Bloodbath

Chapter 13

"He's been in there for awhile," Kouichi said. "You think we should go and make sure everything's okay?"

"Nah, I'm sure he's fine. I mean, look how much time Takuya and J.P. spend in the bathroom," Kouji quipped.

"Hey!" Takuya and J.P. exclaimed.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "You guys are gross. No one wants to hear how long it takes you guys to take a shit."

"Why? It's fun to gross you out," Kouji said.

"Whatever."

In the bathroom

Tommy had sunk down onto the floor, huddled next to the sink. The memories kept flooding back, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop them.

"Mom, there's something I have to tell you about."

His mother, now Mrs. Tanaka, looked at him. "What is it?"

Tommy hesitated, his gaze down at the floor. "I don't know exactly how to put it."

Mrs. Tanaka was tying her light brown hair into a bun. "Tommy, you know that you can tell me anything."

"Well........it has something to do with Kiyoto......"

Her brow furrowed. "Kiyoto? Why?"

"Mom.......you know the bruises I've been constantly getting. Well, the truth is, they're not from me falling down the stairs. Or bumping into walls. I've been getting them from-"

"Wait," his mother stopped him. "I think I know where this is going."

"You do?" Tommy asked, somewhat relieved.

She nodded. "I understand that it's hard to get used to a new father figure. But you can't be taking it out on Kiyoto."

Tommy felt his heart sink. "What do you mean? Do you think I'm making this up?"

"It's normal for a child to make up lies about a step-parent. Don't worry, though. You'll get used to him."

"But mom-"

"I'm sorry, honey. But I have to go to work now. I'll see you tonight. Love you." She gave him a peck on the cheek, then rushed past him.

After grabbing her purse and giving her husband a kiss, she hurried out the door.

Tommy sighed. His mother was working more and more, leaving Tommy home alone with Kiyoto almost every day. The beatings grew steadily worse with each passing day. Tommy was afraid to leave his room, fearing that as soon as he did, Kiyoto would be angrily waiting for him. He tried his hardest to make sure everything was clean, as well as becoming Kiyoto's personal slave. Bruises and cuts covered his body, yet his mother seemed to be in denial about it. She either pretended not to notice, or she would yell at Tommy to stop trying to get attention.

"Tommy, this has got to stop immediately!" She snapped. "Hurting yourself just to get attention is wrong."

"Mom, I've been telling you this for months now!" He yelled. "Why won't you believe me? I'm you're son......."

"You may be my son, but Kiyoto is still my husband."

Tommy suddenly snapped. "He beats the fucking shit outta me every fucking day!"

Mrs. Tanaka slapped the boy across the face, leaving an angry red mark on his cheek. Tommy gingerly put his hand up against it, his eyes filling with tears. This was the first time in his entire life that she had hit him. She stormed out of his room a moment later, leaving the shaken up boy alone. He tried his hardest not to cry, but the tears feel free anyway. His own mother had chosen her abusive husband over her own son.

Later, while his mother was at work, Kiyoto walked up to him.

"I heard you trying to rat me out to your mother," he said, surprisingly calm. "But as I've told you in the past, she'll never believe you."

Tommy glared at him, but said nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, the bastard was right.

Kiyoto began to undo his belt. "Although she doesn't believe you, you still disobeyed me. I told you not to say anything to her, but you choose not to listen. For that, I'm going to have to punish you."

Tommy looked at the leather belt, its buckle gleaming slightly as it swayed. He gulped, knowing all too well how the cold metal would feel against his exposed skin. There were times where he had been beaten so hard, he had passed out on the floor from pain.

"Take your shirt off and turn around."

The boy hesitated, watching the swinging buckle. His body felt as though it was frozen from fear. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make himself move.

"I said take off your shirt and turn around," Kiyoto said, his voice more impatient this time.

"........No.........."

Kiyoto's eyes narrowed. "No? What do you mean 'no'?"

Tommy gazed at the man before him. The man who wanted to take his father's place. The man who had stolen and brainwashed his mother against him. The man who beat the living hell out of him on a daily basis.

"I'm not going to do it anymore. And you can't make me!" Tommy suddenly shoved him out of the way and bolted to the door.

Kiyoto had been caught off guard, but recomposed himself a moment later. "Get back here!"

The boy yanked the door open and ran outside into the cold, rainy night. He sprinted as fast as his legs would allow him to. Behind him, he could hear the slapping sounds of Kiyoto's shoes running through the puddles.

"Get the fuck back here!"

Tommy continued to run, too afraid to look back. Luckily, Kiyoto had quickly tired out and decided to simply go back home, leaving the tormented boy alone in the dark. Tommy finally came up to a bridge, ducking beneath it. It was at that point when he started to sob as hard as he could, his body shaking. The bridge had been the very first place he had slept once he had left his house for good. He was freezing, exhausted, and most of all, terrified.

"Tommy, you okay in there?"

Takuya's voice snapped him back to reality. Tommy stood up and looked in the mirror, slightly shocked at the tears running down his face. Without a word, he opened the bathroom door.

"About time," Takuya said jokingly. "I was afraid maybe you died in there."

"Maybe it would have been for the best....." Tommy said monotonely.

Takuya's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I have to go. You guys have all been very kind to me, but I can't stay here. I'm sorry." Tommy quickly scooped Wanta off the floor.

"Wait a minute!" Takuya looked confused. "Where are you go-"

Before he could finish, however, Tommy had already run out the front door. Takuya stood there, a shocked expression on his face.

"What just happened?" Kouji asked.

"I don't know. I asked if he was okay, and then he said that he was sorry for being a bother," Takuya replied.

"Wonder what's wrong with him...." Kouji stared at the door.

Meanwhile, Tommy was jogging down the street, his puppy in his arms. After a few more minutes of running he stopped to take a breath. He sat on a bench, tears running down his face. His heart was pounding, the sound of it so loud it almost echoed in his ears.

"Young man!"

The boy looked, surprised. Two police officers were walking over to him. Tommy felt his heart stop. There was no way he was going back home, no matter what.

"We've got a report of a homeless boy walking around town. We'd like to ask you a few questions," one of them said.

Tommy jumped up and began to run away from them as fast as he could. He didn't realize that he was running in the direction back to Takuya's house.

"I'm not going back," he mumbled to himself.

Just then he saw a figure in the distance. As he got closer, he realized that it was Takuya, along with Zoe and Kouji. He stopped in front of them, out of breath.

"What are you guys doing here?"

The officers stopped behind him, giving him an aggravated look.

"Do you know this boy?" One of them asked Takuya.

"Yeah, that's my cousin. We got into a fight and he ran off. My family tends to run off after an argument," he added sheepishly.

The cops looked at each other, somewhat skeptical. However, their shift was almost over and they decided to just wrap things up. "Okay."

"Come on, let's go home," Takuya said to Tommy.

Tommy nodded, wanting to get as far away from the police as possible. "Alright."

"Have a good night," Takuya said, ushering Tommy away from the officers.

As the police walked away, Tommy looked at Takuya.

"Why did you do that?" He asked.

"Tommy, you're just a kid. And you know, you kind of remind me of my brother. Now, I don't have all that much, but I want you to stay at my place." Takuya smiled. "I won't let you say no."

Tommy sighed, but smiled to himself. It was nice to know that he finally had a place to rest his head down at night.

yay so tommys going to move in and not be homeless ^_^ and now that tommys past has been revealed, there will be other characters whose pasts will be shown in some later chapters. chapter 14 is coming soon. sorry if it was a bit rushed. i got lazy and i wanted to end the chapter before it got too long.