Chapter 6

Mail practically jumped out of the car as soon as L came to a stop in front of his house. " Stay here " he called over his shoulder at L. He quickly ran up the stairs and into the house. " Mom? " The living room lights were on. So were the ones in the kitchen. But the house was completely quiet, and still. " Mom?! " He called again, louder this time. He slowly made his way through the house, up the stairs. The first place he could think of to look for his mother was in her bedroom.

As he got closer, he could hear the voice that never failed to scare the shit out of him. It was deep and gruff. The voice of his father. He froze just outside the door. " Tell me the truth! Did you or did you not call the police?! " His father, -Alessandro- shouted. " N-no!..I didn't! I called Mail! " his mother. Mail bit his lip. That was his mother in there. But he couldn't find the strength to move. Instead, he remained rooted to the spot, listening.

" I swear, it was Mail! not the police! " she repeated. There was the sound of Alessandro's hand colliding harshly with the side of his mothers face, and the sound of his mothers yelp of pain. Mail's eyes started to tear up. But he still couldn't even move. He was too scared. His father had once again succeeded in scaring the shit out of him. And he hadn't even seen him yet. " Bullshit you bitch! Don't fuckin' lie to me! " he shouted. Another slap. Another yelp of pain. " Where is the little son of a bitch anyway?! " he shouted. His mother couldn't even talk. She was sobbing hysterically. Mail slowly inched the door open a little so he could at least see what was going on.

His mother was sitting on the floor up against the bed. She always went there to cry. Alessandro, was standing over her, with a hand full of her hair held tightly in his hand. " Answer me Sileena! "

" He's not here!...he's not here! he's with a friend! " she managed to shout. Sileena was clawing at her husbands hand, trying to pry his fingers away from her hair. " Tell him to get over here now then! "

" No!..leave him alone! "

Alessandro tugged at his wife's red hair harshly, lifting her to her feet in that tug. " Don't you dare tell me what to do woman!..I said get him here now! I'm his father, I have the right to see my own son! " Sileena only shook her head. Tears kept pouring down her cheeks. " You don't want to see him! you want to hurt him! " Alessandro backhanded her, and threw her to the floor. He brought his foot down on her stomach, keeping it there, but not really adding any sort of pressure. " We can argue all night, but we both know who's going to win. Either you do this the easy way, and call my son, or you lose my baby.." Mail's eyes went wide, He couldn't' help but gasp at that. His mother was pregnant. That was the reason for the odd behavior, and the constant throwing up in the mornings.

" A-Alessandro...y-you can't kill your own child.." Sileena's voice was growing weaker. One could only take so much abuse. " Would you like to place a bet? " A twisted smirk spread across Alessandro's face. He pressed his foot down gently. " No!..please don't!! "

" Then call my son! " he shouted pressing down harder. Sileena was desperately trying to shove his leg away, but to no avail. Mail had, had just about enough of this. There was a chance he could lose both his mother, and a baby brother or sister. All for not having the balls to show himself to his father. He took a deep breath, and shoved the door open. " I'm right here 'Dad' " he growled, glaring at the man for all he was worth.

Alessandro stepped away from his wife, and turned to look at his son. " How long have you been standing there boy? " Mail stayed glued to the spot. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so high and mighty.
" Long enough.."

" Mail..baby, leave..please just leave " his mother begged, slowly sitting up. " No mom, not without you " Mail kept his eyes on his father. Hoping his voice sounded convincing enough. Alessandro laughed.
" Listen to you. I've raised a brave young man.."

Mail narrowed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists. " You haven't raised anything, you jack ass! Why don't you leave before I call the cops! Half the city is looking for you!, I'm sure it will be no problem getting them over here quickly " he sneered. More laughter. " You have to reach the phone first.." Alessandro took a step forward, and Mail faltered back. " I have a cell phone " he said. His voice suddenly small, like a lost child.

" Do you? " He took another step, and this time Mail kept still. It was always like this. His instincts were telling him to stay put, or it would be a lot worse. That was the motto of his childhood. " Still a good obedient little boy I see " his father said smugly.

" Mail move!..god, please move! " But he couldn't. He was too scared to move. His eyes flickered down to Alessandro's hands, which were busy with removing his belt from the belt loops in his pants.
He knew what was coming. " Aless', just leave him alone! "

" Shut up and watch! Learn something from this kid of ours. Always the obedient one " Alessandro smirked, and cocked his head to the side. Mail quickly turned around. He placed his hands flat against the wall, and stood still. His father knew how to manipulate using fear. He was no exception. Even after a month of not seeing the man, he still couldn't help but obey.

Out of fear.

" Where's your cell phone then son? " Alessandro asked, sounding sincere. Mail didn't say anything. Fear, was a real bitch. He heard his father slap the belt against his own hand, and he jumped gasping. He closed his eyes tight, and placed his forehead against the wall, preparing himself for the pain. The first hit wasn't that bad. He bit hard into his lip to keep from crying out in pain. " NO! Alessandro, please! " Sileena shouted. The next hit was hard though. He could feel the blood running down his back. " AHH! " he threw his head back, screaming in pain. His father laughed. " Not so tough now, are ya son? " Another hit to the same spot. Another loud scream. Mail bit back tears. He still had some dignity left.

Alessandro raised his hand, and brought the belt down hard against Mail's right shoulder, he managed to graze his cheek as well. Blood slowly oozed from the scratch, and ran down his neck. Alessandro smirked at the sight of blood. 'The sadistic bastard' He brought the belt down hard on his left shoulder, before harshly bringing the belt down against his back repeatedly. " Stop it!! You're going to kill him you bastard!! " Sileena shouted. She had crawled across the room, and was now clinging to her husbands leg. Alessandro stopped, and kicked his wife off him. " What did you call me?! " He kicked her in the stomach a good three times, before slapping her across the face with the belt.

Mail turned at hearing his mother's desperate cry's. No way. This had to stop now. He didn't care what happened to him anymore. He wasn't going to let him kill his mother. And he knew, that if given the chance. The bastard very well might.

Alessandro delivered a hard kick to the side of his wife's head. He stared down at her, panting slightly from the adrenaline. Mail was just about to tackle his father to the ground when a gun went off twice. He shut his eyes and ducked to the ground. Where the hell had that come from? A gun? Was it the police? Had the neighbors called them complaining about the screams?
There was a loud Thump, as something hit the ground, and Mail slowly opened his eyes, only to come face to face with his fathers cold, lifeless green eyes. He jumped to his feet, a loud almost inhuman scream left his throat.

Hands wrapped themselves around him from behind. And cold lips were at his ear. " Mail, relax..relax..its me, you're ok. You're ok..shh.." L. He kept repeating the same thing. Reassuring Mail that he wasn't going to hurt him. And that neither was his father. Mail was staring at the gun L was still holding. " You killed him.." he whispered. His voice held no emotion. " He's dead...my mom's dead"
he whispered. L turned him around so he could look at him. " Mail, look at me.." Green eyes, snapped up to look into dark ones. " We need to get you out of here. Compose yourself " Mail blinked, and took a deep breath. He always did jump back fast. Living with a father like that, you had to. " I'm ok.." he looked over his shoulder at his mother. "Fuckin' bastard.." he growled, getting out of L's grip. He ran over to Sileena, and knelt beside her lifeless body.

He ran his fingers through her blood matted red hair. " Mom.." he croaked, tears quickly formed, and spilled down his cheeks. " I'm sorry, I was such a fuckin' coward..This could have been prevented! " He was raising his voice now. A loud sob managed to break free. " MOM!! " He screamed, throwing his arms around her. Sileena's blood seeped into the front of Mail's clothes. But he didn't care. He held her tightly against his chest. " Mom!..god I'm sorry! " he cried.

L's heart broke with every second he stood there watching. Who was he to deny Mail what little time he had with his mother? But he had to get him away. Away from the house. Away from the city. Far, far away.

" Mail!..lets go! we're running out of time! we can't be seen leaving this house! " he shouted, going over, and prying the younger boy away from his mothers corpse. Mail nodded, still crying. " Wait! " he pulled out of L's grip yet again, and went to grab something from the nightstand, beside his mothers bed. A picture frame. He smashed it against the floor, and picked up, only the picture. " O-ok..lets go " he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans, and followed L out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house without so much as a second glance.

L shoved the gun into the front pocket of his jeans, again, and got into the car. Mail, ran around the front, and got into the passengers seat. " I need to get you the hell out of the city, until things cool down " L said. He turned the key, and the engine roared to life. " Oh...fuck.." the sound of police cars, and an ambulance was heard. It sounded close too. So close infact, they could already see the lights on the patrol cars in the distance. " Shit! " L stepped on the gas, and drove down the street at full speed. The police cars were already in full view, but L only went faster, right past them. Two of the police cars screeched to a halt, and turned, going after L. " Damn it!.." he growled. Mail was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down. That, and the pain from the beating his father had given him was becoming almost unbearable. " Don't worry Mail..I'm not going to let them take you away.
I'll get you out of the city, and come and get you once things blow over " L was gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. Then again, it wasn't his life. It was Mails.

The police cars were quickly gaining, and L could hear the officer on the loud speaker, telling him to pull over. Yeah right, pull over. He sped up, only to have to hit the breaks. " Fuck! " there were more cars coming his way. The car swerved, and L made for a nearby Alley. " Mail, you're going to have to make a run for it " L said frantically. He swerved the car again to a stop, so that the passengers door was at the entrance of the alley. " Go!, you have you're cell phone. I'll contact you as soon as I can. And I'll come and find you "

Mail looked at L like he was crazy. " L..what are you going to do? " L glared at him. And Mail faltered a little. " They'll question me, and I'll tell them the truth. That it was self defense. If they ask about you, I'll tell them you ran away. Now go! hurry! " L was shoving the red head out of the car. Mail swallowed, and quickly leaned over to give L a kiss on the cheek. " You better come find me " he threw the car door open, and jumped out. He took one last look at L before running down the darkened alley, out of sight.

L sighed, and slowly got out of the car with his hands in the air. He watched Cops, so he knew the whole procedure. The headlights washed over him, and he sighed again. This time in annoyance, as two officers, went over, and handcuffed him. Telling him he had the right to remain silent.

Mail jumped the low fence at the end of the alley, and kept running. He ran and ran, and ran some more. He ran until he got out into the open, and stopped. He stood there on the sidewalk looking around, to see if he recognized any streets. " Stanley, and Mcflailer(1)..fuck, where the hell am I? " he mumbled to himself, as he caught his breath. He sighed. " Fuck it..I'll end up somewhere " He took off running down the sidewalk, passer-by's shot him curious glances. Boy was he a sight. He was covered in blood. He kept running, for another 5 blocks before he turned into another alley. He ran to the end, before collapsing to the ground. Exhausted. The blood loss wasn't doing him any good either. " S-shit..stay awake.." he mumbled, desperately trying to cling onto consciousness.

He sat up against the brick wall, and leaned his head back against it. He was panting heavily, his eyes closed. " damn it..s-stay awake.." his words were slurred now. His head swam, and the last thing he saw before his eyes shut, were a pair of golden yellow eyes . He felt a slight weight on his chest, and something cold press against his injured cheek. A nose? Meooow...A cat. Great. And he couldn't even shoo it away. He was too tired, and his eyes wouldn't even open. " mm..g'way.." he mumbled. The cat Meow'd again, and he felt a cold tongue lapping at the blood on his cheek. He winced. " Damn cat" he mumbled. The cat was purring happily, as it continued to lick at Mail's bleeding cheek. Then, he couldn't feel anything anymore. He slumped onto his side, unconscious.

1. Yeah, I don't live in New York, so I made up streets. Bite me!

2. Alessandro. Gosh, its an awsome name. sounds smexy.

A/N: Honestly...I don't think I like this chapter very much. Maybe because the file got fooked up and the format ended up all bunched together. Actually, I don't like this chapter at all. I tried to fix it, but things kept being switched around. Annoyed me to no end. AUGH!! ahem, anyway,

For those of you who are curious, Mello shall make his appearance in all his vampy-ness in the next chapter.

So yes, thats all I suppose. Gosh, this chapter sucked didn't it? And not in the good way either, seeing as this is a vampire fic. Sigh....oh well.

Review? Because you love me? It would really cheer me up...AND i'd update faster.

P.S (This chapter is FILLED with grammar and spelling mistakes, ugh, I can just feel it. sorry, I fail so hard )

Matty.