The Outcasts *COMPLETED*

Chapter 10 - Cooper's Story

Age 7

A young Cooper Hayward laid on the ground in the bathroom of the foster home he had been staying at. Three other kids stood over him, crowding around him as a small amount of blood began to drop down his face from a cut on his forehead. Cooper was quiet, but his body was tense as the biggest of the three grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up.

"Fight back loser." the kid said, pushing Cooper into the wall. Cooper winced and looked down at his hands and then at the older kid who was tormenting him. He balled up one hand into a fist and swung at the leader of the three. The bully stepped out of the way and pushed Cooper down into the ground again.

"Too slow Cooper." one of the kids teased. The bigger kid kicked Cooper in the stomach a few times before punching him across the face. Cooper laid on the ground aching in pain as the three walked away and left him there. A small amount of blood dripped out of his mouth and onto the floor while the blood on his face slowly began to dry.

"Are you okay?" a little girl's voice asked. Cooper looked up and saw a little girl standing in the doorway and staring at him. He nodded his head and slowly picked himself up, groaning as his ribs ached from the repeated kicking.

"I can go get-" the little girl began to say.

"No!" Cooper said quickly. "No. They just hit harder."

"Okay..." the girl said, walking over to Cooper who was sitting against the wall and holding his stomach. She took some toilet paper and used it to wipe away the blood on his forehead. "I'm Jade."

"I'm Cooper." he said, looking into her eyes as she cleaned him up. "You might not wanna be seen with me. They'll hurt you too."

"No. They won't." Jade said, sitting down next to Cooper.

* * *

Age 13

Cooper sprinted up the stairs of the house he was in, breathing heavily. He tripped on the top step as someone stumbled around on the floor below. He looked back and saw his foster father with a bottle in his hand. Cooper stood back up and ran for his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Cooper!" his foster father shouted. Cooper grabbed his backpack, stuffing a few of his things into it as something pounded on his bedroom door. "Open the damn door!"

"No!" Cooper shouted back. He looked up in the mirror and saw a bruise under his right, while his brown hair covered his forehead. His door began to shake as his foster father slammed his shoulder into it.

"You're too slow to avoid me Cooper!" he shouted. Cooper grabbed his bag, opening his window and looking down at the ground. He tossed his bag out the window and began to climb through it. His door shot open as his step father stumbled through and fell onto the ground.

"Don't you dare!" he said, looking up and seeing a blurry sight of Cooper halfway through the window.

"You're too slow to catch me." Cooper said, jumping from the window and landing on his side, hitting the ground at a quick and hard impact. He groaned in pain, slowly standing up and feeling a sharp pain from his right side. Cooper grabbed his bag and jogged down the street, looking back to see his foster father shouting out the window at him.

* * *

"You ran away?!" Jade asked, leaning against the wall as Cooper stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was now a dirty blonde and cut short, while the t-shirt he wore was stained from the hair dye.

"I couldn't stay there." Cooper said, shaking his head.

"So you came back here? Everyone thought you'd be gone for good." Jade said with a smirk. "Especially me."