Hey, dudes! Here's another chapter of NCM for ya! Bill is starting to become really concerned about the way his little brother has been acting. And already suspects Rudy has something to do with it (Which he does). Today, he's gonna try and get to the bottom of it. But can he do it before Russell reaches his breaking point? Let's read and find out! Enjoy!
Warning: This chapter contains a very tough topic in the end. I won't spoil it for ya, but if you can't handle it, I suggest you turn back now...
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 6: A Brother's Concern
For the next few days, Russell has become quieter and more clingy to his brother than ever. And it was starting to worry Bill. Whenever Russell would meet up with the rest of the guys after school, he immediately went to Bill's side, not once letting ago unless he had to. At first, he figured Russell was still upset about the whole NCE thing... but with every passing day, it seemed to be more unlikely.
What was happening to his little brother?
Didn't help that he already had a suspect...
Rudy...
When Rudy offered to go get Russell for him on Tuesday, Bill was confused as to why but didn't question it. And then there was the fact that they took nearly an hour to come to the junkyard. What could have happened within that time to make them late?
And just yesterday, Rudy offered to get Russell again. And when they arrived at the junkyard, Russell had a black eye. Rudy explained that some guys were roughing him up, and he stepped in to save the day.
Everyone accepted that... except for Bill.
Now he was truly sure something was off.
He started to think of all the possibilities. Most of them he quickly debunked. But one possibility stuck to his mind...
Was Rudy... hurting Russell?
No. No way. That was impossible. After what happened this summer, Rudy wouldn't dare put his hands on the little guy. Not again. Besides, he was still taking Anger Management as far as Bill knew.
He wouldn't just suddenly start hurting Russell again... would he?
Well, he would never find out unless he looked into it. It was Saturday, and the gang was just lounging around in the junkyard. Once again, Russell was by Bill's side, holding on to his arm, not letting go at all.
"Man, am I bored...?" Donald groaned, "I wanna do something..."
"Yeah, after all that homework we got this week, I need a break and something to clear my head..." Harold added.
The boys started to think of what they could do, until Bill had a suggestion, if only for his brother's sake, "Hey, why don't we talk about our lives? Or what makes us happy?"
That suggestion got some questionable stares, but Albert spoke up, "Hey, hey, hey. I got something to say. I'm glad that the school year is going by so well. I mean, aside from the NCE stuff, which has died down pretty quickly."
"You're right, Fat Albert..." Rudy nodded, "I'm happy that mess has been taken care of. Aren't you... Russell?"
Bill felt his brother jump at the mention of his name. He looked down, and Russell quietly said, "Uh... yeah. I'm happy too..."
"Good... because it would be a shame if anything else happened..."
There went that calm, yet sinister looking face again. And it was directed right at Russell too. Bill was becoming more and more suspicious. Something was definitely up, he was sure of it. But to not sour the mood, he said nothing.
Mush had another idea. To play hide and seek. Albert would seek, while the rest would hide. Honestly, it felt weird to play a game meant for younger kids, but it brought them back to when they were younger and played the game.
While Albert counted, the other boys hide all over the junkyard. Russell, much to his dismay, ended up separated from Bill in the scramble to find a good hiding place. He could only hope he wasn't too far away.
The small child looked all over for a good place to hide until he came across an old car. Smiling, he headed straight for it... unaware of what was on the car. It wasn't until he jumped in and closed the door... and took a few moments to catch his breath... that he noticed it...
The initials... NCE... in red... spray painted all over the car. All of the windows and windshield. Russell began to hyperventilate, as suddenly, visions started to flash in his mind. Flashbacks... of how this whole thing started.
He remembered when he first said 'No Class Ever' to Rudy.
He remembered how Rudy brutally attacked him for it. Every punch, slap and kick.
He remembered the nightmares he had...
He remembered the lunch gone wrong...
He remembered the confrontation in the alley...
He remembered how Rudy saved his life...
And now... he's remembering Rudy's new moniker as, the 'No Class Monster...
It was all becoming TOO MUCH!
Feeling helpless... and feeling trapped... Russell screamed.
Albert had finished counting, he started to walk around, looking for his friends. In a short time, he found Mush, Donald, Rudy, and Harold. But as he walked by the old cars, he heard what sounded like muffled screaming. The large boy rounded a corner and saw the car that Russell was in. The tiny boy himself banging on the door.
Concerned, Albert ran over to open the door, and Russell came tumbling out, "Help me! Where's Bill?! I want Bill!" He whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. You're okay..." Albert assured his friend.
By then, the others heard the commotion and hurried over. The second he saw his brother, Russell ran straight for him, once again clinging to him tightly as he sobbed.
"Shh... I'm right here, Rus..." Bill soothed, picking up his brother and rocking him slightly, "What happened?"
"I think he was trying to hide in this car..." Albert explained, looking back to observe the graffiti vehicle.
"Hey. Someone spray painted it..." Bucky pointed out.
"I guess whoever it was, didn't get the memo from school," Harold added.
Donald nodded, "Yeah, I wonder who did it..."
Russell knew exactly who did it, but for his sake, he just buried his head in the crook of his brother's neck. He took a moment to look up and flinched. There was Rudy... giving the most sinister look he could give to the child. He turned away, now completely terrified.
Suddenly, the little boy started to wail uncontrollably, startling everyone around him (except for Rudy).
"Russell! Russell, shhhh! It's okay. I've got you, little man. You're fine." Bill tried to comfort his little brother, rubbing his back in a circular motion, "Calm down, please..."
But Russell's sobs refused to decrease. Bill was now extremely worried, as he turned to the others, "Sorry, dudes. I think we better split for home..." He said, "I just don't know what's wrong with him..."
"Take all the time you need..." Albert told him, "I think being in that car scared him."
Bill wanted to believe it was just that, but he still felt as if something more was up. He walked out of the junkyard, still carrying his distraught brother. It took a while, but Russell eventually calmed down by the time they reached home. Their parents were out of town for the weekend, so it was just the two of them.
Too bad, they could use some words of comfort.
He walked into the kitchen, and at Russell at a table, before going to the refrigerator to get a glass of cold water. "Here, Rus. Drink this..." He offered, handing the glass to his brother.
Russell gladly took it and began to drink slowly. As he did, a million thoughts were racing inside his head. He felt pathetic for crying like that in front of the dudes. But... it was because of the car... and Rudy giving him that look...
I can't get help... I can't tell anyone... He thought miserably, I can't even go to my own brother... or else Rudy will kill me... but honestly... I feel like I deserve this... if I hadn't said that 'No Class Ever' junk... he wouldn't be mad at me...
"You feeling a little better...?" Bill asked as he sat down beside him.
"A little..." Was Russell's response.
"... You wanna talk... I can tell stuff's on your mind..."
The boy shook his head, "No... I don't... I just wanna go to sleep... please."
Bill nodded, "Well, okay. But if you need anything, call me. And remember... you can always come to me, or Mom, or Dad, whenever you have something you wanna talk about. Okay?"
"Okay..."
With that, Russell trudged to his room to take a nap. Bill watched with concern. He knew Russell was hiding something, and he didn't want to say anything about it. But Bill wasn't worried about that. Because now, he was going to try and get to the bottom of this himself.
With what he had in mind, he hated to leave Russell all alone in the house. But he wouldn't be gone long.
So, a few hours later, after making sure Russell was safe and asleep, the eldest brother was about to walk out, when the doorbell rang. He opened it, to reveal Albert.
"Hey, hey, hey. Is Russell doing okay?" He asked.
"Fine... he's been sleeping for a while. But he's calm..." Bill replied, "Listen, Fat Albert. Have you noticed anything off about my brother? You notice how... strange he's been acting."
Albert nodded, "Come to think of it. He's not as talkative and spirited as he usually is. You think it's because of the No Class Ever stuff that happened at school...?"
The Cosby boy allowed his friend to enter his home, making sure no one was watching outside before closing the door.
"That's what I want to think. But the school put an end to that." Bill explained This all started afterward. When I went to go get Russell on Monday, and his nose was bloody. Then the next day, Rudy offers to go get him for me, and they take nearly an hour to come to the junkyard. Russell starts to cling to me like a baby. And just yesterday, Rudy does it again, and Russell comes back with a black eye. And just today, when Rudy called his name, I felt him jump like he was scared. Don't you think that's weird?"
Albert started to think, before nodding again, "That is rather strange. Now that you mention it, it sounds like stuff is going on behind the scenes, but Russell isn't telling you..."
"Yeah... and you know what else I think?"
"What?"
"That Rudy is behind all of this."
"I was thinking the same thing. But I don't know if it really is him."
Bill frowned deeply, "Think about it. The fact that Rudy even offered to pick up my brother for me, is just odd. He would never do that, not for Russell. And when Russell came back with that black eye, Rudy says it's because some older dudes were picking on him, and Rudy came in to save him. I don't believe that for one second."
"So what you're saying is... Rudy might be hurting Russell... again...?" Albert asked in shock.
"That's the way it's been looking. Unfortunately."
The large boy shook his head, "I don't understand why Rudy would be hurting him again. I thought after what happened this summer, they were getting along better. This doesn't add up."
Bill nodded, "Yeah, you're right. And I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. I'm gonna find out what Rudy's up to, and if he is hurting my brother, he's a dead man..."
"Hold on, Bill. Don't go stooping low. I understand you wanna help your brother, but you won't solve anything by violence..." Albert warned him.
"I know. I'm not like that. But you can't expect me to stand back and let Rudy get away with this either. I'm not gonna hold back."
Albert had a bad feeling about this. If Bill wasn't thinking clearly, he could get into serious trouble...
A little later, Albert left. And after Bill yet again made sure his brother was safe, he was finally able to walk out and down the street. It was almost time for sunset, so the other dudes should be heading home by now. He continued to walk until he spotted the person he was looking for...
Rudy.
Bill remembered to keep himself well hidden, as he watched the rich boy walk home. Quietly, he began to follow him, hoping to find any answers. He knew Rudy had something to do with his brother.
"What are you hiding, Rudy...?"
As he continued to follow him, he saw Rudy slip into an alleyway. Curious and confused, Bill followed suit, hiding behind a trash bin, and watching the rich boy... in whatever he was doing.
Rudy looked around to make sure no one was watching, before taking out the kitchen knife. Bill was surprised. Where in the world did he get a knife that large? A restaurant?"
"That little shrimp is scared stiff. This worked out better than I thought.." He heard Rudy chuckle, "Now, he'll understand the humiliation I suffered... perhaps on Monday, I'll ask Bill if I can go get Russell for him again, and this time, I'll keep him longer..."
Bill couldn't believe what he was hearing. The more he heard, the angrier he got. Part of him wanted to go and beat Rudy down right then and there. But the other part wanted him to stay hidden, fearing that he did try to fight Rudy... something was telling him he wouldn't win.
And he remembered what Albert told him. Stooping down to Rudy's level wasn't going to help. Not to mention the last time he faced off against Rudy... he ended up in the hospital...
For now, all he could do was listen to Rudy speak, "Maybe I'll actually use this knife on the little runt. Just to remind him who's boss..."
I'd like to show you who's the boss, Rudy... Bill thought bitterly.
After debating with himself on what he wanted to do, Bill eventually left the alley, as to not be seen by Rudy. He proceeded to walk home, a million thoughts racing through his head. His fears were confirmed. Rudy really was hurting Russell. But... how long has then been going on?
The teen thought back to when Russell had a bloody nose. He initially thought his brother had simply fallen... but he was bleeding a lot. No simple fall would cause that much damage. So Rudy must have punched him.
And he must have given him that black eye too.
No wonder he's been asking to get Russell from the elementary section of the school.
"That... that... that no class jerk!"
Bill clenched his fists. How was he going to deal with this? Should he tell Albert and the gang? Should he talk to Russell? Should he confront Rudy himself to find out WHY?
... The latter seemed to be the best thing. He would talk to him on Monday. But for now... he needed to get back home to check on his little brother. Once he reached the house, Bill immediately went to Russell's room... only to find that he wasn't there...
"Rus?"
He then heard water running. Russell must be in the bathroom. Bill walked towards it and carefully opened the door, "Rus-"
The older Cosby boy stopped in his tracks when he saw something terrifying.
Russell sitting on the toilet, looking at his brother with a petrified look. The sleeves on his coat were rolled up... and Bill spotted at least five red dripping lines on each arm. And in Russell's right hand... a small pocket knife.
"R-R-Russell... w-w-what are you doing...?"
And there goes the heavy topic I mentioned at the beginning. Poor Russell has been suffered a lot in a short amount of time. Bill found out what Rudy's been doing, and is planning to confront him about it. But for now, he needs to tend to his little brother, which we'll see next chapter. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And don't forget to review, please. Thank you.