♘ Be Brave ♘

V

I spend my time unconscious lost in a sea of nightmares. During one, I am forced to stand on the edge of the tallest building in the city. My robe is in tatters, and I see someone coming towards me.

His face is covered by a mask, but I know who it is right away. Marcus. "Your selfishness has always been your undoing, Tobias. You don't belong here. You must leave." Before I can do anything to stop him, he pushes me off the building, and I start to fall into an endless black hole...

When I come to, I'm still on the floor, but it is now early morning. My head hurts, and my eye. I reach up to touch it and instantly wish I hadn't. A black eye. I force myself to get up.

Very slowly, I hobble to the kitchen table and take a seat. Good thing today is Saturday. At least I won't have to make up a lie for school officials this time about why I'm so injured. The room seems to spin, then goes in and out of focus.

I shut my eyes for a moment, and suddenly yesterday's beating comes back to me. I grit my teeth. No, I won't risk a beating again. Six years. I can do this. I can wait. I've waited for ten years already, haven't I? I go to the refrigerator and retrieve an ice pack for my eye.

I smirk. I'm probably enough of an expert by now to become a doctor. I go through my routine. Ice pack, aspirin... I start to hobble upstairs, a glass of water in my hand. "About time you woke up."

Marcus stands above me, on the staircase. His arms are crossed, and he has a cigarette in his mouth. I remain silent, but do not now my head. Not anymore. I glare at him, but he only smirks. "I hope you learned a lesson from all of this, boy. I have provided you with food and a roof over your head.

You call that mistreatment? I know you cannot wait to be a dependent and run away like the coward you are, but until then you will live in my house and be subject to my rules. Do I make myself clear?"

I do something I'd never done before. I stare him down. Finally, he looks away, but only for a second. He lets out the cigarette smoke. "I will not allow anyone-whether it be you or the Erudite imbeciles- to destroy a reputation I've worked so hard to build.

Which is why you'll accompany me to the town square this afternoon and tell everyone that the rumors Jeanine Matthews is spreading about me are a complete and total lie. Is that understood?"

I glare at him once more and push past him, determined to get as far away as possible from this monster I am forced to call "father".