"And that is why I trust that I can tell you," Billy said, "That the night you saw me crying... the real reason why I was crying was because...", he started to breathe heavily, "Was because I had... killed... my mother''s boyfriend... my rapist..."


    My eyes widened at those words. Billy is a killer? Wait... how... when... why... I had so many questions... I was shocked, and even though I understood his motive very well, killing somebody like that is against the law and... and I was scared of him.


    "Hey... say something...", Billy said.


    I was still staring at him with disbelief, and when he tried to approach me, I took a few steps back. "S-stay away f-from me..."


    "Nate, please. I thought you''d understand...", tears filled Billy''s eyes. He was right. I don''t blame him for killing the bastard. After what he did to Billy, can I even blame him? Who am I to judge?!


    "O...okay... I... I understand... you... you should have gone to the police though..."


    "The bastard has connections there," he said, "They would have let him out in a second. This was my only choice. God knows how many other kids he''s hurt as well... Nate, please, you have to understand..."


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    "I...I do... and I don''t blame you for it... I was just shocked... that''s all..."


    "You looked scared of me. It broke my heart.", he looked at the ground, "I''m not proud of what I did, you know. I needed to let it out. To tell someone. Now I can only hope I told it to the right person."


    "You did, Billy. And I''m not scared of you. I was just... scared of what you did. That''s all."


    "And you think I''m not? What about that night? Do you think I wasn''t scared that night?", he said quietly but in an angry way. Or is it sad? "I never wanted this. I just wanted a normal life. Now I have to... I have to live with this forever." Hoards of tears were now rolling down his face, which he tried to cover with his eyes. The poor guy. I felt a pit in my stomach, knowing what he''s been through. He sat on the ground, back against the bed.


    "It''s okay, Billy. I''m here for you.", I sat beside him, and just like that other night, I let him into my lap. What else could I do to make life easier for him? I just wish I could help him heal. I don''t care that he''s killed somebody. He''s not a murderer. A murderer is someone that''s killed someone innocent. The monster he killed was far from innocent. Far from human. He deserved it. But Billy doesn''t deserve to suffer like this. I don''t know how long it''ll take for Billy to recover from his assault, but no matter. I''ll always be here for him.