Chapter 4

What the hell just happened? His father has clearly been a bit too enthusiastic with the beatings lately, be course he is clearly concussed. Or, better yet, he's in a coma. That would be a better explanation for what just happened. For obviously, there is no other way that a Jägerbar – Barry – would give him a present – an expensive one no less, or do…what he…did…

He flushed. A slight breeze caressed him, reminding him that he was still outside, half naked where anyone could see him. He quickly hurried back inside, made sure the door was locked and went back to his room. For a long time, he just sat on his bed with his gift nestled in his hands. He hadn't dared to take the violin out of its case yet. He wasn't worthy to touch such beautiful art. So he sat and looked at it in stunned awe.

*CRASH* "WHAT THE HELL BOY!" Roddy snapped out of his haze of absolute worship. Ephraim was home. He quickly went through his mental list of things to do. He had done them all. Or, at least he thinks he has. His father's thundering footsteps are coming nearer. Roddy stands up and looks around frantically. The wood of the violin case burns in his hands. A hiding place. He needs a hiding place. He doesn't really have any time at all, so he shoves it under his bed, praying that his father won't notice it.

Roddy barely had time to stand up straight, when something hard hits him in the back of the head, coursing him to fall down on his bed – face first. He turns around and sees his schoolbag laying innocently on the floor. The hard hit to the back of his head has left him slightly disoriented, and before he can make much sense of anything, a searing white hot pain spreads through his back and cuts through his slightly concussed haze. He recognizes it as the feeling of being hit with his father's belt.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE A MESS BEHIND!" Ephraim was furious. "Stand up straight when I'm talking to you boy!" Roddy contemplates staying face down on the bed, for he knows that nothing good ever comes out of being face to face with his father in these situations, but he also knows that disobeying an order is just as bad – if not worse – so he moves as fast as he can to comply with the order. His father raises his arm to hit him with the folded up belt, but when he sees Roddy flinching before steeling himself for the painful blow, he lowers his arm.

With his left hand he grasp Roddy's jaw and forces him to look him in the eye. His grip is gentle. His eyes strange and his voice soft – almost pleading. The fear freezes Roddy to the spot. This is so much worse than a regular beating. "Why do have to be so careless all the time? You know I get angry when you're careless… sigh… I could have really gotten hurt when I tripped over your bag son – really hurt. Now, I know that you didn't mean to leave it laying there. I know that you don't want to hurt your old man… or do you.." Ephraim's grip became painfully hard, his eyes filled with rage. "That was the plan wasn't it. WASN'T IT!" The blow that Ephraim held back before hit Roddy on the side of the head. That was a new one: Ephraim had never taken a belt to Roddy's head before, let alone his face. Roddy crumbled to the floor and went into fetal position as Ephraim kept raining blow after blow down upon him.

After Roddy had been reduced to a bleeding mess, Ephraim finally stopped and knelt down beside Roddy. He gently lifted Roddy's chin. "You look so much like your mother. So, why can't you act more like her?". He send his son one last strange look before he walked out of Roddy's bedroom, out of the trailer and drove away.

It wasn't long after that, that Roddy succumbed to the darkness.

Roddy didn't regain consciousness until his alarm went off. Time for school – oh joy. He slowly got to his feet and dragged his way to the small bathroom. First thing first was to assess the damage done and clean it – he may be Wessen but that doesn't mean that he should take any chances when it comes to possible infections.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and cursed. He had only received that one hit with the belt to his face, but it had left a huge welt behind. No way would he be able to cover this up. And from what he could see, his body wasn't looking any better – quite the contrary. But then again, when you are covered in dried blood, everything always looks worse than it is. He finished undressing and went into the shower. He hissed in pain when the hot sprays hit him. He gritted his teeth, took the soap and laboriously cleaned his body, while paying extra attention to all the numerous places that hurt. When he was done he walked back into his room to get dressed. When he moved toward his bed to grab his bag his eyes were inadvertently drawn to the dried blood on the floor and the blood spatter on the bed linen. He would have to clean that when he got home. He knelt down and reached under the bed and drew out his new violin. Miraculously it was blood-free. He reverently caressed the smooth wood of the case while his thoughts reverted back on the Jägerbar. Why would he give him such a precious gift? His fingers gently touched his lips. Could it be….NO, the predator was merely playing some sick game. But the way he had looked at Roddy, like he was something precious…. Suddenly the look the Jägerbar had given him morphed into that of his father. Roddy shuddered. His father had looked at him like that a few times over the years, and it never failed to give him the creeps, though he could never put his finger on why. He hid the violin in his closet under some clothes. He knew, that hiding all things in the same place is a terrible idea, but he could think of nowhere else.

It was going to be hell getting to school. His bag was heavy and there was no way that he could carry it on his back, and he had to carry his borrowed violin as well. He seriously contemplated staying away. He would never be able to get there on time, he needed to come up with a plausible explanation for the welt on the left side of his face and to top it off, he hadn't been able to do his homework. Two days of not doing your homework is not a good thing when you are on a scholarship. But he had to go to school. Being absent too often isn't good for a scholarship student either.

When he walked outside he noticed the car. It was the same sleek expensive car that the Jägerbar had been driving in. And, it was empty. He frantically spun around, trying to locate the predator but to no avail. His fear started to rise higher and higher, when…

"Hey."

Roddy spun around only to come face to face with the Jägerbar. His fear escalated and he was about to turn around and run, when the Jägerbar grabbed his arm and effectively prevented his escape. The Jägerbar then proceeded to take his bag from his numb fingers. "Come on. I'll drive you to school." He led Roddy to his car, opened the door to the backseat and threw the bag inside. He then plucked the violin from Roddy's frozen grasp and placed it beside the bag and closed the door. He proceeded to lead Roddy to the passenger seat, opened the door, and waited for Roddy to go in.

"Well, come on. If we don't leave soon, you're going to be late."

Roddy looked up at the other Wessen. He really didn't want to go anywhere with a predator, but he was so tired. With all that had happened in the last few days, all the emotional turmoil, he just couldn't stand the thought of getting in trouble with the school. So he dejectedly went into the car.