(I can feel your stress from here XD but I think that pressing charges would be the way to go, yanno? I was thinking that maybe as all of this is happening we could maybe have someone check out Kohen before he gets sent to jail and determines that he needs psychiatric help and maybe then he wont get sent to jail jail, but like a hospital version of that?? idk if that exists or im just trippin' but maybe he would be sent there since he's not mentally stable ?? but i do think that Beckham should do it- though, it is up to you)
(XD yeah. Yeah that makes sense! Like a sort of mental rehabilitation place instead of jail? And then maybe Beckham's therapist says he should eventually talk to Kohen about it and then we can start getting some bonding from there? I think that would work!)
(fuck yeah !! definitely! i love it dude ! let's do it!! im even more excited now XD)
(Alright! Shall I start it, or do you want to? And where are we starting?)
(uuuuhh you can start it if ya want ! and i guess maybe the police shows up at Kohen's house- but like a few days later when he's already discharged? so maybe then Kohen would go back to school and then make a scene and all that?)
(sdjfghsbdj dude Rowan would beat his fucking ass, he's gonna be pissed (rightfully so), but just warning you that Rowan is not gonna be happy with him. So should we start at school or with the police??)
(oh ho HO yeah, i can see that happening, and i completely understand dude! it's hella reasonable ! mmm, maybe like give a quick scene of the police being at Beckham's house, then leaving towards the school until they arrive? And then calling Kohen through the speakers?)
(Alright!)
Beckham was crying again as he told the officers what had happened, clinging to Lilly like she was his lifeline, trembling with each word he spoke. His parents stood nearby, Mr Altair waiting to see what would happen and Mrs Altair crying a little bit herself as she watched her adoptive son come apart before her eyes, as she watched all the work and progress Beckham had made crumble away with each word he spoke about what the other boy had done to him. Rowan had heard already, but his fists still clenched by his sides, his jaw setting as he made up his mind that he was going to beat the shit out of this little bastard. And maybe part of it was that Rowan felt guilty. Guilty because he hadn't heard. Guilty because his younger brother was sobbing and broken again, and Rowan hadn't stopped this from happening. Guilty because when Beckham first moved in with the Altairs, he had promised the younger boy that he would never hurt him or let him get hurt, and now Beck had been hurt in one of the worst ways. And Rowan hadn't been there to stop it. He had been asleep, a few rooms over, with no idea what was happening to his brother.
And then the cops were leaving the house and heading to the school, and telling the Altairs that Beckham needed to be there at the school too, to help press the charges. One of the officers gently touched Beck's shoulder and told him how sorry she was that this had happened to him; she promised that they would fix this as best they could. Beckham just nodded a little, still clinging to Lilly.
Mr Altair fired up the car; he wasn't going to work that day. He got Rowan, Lilly, and Beck into the car and started driving towards the school. His hands were gripping the steering wheel with a white-knuckle grip, but he didn't speak. There was nothing he could say. Beck dried his tears, but was still shaking as he curled into Lilly's side.
And then there was Kohen, who was waltzing through the school's halls as if nothing had happened. He was good at that despite the bandages showing through from under his clothes. His neck was wrapped up. His arms? Also wrapped up. There wasn't a place where Kohen didn't have bandages. The nurses didn't plan on it, but when Kohen's father came to visit he made his intentions clear. "I don't want you back at the house! I packed your shit and threw them outside, come get them when you're out." Then, Kohen felt the thick heavy hands on his throat and it was over. Luckily, the doctors were there. Currently, his father was being held in jail for "attempted" murder. His mother was currently still in the hospital after receiving a beating from her husband as well. Everything was going to shit and if Kohen's life couldn't get any worse- he actually had no idea. No idea of what was about to come.
Even so, Kohen hadn't stopped seeing things from that day- that day with Beckham. Everywhere he looked he saw the faces of the people who he knew and bullied. There were even some that he didn't recognize. Sometimes he would see things that were inhumanly possible. It drove him into panic attacks and gave him severe paranoia. But he acted strong. Strong like when he took his father's near-death beatings. Strong like when he saw his mother stand there, dissociating, and doing nothing to stop him. Strong like when he saw his yelling brother being taken away by the missionary people from the church. Strong like when the voices grew so loud he attempted for the first time. Strong like when he woke up in the hospital and realized he would never have a good life. Ever.
The intercom systems crackled to life, and summoned Kohen to the office. There was a pair of cops standing with the principal, and Beckham was curled up in Lilly's arms again, his face pressed to her shoulder as her arms stayed around his slim body, trying to comfort him as best she could. And Rowan? Rowan stood by with his arms crossed and his scarred face looking like he wanted to commit a murder. Namely of Kohen. Sure, the older male knew better than to do it right here, but with the look in his eyes it was painfully obvious that that was what he wanted to do.
Kohen sort of froze when he heard his name called out and a sudden knot balled in his stomach- the familiar feeling of dread was back. Usually, he would keep his chin up and walk in like he owned the place. After school detention? Not a problem. A week of outside of school suspension? Piece of cake. Expulsion? Don't make me laugh. He had seen it all and had paid the price too.
He stood at the door, inches away from grabbing the handle and turning it. "Should he run?" His gut was telling him. It's like he already knew there was something terrible at the other end of the door without even needing to look. As soon as he opened the door and saw who was on the other side, he felt light-headed. "Should he make a run for it, now?" But it was too late. His eyes met with the principal, then the officers, then Beckham's family members. Damn. You really fucked up now. Came a voice who he wasn't familiar with. He looked around, but saw no one, then shoved his hands into his pockets as he stepped in. He knew that by walking in and closing the door behind him, it was game over. No. It was more like, it should have been game over ages ago.
"Yes?" He said, trying to keep up his cocky demeanor even when he was crumbling on the inside. His hands shook, but he forced them into a ball, trying to keep the disaster which he called his life, under control.
The principal looked at him. "I don't even know how to say this, Kohen. I knew you were a troublemaker, but I didn't think…I didn't know you were capable of something like this." the principal looked like he might be sick, and turned away, taking in a breath. "The Altairs told me what you did to their son. This is…it's a very serious accusation, Kohen." he looked at the boy again.
Beckham didn't look at Kohen, just pressed closer to Lilly and squeezed his eyes shut, trembling. Lilly rubbed his back gently, trying to comfort him as best she could.
One officer closed the door, looking at Kohen.
Kohen stared at Beckham, the tiredness visible in his eyes. He hadn't gotten any sleep for the past few days. He watched as the kid cried into his sister's arms. "Serious accusation indeed…" Kohen said, the words dancing on his tongue as if it were a joke, an air of superiority to them. "So I'm guessing you all have brought me here to make sure it was true? Then what?" His eyes flashed towards the principal, eyes full of hatred. "You'll lock me up?" A twisted smile crossed his lips. "Fine. It's not like anything could get worse than this." He said, strangely calm, but right now Kohen was summoning all of the strength he could possibly muster- all concentrated on the facade he was so fixed on keeping up.
This whole situation was hard on Beckham, brought back too many memories of his father, of waiting fearfully for the court to make a decision, of the uncertainty of what came next. Of almost wishing for the pain again because at least it was familiar, at least he knew to expect it. He had been healing, he had been happy…and now everything, all the progress, had crumbled apart as he was sent spinning back into the abyss of his memories.
The principal looked at him evenly, looking like he might be sick for a moment. "I've heard…other stories about you and your group. I never…none of the other students came forward." he replied slowly, and gestured to the officers. "They're here to take you into custody for now."
Kohen's glare stayed over the principal who spoke. And when he mentioned the "group" Kohen tensed up, reminded of Jake and the night Beckham had taken him home. He clenched his jaw, hand moving up to his arm to squeeze it for comfort since Kohen didn't really have anyone to hug him like Beckham.
A trembling smile replaced his cocky one, as if he seemed unsure of everything now when he saw the flicker of one of the police's badges. It was dawning on him that this was real and there was no escape….well…there would have been no escape. Kohen could have peacefully turned himself in, let himself get handcuffed. He could have walked to the police car and gotten locked up in a cell without being difficult, but right till the end, Kohen refused to go down without a fight.
He bolted.
Before anyone knew it the door was slung open and Kohen was making a mad dash down the hall. It didn't help his case that the bell rung and the kids filled the halls- it made it that much harder for him to get away, but also did a good job of concealing him from the cops.
The officers muttered curses and one chased after him, moving through the halls to try and find the runaway kid. Beckham was still clinging to Lilly desperately, hiding his face in her shoulder and trembling just a little bit. All these proceedings were already bringing back too many memories of his father, of waiting to see if his father would be convicted or not, of hiding burns from his father's cigarettes and hiding bruises from his father's fists.
The principal was silent for a while, letting out a breath and unsure what to do.
"RUN! RUN ALL AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS! THIS DEFINITELY WON'T CATCH UP WITH YOU LATER!" Kohen saw the others yelling and making fun of him as he skidded down the hall and made a sharp turn on a corner, even though it was all in his head. Kohen wasn't paying attention enough to stop and see, but he was definitely making a huge ruckus and was catching the attention of everyone.
The rumors were starting, people were talking.
"What did he do this time?" "Oh my god! The police are chasing him!" "He probably killed a kid." "I knew he was a bad one. That's why I never associated myself with that."
And since Kohen wasn't thinking, he ran outside and smacked right into a teacher who fell down with him. Kohen was in a daze and didn't want to listen anymore. He sat there, hands on his ears, as if he could make it all shut up.
Then he broke.
Kohen, the school's "evil demon", the "sadistic bully", the "gang member", broke down. And it somehow helped him because now, he couldn't hear his own thoughts through the crying.
"I didn't mean to..! I didn't want to- I had to- I did do it but how was I supposed to deal with Jake doing the same thing to me!" He cried, enough for anyone around him to hear. No one really knew what he was going on about, but seeing Kohen on the ground, defeated, stirred the crowd and soon everyone was stopping to see.
Who had brought the great Kohen down? And to this extent? That was the thing everyone would be talking about for the next few days.
The officer frowned a little. "That's…a separate issue, kid." He crouched by Kohen, rather unsure how to deal with the crying boy in front of him. "I…" He looked at the students and teachers gathering around, and stood. "Get out of here. This is official police business." He snapped, flashing his badge and glaring until people started moving again, the kids whispering behind their hands to each other. The officer looked at Kohen again. "Come on. We can talk about this Jake guy later. Right now, what's important is that you hurt a kid who didn't deserve it and even if he did, you shouldn't have done it." He reached out to take Kohen's arm, trying to be gentle while still being firm. Crying teenage boys was definitely not his forte. He had been expecting Kohen to fight, not…not break down like this.
(Dont wanna be insensitive, so trigger warning for the following paragraph.)
Kohen had tried to fight- he had wanted to, it was beaten into his being afterall, but for some reason he was tired of it. So what if he was thrown in jail? So what if he left to rot alone for the rest of his life?
Then, an idea popped into his head. So what if he died?
Suddenly, Kohen was fighting again, he snatched his arm away from the office and dug into his front pocket, revealing a switch blade. One that Jake had given him.
Only use this when you're cornered and have no way out.
Was what Jake had said, and Kohen was intending to do just that.
He backed away from the officer, knife in hand and pointing it at anyone who got too close.
Right now, Kohen was full of adrenaline. His mind was still racing. A war or voices between wanting to convince him not to do it and the other whispering seductive promises. This'll all be over if you take action. Don't let yourself get caught. You should end your life instead.
There was an angry expression on Kohen's face, like that of an animal ready to bite- but the tears that streamed down his face betrayed him. It told how he really felt.
He took a deep breath.
The radial artery was where his pulse was at. He had researched this a thousand times. All he had to do was cut it- and deep.
Everything happened so quick that Kohen wasn't sure if he had gotten it, but the screams around him meant that he had.
There was now blood pouring out of Kohen's wrist.
All it took was a few seconds before he started to feel lightheaded. The switch blade dropped from his other hand.
Only five more minutes till it was all over. This was the first time Kohen Lyle Grey had atrempted to take his own life, and possibly the last.
The officer's eyes went wide. "Shit." he muttered, tapping the radio and explaining quickly what had happened, while at the same time moving to put pressure on the wound, leaning his weight on Kohen's wrist. Like most officers, he'd been trained in first aid, but all he knew with this was to put pressure on it and try to slow the bleeding until the ambulance could arrive.
The other officer called for an ambulance, pacing a little bit. They hadn't been bargaining on all this trouble when they got called in; but then, this was their job, in any case. Beck was silent, clinging to Lily and hiding his face in her shoulder.
There was a smile on Kohen face before he fell.
He watched as the officer applied pressure to his wound, eyes dull. Deep inside Kohen hoped that he bled out. That he died. He hoped that the officer would fail to save his life. He hoped that the ambulance would arrive late. He hoped he would be taken away from the shitty life he had been born into. Never had he asked for anything ever. Not even to be born. A tear slid down the side of his face as he watched Beckham cling onto his sister.
With the little strength he had left he lifted his hand, reaching out for Beck.
"Mine.." He muttered as more tears slide down. He wanted a loving parent. He wanted anyone who was willing to take him in and love him like the female did the male. It was the reason he had joined Jake's group in the first place. He promised love and acceptance, but in the end he had only gotten pushed around and beat.
Kohen's breath shallowed, he could feel himself drifting away. It was nice. Everything felt distance, but it was like he was getting carried away into a dream- a deep sleep.
Kohen's hand slowly dropped and his eyes closed slightly, the light gone from them.
(should we timeskip again?)
Beck stayed clinging to his sister, shuddering faintly as he held onto her. The ambulance did manage to arrive in time, the EMTs hurrying Kohen out into the vehicle and starting to make sure he wouldn't bleed out and die. One of the officers accompanied Kohen into the vehicle, the other staying behind with the Altairs. Students watched wide eyed as Kohen was taken out and the ambulance drove away.
(alright! Do you wanna handle it, or should I? And when do you wanna skip to? Court proceedings, the hospital, the mental place?)
(uhm, if you want, you can handle it- we can either go to the court thingie or hospital. though, we'd prolly have to breeze through the hospital and court thing to get to the psych place if we wanna keep things interesting)
