All The King's Horses And All The King's Men

seventeen - 'do i look high?'

Trigger Warning — Abuse

+++ at start and finish.

Lucien was thirteen years old when he came home from school exhausted from a long day. With no energy left, he just wanted to sleep.

"Lucien!"

Across the house, a bellow rang out, and the young boy felt like the ground beneath him had been shaken.

His throat tightened as he swallowed thickly, tears already stinging his eyes, knowing his impending doom was nearing.

It was something that a thirteen-year-old should never have to experience.

As Marcus stormed down the stairs, he had an expression that could only be described as murderous.

As he walked down the stairs, he asked himself, "Why did I get a call from your school this morning telling me that Dean had gotten into a fight with another kid?"

Lucien opened and closed his mouth, trying to find words.

"Answer me, boy!" He roared.

Nobody else was home. The younger siblings were out with their mother and the elder were in after school football.

"I thought I told you to make sure that there were no complaints, did I not?" He asked, condescendence lacing his tone.

He was playing with his food.

"I- I tried to! I really did, dad! I pulled him off the boy, and told him to get cleaned up. I tried to talk the teachers out of calling you, I swear."

Lucien practically begged his father to leave him alone.

Marcus reached the bottom of the stairs, standing less than two meters away from his son.

"But they did! And now I have to miss out on work to go to the fucking meeting!" 

+++

Lucien couldn't get another word in before he was punched in the stomach, knocking him over and taking the air from his lungs.

He gasped and wheezed but it was as though all of the air had left the room, making his vision spin for a second.

He wheezed and pushed himself up by his elbows, getting onto his hands and knees; though that was as far as he could get before his father landed a sharp kick to his ribs.

"And you make sure that I don't get another phone call. We both know it would be in your best interest." The man punctuated the ends of his sentances with more kicks to the ribs.

+++

Lucien layed there for a few minutes after his father had walked away; drowned in his thoughts.

Once he had managed to get his shit together enough to stand up, he picked his previously discarded backpack up from the floor and walked up the stairs, leaning most of his weight on the bannister.

When he finally got to his bedroom and turned on the light, a small, child sized lump was enveloped in his covers.

He peeled them back to reveal Theo, curled up into a ball, snoring lightly.

The only thing that Lucien could feel in that moment was relief, relief that his baby brother didn't wake up in the commotion, and relief that his father didn't know that Theo was home.