Break the Rules!

Laughing and Crying

Maran tried to back off, but they were already at the far end of the sofa. The kid didn't dare to say a thing. William stood up, then pulled the kid up by their hair.

The kid whined quietly. He just stood there, looking at the kid for a while. They still wore the shirt Christen had brought them and the dress pants from their uniform. Their grey eyes were filled with tears and he could see the brown roots of the kids hair underneath the purple fluff of hair.

Staring at his shirt, the kid felt his gaze upon them. He suddenly pulled them towards the door that led to what seemed to be the only bedroom.

William pushed them down into the chair and picked up a knife from the table. The kids eyes widened, as he stepped towards them. He looked them down again, then sighed.

"Take off the bandages", he demanded. The man seemed bored.

The kid unwrapped their hands first, which caused them some trouble, then they unbuttoned the shirt and took off the bandages around their shoulder. Then they stopped.

"Are you done?", William asked. He sounded somewhat excited. The kid seemed to think of something important, then they took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think I'm done", they replied carefully, as they closed their borrowed shirt again. The kid was scared and nervous, they didn't know what was going to happen next.

And they weren't going to find out for quite a while, the doorbell rang. William threw the knife back on the table.

"You're coming with me. And I swear, if those are kids trying to get candy, I'll lose it", he ordered. Maran nodded and stood up.

As the purple guy opened the door, Maran had to hold back a laugh. Outside were two men, dressed up in the cheapest looking cop-costumes ever.

"William?", one of the guys asked. His voice was calm, and Maran froze in terror. Those were real policemen. They could help the kid!

William looked at them for a bit then replied:"Who's that?" Maran noticed the sly grin he was trying to hide.

The policeman rolled his eyes, then held his hand out for Maran. "Come here kid, someone called and said you were missing."

Before the kid could move even a muscle, William smiled down at them and said:"Darling, tell your mother I'll be right back. I think the nice men are confused."

Maran was confused too, the man had absolutely no trouble lying. William shoved them back a bit, then he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

The kid put their ear on the door. William was sending them away. The men were confused, but he was a pretty convincing liar. As the officers left, Maran took a few steps back. A moment later William came inside again.

As soon as the door closed, he grabbed Maran by the throat, lifting them up a bit. "Who told them?", he growled.

Maran's eyes met his. They didn't tear up, but they were shocked. William repeated himself, this time he yelled.

As the kid still didn't manage a sound, he pushed them back into the other room and slammed the door shut.

"Sit", he demanded and pointed at the chair. Maran did as told, and William continued:"I am asking you one more time: Who told them?" His voice was cold and filled with hatred.

"I don't know", Maran mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I don't know!"

A moment later, William slapped them. The kid whipped away their tears.

"Then think. Who could have told them?", he ordered harshly.

Maran didn't say a word. The man picked up the knife again. He claimed:"Fine then, we'll do this my way."

A few minutes later, Maran was basically covered in blood. They had cuts on their arms and legs, a big one on their left cheek and their hands and shoulder were bleeding again.

"So, who could have told them?", William asked, taking a slow step back. His hands had some blood on them, but other than that he was clean.

The kid's breaths were uncontrollably, their heart was beating fast. Their throat hurt and they had tears running down their cheeks. Maran tried to stand up, but their legs felt rubbery and soft. William caught them before they could hit the floor, then sat the kid down again.

He softly placed his right hand around the kids throat and demanded:"Now!"

Maran swallowed a whine and whined:"I don't know that many people that would care. Could have been Mike, Emem, Cecile or Christen! Maybe even Nathalie or Ivey. But I can't think of anyone else!" Their voice was desperate, and the kid didn't dare to look at William.

He crouched down in front of them. William locked eyes with the shaking kid, then said:"I will give you something, and you'll do as I tell you. Understood?" Maran tried to escape from his gaze, and quickly nodded.

William stood up and reached for the desk. Then he handed Maran their phone.

"But.. you broke it?", Maran asked, their voice scratching and filled with pain and fear.

"No, I broke the other one, the crack you heard was just the screen.", the man answered, he sounded impatient, as if there was something he wanted to do but couldn't yet.

"What... what do you want me to do with this?", Maran stuttered.

"Call Emem. Ask her if she called the police."

Maran looked at him with big eyes. They opened their mouth to talk back, as William slammed his hand onto the table. "Now!", he yelled.

The kid quickly unlocked their phone and typed in Emem's number. "Put it on speaker", William ordered after the kid dialled. Maran did as told, and just a moment later, their friend picked up.

"Maran, I thought you're phone broke! Are you ok? Where the fuck are you?", Emem said immediately after picking up.

"Hi... Emem, please tell me, did you call the police? It's important", Maran pleaded. Their voice sounded desperate, which made Emem even more worried.

"Where the fuck are you? Is that asshole there with you?", she demanded to know.

William shot the kid an angry look. So they just said:"Tell me, it's important!"

"I asked you first!"

"Emem, I don't care who called them, tell them they were right, I-", Maran quickly started. Before the kid could finish, William snatched the phone out of their hands.

"Not a wise decision", he growled. Emem was going to say something too, as the man broke the phone apart, this time it was broken without a doubt.

A quiet sob crossed Marans lips, as William leaned in and opened the buttons of their shirt.

Placing a long, deep cut right across their stomach, he said:"That was a very dumb thing to do darling."

Maran grew dizzy as he continued to draw bloody lines across their body. All that Maran could see was a blur of red and purple.

"It's ok William", they said quietly, their voice growing weak,"what happened is ok."