Rumor Boy

Chapter Five; Near Death

I started to drag my sorry ass back to my home when then sun fell out of the sky and the moon hung ripely in the foggy air.
I don't want to go home, I'll probably be beaten by my parents.
I stop a block away from my home, sliding down a wall and curled up into a ball.
I was a total asshole to Blondie.
I rest my forehead on my knees, my eyes fluttering shut.
I have to go home before my punishment gets worse. My legs moved towards my house reluctantly while my mind wanders elsewhere. I want to be anywhere than in front of this house, the door slowly opens as my hand twitches in anticipation.
What would be my punishment this time?
If I sneak in quietly I can avoid the punishment tonight.
"YOU!" I hear a women screech as I carefully close the door, my eyes squeeze shut as I hear her foot steps stomp towards me.
I can escape, I can escape anytime but when I come back, everything would be worse.
She held on to an empty wine bottle, lifting above my head and slammed it against me.
My hands fly up to cover my head as she beat me down, one last crack to the head and the bottle shattered.
"You stupid son of a bitch! What the hell do you think your doing?!" She grabs my chin, long spiny fingers dig into my flesh as she forces to face me.
She scowled lowly when seeing water roll down my cheek.
"You little bitch! Who said you could cry, huh?!" She jabs the sharp broken side of the wine bottle into my skin. I let out a bitter sound.
"Harold!" The woman screeched, pressing the sharp, broken wine bottle against my neck.
Harold, my adoptive father, comes back with a bat.
"Step aside, Martha." He said and she does so, I look up at Harold in fear, I shake my head.
"No, no, no... please don't!" I pleaded, desperately trying to make Harold find a string of humanity in himself.
The bat swings down.
Once, twice, twenty, fifty, a hundred times.
Pain sparks all over my body as the bat bloodied my face, broke my arm, bruised my ribs, and some other damage uncounted for.
Even the goddamn bat started to break.
Finally, my hand grabbed onto the knob of the door, opening it before launching myself out. Falling down the steps as I heard my adoptive parents clatter inside, obviously coming after me. My aching muscles got me up as fast as possible, and my aching bones tried their best to keep my battered body up. I tried to run away quick enough, my blurry eyes blocking everything.
I hear the roar of a car, you've gotta be kidding.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die.
They were coming after me in a car.
My breathing labors as I desperately try to breath through my sobs and pants.
Why couldn't you stay with me, dad? Was I that bad of a son for you to commit suicide over it? Why didn't you love enough to tell me why you left?!
I hear the car come closer and closer, the engine roaring and I can smell the gasoline.
I'm running as fast as my body can allow, and I take a risky sharp turn across the road and into the park, the car clipping my side and sent me to the ground shortly before I took the last ounce of energy I had to stand right back up and run once more. I ran towards my favorite tree, a tree that looked similar to the one I use to have in my backyard when my father was alive. My mother, father, and I would climb the tree with a story book in hand and read up there.
It was the last memory I ever had with my mom before she died. As I got closer to the tree, bushes started to cover me as I limped/ran towards it.
I never made it to the tree, instead I made it into a strangers arms.
She held me close to her chest as I wailed, her hands rubbing my back as we leaned against the tree. I was practically in this strangers lap.
I didn't hear the car anymore, I didn't hear Martha of Harold, but the pain they left on my body and soul was still there. Burning, aching, and wanting nothing more than to relieve themselves.
I wanted nothing more than to join my mother and father up in heaven.
"Shush, child..." I heard a warm voice of the female stranger whisper, her arms wrap around my body and strangely she lifted me up in the air with ease. She carried me back to her car, carefully setting my injured body on the car seat, forgetting about my soul and heart that was falling down a bottomless pit.
After that, everything went black.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
I want nothing more than to join that Skelton in a black cape with a scythe into the depths of death. Heaven or hell, either way, I'll be gone from this cruel thing called life.
My body aches everywhere, I can't move my arm properly and I'm freezing to death.
"Marsh! Judy! He's awake!" I hear a girl called, her voice loud and high causing me to cringe.
Shuffled footsteps from afar rush towards me, "Oh good, I was starting to worry," a woman, Marsh, said hear voice low, quiet, and soothing. I instantly recall that that was the same voice from the tree.
Her hand gently grabs my cheek, her thumb gently rubbing over my battered and bruised flesh. She felt so warm, and so loving in the sense that a mother would give to her child. It was so gentle, so small, like a candle light flickering in the dark depths of hell.
"You poor thing..." she said sadly, her warmth moving away and across the room.
My head was spinning, my eyes were slightly open but were fuzzy and tired to see.
I bring my aching knees to my chest as I lay on my side, huddling up in a ball for warmth before taking note of the big bulky thing on my arm.
"He's cold.." I hear a low voice rumble as my eyes close and turn to face the back of my head.
"Would you two stop watching him like he's a wild animal?" Marsh huffed slightly, I hear her shuffling back.
"Well, not everyone enters through the front door all beaten, battered, and in urgent need of medical care every single day." the high pitched girl said, I could hear her eyes rolling from the sass in her voice.
"He's cold." The low voice says again but louder, "and when he becomes aware of his surroundings, he'll freak."
Suddenly, the commotion between the high pitched girl, Judy, and the low voice stopped. Silence filled the room, if you were to drop a needle on to the floor, you'd hear it hit the floor and hear it echo off the walls.
"What are we going to do..?" Marsh said, concern seeping through her voice.
I want to speak but I can't, my mind is swirling and I feel like I'm dying. This pain is horrible and I want nothing more to end it.
Kill me.
Please.
I beg of you.
My eyes shifted to the blurry people, tears filling them as I begin to cry. Warm liquid sliding down my face.
I want to die.
I feel their gazes on me, and all I did was cry like the pathetic weakling I am.
Two thoughts ran through my head.
One being that I wished s noose was around my neck, and the other was to see Blondie.

Blondie.
He's probably the only person in this world that has cared for me, but I drove him away.
I choked, my body seizing before I would gasp for air through almost closed lips.
They are talking and scrabbling, one person tried to touch me but all I did was scream.
I can't hear or see them anymore, everything is just so fuzzy and black.
I didn't realize that I wasn't allowing my self to breath.

I'm dying.