Heart - 6. Truth Or Dare

"Truth!" Tyson decided after a short moment of consideration.

"Hmm, okay," Vladimir rubbed his hands together, and Charlie giggled from next to him. "When did you first masturbate?"

"Thirteen," Tyson was embarrassed to reveal how old he was when he ejaculated for the first time. "Last year."

"Really? So late?" Vladimir asked curiously. His blue eyes twinkled when he was happy. "Didn't you learn in sex ed? Or watch porn?"

"Ahh well..." Tyson mumbled as he turned red. "I have parent locks on everything, and I never have any sleepovers or anything. Sex ed never taught us stuff like that. I just kind of heard about it from other guys on my soccer team. How about--" he immediately stopped himself. He was going to ask Charlie what age he learned how to masturbate, but he remembered in the nick of time that Charlie had been sexually abused as a young child. The last thing he wanted to do was to trigger the younger boy in some way. "You, Vlady! When did you?"

"Hey! It's not my turn to answer a truth!" Vladimir's smile shone like a beacon of light. "But I have an older brother, so I knew about it before we even learned about it at school."

Tyson smirked. He only had one sister, Kelly, and he wasn't sure she even knew what her vagina did. Sex was not discussed in the Belmont-Lovett household, and neither Tyson nor Kelly were permitted to date. Education and extra-curricular activities came first. What Tyson wouldn't do to have a brother to hang around with. Or even Kelly, if she weren't such a stuck-up cow. He missed her, he supposed. All the two ever seemed to do was argue, but it was strange not having her around. Even though they couldn't give each other the time of day without quarrelling, it brought comfort to know that if Kelly could endure their parents, so could Tyson.

Yet here I am, he thought, stuck in the crazy house and she's pretending I don't exist.

"Your turn, Charlie!" Vladimir sipped from his polystyrene cup. He drank a lot of tea, whereas Tyson preferred Milo with enough spoons of powder to rot cavities in his teeth overnight. "Tys, you've gotta ask him."

"Okay, Charlie!" Tyson squeezed his ankle in its compression bandage to feel a jolt of pain. Relief. "Truth or dare?"

"Ahhh... dare!" Charlie replied, his voice muffled by the fingers he was suckling on. When was the last time that kid had a haircut or even brushed those tangled curls?

"I dare you to knick knock the nurses!" Tyson decided. It wasn't a thrilling dare - none of them were. The last thing the boys wanted was to get into trouble.

"Mng?" Charlie grunted, indicating he didn't understand what Tyson meant.

"Knick knock. Like, you go to the door of the nurses' station, knock on it and run away so that nobody's there when they open it," Tyson explained, and Vladimir nodded.

"Okay!" Charlie hopped up, tossing his curls from his eyes and, head always on his pillow, crept up to the nurses' station, rapped on the door three times and slunk away underneath the window. Sure enough, an older nurse Tyson was not familiar with opened the door.

"Hello?" She asked, confused and irritated. She saw Tyson and Vladimir laughing and rolled her eyes before closing the door again.

"Charlie, you're a legend!" Vladimir congratulated him with a high five on his dry hand when the boy, a smile plastered on his face, made it back from the corridor.

"She's cross," Charlie looked nervously back to the station, but no nurses were looking for him through the window. That nurse probably just figured they were playing a joke.

"Okay Charlie, now you ask Vlad!" Tyson encouraged him. He hadn't been excited about including Charlie in their game, but he was surprised at how much he liked the weirdo. Once Tyson saw past the strange behaviours, he was a nice guy.

"Truth or dare?" Charlie asked, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Truth! I don't trust you to give me a dare," Vladimir hugged his knees and rested his face against them, cautiously eyeing the young boy off.

"Okay! Are you boyfriends?" Charlie asked, pointing between Vladimir and Tyson. Tyson felt himself go red. We're not. Are we? I don't think so. We haven't talked about it yet. We've just been doing what we're doing.

"Ahm," Vladimir looked shyly across to Tyson, who shrugged. "No, Charlie. We're just friends for now. Once we both get out, who knows? I might ask Tyson to come on a date with me."

"That'd be sweet," Tyson replied. "If my parents ever let me."

"Aww, we'll work something out!" Vladimir promised, and Tyson's heart fluttered again. "Maybe we'll do our outpatient programs together. Won't that be romantic?"

Tyson laughed, but he hadn't thought about that yet. To be released, Cynthia explained, he would have to participate and comply with an outpatient treatment program. He would come to the hospital twice a week for appointments with a psychologist. Maybe Vladimir could do his visits at the same time, and they could see each other like that.

"Okay," Charlie affirmed, his eyes droopy as his head rested against his precious pillow. He took some heavy medication for anxiety, and it often made him drowsy.

"Big Vlad!" A middle-aged man with too many earrings in his left ear and gelled up grey hair caught the boys' attention. It was pretty ugly, Tyson thought. "You've got a whole tribe of people wanting to see you. Are you ready?" Oh, that must be Dale. Vladimir's getting his visits.

"Awesome!" Vladimir beamed, hopping immediately to his feet. "Do you wanna come with me?"

He extended his hand to Tyson, who took little convincing. He let Vladimir pull him to his feet and grabbed his crutch to lean on. It had been eight days since he met Vladimir, and for most of them, he had been trying to drag Tyson to one of his visits. Tyson wasn't comfortable with the idea, but this time, he was eager enough to please the older boy to indulge him. Just once.

"Okay, sure."

When Edith visited, Tyson hated it. She always told him he wasn't getting better fast enough. That he was wasting precious time by being unwell and making them look like bad parents. They rarely asked him if he was okay. Will did. Will often made sure his son was doing well enough before he took a sledgehammer to his self-esteem. Edith didn't usually bother before she went for the jugular. Vladimir had been excited to see his family all day long, though. Tyson wanted to see why. To witness it for himself.

"Am I okay to come?" Tyson asked Dale, who played with a fidget spinner and wore sandals to work. An ageing hipster. Was there anything more offputting?

"Yeah, man! If Vlad gives you the go-ahead, you're welcome to go as well!" Dale beamed.

Ugh. He already hated Dale. Petra couldn't come back fast enough. When she engaged with him, it felt authentic. Dale had to be fifty or so, and this attitude was too weird. Midlife crisis, much? No surprise, when you're that old and only ever made it to the low-hanging fruit that was being a social worker for a living. Tyson didn't know what to expect when he hobbled alongside a joy-filled Vladimir into the visitor's room, but the energy was overwhelming. There was a pretty woman, pale-skinned and with long, wavy black hair. There was no mistaking for a moment that she was Vladimir's mother. They had the same facial features, especially the cheekbones. Then three other boys. Three! All of them light-skinned and dark-haired as well. They must have been Vladimir's three brothers. That was a lot of brothers!

"мой мальчик!" (My boy!) Vladimir's mother had the same smile as her son, and she hopped up out of the couch.

"Привет!" (Hello!)

Vladimir first went straight to his mother, who kissed him three times on the cheek and cuddled him. All of the boys piled on and joined the group hug. Tyson was in awe. They were all so happy to see him, and Vladimir was glad to see them. It was beautiful, but also made Tyson sad. He remembered his visit yesterday. Edith barely looked at him. She certainly didn't want to hug him, and she wasn't excited to see him, either. Vladimir, though... his family adored him. They all spoke at the same time. Even if they were speaking in English, he doubted he would understand them. Although he wasn't surprised that Vladimir was of Russian descent due to his name, he didn't know that his friend was fluent in the language and spoke it with his family.

"Я пропустил всех вас!" (I missed all of you!) Vladimir told his horde of family members, breaking their chatter and pointed over at Tyson, who shrunk as he felt all the attention of the boys and woman focus on him. "This is my new friend Tyson!"

"Hi," Tyson waved meekly, and everybody waved back at him and greeted him happily.

"This is Masha, my Mum!" Vladimir showed off Tyson to the woman who had not yet let go of him. "And here we have..." Vladimir decided to introduce his brothers from the oldest to the youngest. "Dmitry, Sasha, and Ilya. I'm the second kid. So yeah, let's speak in English while Tyson's around, okay?"

"It's great to meet you all," Tyson couldn't wait to get the heat off himself. There was too much attention. It was scary. He wanted to say more, but the words didn't come to him.

"It's our pleasure, Tyson!" Masha reached out. Tyson thought she wanted to shake his hand, but she pulled him into the group hug instead. It was sweet of her, but he was not ready for that kind of intimacy and quickly pulled away. "Don't be shy. My boy is an excellent judge of character, so if my Vlad loves you, then so do we!"

Wow. This is overwhelming, Tyson thought, running his hand over his face. I'm not sure I can do this.

"How did you hurt your foot?" The littlest one - Ilya? - asked immediately, and Masha shushed him.

"Не будь грубым," (Don't be rude) she whispered, before remembering what her son had asked of her. "Sorry! I told him not to be rude. He should be more respectful of your privacy. He wants to know everything, this one!"

"Oh, it's okay," Tyson pulled up the sleeves of his jacket to cover his arms. He didn't mind talking about his ankle, but he liked Vladimir a lot. He didn't want his brothers or mother to see the ugly scars on his wrists. They might judge him. They might tell Vladimir not to talk to someone who tried to kill themselves. "I fell down the hill near Red Vale station and twisted it. It's not a fun story."

"Does it hurt?" Ilya asked, and as Vladimir began to talk to his other brothers and mother, Ilya seemed more interested in Tyson.

"Yeah," Tyson nodded.

Ilya looked to be eight or so, judging by the number of baby teeth he was missing. It was strange to see all of these boys here at the same time. They looked so similar, and he could almost imagine Vladimir at different ages based on the appearance of his brothers. Dmitry, the oldest, seemed to be in his early twenties, and he was hot! Like Vladimir, but... older, bulkier and more manly. Sasha - a name Tyson thought to be unfit for a guy - was also quite cute, even though he was chubbier than the rest. He looked twelve or thirteen. Ilya was the spitting image of his brothers. Vladimir was the best-looking one, though. Easily! Though... Dmitry came close...

"That's why I need to use the crutch," Tyson added.

"Can I play with the crutch?" Sasha asked excitedly, and Tyson laughed.

"Yeah, go nuts. Just don't forget to give it back before you leave," he handed it over, and Sasha had fun pretending he was injured the way Tyson was.

"How old are you?" Ilya asked, jumping onto the back of the couch and swinging off it. A ball of energy. "I'm nearly eight!"

"Oh, nice," Tyson replied uncomfortably. "I'm fourteen. I'll be fifteen next January."

Ilya didn't seem to listen to him. "When do you get to go home?"

"I dunno yet," Tyson answered, but Ilya didn't dwell on the topic. He seemed to be used to talking about things like this. Vladimir, as Tyson recalled, had been coming to inpatient units since before Ilya was even born. This must be the norm for him.

"Okay! Can I have a turn with the crutch?" Ilya pleaded, smiling big with those significant gaps between his teeth. It was difficult not to like Ilya. Young and spirited.

"Yeah man, but don't hurt yourself. It's a bit bigger than you," he warned Ilya, and the boy took off after Sasha. Tyson looked over to Vladimir, who was smiling so warmly at him and beckoned him over.

"I can't!" Tyson laughed, sitting on his own on the couch. "Your brother stole my crutch!"

"Oh, sorry!" Vladimir laughed, and he came over with his older brother Dmitry and his mother. Masha, he reminded himself. Her name is Masha. Vladimir took the seat next to Tyson, and to his surprise, immediately grabbed his hand. Right in front of his older brother and his mother.

"Ahh--" Tyson mumbled, looking horrified, but Vladimir squeezed, and the fear vanished. Just like that.

"You look so happy, Vlad!" Masha exclaimed, sitting on Vladimir's other side and putting her arm around him, kissing him once more on the cheek. "We're ready to have you home again soon, darling. How do you feel?"

"I am happy!" Vladimir smiled at her. "I mean, I'm still having a lot of trouble, but I'm feeling okay about everything. Tyson's a big help. He's been here for me when I get spaced out or see things."

"Is that true? You've been looking after my son?" Masha asked, her intensely blue eyes making contact with him. She was dressed in a lovely black attire - shirt, jacket and jeans with black boots adorned with many buckles. She looked like she'd ride motorcycles.

"Oh," Tyson nodded. "He's been here for me, too. I don't know. We're in it together. So I help him, and he helps me."

"Well, thank you, darling!" Masha reached across to put her white hand on top of the boys' hands. "You don't know what it means for me for my boy to have your support. I appreciate it! We all do."

"So are you boys like... you know," Dmitry raised his eyebrows mischievously, and Tyson blushed. This question again? "Boyfriends?"

"Вы уверены что готовы к этому? После Алексея?" (Are you sure you are ready for this? After Alexey?) Masha asked him. What did she say? Obviously, he was not meant to know what she was saying. Is she talking about me? Why couldn't they speak in a language he understood? It was rude.

"Не говори о нем," (Don't talk about him.) Vladimir told her quietly. "Tys and I are just friends, okay? Oh, get this! He lives in Red Vale! So we're gonna keep hanging out when we both get discharged then... we'll work it out!"

"Oh, because we're in Cook Bay!" Dmitry exclaimed, reaching over and shaking Tyson's free hand.

He was a nice fellow! Tyson decided he already liked all of Vladimir's family. They were warm and social and funny. What I wouldn't give to have a family like this, he thought. Kelly was a proper bitch, and his parents had perhaps spark of warmth between them, mostly in the few fibres of his mother that did not despise him as a person. No way would he ever bring Vladimir to one of his visits with Edith. In fact, Tyson decided that when she did come today, he did not want to see her. He was having the first good day in a long time. He didn't want to spoil it.

"So you boys like each other?" Masha asked with that familiar grin on her face. "Yes?" Her eyes glittered like her son's. Vladimir's were just a little bit more beautiful, though. Maybe I'm biased.

"Ahh... um..." Tyson was too shy to talk about it, but Vladimir was not.

"Maybe a bit," the older boy gripped Tyson's hand tighter. "But we wanna just focus on getting through stuff first."

"That's sick, man!" Dmitry exclaimed. "You guys will be out in no time. Trust. Especially since you're just down the road from us, Tyson. You should come and hang out when you're all better, man!"

"So you're a good boy for the nurses?" Masha asked Vladimir, warm and loving. "Tell me, Tyson, is he a good boy? You're behaving and taking your medication? How are your voices?"

"One question at a time!" Vladimir laughed, his thumb brushing over the back of Tyson's hand. Tyson was too shy to answer. "Yes, I've been having all my meds! Alice, Neil and Sue have been good to me, Mum. And Tyson, too. They're always there for me when I get weird."

"Good work, little brother!" Dmitry gave Vladimir's free hand a high five. "You kick that three-headed fucker's arse for me."

"Watch your language!" Masha tutted at him, but both of them were grinning together. "Boys, please don't break that!" She massaged her pretty face with her fingers as the youngest lad pole-vaulted onto a couch with Tyson's crutch.

Bloody hell. They were all crazy. Tyson couldn't help but smile. The visit lasted nearly forty minutes. Dmitry, Sasha, Ilya and Masha all spoke to Tyson one on one while the others swarmed their brother. Dmitry was an avid gamer and was studying video game design at University. Sasha was a gamer as well, but he was also fanatic about lacrosse and cartoons. He was definitely the shy one. Ilya seemed unusually fixated on the two unrelated topics of Vladimir and trucks, swapping between the two and doing all of the talking. Masha, though, wanted to hear about Tyson, but Tyson wasn't comfortable talking about himself. So, she accepted his challenge to speak about Vladimir.

She told him about how tender Vladimir was with his pet rabbit, and how he sometimes liked to be the one who tucked in his little brothers and sometimes read them stories before bed. She loved him so much even though he was sick. That knowledge brought him a lot of relief.

He's in good hands, Tyson thought. No matter what happens to me, at least Vladimir has his family.

Eventually, Masha gathered up the boys and took them home. Dmitry, Sasha and Ilya wasted no time in hugging their brother and wishing him well, telling him how much they missed having him at home and how much they loved him. Then something weird happened.

"Goodbye, darling!" Masha blew a kiss to Tyson, likely aware that he was not entirely comfortable with her level of affection just yet. "I hope things work out for you, okay? I'll come back tomorrow evening, so don't be afraid to come and say hello, okay?"

"Yeah! I wouldn't miss it!"

Tyson was stoked about the prospect of being a part of another of Vladimir's visits. Though he didn't like being wrong about things, he had thoroughly enjoyed himself. The Russian boy had promised that his family would accept and embrace Tyson, and he had been right. Ilya threw himself on Tyson and hugged him, promising to bring some of his favourite toy trucks on the next visit. Dmitry and Sasha both shook his hand goodbye and wished him well. As he waved them off, Vladimir turned to look at him.

"Wow, they love you so much!" Vladimir giggled when the two began to walk back towards the main hall. "I think they were happier to see you than they were to see me!"

"I'm surprised at how open you all are about the... you know," Tyson tapped his forehead with his fingers. "Your Mum just talks about it like it's normal."

"Oh! It's nothing they haven't seen before. I've been having psychotic episodes since I was very young," Vladimir replied, mimicking Tyson's action and touching his forehead. It seemed to be a good day for him thus far, but Tyson knew by now that just because Vladimir wasn't in a trance or curled into a frightened little ball, it did not mean he didn't hear, see or feel scary things.

"What about your Dad? Does he visit?" Tyson asked, mentally exhausted from the demanding job of keeping Ilya and Sasha entertained while Vladimir discussed the darker things with his older brother and mother.

"Yeah. When he's around. He works on an offshore rig, so I don't see him as much as I'd like to."

"Well, you can have mine if you like," Tyson kidded. "I don't want him."

"From what you've told me and what I've seen of him on TV, I think I'm okay, thanks!" Vladimir leapt up to hit the sign above them with his fingers. "Dmitry's still living at home, though. He helps out a lot."

"Oh. Okay."

Tyson was surprised to hear that Dmitry, who was going to University, still lived at home. The second Kelly finished High School, she was expected to leave and be entirely independent, to enter into a prestigious university and study law. The same went for him. Nobody did chores at the Belmont-Lovett house. It was beneath them. A maid cooked and cleaned, a nanny took care of the two teenagers when their parents were gone, and a gardener made sure the grounds of the vast property were immaculate. Tyson knew calculus, four languages and most of the Mental Health Act off the top of his head, but he had never even cooked noodles for himself.

"I mean it, Tys. I want you there when we get out," Vladimir turned and stopped. Tyson sighed. This conversation again. "My family loves you! We'll hang out, and we'll do our treatments together, and it'll be awesome. Maybe I'll get a scholarship for Murdoch Grammar! Haha!"

"You know that's basically impossible though, don't you?" Tyson glumly replied, and Vladimir's cheerful smile faded. "Like, I want to, Vlady! So bad. But I can't! I have no control over anything. I'm a glorified poodle. My parents will never let me hang out with you. They think we're just crazy bastards."

"Don't give up so quickly," Vladimir pleaded, stepping forward and holding his friend's hand. "We'll work everything out. We have time. Okay?"

"Yeah, but you don't get it," Tyson sniffed. "Your family is awesome, Vlady. Mine thinks they're better off if I'm dead. They're telling everyone I'm studying abroad in Sri Lanka because they're so fucking embarrassed by me. And even if we got past all that shit, I still want to kill myself. Every day. I'm always thinking about it. Always."

"Even when I'm here?" Vladimir asked, putting the younger boy's hand on his chest. Tyson could feel Vladimir's heart beating through his chest.

"Yes. Just not as much," Tyson didn't lie when he answered. Vladimir had this sweet way of making things seem better.

"So when you're thinking of hurting yourself," Vladimir ran his fingers along the raw, painful skin where Tyson had scratched himself. It hurt like a bitch! "You come to me, and I'll cheer you up! And then when I see things and stuff, I'll come to you, because you always make me feel better. Is that fair?"

"Yeah. Okay. That's fair," Tyson smiled. "Can I come to your next family visit?" Even though it was not his visit, he felt loved and accepted by people who were more or less complete strangers. He wanted to experience that again.

"Duh! Of course!"

Vladimir was too beautiful at that moment. Tyson felt so strongly for him, and he built the courage to go in for a kiss. Not on the cheek. On the lips this time. Vladimir seemed to intuitively know what was going on, and he leaned forward too, but...

"Tys, your Mum's here!" Dale called from down the hall, interrupting their moment.

Unbelievable. She never stopped sabotaging everything good in his life, even if she wasn't actively doing it.

"Tell her to fuck off!" Tyson shouted back at him before returning to the boy who planted the seed of hope in his heart and perpetually nurtured it with love and affection. "I've already had my visit today."

Thank you to everyone who reads Heart ❤️ I hope this chapter lifts the mood of the story somewhat! Don't be afraid to point out mistakes!