Expulsion gave Liam Barrett a dangerous choice. Needing to transfer for his final year, he'd known immediately where to go. It was a distantly familiar place that'd taken everything from him; had once ruined him so absolutely and twisted his persona...
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"Why are you doing this?" Young Liam hugged the stomach which Charlie had kicked. Lunch soured his tongue, having to keep his food down along with the stinging tears. Charlie loomed above, his face was red with fury but his expression remained passive.
ㅤ"Get up," Charlie said, low and calm.
ㅤHumiliated, Liam tried standing for the umpteenth time, hobbling on his legs like a newborn foal. But, after finding his feet, Charlie knocked him down again. Each time was inflicted harder than the last.
ㅤPain caught his breath as Charlie's blunt fist landed in his chest. It rippled outwards. He couldn't breathe. He struggled for air but none was coming, his lungs stiff like stone.
ㅤAbove, a sigh followed by a small chuckle. Why Charlie was doing these things to him, Liam couldn't comprehend. He'd been nothing but kind to Charlie, he swore—never uttering a single insult. Yet, here they were.
ㅤ"What did I do to you?" Liam rasped.
ㅤCharlie pulled Liam up by the knot of his tie, choking him, and thrusted him back against the brick wall. Liam yelped. Out there, behind the gym, nobody was present to witness it. No one was there to help. Charlie's friends had already left ages ago, bored, moving on to do other things. But not him.
ㅤCharlie was big, not like Liam who was scrawny and short. Liam couldn't feasibly defend himself with his stick-like limbs. The only thing that still worked was his mouth.
ㅤ"Why?" he yelled.
ㅤCharlie's answer was smacking his hand over Liam's mouth, his fingers digging into Liam's cheeks. Liam tried to cry out and struggle, but Charlie's grip was firm and solid, seemingly unaffected by his thrashing.
ㅤSlowly, but with unflinching intent, Charlie's forearm pushed against his throat and Liam froze. Clouds darkened, threatening rain.
ㅤ"I'm not doing anything," Charlie quietly replied. "This is your fault, you know. If you'd fought back from the beginning, none of this would've happened. You're a weak cunt, Rowan. A weak fucking cunt and you brought it on yourself."
ㅤCharlie drove in the point with a knee to the gut and Liam cried out behind Charlie's hand. Tears wobbled his vision and the boy holding him blurred.
ㅤ"You're crying." Charlie sounded almost offended, his voice rising. "If you weren't so pathetic this wouldn't be happening right now. You wouldn't be in pain, and you wouldn't be crying like a limp-limbed faggot! How can you even live with yourself?"
ㅤThe roar was loud enough that Liam held a slither of hope that someone would hear, but the sound of the rolling thunder screamed louder. And Liam shuddered in terror when Charlie's gaze found something it liked.
ㅤBeside them was a short flight of hard concrete steps, and when Charlie stared at them like an exciting idea popped into his head, Liam's body went cold. No longer a beast, Charlie resembled a cold and collected criminal.
