What Happened in Winter [boyxboy]

Chapter Fourteen

River POV

River was greeted at the front door with a firm fist around his throat. He kept still, opening his eyes slightly, gazing into the nasty soulless eyes of his step-father. River's ears started to ring and his vision was going fuzzy.

"Where were you yesterday, son," his step-father intoned poisonously. River swallowed loudly and choked out, "Can't really say anything with your hand on my neck." He laughed to himself, remembering how Kyle had tried to kill him in this same way last night.

River's step-father kept one hand around his step-son's throat and used the other to punch him hard in the eye. River didn't make a sound, but fell to the carpeted floor, holding a hand to his eye socket.

"You know better than to laugh at me. GET UP!" River's step father yanked him up by the crook of his elbow and punched River in the gut, causing him to slam against the hard iron front door. He sucked in a breath and wobbled on his feet, but he refused to fall again.

River choked on his inhale when he saw his mom run from Willow's room. She was waving her arms in the air, begging for her husband to stop, while River's younger sister peeked from behind her bedroom door. Her big mismatched eyes filled with dread, her short black hair framing her tiny face.

"Stop, Don. Stop!" Magnolia yelled at her husband, making the mistake of grabbing his arm before he punched River again.

"GET OFF ME, BITCH!" He screamed and flung her backwards. She fell on her behind and cowered away from him. She looked past her husband to her son, who darted his eyes to Willow's room and made a quick movement with his fingers, indicating to lock it.

Magnolia took the chance and scuttled into her daughter's room, the lock quietly clicking behind her. Obviously, Don was too enveloped in his rage to notice the sudden disappearance of his wife. River's step-father pressed his index finger into River's chest and said, "Stay out of my way. And come home on time." He spit in his step-son's face and River had to fight down his rage, compressing it and shoving it deep in his mind.

He slipped from between the door and his step-father, quickly making it to his room and locking the door behind him. River crawled on to his bed and grabbed a couple pillows and a blanket, pressed them over his face, and laughed as hard and hysterically as possible. The sound ripped out of him savagely, uncontrollable. Eventually, his laughs became screams. He could feel his voice cracking repeatedly, the sound making his esophagus raw. Tears bloomed in his eyes and quickly streamed down his face, making the pillows feel like he was drowning.

I can't breathe I can't breathe I can't breathe I can't breath
I CAN'T BREATHE-

River ripped the pillows and blankets from his face and breathed heavily, staring blankly at the tear-stained spot in front of him. His heart was threatening to beat out of his chest and his lungs would be the second organ to burst forth from his body. He collapsed back down on his bed and let a couple more tears escape before he whispered, "I wish I could just die with no repercussions."

Craft POV

As senior class president, Craft had access to every student's phone number. Of course, he didn't save all of those numbers, but when he had gotten the email of River Tollis's information, Craft didn't hesitate to save his phone number. Why, he wasn't sure, but he had done it anyway.

His thumbs hovered over his phone screen as he thought what to type, the cursor blinking incessantly at him.

'Hey, this is Craft,' he typed and sent before he could think about it too much. He turned his phone screen off and buried his face in his hands. What was he doing? He was perfectly satisfied with the friends he already had. Why was he actually making an effort with River? They had established a friendship, so why would it be weird to text him? Craft sighed. He was digging into this too deep.