Year Five- Chapter 29- Bad Blood
Koschei looked at Theta, who hadn't spoken a word in hours. The older boy wanted to try to speak comforting words, or at least tell him that he was sorry for calling the men to investigate Epsilon. The longer he stared at Theta, though, the more he found that he could not think of the words to say. He wasn't really sorry. He wasn't really concerned about his own actions in the slightest. Every time he constructed a thought, he tore it down, sure that Theta would take offense to it, or simply hate him more. The tension between the two was almost tangible.
Theta, on the other hand, was numbly staring at the floor with an expression of general disinterest. He wasn't concerned that the tile was cracked on the corner, or that it wasn't even a perfect square. No, he was worried about the voices he heard coming from the room over. Where Mekail and another man on the high council were arguing over what was to be done with the young boy. He was scared, so scared that he couldn't move from where he was. His hands were balled tightly on his lap, his head was bowed.
"I'm sorry," Koschei lied to break the heavy silence. It was suffocating, and even a hollow lie was worth speaking to fix it. "I just wanted him to get what was coming to him. And hopefully he would get put in jail, and I thought that…"
Theta's head snapped up from the position that he was in. His eyes were aflame with anger and panic. "Did you once think of me?" he demanded through his teeth. "Did it ever occur to you that this would hurt me?" The small boy scowled.
"I was watching out for you! He did that to you! Not me!" Koschei shot back, standing up quickly to defend himself. There was nothing that he wanted more than to do the same to Epsilon, as the man had done to his son. He was furious. He was furious for Theta.
Theta's neck muscles tightened and his jaw clamped shut. His eyes went back to the not-quite-square of the tile. "Yeah, but I never trusted him." The words came out bitterly soft. Koschei felt the pain in each of the words.
"What did I do to betray you? I just want you to be safe, Theta," Koschei said, calming down. "I just want you to be okay. Look at your arms. And your chest. I couldn't just let him get away with that! You don't deserve that! And the worst part is-you listen to him. You believe everything the bastard tells you."
"You don't know anything! You're taken care of and everything! Your parents feed you and love you! How do you know what I'm going through? How can you act like you care?"
"Because you're the closest thing to a friend I've ever had!"
Theta, who had a biting remark fully prepared and on the tip of his tongue, stopped suddenly. He blinked once. Twice. "What… What about Ushas?" he asked softly.
"She's more like a sister to me than a friend," Koschei admitted. He looked at his feet, a blush rising to his cheeks. "You're nicer to me than most people. And you don't constantly make fun of the… you know…" He tapped the beat of four against his leg, still not maintaining eye contact. "So, yeah. I can care about you, okay?"
"I'm… I'm sorry. I called you crazy."
"It's okay. You're not the first." Koschei gave a small, uncomfortable laugh.
"But that doesn't make it okay. I hurt you." Theta looked up at Koschei. "You know that. I'm sorry."
Koschei was about to say that it was all okay, but Callia opened the door to the room. She looked utterly furious. She grabbed Koschei's arm and hauled him closer to her, slamming the door behind her with the heel of her foot.
"Koschei Mekail!" she shouted, glaring at her son with the anger that only a mother could muster.
"What?" Koschei demanded, pulling back from his mother.
"Did you send that message box?" Koschei looked her in the eyes and shook his head.
"No, Mom! I didn't! I swear!"
Theta's eyes grew wide as he listened to his friend lie to his mother. Koschei had no expression resembling remorse on his face. He looked completely innocent. Koschei had just admitted that he had done it for Theta, but he lied to his mother with no qualms.
"I know you better than to believe that. Now you listen closely." Callia bent down slightly so that she was on the same level as her son. "I know that you're lying. Now, tell me what happened."
The boy looked at his mother. His eyes were empty as his lips moved. "I did it for Theta."
"Callia, Koschei needs to be put somewhere. It's not safe for him to be in school with other kids," Mekail said, looking at his wife. He was ill at ease; his hands were knotted behind his back, his gaze was narrowed. "I know what you're thinking. But listen, this isn't something that we can pretend didn't happen."
"Mekail, he is our son!"
"He is our son, but he is a psychopath."
Next Chapter: Philosophy
AN: I love you all! Thanks for reading! Sorry it's short, but next week it'll be a nice long update because I don't have classes.
