The blood kept pooling and Caleb's eyes were wide and terrified.
"Elian..." Elian's foster brother's voice, mumbled, getting weaker while bigger boys kept laughing, even though there was nothing funny here. Elian was screaming, fighting, but too small and too weak.
"Stop, please stop!" Elian pleaded but Caleb was going still. Too still and the blood kept pooling just like now.
"Stop." The word came out of Elian's mouth strained, barely recognizable as his own voice. "What the hell are you doing?"
Alessio's head turned slowly, like he had just been interrupted from watching something mildly interesting. His eyebrows rose in exaggerated surprise.
"Me?" He placed a hand on his chest, his expression the picture of innocence.
"Tesoro, are you blind? I haven't done anything to this man." He gestured lazily at the bleeding man on the floor. "I'm just sitting here."
"Don't-" Elian's jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground together. He forced himself to breathe through his nose, trying to push down the rising panic.
"What are you making them do to themselves?" He rep
"Making them?" Alessio's voice was perfectly calm, almost pleasant. "They're doing what they want to do. What they need to do."
"What are you making them do to themselves?" He rephrased.
"No, sir! You didn't ask. I just- I needed to... please, sir, please punish me properly. I deserve it. I need it. Please-" the man said immediately, his voice cracking.
"I don't feel like punishing anyone right now," Alessio said mildly, almost bored.
Then his eyes slid to Elian. He held the gaze for a long, weighted moment. His lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
The message was clear: I don't feel like it. But I could. Anytime I want. To anyone I want.
Elian's hands trembled at his sides. Rage and horror and that creeping, suffocating panic all fought for dominance in his chest.
And the blood kept spreading across the floor.
~~~~~~~~~
The walk back to the cell was silent.
Alessio walked ahead, hands in his pockets, his stride casual and unhurried. Like they had just been on a pleasant stroll.
Elian followed, his stomach still churning.
The moment the cell door locked behind them, something in Elian snapped.
"What the hell was that? What kind of sick fucking game are you playing? Making people hurt themselves just to- what? Show off how powerful you are?" His voice came out too loud, bouncing off the concrete walls.
His chest heaved with each breath. The words kept coming, unable to stop now that they had started.
"You're twisted. You're a sadistic piece of shit. You think you're so important, so special, that you can just---"
Alessio turned.
His face transformed instantly. The casual mask shattered, revealing something dark and terrible underneath. Pure rage blazed in his eyes. His jaw clenched so tight a muscle jumped violently in his cheek.
He took one step toward Elian.
His hand shot out- fast, violent, raised high...
Elian's entire world condensed to that fist coming at him. His eyes went wide. Raw, overwhelming terror flooded through every cell in his body.
His legs gave out. He stumbled backward, his feet tangling, and he went down hard. His hip hit the concrete floor with bruising force.
His hands flew up automatically, crossing over his face and head. His body curled inward, knees drawing up, making himself as small as possible.
Protective. Defensive... A position learned years ago and never forgotten.
But the blow never came.
Slowly, Elian cracked his eyes open, peering through the shield of his arms.
Alessio stood over him, his hand still raised mid-air. Frozen. His chest heaved with angry breaths, his whole body rigid with barely controlled fury.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then, slowly, Alessio lowered himself to kneel on the floor in front of Elian.
Their faces were close now. Close enough that Elian could see the fury still burning in those dark eyes. He could see the way Alessio's nostrils flared with each breath.
"You should be grateful for my gift of restraint." Alessio gritted out, his voice low and dangerous, vibrating with restrained violence.
He leaned in closer that Elian could feel his breath on his face.
"If I didn't have it, your bones would have been broken by now. Shattered. Your pretty face would be unrecognizable. You'd be bleeding on this floor, begging me to stop. Just like them."
Elian couldn't speak. His whole body was locked up, every muscle frozen. His heart hammered so hard he could hear it in his ears.
"You better behave around me, tesoro," Alessio continued, his voice dropping to barely more than a whisper. It was somehow more terrifying than if he'd been yelling.
"Because one day, I might run out of restraint. And then we'll see how defiant you really are when you're choking on your own blood."
He stood up abruptly, the movement sharp and aggressive.
He strode to the door and banged on it twice with his fist. The metal rang out with each impact.
A guard waiting right outside, opened it immediately.
Alessio walked out without looking back. Without another word.
The door slammed shut with a heavy, final clang.
And Elian was left alone.
He stayed on the floor where he had fallen. His arms still partially raised in defense. His body still curled protectively.
He couldn't seem to move. His hands trembled like he was freezing even though the cell was warm.
The trembling spread up his arms, through his shoulders, down his spine and his whole body shook uncontrollably.
He drew his knees up tighter to his chest, wrapped his arms around them but he couldn't stop seeing it.
The blood spreading across the concrete floor... Caleb's blood pooling beneath him, his foster brother's eyes going glassy and empty...
Elian's breath came in short, rapid gasps. His vision blurred. The room tilted.
He was twelve years old again. Watching Caleb bleed. Screaming for help. Fighting boys twice his size. And Caleb dying because Elian couldn't stop the blood.
A sob caught in his throat, but he swallowed it down, forced it back.
"I won't cry. I won't break." He mumbled with determination yet he couldn't stop shaking.