Chapter 3: CALEB - - - - TOBY ESQUIRE IS...........HOMOPHOBIC (2)
His hand traced over the purplish bruise on his skin, the particular one that was taking a lot longer to heal, Caleb stood in front of his mirror completely exposed, except for a pair of underwear that covered his dignity, he could see every single inch of his chocolaty skin, and it was a horrible sight to behold.
Almost all of his skin was covered in all kinds of bruises, from purplish to yellow, healed to healing, even a few he was sure would stay on his body forever. Those were the most frustrating ones, the ones that would never disappear, it was like his body was a canvas that had been tainted with permanent paint from the person he hated the most, even if said person was dead.
Now, every time he would look into the mirror, he would see the horror that was his own body, an unforgettable reminder that he was once Toby Esquire's victim.
The reason Toby Esquire had hated him so much had always been absurd to him, but, the feeling had always been mutual, there was hatred in him, so much hatred, he hated Toby Esquire with the intensity of the heat on Mercury. Even now, that Toby was dead, the utter feeling of deep resentment never left him, he knew he should have felt sorry, if not for Toby, then at least, his family, but Caleb couldn't help it, he didn't feel sorry, not one bit, whenever he remembered Toby, all he ever thought was, 'he got what he deserved' then he'd remember all of Toby's tortous beatings and he'd feel his anger rise and all feelings of remorse completely dissipate.
He finally pulled on his sweater, a pair of jeans and wore his hair in his signature bun before trudging downstairs, deciding not to think too much on the issue. He could already see Claryse at the table, a few maids surrounding her and the butler standing comfortably in a corner of the room. Other than that though, no-one else was present.
He sat at the table, picked up a sandwich and faced his sister.
"Where's mom and dad?" he asked, although he believed he already knew the answer.
Claryse raised her head to acknowledge her brother, the first time her face was leaving her mobile device in over an hour.
"hm-hm, bussiness meeting" she said, her answer short and fast.
Just as Caleb had thought, as usual, their parents were out busy prioritizing their wealth over their children, he looked towards Claryse again, and saw that she had gone back to playing with her device.
He fixed his eyes on her, Caleb had decided that it would end today, his sister's silence on the issue of Toby's death had been bothering him since the beginning, afterall, it had only been a month since the incident but the both of them hadn't discussed it once. He knew she wanted to avoid the topic at all costs, but they had no choice, they had to talk about it, he would just have to ease her into the conversation.
"So who'd they interrogate today?" he asked gently, trying very carefully not to be too forward.
Claryse dropped her spoon, her eyes immediately going to her brother, she sighed and put her hands to her temples.
Caleb watched her, his expression nervous.
"Ivan, I think" he heard his sister's shaky voice.
"Still, isn't it time for them to start interrogating others?".
Claryse sighed at the question that meant the conversation was continuing. Caleb could tell she wasn't comfortable talking about the topic. "I don't know, Caleb. That's for the officers to decide and for us to stay out of" She replied, her tone signified finality, and it was clear she didn't want to be argued with at all.
" But....."
"No buts, Caleb, I'm serious, this isn't something you should go meddling into, it's none of our bussiness" She continued, her expression hard and final. Caleb knew he shouldn't argue with her, partly because she was right, but he also couldn't bear the thought of just sitting around and doing nothing.
"We're both suspects in the case, you know?, the police are gonna start knocking on our doors soon" he tried to argue, but Claryse wasn't having any of it.
"Then let them come then, we're both innocent anyways so let them come"
Caleb winced, the word innocent having an undesirable effect on him, in this town, did it really matter if you were innocent or not?, it didn't. He'd had too many experiences with injustice to believe otherwise.
"Do you really think that matters, Claryse? You've seen what they do, they don't care if you're innocent or not, they just want a scapegoat they can use to deter the others".
"And you think meddling is going to change that, no, Caleb, meddling is only going to make it worse" Claryse screamed.
"I'm begging you Caleb, just stay away from this, I promise it's for your own good" Claryse finished, not leaving room for further argument as she stood up from the table and started making her way to the front door.
Caleb could not think of anyway to make her stop, the only sentence that came to his mind was one that he knew would definitely hurt her "he was your boyfriend, you know? Don't you even care about that at all?"
Claryse froze in her tracks, stopping abruptly as she let her eyes wander back to her brother, she said nothing as she turned around and continued walking again, deciding not to answer him.
Caleb sat at the table, his mind going back to times he had promised himself he wouldn't think of.....
* * *
(4 months ago)
His breathing was laboured, his head dipping beneath the ocean blue water, he let his hands and legs work together, moving both of them simultaneously to power his movements.
Caleb knew the first day of the term was always hard, the coach liked to overwork them all on days like that. He got to the end of the pool and dragged himself out of the water, taking his googles off to get a clearer view of his surroundings.
"Woo, 2 seconds late, that's quite good, Sinclair" the coach's voice told him. Caleb smiled, not letting the disappointment show in his face, he simply thought he'd break it another time although he wished he could've broken it that day.
Suddenly, his eyes caught some very familiar green-blue ones. Toby Esquire sat at the bleachers, watching the small boy with a grin on his face.
Caleb knew what Toby Esquire waiting for him during practise meant, he suddenly felt the chill in his bones, the blood curdling feeling he always got whenever Toby Esquire was close. He closed his eyes, trying to level his breathing, his fear for Toby Esquire always got the best of him, the feeling of dread began to knaw at his insides.
The need to get out of the pool room became overpowering, and Caleb felt himself start rushing, trying to get ready and get out of the place as soon as possible, he grabbed his bag and started to throw all of his belongings in it, he didn't even bother to change as he rushed towards the door that held freedom, however, he wasn't fast enough.
Toby Esquire dragged him just as he was about to reach the door. "Why are you in such a hurry?" Toby cooed, with his sickening grin still plastered to his face. Caleb froze on the spot.
A few minutes later, Toby decided he was content for the day, he stood over a black and blue Caleb, having already added new pieces to the canvas on the smaller boy's skin. He scoffed as he turned around and started walking away....
Caleb clutched his side as he felt a sharp pain shoot through him, no doubt Toby had broken something there. He watched the retreating form of the broad figure and suddenly felt his anger rise, this was the Bastard that was torturing him, the asshole that kept making his life shit, the soulless devil who felt no remorse. The worst part, was the fact that it was all for an unknown reason. Caleb's anger got the better of him, and before he could stop, he yelled "You crazy bastard, what did I ever do to you, huh?"
Toby Esquire was not phased, he didn't even stop to look at Caleb once, however, as he continued walking, he only mentioned one statement, one that made Caleb freeze.
"I hate faggots" Toby said, before his broad figure disappeared down the hallway.
* * *
(Now)
Caleb had lost his appetite, as he always did anytime he thought of Toby Esquire's torture sessions, he pushed aside the plate of toast and got up from the table, picking his backup up and heading to the front door.
Caleb always knew the reason Toby hated him, it was a reason that was absurd and one he preferred not to acknowledge. It wasn't like it mattered anymore anyways.
TOBY ESQUIRE was a HOMOPHOBIC asshole and it was probably the reason someone decided to put an end to him....
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