Treasure [Klance/Leith]

何も感じない - Feel Nothing

°•°•Age ???•°•°

The air was thick with cigarette smoke that swirled up from the mouth of the man sitting in the chair behind Keith. His skin wrinkly and greasy from the drugs he did at night. He let out an obnoxious cough that made the small, frail child in front of him flinch in fear. Then the sickening sound of him wetting his lips with his tongue sounded and he leaned over tugged on Keith's long hair. "Those foster system dickheads are going to be showing up here in two days and your hair is as long as a girls. Why hasn't Amelia cut it yet?"

"She has been attending school like you order her to, sir." Keith said in a small voice as he tried to not show how fearful he was currently. His hands clutched his loose jeans tightly and his wide purple eyes fixated on the lamp in front of him. It had a light green lampshade that resembled a mint color and just happened to be the only thing colorful in this dull black and white home he was forced to live in.

The man, or Mr. Stewart formally, coughed once more and sucked down air like he had lung cancer; to Keith's disappointment he didn't but it didn't stop the boy from begging god to give it to the man. "She needs to make sure you kids are ready for the government workers to look at you guys for an inspection. Unlike her I actually like my checks I get from them." His voice was low and gutteral which sent chills down any kids back when they heard it. "I've caught wind that Bailey has been sneaking food into his room at night so he can have a snack...you know that he's breaking the rules don't you?"

Keith's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat suddenly. He nearly leapt up from his seat in fear but he stayed glued to the foot rest he was seated on. "I-I...I'll take his punishment sir." Keith squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke. He was always taking the blame for his siblings as usual, he couldn't stand to see the younger kids in pain when he could save them from it.

"How many would this make? Ten...fifteen?"

"Twenty one punishments since the day I've arrived sir." Keith's voice was now trembling slightly as his hands shook and began to to sweat in nervousness and anticipation of the pain soon to come his way.

Then he felt his owner lift his loose green shirt up from his back and he was forced to lift his arms up for Mr. Stewart to take it off and toss it onto the floor. "What's one more then?" He snickered as he blew smoke onto the back of Keith's neck making his trembling worsen. Then he felt the butt of the cigarette press against his skin and burn a hole into his right shoulder.

He bit his lip to hold back the scream that threatened to slip out as his eyes snapped open and his hands tightened onto his jeans once more. He never once understood abused children in literature, they always talked about how that had built up a pain tolerance to their abuse and how they felt nothing anymore but it wasn't even true to his knowledge. It had only about twenty eight days since he had been in this rickety old home that groaned in old age when the wind gently pushed it and he had lived through the same torture twenty one times and even had the living hell beat out of him and yet he couldn't become numb to the pain. He couldn't simply look over something that made him cry in pain every night he was forced to live, something that literally burned into his skin wasn't something any child his age could become used to. To say your senses become dull to pain is a lie he wished he could live.

His lip was bleeding and his right shoulder blade had a new addition to his scars by the time Mr. Stewart pulled his cigarette away to allow Keith to breath once more. "You know the more you take the punishment for others the more they'll use you as their scapegoat."

Keith's eyes were burning as he sniffled from all the pain he was feeling radiating from both his lip and shoulder blade. He didn't mind being their lamb to the slaughter, he just wanted those children to remain safe from the punishment he took for them. "It's fine by me, sir." He whispered.