"The Case Of The Fire Inside."

The boredom is the reason I started sinking 20

Techno stares out at the sea. He's sitting on Phil's rock, feet dangling over the edge. Every now and then he can feel the spray of the ocean tickle his feet.

Less than a week ago he was sneaking up behind Tommy, shoving him into the water just to hear him sputter, Wilbur and Phil laughing in the background.

Now Tommy was gone. Back to the man with a fake smile who left him there for months at a time in horrible conditions. Back to the place where he was alone and suffering and afraid.

Phil and Wilbur were convinced of the worst. Techno liked staying rooted firmly in reality. Either way, the fact was that whatever was going on there wasn't safe.

The others whispered about potential physical and verbal abuse, talking as if their assumptions were facts laid out in front of them.

Techno didn't understand. Sure there were some worrying parts, the flinching, the fear, the refusal to adapt to their safe home. But there was nothing concrete there. It was all assumptions.

He knew what was concrete. Even if the physical stuff was only suspicion, they had firm evidence of neglect at the very least.

Leaving a kid alone in the middle of nowhere for months at a time was neglect through and through. Locking the door and providing no means of contact in case of injury was also most likely illegal. They had solid observations as well as direct confirmation from Tommy himself.

The situation was fucked. And he didn't know how to solve it. He doesn't know how to solve anything.

He was a logical person. He was a scholar, studying at some of the highest levels in the world. He loved his studies so much that he pushed everything aside for it, his friends, his hobbies, his own brother.

He was a man ruled by logic in a situation where logic was no longer useful.

Because he can't use logic to figure out why Tommy would leave. Why the boy would continuously choose to go back to that horrible place instead of staying with a family that loved him.

They pushed him too far, that much was obvious. Techno has warned them of that over and over again to no avail. Dealing with Tommy reminded him of the time he found an injured raccoon outside of his dorm. He had spent weeks trying to coax it into the room, to try and help fix the poor things broken arm. The raccoon had only hissed at him, even when taking the food out of his hands. It had disappeared one day. Techno had no idea where it went. He was inconsolable for weeks. He thinks he might be feeling the same thing now.

It was hard, to look at something so beautiful and delicate and know that something was hurting it while being unable to help, knowing that you could do everything in your power and still push it away without even realizing.

He had seen how upset Tommy was, the wide eyes and shaking hands, and yet he did nothing to stop it. He let his family push, thinking that maybe just needed to hear the harsh truths they were thinking about. Logically, Tommy should understand what was best for himself.

He'd never understand why that wasn't the case. He'd never understand why Tommy was sitting inside that house instead of being out here with them. He'd never really get what was going on inside that kid's head, but he doesn't think he needs to.

He just hopes he comes back. He hopes that they've built enough trust between him that he turns to them if anything happened again.

He just hopes that it happens before they leave. They've only got a few more months left, and the time is slowly ticking down.

One day soon they wouldn't be there anymore. He'd be back home to start up his studies, Phil would be back to his job, Wilbur to his company.

And Tommy would be here alone once again. Left with a man who clearly had no care for his health and wellbeing.