Chapter five

Lucas painfully got up from his position on the floor. His whole body was aching and he couldn't stop shaking, no matter how hard he tried. Tears flooded down his face, but still Lucas didn't make a sound. With renewed energy, Lucas suddenly stood up slowly, his body protesting. Looking around the room, Lucas saw the mess that Leanne and Lawrence had made with the cans and the cigarettes and he paled for he knew just who was going to get the blame for their mess. Hurrying around as fast as he could, (which wasn't very fast at all) the boy quickly tidied up the room, making sure it was spotlessly clean. He eventually finished as his father came down the stairs and into the room.

"Well, you've finally done something useful in your life. Well done." Lawrence was smiling his evil smile as he turned to leave. "Oh and by the way, we're not going to be here for the next couple of days, we're visiting some friends but if you're good, then you can stay in the house, if not you're in the basement again." With that Lawrence left the room.

Lucas felt like he was going to cry again, but resisted the urge. It would only set his father off again, and who knows what might happen to him if he did. Lucas lay down on the sofa and soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

****

Lucas was so fast asleep that he didn't hear Lawrence call his name to tell him they were leaving, nor did he hear his father storm into the room until he had picked the youth up and thrown him across the room. Lucas cried out in pain, as his broken body hit the wall with a tremendous thud.

"When I call your name, even whisper it, I want you to come running. Get it?" Lucas nodded, scared out of his wits. "Good I hope so, for your sake," Lawrence concluded.

Lawrence headed towards the door and as he moved past Lucas, he suddenly hit the unoffending youth, making him fall out of the chair and onto the floor. With that, Lawrence left the house, leaving Lucas too scared to even move.

****

It had been quiet without Lawrence around for a few days, and Lucas had spent the time cleaning the house. It was a big house and it had five floors, including the attic and the basement. As Lucas explored for more hiding places, he was in awe of how big the place really was. His father had moved after his parents divorce, but Lucas had been there a couple of times when his mother was alive.

'Well at least I get to roam around the whole house, instead of just the basement,' Lucas thought grimly to himself.

Just then Lucas heard the sound of a front door slamming,

'Uh oh, they must have come back early,' Lucas thought as he dashed down the stairs as quick as his little legs could carry him. Then Lucas thought he could hear a familiar voice. Now sitting on the stairs, Lucas could just make out a figure of a man, talking with his father. The figure looked familiar, but as he had his back turned to Lucas, he couldn't quite see who it was.

"…He's not going, and that's final." Lawrence shouted.

"Why not?" The mystery man shouted.

"We're going out, aren't we, Lucas?" Lawrence said smugly, catching sight of the youth on the stairs. Lucas just nodded his head and the second man turned his head to face Lucas. It was Baz.

"Baz!" Lucas yelled, running pall-mall down the stairs, to greet his friend.

"Hello, kiddo!" Baz cried, picking the boy up and swinging him round. Lucas's face had lit up completely. "How've you been?"

"Good, did you get that e-mail I sent you? How's Matt is he OK? Are you OK?" Lucas gasped.

"Whoa, slow down there. Yes, I got the e-mail, and Matt and me are just fine. We're missing you, though." Baz smiled.

"I miss you, too." Lucas added, giving Baz a hug.

"You should come us and visit soon, I'm sure it'll cheer Matt up loads. He's a bit down in the dumps at the moment." Baz explained.

Lucas looked thoughtful for a moment, before saying,

"I know! I'll e-mail him a card. That should cheer him up." Lucas looked hopeful.

"Well you go and do that, while I chat to your father for a sec, ok?"

Lucas nodded his head, and ran off to the lounge, where the computer was. As he booted up the computer, Lucas listened to what Lawrence and Baz were talking about.

"…It's on next Friday, so that gives you nine days until you and Lucas's presence is required. I'll expect to see you both there." Baz sounded very official.

"Yeah ok. You win, as usual." Lawrence said in a dejected voice.

Baz left, slamming the door on the way out. Lawrence marched into the kitchen, where Lucas was happily setting up the computer.

"All right. I've had it with you."

Lucas looked up sharply at this comment, wondering what his father had planned for him. Lucas started to back away from the computer and ran into the hallway, to get away from whatever his father was planning, only to run straight into Leanne.

"AH! You little wretch! You hurt me. Wait until I tell your father about this, he'll know what to do with you." Leanne grabbed the boy by the scruff of his shirt, and dragged him into the kitchen. Lawrence turned around, furious.

"What's he done now?"

"He just ran into me, from out of nowhere and he really hurt my arm and he lathered my tights." Leanne explained, tears in her eyes.

"Oh really, we can't let you get away with that now, can we?" Lawrence said, with an evil gleam in his eye.

"No, we certainly can't. Oh. I'm going to have to change my tights now." With that Leanne stormed out of the room, in a huff.

"Well, well, well. Couldn't even stay out of trouble for one day." Lucas didn't even have a chance to duck the first punch, before it hit him, square in the stomach, making Lucas bend over in agony. Pulling Lucas up by his hair, Lawrence punched his son again, but this time he made sure that Lucas couldn't duck away. Lawrence continued to punch and kick the boy, until he was sure there wasn't a bone in his body that hadn't been kicked, and then dropped Lucas roughly onto the floor.

"I hope you've learned you're lesson, son." Lawrence laughed at the state of his son, lying on the floor before Leanne came in and announced it was time to go.

"Leave him alone, we'll miss our reservations. We can finish with him together, but when we get back." Leanne put her arms around Lawrence's waist and they both left, locking the front door behind them. Lucas meanwhile, fainted due to the amount of the pain he was in.

****

When Lucas awoke, it was just getting dark so he figured that he had been unconscious for a couple of hours at least.

"That's it, I've had enough. I can't take it any more." Lucas screamed to no one in particular. Getting up slowly, Lucas made a decision to run away. He headed out of the kitchen and through the hallway; there he unlocked the front door to freedom.

TBC…

Hopefully I should get the next chapter up and running soon, but until then…