In his early teens, Anthony had gone through a phase of seeing a lot of different girls as he experimented with sex. Now that he was an older teenager, he wanted a girlfriend. What a girl looked like came into it, but top of his list was their light. Someone special was required.
The pretty, popular girls, who all his friends lusted after, were already, at the age of fifteen, too worldly for him. They all preened when he was close or tried to engage him in conversation, but he was not interested. When he saw Alice, he discovered the calmness that could come from being with the right girl. His friends could not understand his choice.
"You could be with any girl you want, mate. Why did you pick her? She's quite pretty and everything, but she's a bit tame, if you know what I mean." Grant, one of Anthony's gang was puzzled.
"The other girls, the ones you like, they are all mouthy and pushy. Why would I want someone like that?" Anthony said.
"Yeah, but Alice is, you know, all pure and that."
"Exactly. She's quiet, not demanding. I like being around her. Makes me feel sort of calm."
He didn't mention that he could see a kind of light around her, which appealed to him. His mates already thought he was strange for choosing Alice. Trying to explain that Alice shone brighter than all the others was not an option. None of his, so called, friends had the slightest idea about his nature and his needs. The girl that Anthony had chosen bore a resemblance to his real mother, not that he had ever seen her. Alice was blond and had the same sort of sweet nature as Hannah.
In the end it had become a necessity to seek out someone like Alice. It was getting harder to keep his lust for violence under control. Anthony could be calmed by Tanya when he got home, but it was difficult to stop lashing out during the day. Alice was there at school, even having some of the same classes as him.
Tanya and Rob liked Alice, but her parents had been rather alarmed when they first caught sight of Anthony. The tall dark, boy had walked into their house full of confidence and swagger. By the time he left, they had completely changed their minds. He was a nice polite boy and they didn't know why they had been worried.
Anthony was not trying to have sex with Alice. All the boys at school had only one thing on their minds, getting laid. He didn't want to tarnish Alice in any way. Her goodness made his life easier and sleeping with her might change that. She was not ready she had told him and he had said that he respected her for that.
He now got on with his school work applying himself to his lessons. Anthony was not a brilliant student but he would pass his exams and progress to the next level. This kept Tanya and Rob happy which in turn kept the peace at home. There were no awkward discussions about his behaviour and neglecting his study.
"Aren't you going to ask about Parent's evening?" Tanya looked at a nonchalant Anthony.
"Okay, how did it go?"
"It was good. Everyone is happy with your work, even Mr O'Brien. He said that you had calmed down and were staying out of trouble." Rob said.
"He thinks that Alice is a good influence on you." Tanya added.
"Yes, she is." Anthony grinned because they didn't know how true that was.
The need for a good education was drummed into all the students at every opportunity. Anthony listened and played his part, but for him it was not necessary to get what he wanted. The special skills he possessed had been honed since he had been at junior school. A smile, a chat, brief physical contact and then get what one wanted.
His need to inflict pain had receded a bit because of Alice's presence. It had not gone away completely though. Anthony was growing and learning about being more careful when he let rip. Were there any witnesses? Was Mr O'Brien around? What trouble would it cause? The odd slap was delivered, but that was all part of being young.
Lots of small punches on different victims would not make up for one vicious assault. He took the opportunity to do these things of an evening under cover of darkness. When he walked home from Alice's after spending time with her, he would be on the lookout for his next target.
A drunk had become the victim one evening. Watching the man stumble into an alleyway was as good as an invitation to attack. A quick check revealed no CCTV and no one else around. First thing was to get his victim down on the floor. A punch to the face might knock him out. That would be a bit too brief. Anthony stuck out a foot and the drunk tripped over it. Landing on his knees, the man swore loudly.
"What's going on? Why did you do that you little shit?"
"Because it is easier to beat you up while you're on the ground." Anthony declared, straight faced.
"Well, I'll get up then and we can see how that works, you cocky little bastard."
A kick was delivered to the man's rib cage and he gasped to catch his breath.
"What did you say about getting up, mate?"
There was no reply. The hapless drunk was still trying to breathe. Two more kicks and a punch to the head, rendered him immobile. Now Anthony was smiling. He listened to the groans of pain and, once he had revelled in the scene for a minute, he walked away.
Anthony stopped under a street light to inspect his clothes. Walking into his home and having to explain blood stains would be awkward. There were a few drops on his trousers but he smeared them with mud. Mud was okay, blood wasn't.
Tanya heard him come in and called out to him "Did you have a nice time? Do you want anything to eat?" She appeared in the hallway and saw the mud.
"Oh Anthony, what have you been doing? Leave those out and I will wash them tomorrow."
"Sorry mum."
The trousers would get thrown into a washing machine and that would remove the evidence of his attack. Tanya would not learn the truth about her, vicious, adopted son. It had been a good evening. A successful attack, blood had flowed, and his parents didn't know a thing.