Broken Crayons Still Colour

Chapter 11

~Emma's POV~

I went back to Master Henderson's office 10 minutes before tutor. Instead of Master Henderson coming out of his office, he came down the hallway towards me, grabbed my arm and pulled me into his office. "I swear you enjoy getting punished Emma..." His tone was sharp and he looked very angry. "I gave you one rule... One fucking rule! I told you to stay away from that fucking boy, and what do you do? You talk to the fucking boy! And you didn't just talk to him either, did you? You fucking kissed him as well! I'm not going to lie to you Emma, you're in for it tonight... Don't talk to that stupid boy again or I swear to God, you will not know what's hit you!" I started to panic. I was shaking, my breathing rate increased and I stopped being able to think straight. I was terrified. It may not seem like much, but when Master Henderson swore, I knew I was in for it.

Master Henderson is a very religious person, and he believes blasphemy is one of the worst things a human can do. I have never heard him swear before that and I knew he meant what he was saying once he swore. When he realised I was having a panic attack, Master Henderson seemed to leave me alone so to not make it any worse. I had calmed down by the time the tutor bell had wrang, and so had Master Henderson. He then told me, "I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and let you go to lessons, but I am going to go and tell your teachers to move you away from Mark. Don't talk to him, don't text him, don't even acknowledge that he is there. You are going to have it bad enough already tonight. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Master..."
"Okay. Go to tutor now. Just sit away from Mark."
"Yes Master." He nodded his head and then I walked to tutor. I was nervous because I knew most people were going to ask about my arms, and I was in great pain. As soon as I walked into my tutor room, lots of people surrounded me, asking various questions.
"Where were you this morning?"
"Are you okay?"
"What happened to your arms?"
"Why were you missing?"
"What happened?"
"Are you hurt?"
I couldn't really think straight. I looked around and I saw Mark, sitting where we usually do. I purposefully sat on the other side of the room to him, next to a few girls in the year below me. I occasionally glanced over to him and I noticed he had been crying. At that moment I couldn't care less about what Master Henderson said, and I texted Mark.

~Marks POV~

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Emma had texted me...

Emma: Are you okay?

Emma: Mark... Reply, please...

Emma: I can tell you've been crying. Please Mark. I'm worried...

Mark: You've been crying too...

Emma: I know I have. I had a panic attack...

Mark: So did I...

Emma: Are you okay now?

Mark: Yeah. I'm fine. Are you okay?

Emma: For now, yeah...

Mark: He knows about me kissing you at lunch...

Emma: I know...

Mark: He threatened to kill you if I didn't tell him exactly what happened...

Emma: He can't kill me Mark. It's against the law. You shouldn't have told him...

Mark: I know I shouldn't have told him Emma. I'm sorry, but I wasn't thinking and I wanted to make sure you were safe... I'm sorry for caring...

Emma: I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Please, stop crying...

Emma: Mark, please...

Emma: I love you Mark...

Mark: You do?

Emma: Yes. Of couse I do Mark... I love you, and I always will...

Mark: We need to stop Henderson...

Emma: There is no way. Everything he has done is legal...

Mark: Hang on a second.

~Time Skip: 5 Minutes Later~

Mark: Emma...

Emma: Yeah?

Mark: Has he cut you? Like broken your skin?

Emma: Yeah. That's what he did last night.

Mark: That's illegal. Adoptive parents are only allowed to punch, kick, hit etc. to show authority. If they break the child's skin purposefully, it's illegal.

Emma: Really?

Mark: Yeah. We can get him. We can call the police and get him put in prison Emma! You can be free!

Emma: But child abuse can only get people put on prison for a maximum of 5 years. I'm scared that he'll find me and take me again if we do this... I can't Mark...

Mark: I'll do it then. I'll call the police. I'll do everything.

Emma: No Mark. There's never been a happy ending for an adopted child in the country. There is no chance I'll be the first. Just leave it.

Mark: But Emma! This'll work!

Mark: Emma, reply!

(You have been blocked by this contact and you can no longer text or call this person.)

I don't care if Emma has told me not to call the police. As soon as I get home, I'm calling them. Emma will finally be free from pain and suffering. That's all I want for her...