for joy at his conclusion.
        "I just think he is trying to play the tough, badass that is in jail but secretly is hopelessly in love with you. Joey probably doesn't want people to view him as weak in a place like this. And that place he went to today, was the visiting room. His mom came and I walked past it I saw it. Daniel, the boy was freaking out. I could tell. So maybe the reason he is hiding all this stuff is not only his fear of pity but also his fear from his past. In the morning, I will make sure you two have the shower room by yourself. You guys maybe can talk then," he tells me nodding his head.
          "You want me to talk to him while we are naked in the shower room?" I ask in a very confused tone because that doesn't sound like the best place to do it.
         "Fine. I'll bring you two to breakfast late. And you can't leave until you find the whole root to this problem. Pull it out of him. Make him say it. Don't make me regret wasting my time to talk to you this late. Now, let's go back to your cell," he tells me grabbing me by the arm once again and walking me out of the room to my cell.

         I sit back down on my bed and my guard shuts the cell door. He looks at me and nods his head as he locks it and walks away. Joey is still dead to the world but he has turned over to the other side so now he is facing me. He looks much softer in his sleep, like nothing has hurt him. He looks like he isn't going through the hell that he is facing right now. You know, he has never even mentioned his mom to me. I wonder what she did to him. Well, I guess our late breakfast is the perfect time to figure it out. Well, that is if he is compliant and tells me. I care about him and I'm just trying to help. Hopefully he will finally see that I just want the best for him. Because sometimes, getting that through to people is the hardest task on the planet.