Break the Rules!

Leave me be

Maran dropped the clothes they held. Their knees felt weak and the kid was sure they were gonna throw up. But they had to face him.

As they turned around, they said nothing, just starring at the man, that stood next to the living room's door.

Castim started grinning, a wicked and dark expression on his face. As he spoke, his voice was dripping with hatred.

"What's the matter, Jassi? No 'welcome home, dad'?", he asked.

Maran swallowed hard, then responded:"You are not my father."

Castim laughed, but nothing about him seemed to be amused, the sound was hollow and empty. Then he said:"Of course I am Darling. We can even take a DNA-Test if you don't believe me!"

"I don't see you as my father", Maran said. They had tears in their eyes and their voice was breaking. The words 'too soon' seemed to be stuck in their head.

The man's expression shifted from played amusement to anger and hatred. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Maran interrupted him:"Too soon. I can't deal with this, with you! I just can't and I won't!"

The tears were now dripping down their cheeks, the last sentence they screamed on the top of their lungs. Him being here, again, was too much for the child.

Cecile stepped behind her husband, and in a calming voice said:"He's here to help you baby. He'll make you right."

Maran stared at her, their face filled with terror. "There is nothing to be fixed! I'm not wrong why can't you just understand that?", they asked, their voice still breaking and filled with terror.

Castim turned around and whilst walking in the direction of the door he said:"Get in the shower."

Cecile shot her kid an angry look, then went back into the living room. Maran sighed and grabbed their pyjamas from the floor, then entered the bathroom.

They cried whilst getting ready for bed. The kid got good at hiding their tears in front of others, for a certain time. They only shed a few drops in the hall. But when they were brushing their teeth, they broke apart.

The tears started to stream down their cheeks and when they were done brushing their teeth, the hiccups were to hear too. Maran sat down in the shower. It was completely dark, and the water was falling onto their head and back. They sat there sobbing for a long time, until someone slammed their fist into the door.

Maran got startled and jumped up. They turned off the water and left the shower. Without turning the lights back on, they dried of their body and put on their pyjama whilst forcing themselves to calm down. Once they felt ready, they turned the lights on again and looked in the mirror.

Staring back was the person the kid hated most: Jasmina. The kid knew they were looking at themselves, but it felt like staring at a completely different person. Except for the rather short, fluffy and bright purple hair.

The kid's eyes were big and light grey, they had a curved body and looked like a girl, even in the boxers and the T-shirt the kid used as a pyjama. They sighed and put the hoodie they had worn whilst painting back on. It was way too big and hid at least a bit of the way the kids' body was built.

They grabbed their clothes that didn't need to be washed just jet, which were their pants and binder, and then left the bathroom.

When they returned to their room, they froze once again. Their whole room seemed to be different. All of their canvases, blank or used, had disappeared, along with their paints and brushes, all the sketchbooks that had been lying around and all the other art supplies. A quick scan trough their cupboards and shelves showed them, that each and every art supply, piece of art, every yard of fabric and all the wool had gone missing too. Their bedsheets changed from black to a combination of pink and purple.

As they opened the closets doors, expecting the, worst, they heard someone enter the room. For a moment they looked over their nearly empty closet, filled with the few girls clothes Maran still had left.

When they heard the heavy steps getting closer to them, they asked in a cold voice:"Why are you doing this?"

Castim put something down, Maran could hear a thump as he did so. They still hadn't turned around, they knew they would break down again the moment they saw him.

A few moments later, he placed his hands on Marans shoulders. The kids back tightened, a new wave of panic nearly drowning them. It was quiet for a few moments, counted out by shaking heartbeats.

"What are you gonna do this time?", Maran asked, their voice heavy with fear,"yell at me, punch me, lock me up? Give me the silent treatment? Kick me out of the flat?"

The kid was scared and angry, Castim had left for the better, so why did he come back?

Still not saying a single word, he wrapped his arms around Marans waist and picked them up. He took a few steps back, then shoved the kid towards the bed. They tripped and fell onto the sheets. Castim looked down at them, his cold dark eyes showing that he was disgusted.

"Stay right there", he demanded, then left the room. Maran didn't dare to move, their heart was racing and breaths shaky. Their eyes scanned the empty looking room, and they discovered a big bag that Castim had put down. Maran was worried as to what it contained, and the kid knew that they were going to find out very soon.

A few minutes later, their mother came into the room, something small in her hands. She sat down on the edge of the bed, so that Maran couldn't see the thing in her hands.