Prologue

Unknown POV:

I shook in fear as Quil's eyes caught me watching him from behind a tree. I had just managed to escape from them after they chased me for a mile. This tree was my usual hiding spot. "THERE HE IS!" Quil shouted to his other three friends. My high school bullies- my whole life had been dedicated to running away from these four- mainly Quil. Quil was the alpha male. He bullied everyone and his friends joined.... when he was out of school sick they were normal people... but with him around they did as he spoke. I heard the others should they were going to get me. "Come here faggot! I've got a surprise for you!" Quil pulled out a knife from his pocket. "I'm gonna gut you for causing me to run one extra mile that I planned today!"

"Yeah! Get 'em Quil! We ran enough in gym for a whole horse in a track race!" Sammy shouted.

"Shut up idiot!" Quil snapped. "You sounded so stupid then."

"Don't horses run miles in track races?" Chase asked with a questionable look on his face.

"HEY! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Jeremy shouted. I was running, my heart pounding as I headed for a public place, the mall.

"He's headed to the mall!" Chase shouted. I could hear them coming after me. The mall was only two more miles away. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, aching. I had trouble with running all my life. My body would forget to breath and I'd have asthma attacks periodically. I just made it to the front doors when I tripped over my own feet, unable to function right from my lack of breathing.

"Are you okay?" An old lady asked me. I shook my head at her and pointed to Quil and his gang.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP THIS YOUNG BOY!" The old lady begged.

"Shut up grandma!" Sammy said, able to reach us first and held out a knife at her. "Shut up or I'll gut you like we're going to gut this fag!" I trembled as Quil's body lingered over me then, tearing my shirt up with his knife and was about to jab his knife down into my stomach. Boy did he forget we was in a public place and it'll get him locked away in prison.... better yet... Everyone can tell it's going to be self defense. This is my only chance to stand up for myself. I kicked him directly where it counts. He groaned out in pain. Jeremy and Chase grabbed me by my shoulder and hoisted me into the air. They were much taller than me, older too. Freshman getting beat on by the senior jocks.... how typical. I kicked and squirmed.

"Looks like you're short," Chase cackled. "Short a mile!"

"Didn't your mother teach you that you're supposed to walk a mile, not run one?" Jeremy asked in my ear.

"You like this fag?" Chase gave my ass a squeeze with his free hand. "That's all you'll ever get too from a man, aren't you glad I done it?"

"You're not a fag are you Chase?" Jeremy asked in disgust.

"What? No!" Chase hissed. I could hear Quil recovering and coming for me. He tackled me down into the ground, stabbing into my shoulder. I let out a scream from the pain. I heard guns firing then.

"Break it up! Break it up! This is my mall! Hand your weapons over, put your hands behind your head and lay your asses on the ground right now! You too grandma!" I heard the mall cop yell at us. I saw Quil look pissed then.

"I can't go to jail dip shit! When I get out you're dead!" Quil yelled at me. I heard his friends take off in opposite directions to get the hell out of sight while Quil was being aimed down at gun point. He rolled off of me and placed his hands behind his head. "Hey dad," he told the cop. "It's not what it looks like, I was defending myself! Honest!"

"Yeah? Fuck, Quillian! This looks bad on me and your mom! I can't wait to pull up the taps to see if you're telling the truth for once." THAT'S HIS DAD!? Another cop ran up and looked around.

"Damn, is that your boy Quillian?" The cop asked and started to laugh. "Boy this has been a day."

I watched as the second cop starting to ask the old lady a few questions while the first cop placed handcuffs on me and Quil. Quil glared me down as his father placed him in a waiting cop car before coming back to me. "I called an ambulance and we're going to get that taken care of," he told me and pointed at my shoulder. "Then from there we'll see where this will take us. We're going to have Steve over there watching you in the hospital while we run what evidence we've got through." I nodded towards him, sure I'd get away home free. "Can I have your mother's number?" I widened my eyes, no! Not my mom! I shook my head quickly.

"Got any ID on you?" I shamefully gave him my school ID and blushed. Man my school ID has the most embarrassing picture of me on it. I had a black eye that day and when my mom found out she gave me another one for keeping secrets from her about my bullies. I watched him walk off and after a few minutes he came back to me. "Boy, your mom is ashamed of you I tell you what. She didn't sound happy at all. She'll be waiting for you at the hospital." I widened my eyes. HE CALLED MY MOM! I felt panic rise up in me. The ambulance arrived before I could protest and the second cop Steve helped guide me to it.

A few hours past in the hospital, Steve was just outside my door and I was cuffed to the bed. They had to put stitches in my arm and they were pumping blood into me, they told me I lost a lot and were surprised I stayed conscious. My mother sat in a chair glaring me down, she hadn't said a word to me. She suddenly got up and walked out, leaving me. Steve stepped in and looked at me. "You okay kid? Wow! If I ended up in a bed cuffed to it my mother would have yelled my ears slap off. Listen, Chief wants me to ask you a few questions." I nodded towards him.

"So," he walked over. "What's the deal with Quil? What happened?" I stayed quiet on that question, not sure how to answer. Quil might be saying something and wanting me to agree to whatever he says... if I don't I could be risking my life.

"Is Quil a regular bully to you?" Steve asked. "We can keep it off the record son. Just betwen us." I looked him over before nodding slowly. "What about those other three? What are their names? You don't have to answer, I'm sure someone at school can rat them out for you." I froze up quickly. "Have you been bullied by them all your life?" He asked me. "You need to start answering me. We can press charges, we got enough hard evidence. I'll go ask your mom if you want to keep up the silence game. That old lady said they were calling you a fag, are you a fag?" I cringed and looked away. "What about those cuts on your arms? Are you suicidal boy? You want to kill yourself and make your momma cry? You emo kid?" I held my eyes shut tightly, begging for him to just stop. "Not gonna talk?" He asked me and sighed. He left then and I could hear him starting to talk to someone outside. I looked down at my freshly exposed wounds on my wrists. I had made them earlier today in the janitor's closet. The doctors had pointed it out while examining my body. My mom disapproved strongly, I could tell. I heard her voice yelling then at someone before her yells echoed as if she was leaving completely. One of my doctors stepped in and walked up to me, starting to check the monitors before looking at me.

"Well it looks like you're free to get off that blood bag," he charmed sweetly to me and started to unhook me. Steve walked in then giving me a look I never saw on his face. A bad look. Like a look he didn't want to tell me something but he had to tell it to me.

"Now I don't want to really do this," Steve begun. "But your mother, doctors, and I think it'll be best for your health. Doctor Cullen here has proscribed you some medication and your mother is placing you in Rosscrow Asylum. You're going to the nut house kid." I widened my eyes and shook my head.

"No! I'll be good," I promised.

"Not with what those cuts say," Dr. Cullen told me as he ran his fingers over my self inflicted wounds. I winced and tried to pull away.