11:30 pm
The place where they were still was a little distant from where the fires would be set.
"Shall we go where the fires are? The view is much better from there." Arthur spoke, noting the time. His real intention was to make a good recording for Thomas.
"OK, we can go there." Patricia replied. Looking directly at his lips, she said "But first I would like to do something interesting for both of us" She blinked, and then pulled her hand away.
Realizing such actions, Arthur began to think 'Finally! After so many years of hearing stories about that moment, I will finally have the glory! ' He was almost jumping of joy, but managed to contain himself. His mouth doesn't.
Watching his smile, she pulled him into a nearby alley.
***
When they were deep in the alley, Patricia leaned against the wall and called him. Arthur approached.
"I've been waiting since morning to do this ..." She said, with a sarcastic smile.
"Me too." Due to his joy, and the darkness of the alley, his expression went unnoticed by Arthur.
Just as he was almost touching his lips to hers, a kick hit his ribs.
"Aaaargh !!" Arthur felt pain like never before. At least two ribs broke.
As soon as his conscience became a little clearer, he saw who was responsible for this.
"Did you like the change, sucker?" Carlos was standing a meter from him, laughing like a chimpanzee.
'Even on the loan I get change.' Arthur really wanted to make this joke, but the pain wouldn't allow it.
There was no time for him to get up before another kick hit his legs.
"Aaaargh !!!" This time, it was his knee that bent, dislocated.
"Why don't you just be tough now, you asshole?" The other chimpanzee appeared behind Carlos, smirking "Tattoo time!"
Charles jumped on Arthur, punching him in the face, chest and abs. He received the beating of his life.
When they finished, what was left of Arthur was still half conscious. He wanted to beg for help, not for him, but for Patricia.
Before he could squeeze anything out of his lungs, he saw Charles grab her waist and kiss her.
More than any pain he was feeling at the time, the one he was feeling now was the worst, as it went straight to his heart. The one that made your heart beat like never before, was also the one that broke it.
When she saw him looking at her, she smiled contemptuously and said "Do you really think an orphan and fat garbage like you deserve a girl like me?" She laughed, looking like a witch and not the princess she was moments ago "In your dreams, idiot" She spoke, spitting in his face.
They left, leaving Arthur on the floor, sprawled like trash.
After a few minutes lying down, he mustered enough courage to try to face the pain and lean against the wall. The moment he moved his knee, it was as if someone had kicked him again. Even with all that pain, he resisted and moved on. The strength of the kicks and punches were not so heavy, but due to his bad bone condition, it was as if he had multiplied the damage by 3.
The moment he leaned back, he started to laugh. Soon his laughter grew, and in an instant, he found himself unable to stop. 'It was really stupid of me. How could I believe such nonsense? '
Along with the sparkle in his eyes, a part of his heart died. His ability to fall in love.
He continued to laugh until he passed out from the pain of his laughter.
***
02:00 am
'This was officially the worst nap of my life' As soon as he woke up, Arthur was already in pain in so many places that he didn't even know if he had been through a fight or a shredder 'No more sleep, it's time to go home.'
When he tried to check the time over the phone, he realized that the screen was completely cracked. 'I must have fallen on top at that time.' His broken ribs started to hurt from the memory. 'Maybe Thomas can fix the phone.' He put it back in his pocket.
Forcing himself to get up, grabbing the walls like a crutch, he started checking his injuries.
'Apart from my ribs, knee, face, chest and abdomen, I am in perfect condition' He smiled to himself. 'They had to go a little further in order to humiliate me, dear ones' Sarcasm apparent in every part of his sentence.
Always leaning against the wall, he started walking towards the orphanage. The pain in his knee was enough to make him throw up the sandwich, but he had to put up with it.
'Speaking of sandwiches, that bitch still took money from me. And I was thinking of buying her an ice cream. Idiot'
Each street he walked was darker than the next. Even though it was a new year, people didn't really trust staying out late in the city.
Arthur was not a retard, he was still afraid. Increasingly, his steps were faster and wider. The fear was greater than the pain.
Halfway there, in a region full of houses, he began to hear a car moving. It was fast, and it didn't seem to want to stop at anything. Realizing this, his fear was even greater, as were his steps.
The car was getting closer and closer. Arthur gathered his courage and looked in his direction, only to see a black van. Fear completely dominated his heart. He knew of some stories involving that van.
He ran for his life, very clumsy because of his knee. When he was running, he saw a couple entering a house, and shouted for help.
"Please help me!!" Tears were streaming from his eyes, more and more tired, each step worse than the other.
As soon as the couple saw him, they pretended not to see and started to open the door faster.
"Please don't !!!! Help me !!" Arthur was as desperate as he had ever been. The car was getting closer and closer, and it was moving toward him.
In his crazy run, his knee was getting worse, until he couldn't resist. Arthur's leg bent backwards.
When the couple saw him, they were also in despair, but it was at the same moment that they opened the door. Soon they threw themselves into the house and locked the door.
"No, please!!" Tear after tear of despair flowed from Arthur's eyes. That pain was greater than that of his broken knee.
Before he could see, the van stopped in front of him. A tall, muscular man came out.
"Please don't kill me!" Arthur no longer had the strength to resist.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of you!" The man spoke with a psychotic tone, before hitting him with a baseball bat on the head.