Runaway//Karlnap

Thunder

Sapnap slammed the door, showing agitation which caused Karl to break out into laughter, amused by his own joke. Both boys changed into different, dryer clothing, sapnap examining all the clothes that had been bought for him, warmed by the gesture from his friend since his father rarely ever bought him new clothing, all which never fit properly and were usually stolen. Sapnap reentered Karl's room and dropped himself onto the bed, remaining in view of the storm. Karl fell down next to him, re adjusting himself to sit up, looking down at Sapnaps face, his eyes closed, his features slowly relaxing, dirt still streaking across his face, the blood now dried, drawn across his lips and cheeks. Karl sighed, having had to clean up the boy several times before, getting up and retrieving a wet cloth from the bathroom, positioning himself over Sapnap who opened his eyes slightly and smiled calmly, closing his eyes again. Karl had a knee on either side of Sapnaps torso, folding over to place the damp cloth on his raw skin. Pushing his hair out of his face with one hand, scrubbing the washcloth gently over his face with the other, whipping the dirt and blood from his cheeks, moving down to his lips, dragging the cloth lightly, trying not to hurt the boy. He now looked at the clean face, finding that the source of blood was two deep wounds, one across his cheek and one on his lip that dragged down to his chin.

The sight hurt Karl, knowing that the cuts and other dark bruises were from the nights at Sapnaps house that lead up till now, having to suffer from the wrath of his drunken father. Sapnap was a strong man, and could have beaten most people in a fight, but he didn't have the heart to hurt anyone, unless they deserved it, unlike his father who was cold hearted towards anyone, even his own son. Sapnap couldn't hurt his father, and didn't dare try, knowing his father was taller and stronger then he was.

Karl stayed there, admiring the boy, wishing he could have known if Sapnap was okay, so he could have stopped it, slow tears rolling down his face, turning into louder cries, which he tried to muffle with his sleeve, but failed to contain his weeps. Seeing Sapnap so hurt broke his heart completely, wishing he could take the pain away and feel it himself instead.

Sapnap reached his arms up, pulling Karl down so his head rested against his chest, the calm rhythm of his breath syncing with Karl's, making Karl's sobs weaken, Sapnap traced circles over Karl's back with his fingers. Whispering drawn out "shh"s, attempting to calm down the boy.

"You're gonna be okay, you're okay, I'm here." He whispered into the night, pulling Karl as close as he could, his strong arms wrapping around his small frame, safety of each other's presences calming booths nerves. Karl raised his hand up to Sapnaps head, gripping onto the back of his hair loosely, his crying slowing down into silent tears, which Sapnap sensed, whipping them away with his thumb. Their eyes remained closed, drifting off to sleep, the sky still flickering and the thunder roaring throughout the night.

Karl awoke in a cold sweat, a soft brown blanket draped over his lower body in a different position than he had fallen asleep in. His eyes dodged around the room in search of the boy that had shown up last night. Ripping the blanket off and running to the door, where a ripped piece of paper was stuck to the wood with a sharp tac, almost falling off. Be back soon, was written sloppily across the page in rushed handwriting, leaving his mind to wonder where he could have been off to in such a rush, fear rising in him hoping he would be safe and return back soon, less bloody than the last time he had arrived.

Knowing there was nothing he could do to help at the moment, being unaware of where he had gone or how long it would be before his return, he made his way to the small kitchen, pouring a strong scented brown substance into a beige mug. Grabbing the newspaper from days before and resting down into a wooden seat, the line across the top reading June 18, 1967. Karl was taken aback by the date, not having realized it had even become June, having cut himself off from contact for almost a month, last having known of the date May 13th. He scanned through the rest, updating himself on the current media of the world, attempting to distract himself until Sapnaps return.

Hours passed, Karl remained at the table, the rain returning through the window behind the sink, taunting Karl as to all the possibilities postponing Sapnaps safely, which he feared as they had been all each other had since around the 6th grade when Karl's family disowned him, forcing him to raise himself, and Sapnaps father keeping his abusive ways, spending more money on his own alcohol, then on feeding his own son. They both had been thrown around their entire lives, meeting in late 5th grade when they had both been forgotten in the school lot, left to walk home themselves, being inseparable ever since, taking care of the other more than himself for the past years of his life.

The clock ticked to 7:15pm, the sun beginning to fall behind the horizon, sunset shades glistening through the window, falling upon the boy's fragile face, reflecting off what was left of the substance in his glass.

The door flew open, Karl swinging his head around to greet the awaited guest, Sapnap fumbled through the door, looking out of place, heart pumping rapidly, face bright red, his clothes soaking once again, more blood covering the old wounds, replaced with new ones.
"We gotta go, now." He stumbled over his words, slamming the door behind him and locking the several nobs, grabbing Karls arm and ripping him out of the seat, Karl losing his balance and falling forward into a cabinet, steadying himself.

"What? Why?" Karls eyes fluttered in confusion towards the boy.

"I'll explain when we're safe, just follow me." Karl nodded, devoted to do whatever he had to for Sapnap in the moment. Following him out of the window opposite his bed, onto a slanted roof that hung a few feet over the dark pavement, Karl's shoes slipping out and falling to the gutter, catching himself before his body could fall, his body now soaking wet, his hands slippery from the water, hair in his eyes blocking his vision.

Sapnap flipped on his chest, hanging himself over the rail, steadying his feet on the window below, grasping onto it with his mud covered hands, now standing below in a dark alleyway, only lit by the glare from neon signs the shone through the window from the bar below Karls house, motorcycles racing past them, followed by cop cars, sirens blaring.

"Come on Karl we gotta get out of here." He panicked, focusing up onto the boy who was gripping onto the hangover, rain flying into his eyes. Karl crept over to the side, unsure of where to step, loud banging coming from the window, wood crashing, glass shattering, his foot slipped, missing the rail, hands slipping, falling to the hard ground, vision blurring, a daze of sirens and ringing fading away with his consciousness.