To Crush a Rose - Floyd & Riddle

Chapter 1

Orange and pinks filled the sky, though the young boy's feet dragged in the dirt as he held his mother's hand. It wasn't a particularly far walk, but the Roseheart family lived on the outskirts of town, away from the distractions of people, and the ten-year-old had been forced to go to work with his mom at the clinic, leaving him exhausted. At first, he had to admit--he'd been excited to go see what his mom did at work. He knew she was known around their town, and even the towns neighboring theirs, for being a good doctor. But really, Riddle knew this was punishment.

He wasn't sure how the other two boys had found his home, but Trey and Che'nya had urged him out to come play. He'd tried to tell them no, but their pleads were like a siren's calling, and before he knew it, the two kids were running through the forest towards town. They'd been kind to him, given him sweets, and kept him out until the sun began to set. When he'd arrived home, dirty from rough-housing and unable to contain the smile on his lips, his mother had smacked him across the cheek.

Riddle was not to be trusted alone anymore. Old people cooed at him, but he didn't even dare tear his blue-grey eyes from the book he had been reading. She'd probably find out somehow, and he couldn't disappoint his mother. Not again.

"Mama?" The redhead said, kicking at a small rock in front of him. She gave him a curious glance, though her face remained as hard as ever. "Can you carry me?"

The woman sighed and shook her head. "You won't get stronger if you don't push yourself." She was always hard on him. She wanted him to be stronger emotionally, physically. But most of all, she wanted him to be smarter . His mother would give up anything in the world in order to have her son be more brilliant than she could be, and she was going to make it happen whether Riddle liked it or not, and he knew better than to complain about being tired.

They were about halfway home when he felt the prickling sensation at the back of his neck, his free hand physically moving to rub at it. However, it didn't shake the uneasy feeling settling into his bones as the darkness descended on the two of them. His gaze darted through the trees around them, trying to take note of anything that might have caused this uneasiness.

The young boy squeezed onto his mother's hand tighter, though she either didn't notice or care about his growing anxiety. Riddle bit down on the inside of his cheek, trying to steady his racing pulse.

"Mama, I'm scared." He finally managed to get out.

Her brows knit together. "There's nothing to be scared of."

"No!" Riddle tugged at his mom's hand, blue-grey eyes darting through the woods. "There's something out there."

"It's just your imagination, Riddle." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance with her free hand.

But there was something out there. He knew it. He could feel eyes on his back, watching the two of them, ready to pounce. A wolf? He wondered, but his mind replayed something Che'nya had teased him about.

"You and your mom must be pretty brave" Riddle had furrowed his brow at Che'nya's statement, uncertain as to what he meant. There were plenty of people who lived outside of town. Him and his mother weren't special. " My mom says there's demons in the woods~" He explained, though that didn't stop the redhead's confusion. It was completely illogical to even suggest such a thing.

"There's no such thing as demons ." He responded.

A smile formed on Trey's lips. "That's just a story they tell kids so they stay out and don't hurt themselves."

"That's not true! My mom said someone went missing a couple weeks ago!"

The redhead tried to shake the thought from his mind. It was absolutely illogical. Demons weren't real. And besides, he and his mother had walked through the forest countless times. Why would now be the time a demon decided to follow them?