𝐆𝐎-𝐆𝐎 | 𝐬.𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬

𝟎𝟎𝟑. 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

Chapter 3

River of Blood

"I hope you understand the severity of your actions Mr Rhode." Mr Fortner's voice continued to drone on as it had for the last thirty minutes, speaking a flurry of words to the two troubled boys who could no longer bring themselves to care.

Cadence had stopped listening five minutes into his apprehensive speech. While Ponyboy had shut off the moment he entered the familiar daunting room.

Cadence sat silently, swollen eyes glazed over in a trance-like state. Dark blood streamed steadily from his broken nose and slipped into the cracks of his raw knuckles. It reminded him of a river, as it carved the crevices of his broken skin as if it were an unstoppable current, an army founding a bloodbath. Any who dared to enter the raging tides of red would succumb to the fate of death in the paving waves.

At that moment, he wished he had been swallowed whole by the surge the second his skin split. For his fate lay to rest in the river of blood as he prayed for his mother to pick up that phone call, only to be left to listen to the ear-scratching noise of the landline ringing over and over again, without ever hearing the relief of her voice on the other side.

Instead, he dreads the consequences he is to face at the manicured hands of his sister. Who held her harsh clutch on the ageing seat to his left, flaming rage hidden behind her long battering eyelashes.

How could he let this happen? He let his temper paint his vision red and cloud any voice of reason in his head. Mitsy always warned him not to do it, but he just started swinging at the poor boy with greased-back hair and shabby clothes, ridding himself of years worth of hate. You see, Eaton told him this kid was talking some real smack about him, and with his reputation on the line, he tried to beat the boy to a pulp to keep his mouth shut.

Now, he was going to pay for it.

"Get the damn kid, Cady," Mitsy demanded, glaring at him through darkened blue eyes as she stood firmly with her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"Excuse me?" He uttered, tearing his gaze from the dirty hallway floor to meet her malicious stare. He stood limply with one hand gripping tightly to his navy blue backpack, the other fiddling at his bloody shirt with his fingers.

"I said get the kid that just kicked your ass. We're taking him home." She repeated. The younger boy grumbled under his breath, fury dangerously flickered like an open flame in his dark, tear-filled eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding?" He snapped as the embarrassment crept up his spine.

"No. We can't afford a rumble with the Greasers, Randy told me so, they'll beat you worse than their kid brother just did." The elder scolded him with a deathly calm tone and shoved him in the direction of a grumbling Ponyboy Curtis before shuffling to her car.

Mitsy watched from afar as the two younger boys tensely conversed with each other out of earshot. She tapped rhythmically against her skirt-covered thigh as she leaned against the sleek hood of the vehicle. Waiting impatiently for the younger Rhode sibling to storm towards her with his broken nose turned up in distaste.

To her surprise, however, the rigid conversation came to a close as both of them trudged in her direction. Whatever her brother said to him would remain a mystery, but that didn't matter anymore...because it worked.

The Greaser boy's leather boots squeaked with every step he took towards the Shelby Mustang Cobra. Mitsy cringed at the repetitive noise but never said a word against it.