Happy Sunday, my friends! It's time for yet another chapter of NCM. This may be the most emotional one yet. When we last left off, Bill was trying to figure out why Russell has been acting weird, and he finds out about Rudy. When he comes back home, he sees Russell cutting himself. This chapter takes place where the last chapter left off. Will Russell explain what's going on? Let's find out! Enjoy!

Warning: This chapter contains flashback of what can be seen as child abuse. If you can't handle that, I advise you to skip past that part. It'll be in italics.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7: What's been happening?

"Russell...?"

Bill tried to reach out towards his brother, but the little boy shrunk back, dropping the pocket knife, "B-B-Bill... I... I..." He whimpered, "Don't touch me..."

"Russell, what are doing cutting yourself?" Bill asked, "What's wrong...?"

The child gave his brother a pitiful look, "I... can't tell..."

"Sure you can. Look, I just got back after seeing Rudy-"

"YOU WHAT?! Russell stood up and glared at his brother, "You left me here all alone?! What if Rudy came here to attack me?! And why would you go anywhere near him?! He could have killed you! He could kill me! He's a psycho! He's..."

He covered his mouth, not meaning to say all of that. But after seeing the concerned look on Bill's face... Russell broke down.

Immediately, the older brother picked up his younger brother in a hug, carrying him out of the bathroom, and into his own room. He sat on his bed and rubbed Russell's back, trying to calm him down, "It's gonna be okay, Rus. Shhh... I got you... he won't hurt you again... not if I can help it..." He soothed.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He heard his brother whimper.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Because this is all my fault."

Bill was confused until Russell broke away to talk to him face to face, "It's my fault Rudy's been acting this way. That he's been hurting me. None of this would be happening if I had never said 'No Class Ever' to him this summer. Because of it, he's been getting shade and judgment from other people, while I've been getting love and encouragement. He feels humiliated... and I don't blame him..."

The little boy looked down and sniffed, "And you know what... I deserve this... if I had never said that 'No Class Ever' junk... he wouldn't be mad at me..."

"But Russell..."

"Maybe things would be better if I just died... then he would be happy..."

Bill was shocked that Russell would even think such things. Has Rudy scared him so much, that he's contemplating suicide?! "Russell, don't say things like that! None of this is your fault! Rudy's just being a jerk and overreacting. If he's hurting you because of his own feelings, then he's being petty. And I won't stand for him taking his frustrations out on you..."

Russell sobbed a little more, "I'm scared, Bill... if he finds out that you know... he said that he would cut me up... and make you watch... he can't know... please..."

"Rus. I can't just stand around and let him hurt you like this! I don't care. I'll throw every bit of hands I can until he gets the message. On Monday, I'll... try to reason with him, to make sure this doesn't happen anymore... but I need to know... what happened on Tuesday... when he first asked to come to get you..."

The small child frowned deeply before he started to remove his coat and shirt, before turning around to show Bill something on his back. What he saw horrified and infuriated him...

It was hard to see at first, but on closer inspection, Bill noticed what was there... several whelk marks... with small cuts on each one. The marks themselves look like the size of a belt at least. Could Rudy have? Did he...? He couldn't have...

"Rus... did he..?"

"He beat me..." The boy whimpered, more tears falling, "He beat me bad..."

Russell was thrown to the floor of that room. He looked up in fear as Rudy closed the door and locked it. Russell wanted to call for help, but he couldn't, in fear of what Rudy would do to him. Besides, it would have not done any good. From what he knew, hardly anybody came on that floor, let alone this room. Nobody would be there to hear him...

"Alright, shrimp. Time for your punishment times two." Rudy announced with an evil smirk.

"Times two?" Russell was confused.

"For being late, and for ripping up my picture."

Russell's eyes then widened as he saw Rudy go for his belt, unbuckling it. Immediately, he shouted, "NOOOO! NO! NO! NO! Don't do THAT! Anything but that! PLEASE!"

The teen rolled his eyes, "You idiot. I'm not gonna do that. I'm not that cruel... now I want you to take off your coat, scarf, and shirt."

But Russell didn't move, until Rudy slapped him, "I said TAKE THEM OFF! I'm not gonna do what you think I'm gonna do!"

Having no other choice, the small child began to slowly remove his winter coat, yellow scarf, and shirt underneath. He trembled as he did, before shivering at the sudden coldness. He stood before Rudy, shirtless and embarrassed. Rudy chuckled, "Good... now, leaned up against the wall, back facing towards me.

Again, Russell did as told, with little to no hesitation. He put his hands against the wall before he felt Rudy grab his wrists and tie them up with rope, confusing him.

"To make sure you don't try to block me..."

Huh?

Suddenly, the child felt his scarf being wrapped around his mouth, muffling him, "To make sure you don't scream too loud or call for help... and so help me, if you try to move or try to escape, this will be worse than it already is!"

Russell whimpered and braced himself for whatever was going to happen to him.

SLAP!

He suddenly felt a hard strike to his back. The little boy let out a scream that was muffled by his scarf. He turned his head slightly to see Rudy holding his belt in his hand before he winded up his arm again. Russell looked away as another strike hit him.

Over and over, he was struck with the belt. He screamed and cried, and the more he did that, the more it delighted Rudy. After about five minutes, he stopped, feeling as if he had done enough. He would have liked to have gone on longer, but he knew that Russell's brother and the others would be wondering where they were.

The teen looked down at Russell, whose legs had given out and he was on the floor, sobbing in pain, "Don't move..." He ordered, before leaving out the room. Another minute later, Rudy came back with a wet washcloth. He walked back to Russell, got on his knees, and began to dab at the little boy's back. During the whipping, a few spots opened up, and blood was slowly dripping.

The last thing he needed was anybody to see that.

And... it was about the only type of kindness he was willing to show to Russell right now.

"We're about to head to the junkyard. Your brother is probably wondering where you are... and when we get there... you better not say a single word. At all. Got it, shrimp?!" He sneered.

As he sobbed, Russell nodded.

Rudy smirked, "Splendid. Now get up and get dressed. Can't waste any more time. You won't be ripping up my pictures or being late again, will you...?" He asked as he removed the scarf so Russell could speak.

"N-N-N-No..."

"Good..."

As Russell put his coat back on, Rudy grabbed his arm, the one he bit, and looked at the mark. It was trying to heal. With a sick grin, Rudy picked at the scab, ripping it off as blood oozed out slowly. Russell screamed, "No! Why?!"

"Just felt like it. Now hurry up..."

"Okay, okay..."

Back in the present, Russell was looking at the bite marks on his arm. Bill was beyond outraged at this point. So not only has Rudy been hurting his little brother all this time, he had the nerve to beat him with his belt, and before that, bite him! He wanted to go off right then and there, but for the sake of Russell, he kept calm and hugged him.

"I really feel like this is my fault. I'm always mouthing off to Rudy. And this time... I'm paying for it..." He sniffed, "Things like this can be prevented... but I just keep going and going... never stopping. Now, look what's happening..."

"No, Russell... it's not your fault..." Bill assured him, "Rudy is just being a big baby. He just can't take a joke or insult. He always has to overreact. But that doesn't mean he has to take it out on you..."

"I'm so scared..."

"It'll be okay, Rus. I'll get him for this. He won't get away with hurting you like this! I'll make him regret it."

"B-B-But... he might..."

"He ain't gonna do nothing to me. Not if I can help it..."

To be honest, Bill wasn't so sure if going up against Rudy would be the best idea. Again, the last time he did that, he ended up in the hospital. Though, that was because Rudy had a shovel, thus having a better advantage. Not even Bill's baseball bat was effective.

All I have to do is talk to himself. That's all. No need to get physical... unless it's for self-defense. Don't worry, Rus. I got your back. This madness is gonna be put to an end... one way or another...

So there you have it. Bill knows the truth. Russell is scared and tells him what happened on Tuesday. And now Bill is determined to knock some sense into Rudy. Which is what next chapter will be about. The confrontation. Will it work in Bill's favor, or does Rudy have more up his sleeves? You'll have to wait and see. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And don't forget to review, please. Thank you!