Chapter 1

Third Person’s POV

Smack!

Kick!

“This is all he has today,” one said, waving the money.

Someone clicked their tongue. They stood up, walked to the beaten-up boy, and grabbed his hair.

“Where’s the rest, huh?” They ask and slap his face. “Answer.”

He dared not to look and kept silent; however, he coughed in response. Blood got on the other’s shoe, and it irritated them. He dropped the boy’s head on the ground and wiped his shoe on his dirty uniform.

“Let’s go.” He then leaves the scene, and his goons follow him. The beaten boy stared at their departing figure blankly.

The next day…

“You got more today. Why? Did you steal?” some random goon smacks his face.

The boy kept his silence.

“Our little Tristan grew up, guys. Ain’t that nice? We won’t beat him like how we used to,” one laughs and then follows by the others.

They soon leave Tristan alone in an alleyway. Tristan then breathes in and tries to stand, but his legs give up. He grasps the floor and forces himself to stand. After successfully doing so, he covers his face with his scarf and leaves to go home.

Tristan breathes a few before entering the house. Careful not to make any noise, he went straight to his room and changed his clothes. It was still too early to make dinner, but regardless, with the extra money Tristan kept hidden on the house’s loose flooring, he went out to buy some ingredients. He covers himself from head to toe and goes to the store.

As he turned a corner, he bumped into someone, making him freeze. With a trembling body, he takes a few steps back.

“Hey--”

I’ll get hit. I must apologize immediately. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Tristan apologized with shocked and fearful eyes. After saying those words, Tristan turned his back and walked away.

As Tristan leaves, the hand meant to stop him remained suspended in the air, but eventually clenched as the beholder glared at where Tristan went while his jaw tightened.

“What happened, Mr. Zabal? Your grades are worse than before!” The teacher scolded him. “Do you plan on graduating? With these grades?!”

He only replied with a blank expression, so the teacher told him to get out. He left without saying anything, so the teacher got even angrier. With his head high, he walked through the corridors with pride.

He kept his head high as he returned to his room when a minor commotion emerged from the corner. He watched from afar and was about to join in the fun when he saw someone push the other party away from themselves. Soon, it became a physical fight, but what captured his attention was someone running away. His brows perk up as he recognizes the running stance and finds himself following that person.

Tristan locked himself in one of the bathroom stalls and hugged his legs. Hugging his legs tightly, he tried to calm himself down. Tristan muttered the words, “I’m sorry,” “Sorry,” and “Please forgive me” all over again like a mantra. But his fears grew when he saw a pair of shoes in front of the bathroom stall.

No. Please. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I’ll be careful. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. His sweat became cold, and he trembled even more when the door shook. He hugged himself and hid his face on his knees. Soon after, the person in front of the occupied stall left, and Tristan’s body began to calm down.

It’s been a few days since then, and Tristan’s routine continued as usual. However, he didn’t meet the money’s quota today, and the bullies are currently hitting him. The leader saw him not groaning in pain, so he told the other guys to leave. They followed him and left him and Tristan alone in an abandoned factory.

“Hey.”

Tristan’s weak body trembled immediately when Dylan neared him.

“I called you, didn’t I?”

Tristan answered with a slight nod, but his eyes remained glued to the floor. He felt a hand on his cheek, his breathing stopped, and he froze. Someone forced Tristan to look up, which made his hands become cold.