Alone In the World

Chapter 6: Taking Care of Business

Flint glared at Seth as he yanked his neck back and forth like a rag doll then dropped him. "Why did you wake me up?" he slurred. Great, he must have drunken an entire bottle of whiskey.

Seth clenched his hands as he coughed out saliva. Flint ignored Seth for a minute then looked at me. When he saw my clothes, he went ballistic.

"Where were you?" Flint shrieked, grabbing me by the shoulder and dragging me on the top of the stairs. "Flint, stop!" I cried. He ignored my plea then threw me on the floor.

"Where were you?!" Flint screamed. I pulled myself up to my feet then glared at him. "I went out and got back the groceries," I answered sternly. "All because a drunken retard, like you, let a thirteen year old kid go out in the middle of the rain and came back with bruises!"

I pointed my finger at Seth, who was still coughing spit on the carpet. Flint let out a low laugh then grabbed him by the neck again. I tried to intervene, but Flint smacked me across the face.

The force sent me on the floor, earning me purple smear on my cheek. My ears suddenly went ringing, but I managed to get up to my feet. I looked and saw Seth's bright red face, trying to one last time to breathe.

"Flint!" I shouted. "Put him down!" Flint ignored me as he lifted Seth up in the air. I suddenly grew angry. I watched as my hands turned into fists and my eyes were bulging in rage.

I ran up to Flint and pulled Seth out of his grasp. I laid Seth's body on the floor and turned to confront Flint. "Well now," Flint snickered. "That's a first-" Without a warning, I shoved him hard on the chest, sending toppling down the stairs and fell on the floor with a sickening crack.

I rushed to Seth's aid, pressing my ear against his heart and started to resuscitate him. "Come on," I muttered, pressing his heart a bit faster and checking his pulse. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and continue to revive him.

"Seth," I begged. "Wake up!" I leaned my ear against his heart, but this time, I heard it beat. Suddenly, a cough and a moan escaped from his mouth. Seth slowly got up from the floor and stared at me.

I happily threw my arms around him and rocked him gently. "Are you alright?" I asked. Seth nodded, but pulled back when he saw Flint on the floor.

"Seth," I began. "I'm sorry I let this happen." He smiled when he looked in my eyes. "Ben," he whispered urgently. "But what are we going to do? It's a serious murder." "Don't worry," I reassured him. "I'll call Aaron and tell him everything. He will know what to do."

Aaron was a friend of my parents. While my parents were away, he occasionally stops by and takes care of us during his lunch breaks. He works at the NYPD station as well as my parents did.

After comforting my brother, I went to the room for my cellphone and dialed Aaron's number. "Hello?" a deep voice said. "Hey Aaron," I answered, wiping the bangs from my eyes. "It's me, Ben."

"Hi Ben," Aaron beamed. "How are you doing?" I swallowed a gulp then stared at Flint's stiff body. "There's something that I did bad." "What is it?" he asked. I reluctantly told everything to Aaron. "Okay," he said finally. "Where do live?"

I told him the address without looking at the window. "Thanks," Aaron said. "Make sure you keep Seth safe, okay?" "Got it," I answered. "Goodbye." After I hang up the phone, I spent minutes comforting Seth while staring at Flint's body.

Slowly, I pulled away from Seth's arms and walked over to the body. I pressed my hand on Flint's chest and checked his pulse. I let out a relieved sigh: his heart was still beating, but his neck was broken.

All of a sudden, a loud knock came on the door. Reluctantly, I hopped downstairs and answered the door. Standing in front of the door was Aaron and his police buddies. Aaron was a forty year old man with grayish brown hair and blue eyes. He wore his police detective uniform and hat.

His friends next to him, however, were a few years younger than him. They both had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore the same outfit. I wonder if they were twins. As soon as I led them to Flint and told them what happened, Aaron thanked me for telling the truth. He pressed his hand against Flint's heart and was relieved that he wasn't dead. However, the police officers looked at each other and slammed me against the wall.

Seth stopped crying then came downstairs. He saw the policemen strapping handcuffs around me and tried to intervene. "Stop," Seth wailed. "Why are you arresting Ben?" One of the policemen looked at him and sneered. "For assault," he answered. He looked at his friend and told him to call the ambulance. Angry, Aaron grabbed the arm of an officer who handcuffed me and confronted him.

"What in the world are you doing?" he roared. "He's just a kid!" The cop stroke his brunette hair away from his brown eyes and stared at him coldly. "We have a job to do," he insisted. "Not worry about some kid's feelings." "That retard tried to kill my brother!" I squealed. "Stop talking," the cop rasped. "Then, stop being some Know-It-All Snot and listen to me!" I argued. "Yes, I pushed him down the stairs, but the only reason because he was drunk and tried choke Seth!"

Amazed by my stubbornness, the cop swallowed a gulp then looked down at my brother, who was clinging onto his leg. "Hey kid," the cop barked. "Is your brother telling the truth?" Seth nodded, pointing at his bruised neck. "You have all the proof you need," Aaron said. "Now can you-"

The other cop looked at me in disbelief. "Hey, Rocky." the cop began. "I know this kid, isn't he the one who ran away from his last foster home?" I gritted my teeth then hung my head. "You stole something didn't you?" Rocky snickered. "I didn't steal anything," I scowled. "And that's the truth."

Rocky gave Aaron a smug look. "This good-for-nothing brat is telling us lies." he sighed. Without a warning, I kicked him hard in the crotch. The cop winced at the pain then punched me in the face. Seth sat on the floor, staring at the scene. "Enough!" Aaron shouted, breaking us apart.

"Aaron," I started to say. He nodded as if understood then reluctantly shoved me out of the door. "Ben!" Seth screamed as he ran after me. "I'll be fine, Seth!" I called. "Just be good, and don't do anything stupid."

"Ben!" Seth screamed again. He was a couple of inches to my arm until the cops dragged him away from me and shoved him in a kitchen chair. "I am going to call your social worker," I heard Rocky saying. "Be a good boy and shut your mouth."

Ignoring Rocky, Seth cranned his neck to see me. The next thing I knew, I was outside. On the driveway were two cop vehicles waiting for us. Aaron opened one of the car door, shoved me inside then bitterly slammed the door.