It was a week after he had been thrown in jail. One week, Carl mussed, and the boy already tried to escape. He's not surprised though. Someone of his age that's used to going anywhere now being confined in a small jail cell spells trouble. When he arrives at the jail cell that Frank is currently being held in, he opens the door and is surprised to see the strong willed boy he once knew, sort of, huddled up in a tight ball in the far corner of the cell. He can almost immediately tell that somethings wrong with the kid.
"Hey Frank," Carl says lightly. He gets no response. "Whats wrong?" Frank lifts his head slightly and Carl's heart breaks. There's bruises all over Franks face and neck, some fresh others older. Carl suspects there's other bruises that are covered by clothing. "Oh my god Frank, what happened?" He mutters something under his breath that Carl can't understand.
"I'm fine," he says suddenly then ducks his head again so the bruises are out of Carl's sight.
"No you're not," the firmness in Carl's voice startles Frank as he looks up again. "What happened and who did this to you?" Carl walks over and kneels in front of Frank who stares directly back at him.
"The guards. I deserve it though." This shocks Carl the most. The over confident boy he arrested a week ago is nothing like the one that sits before him now. This boy is broken and hopeless. But if he's so broken...
"Why did you try to run Frank?" One tear streaks down the frail boys face.
"They hurt me." It's in times like these that Carl realizes how vulnerable Frank feels. He never felt comfortable being himself and it shows. He can't stop the tears from flowing now and the more he tries to stop them the more they fall. Carl bring the boy in for a hug and Frank sobs onto his shirt, but Carl doesn't mind.
"Kid, I'm so sorry." Carl can't help but feel guilty. It's his fault that the kid is in so much pain.
"Carl... I... Can I tell you something?" He nods his head and waits a few seconds in anticipation. "The guard... He... He forced himself on me." The first thing Carl can register is shock. Then comes the overwhelming anger.
"He raped you?" Frank nods his head slightly and the tears flow down his face faster. Carl stands up and whips out his phone. After a while of talking to the higher-ups he puts his phone away. "Come on we're leaving." The shock is clear on Franks face. "I'll explain when we get on the airplane." Carl doesn't even hand-cuff Frank as he opens the door and guides the frighted shell-shocked boy out of the room. Guard try to stop Carl but he just waves them away.
Once on the privet plane that the office let him use from time to time he wrapped Frank in another hug. "I'm so sorry kid. This is all my fault."
"Why would it be your fault?" They sit down on two chairs and seat belt themselves for takeoff.
"I arrested you. I was the one that brought you there."
"But your the one that got me out. That cared enough to come. My... My dads dead and my Mom hasn't been to see me once, she doesn't care about me. But you came to see me."
"You're like the son I never had Frank. Of course I care about you." Frank goes silent ad thinks for a while.
"This isn't the first time."
"What?" Carl asks confused.
"When I was 14 I was raped. In jail wasn't the fist time." Carl immediately wraps a protective arm around the boy. "My dad and one of his friends were really drunk and then when they ran out of beers my dad decided to go to the store and get some more. It was just me and my dads friend in the house... I never told anyone." He buries his face in Carl's shirt.
"It happened to me to kid." At that Frank looks up. "My dad took me to a party at a bar and then left me all by myself. I was frightened and scared. Never even saw it coming."
"Where re we going?" Carl explains that they're going to the city the he lives in and will be kept in a jail close to his house. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"I wanna keep an eye on you kid. You matter to me." Frank had never heard that before.
"Thank you Carl."
"Anytime, kid. Anytime."