Alone {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Sixty-Four

FELIX WAS DRAGGED OUT OF THE SHED, AND HE STUMBLED TO CATCH HIMSELF FROM FALLING. Jisung was peering through the window as best he could despite his ankle in silent horror, his heart plummeting to his stomach, because not only had his best – and probably last – chance of escaping been caught, he didn't want to know what his parents would do to Felix.

They weren't the kind and loving parents they once had been. They'd morphed into something far darker, and far more deranged; their obsession with perfection had twisted them into someone unrecognizable.

His eyes widened when he spotted the gardening shovel clenched tightly in his father's hand, and he pounded his fists against the window in hopes of distracting his parents long enough for his friend to get away. He could only sit back and watch as his father raised the shovel above his head and whacked the boy on the shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.

Felix groaned as he held onto his shoulder, which was most likely dislocated again. "It's too late, ya know. Might as well save yourself the charges of assault on a minor." He smirked, slowly standing up again and backing away. "I haven't done anything wrong; I've grounded my son because of his inexcusable behaviour, and I defended my home from a trespasser."

Felix felt dumbfounded by the logic behind that statement because he really couldn't wrap his mind around anyone who would even think that this was okay. I never knew Jisung's parents were so messed up. He'd only known that they were rather harsh, and to think that his best-friend had suffered from this burden for so long, all on his own, painted a sombre emotion over his heart.

"That's ridiculous. No judge in the country would ever rule you not-guilty." Although he sounded confident, he knew that they'd be able to afford an expensive lawyer, and he really couldn't say with any certainty at all that they would go to jail; he was bluffing, stalling for what he hoped had given away his position in the shed.

Mr. Han faltered before his eyes hardened again. "You're treading on dangerous ground, and you'd be wise to shut your mouth," he growled, and Felix felt a prickle of fear creep up alongside the back of his neck as he took a tentative step backwards.

Although he felt physically ill watching the scene unfold before him without the power to intervene, Jisung couldn't tear his eyes away. His worry, his fear, his fury – everything he'd tried to suppress the past while – rushed at him like a stormy, winter wind. It chilled him to the bone and left him bare, the whirlwind of emotion slowly getting out of control.

"DAMMIT!" he yelled, but he doubted anyone could actually hear him. His eyes widened furthermore when his father began to beat Felix. Although he tried to fight back, it was obvious that the fifteen-year-old wasn't anywhere near strong enough to properly retaliate against a grown man.

Jisung closed his eyes, his pale face moistening with tears as they trekked down his face because once again he felt powerless. He hadn't been able to save Minho from jumping off of that bridge, and he wasn't able to save Felix now, either.

"Stop it," he cried, although no one could hear him. "Somebody help him!" he fell to his knees as a loud sob tore itself from his throat. Through the thick glass of the window, he looked up with a soft sniffle as the distinct sound of sirens wailed nearby.

He slowly leaned against the wall as a man in a uniform tackled his father and another restrained his mother. He sobbed even harder because at last, it was over. After this, he never wanted to see his parents again. He knew he'd have to go live with his sister until he turned eighteen, and it killed him to know he'd have to be separated from Minho for more than two years.

We'll make it. He thought, but he wouldn't leave as long as Minho was stuck in his coma, and of that he was certain. Before long, the door to the basement burst open, and he looked up as several police officers streamed into the basement followed by a paramedic, who rushed towards him, asking all sorts of questions. Jisung answered them all, but he couldn't really remember any of them.