Broken Family

Chapter one - That cold night

"Mommy?"

The little boy looked down at his mother as he shook her.

"Mommy, please wake up."

Tom's eyes focused on her stomach as her open wound wouldn't stop bleeding.

"Mom?"

The little boy was unable to stop his tears from falling as he looked down at his mother, who was cut up.

"..."

He did not say a word as the storm began to pick up. Tom looked at the body that was now torn apart, organs visible. Two major cuts in her stomach and her throat were visible. The boy cried as footsteps could be heard coming from his sister's room.

"Dad, what happened?"

Tom quickly fell silent as he saw a bloody knife in his dad's hand. The kid knew who the murderer was. Why? Everything had been so nice and happy. Why would he do such a thing? The kid's mind raced as he kneeled next to his now-deceased mom.

"Tom, I'm sorry,"

The dad said to Tom as he slowly walked toward the little boy. Tom's body was completely frozen before finally, adrenaline kicked in. The boy quickly stood up and picked up a nearby glass bottle.

"Why?"

The shaking boy asked his father. Why would he do such a thing? They were a perfect family. He knew he couldn't beat his dad. He knew he would be killed if he even tried to fight him. Tom was at least thinking rationally. His body, on the other hand, was shivering out of fear and sadness.

"Tom, I know you won't understand this, but I had to. It was my duty."

What duty? Why would he do such a thing to us? Tears started rolling down Tom's face as he ran toward his father. Right before reaching him, the boy threw the bottle at his father's head, stunning him for a moment before Tom quickly got past him and ran to the door. Right as he was about to leave, he turned the knob and

Locked. He tried one more time but he couldn't get it open. The boy was weak. Tom looked at his dad before trying to find a way to escape. As the dad slowly walked towards him, the boy had no other choice but to go into his sister's room. He entered the room and locked it. As he was looking around, he saw his sister sitting near the wall, cut up like his mother. The boy tried so hard not to cry as the dad started banging on the door.

"Open up, Tom! Open up or I'll smash through!"

The boy looked around and saw the window. The dad started ramming himself against the door before the boy finally decided to risk it. Tom quickly ran to the window as the dad finally managed to break through. Tom opened the window and jumped out. The storm was pouring, and Tom quickly got wet.

"I hate you, Ryan."

Tom said to his dad as he ran as fast as his legs could take him. Ryan wanted to follow his son and finish everything off, but he simply couldn't. Too many witnesses and the police would be after him. Ryan didn't follow, and as the boy looked back at his house, tears started flowing down his face. The 10-year-old boy.

As the boy arrived at one of his neighbors, he explained the situation. The police were soon called, but Ryan was able to escape.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours after the incident

"How are you feeling?"

One of the officers asked as he looked across the table. Tom, still shaken up from the incident, didn't respond.

"Can you tell me anything about yourself?"

The officer asked, trying to ease the tension between the kid and the cop. Tom looked down, not wanting to say anything. There was uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before the cop spoke again.

"I am a cop and an investigator. My name is Markus, but you can call me Mark. I know it's hard for you right now, but we do need information on what you saw. Would you be able to answer some questions?"

The cop asked with a warm smile on his face, trying to ease the stress out of the kid, at least a little bit. Tom nodded slightly.

"Okay, good. Let's start with an easy question. What is your name?" Markus asked Tom. There was a moment of silence before Tom finally answered in a quiet and upset voice.

"I'm Tom. Tom Hayes."

"Nice to meet you, Tom," Markus replied. Markus then pulled out a pen and paper, seemingly writing something.

"So, Tom, can you tell me what happened?" Markus asked.

Tom was quiet for a moment. Then a quiet voice came out as Tom slowly started to talk.

"I... I don't know. I was coming back from a friend's house. It was getting late, and when I entered..."

The boy's eyes started to water as his voice became shaky. Tom looked back at the officer.

"My... my mom was... laying there, and she wouldn't wake up... And then my dad came from my sister's room, and I... I..."

Tom began to break down as he talked, the table getting wet from the tears.

"And it all happened so fast."

The boy couldn't hold it in anymore, and he started crying and panicking. Everything felt so unreal to him. Soon, the police and a psychiatrist came in and calmed the boy. Markus concluded the investigation on the boy as Tom was taken to a foster home.

"He must die. I will find him, and I will kill him."

Those were the words of the little Tom after he woke up. Ryan was not found by the police, and the investigation is ongoing. All Tom could think about was why he did it and how he would kill him.