His Scars

2. Get In

So far so good?

SAGE

Eric had Tom's arm twisted behind his back. Fat tears were rolling down the shorter boy's face. "Please, I didn't do anything." He sobbed, and Eric merely twisted his arm more, making him whimper in pain.

"Except, you tried to hit on my girl." Eric snarled. He slammed Tom against the wall so that his chubby cheek was pressed up against it. I flinched at the sound of the impact. I was currently held captive by one of Eric's friends. A Neanderthal. I struggled against him, to no avail. 
 Tom and I were pretty close. I met him in the library when he told me that a book I had picked out was shit. He then proceeded to pick some out for me once I told him what I liked and we'd been close ever since. We even hung out at each other's places.

"You think a fat pussy like you really has a chance with her?" He laughed.

"It's easy to call someone a pussy when you've got the obvious advantage." A cool, deep voice said from behind us. Everyone whipped around at the same time, the Neanderthal taking me with him. My feet weren't even touching the ground at this point and my legs swung at the motion.

I stopped struggling. It was the new guy, Kane. He was leaning nonchalantly against a locker with his arms crossed and watching the scene completely devoid of expression. His hair flopped over his eyes and the scars stood out against his skin.

Eric shoved Tom to the ground in between himself and Kane. Tom hit the floor in a clumsy heap. "Oh lookie," Eric exclaimed with a snicker. "It's one freak taking up for the other. Guess the circus really does stick together huh?" Everyone laughed except for Tom, Kane and me.

"Eric, that's enough," I said quietly but he ignored me.

Tom's weight was not the only thing that drew attention to him from the bullies. It was also the fact that he had lost a leg when he was a child after an accident. He had worn a prosthetic ever since.

I watched as Kane's and Tom's eyes met. 

"Go." He said and Tom didn't hesitate. He was up and scrambling away in a second, offering his thanks on the way. Always the well-mannered boy

"You should let her go too," Kane said, nodding to the Neanderthal, who looked at Eric. Eric shrugged. I felt his arms loosen around me and I shot out of his grip.

I stood near Kane, facing Eric and his gang. "You should leave too," Kane told me. His voice was low but clear.

I stared at him incredulously. 'And leave you here to deal with them alone? They'll pummel you." I said jerking my chin at the gang of boys.

Kane cocked an eyebrow. "And you're going to stand in the way of that?" He asked, taking in my small frame.

I squared my shoulders. "As a matter of fact, I am." I faced Eric. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me."

I saw Eric's expression cloud immediately. "You're standing against me?" He looked astonished. I didn't say anything.

He laughed, but I could still see the anger in his eyes. "That's cute Sage. But you're my queen, so I'll pull back. Anything for you cupcake." He then looked at Kane. "You better watch your back, Frankenstein."

With that, he walked away, his guard dogs following him.

"Thank you," I said, turning to face Kane, but he was leaving too.

I walked to the bathroom, my feet feeling heavy and the knot in my chest getting tighter and tighter. As soon as the door shut behind me and I was sure that I was alone, I burst into tears. I hated him. I hated Eric. I'd tolerated him until now but I had just caught sight of the monster he could be. If it hadn't been for Kane, Tom could have gotten hurt much worse.