Cuts & Bruises

Chapter 2

Naruto, age 15, sat at the edge of his bed, staring at his wrists where he felt the familiar sting of his skin getting cut. He watched as the lines appeared on his skin, not bleeding but an angry red. A frown marred his face as he watched a few more appear and stop. After a few minutes, no new ones appeared and he fell down onto the bed with a sigh.

    The bed above his was empty, at least for now. The boy that use to stay there having left for juvie some odd days ago after robbing a store.

    In this group home, he’s only been here for six months or so and already has fought most of the guys here.

    He held his wrist up to look at the cuts and he felt a wave of concern wash over him. He wished he could've been there for his future girlfriend, to make sure everything was alright and to hold her in his arms. He started to get angry at himself and his situation. He sat up in his bed and from underneath his pillow he pulled out a black wristband and slid it onto his wrist to cover the cuts.

    Naruto stood up and started to walk over to the other side of the room where the three oldest kids had their beds. The two oldest who were less than a year away from aging out of the system were sitting on the bottom bunk of the bed, watching a video on one of their phones, while the third oldest was looking down from the top bunk.

    Naruto stopped in front of them and gave the two who were sitting a glare.

    One of them, Brandon, he thought, looked up and sneered. “Fuck off, loser. We're busy.” He looked back down at the phone.

    Without warning, Naruto knocked the phone out of their hands and the three boys watched the phone fall to the floor and the screen cracked.

    The boy from the top bunk jumped off the bed and landed in front of him. He was a couple inches taller than him, but he didn't let that bother him. “Why the fuck did you do that, huh?” He gave him a shove but Naruto stayed in place, continuing to glare up at him.

    “I got him, Lewis.” The boy next to Brandon stood up.

    Lewis smirked at Naruto and took a couple of steps back, his hands up. “Whatever you say, Boss.” He snickered and sat down on the bed next to Brandon.

   “Why’d you come over here, Naruto?” The boy, Kyler, Naruto thought his name was, gave him a calm look. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for him to answer.

    “Do I need a reason to fuck up some assholes?” He gave him a shrug.

    The two boys on the bed started to protest but Kyler held his hand up and they were quickly silenced. He gave his attention back to Naruto. “You’re gonna have to pay for breaking that phone.”

   “I don’t have to do shit.” He spat onto his face and smirked at the horrid look that quickly crossed his face. The horror was quickly replaced with anger and Naruto quickly got into a defensive stance.

    Kyler was quick to jump on him and throw the first punch. Naruto stumbled back and tried to throw a punch towards his face, but the two boys grabbed his arms and held him still as best as they could with his struggling. Kyler started to punch him, focusing only on his side. Naruto tried kicking at him but Brandon and Lewis then wrapped one of their legs against each of his own.

    Seizing the opportunity, Naruto used his strength to jump, causing all three of them to fall to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him when he fell to the floor but he kicked at Kyler’s shin, making him fall to the ground as well.

   He quickly scrambled off the ground and was about to start kicking at Kyler’s back when a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

   “What's going on here?” The home counselor  shouted.