Not so innocent

Running away - age 8

A/N - hey guys, soooooo it's been some time. And for that I am so sorry. I love you all so much and reading all your comments really made me want to continue this story <3 <3 I tried something new and wrote a chapter from the perspective of eight year old Alec. I hope you like it, and please leave a comment and a like if you do! <3

Alex POV

"I didn't do it on purpose!" I whined, at my brother who was currently aggressively wagging a finger in my face.

"No, Alexander, but you threw that ball around inside, after I told you not to." Joe was seething. "I gave you a chance, and now there's broken glass all over the floor!"

"I didn't mean to hit the glass..." I mumbled quietly, tears slowly starting to form in my eyes. I was sensing a punishment in my near future.

"It does not matter wether or not you meant to hit it. What matters is that you straight up disobeyed me - didn't you think I would eventually find out?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would care that much about a stupid glass... can't you just buy a new one?" I asked, maybe a bit angrier than necessary. 

"Do not be smart with me, young man. You are in a world of trouble, and you don't seem to understand that. I do in fact not care about the stupid glass, I care about you doing as you're told! And money doesn't just grow on trees, so instead you will be paying for a new glass out of your own pocket money."

"What?! Thats not fair!" It was actually quite fair, but in the eyes of eight year old me, it seemed impossible. To be fair I only had about 18 dollars to my name back then.

"It is fair, because I say it is fair. But since you seem so unhappy with your current punishment, why don't you go to the garden and grab me a switch. Because it clearly doesn't seem like I am getting through to you with just talking."

"Noooo, Joe, anything but that! Can't you just spank me? I'll take the belt over that, but please don't use a switch!"

Joe must have sensed that I was not getting a switch on my own, and needed some... encouragement. He grabbed my upper arm and delivered five hard smacks to my butt. 

"Young man, you do not get to choose your punishment." He said as he started dragging me towards the backdoor, leading to the backyard. "You live in my house, under my roof, and eat my food, and you follow my rules. So when you break those rules you follow my punishments."

He then dragged me out to the backporch with a firm hand on my upper arm. Begrudgingly, and with a dirty look in his direction, I started walking into the backyard. Most of our trees were placed at the back of your yard, were our yard lined up to our neighbors. I dragged my feet all the way to the end of our garden. I slowly started looking for a switch, in no mood to get this started quickly. 

"Hurry up, Alec," Joe yelled, still standing on the porch. Angrily, I kicked a pinecone and it flew into our neighbors garden. As lightning, an idea struck me. A terrible idea, one might say but eight year old me found it genius. A tall but broken fence separated our garden from our neighbors. An old couple who never went out there anyways. And right on the other side of their garden, was the street. Was freedom. All I had to do was climb through one of the holes in the fence and I would never have to endure that spanking. And as all these genius thoughts worked in my head I heard the phone ring from inside the house. I looked up at Joe, but he was already halfway in the house. Bingo! It was now or never. Hurriedly I got down onto the ground and started crawling through a big hole in the fence. We had done this hundreds of times. Every time we accidentally threw a ball in here we would just climb through and get it. As the youngest and smallest, it was usually me who got that task. So I was basically a pro! Within a minute I was standing in our neighbors backyard, and I started sprinting. Past their house, and through bushes, and before I knew it, I was out on a street. In my eyes, I could just as well already be halfway through the country, but in reality I was in the street right next to ours. It hadn't really dawned on me, that I couldn't really go anywhere. I had no money (except for my 18 dollars that were still inside the house), no sense of direction or a map, not even a bus ticket. But I had escaped what would have been the world's biggest spanking. And as I stood there, feeling triumphant, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled and high on adrenaline I screamed in shock.

"Alec?" Sergio was looking down on me, looking very confused. Aiden was standing on the other side of the street, also with a puzzled look on his face, and a basketball under his arm. "What are you doing here, Alec?"

"What are YOU doing here?" I defended, not suspiciously at all.

"We were just playing basketball."

"In the street?" They nodded. "You aren't allowed to."

"Yeah, Joe said we could," Aiden said as he came closer. "Now, what are you doing here."

"Nothing."

"Okay... then lets go home."

"NO!" I stamped my foot into the ground and clenched my hands along my sides.

They both looked weirdly at me. Then suddenly we heard Joe starting to call my name from the backyard. Loudly. And angrily. "ALEC!"  Aiden and Sergio looked at each other with an understanding look.

"Ahhh," they said in unison. "You're in trouble."

"No I'm not," I said defiantly.

"ALEXANDER!" I cringed, starting to realize that I would have to go back home, and that earlier punishment would probably be way worse now. "WHERE ARE YOU ALEC?!"

Aiden and Sergio both placed a comforting hand on each of my shoulders. "It's better to just get it overwith," Sergio said. And as he said that, it dawned on me: there was no way out of this. So I started crying. Even though I was super though and cool, way though than any other eight year old, I started crying. "ALEXANDER!" we heard again, and I started crying more. I fell down on the ground and refused to walk as much as an inch more. 

As I was laying there time moved at a different pace. It was quicker and slower all at the same time. Suddenly I felt myself getting scooped up by Joe, and carried back to the house. I was still not pleased with the whole switch thing, but being held felt so nice right there (even though I was super though) so I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his shoulder as my sobbing became less and less, till I eventually fell asleep. I guess Joe felt mercy for me, because I woke up, hours later next to him in my bed, and that spanking never came.