Chapter 13 ~ I Will Not Break

                                    

                                          
WARNING : graphic depiction of abuse in the first part (the one written in Italic). Skip this part if you can't read this type of scene. 

                          
"You are useless! You'll never achieve anything great in your life!  How can you even be my son?!" the man screamed at the young boy before he hit him once again. He was drunk again, like nearly every evenings since a few months. The young boy brought his chin to his knees and curled up into a ball, desperately trying to protect his face and his chest from the blows. He hopelessly tried to hide himself in the corner of the room. As a five-year old, he believed that having his eyes hidden from what his father was making to him would make him invisible, or would at least make it less painful... But it obviously doesn't work like that and the pain was still unbearable for the little boy. 
                          
"I'm sorry dad. I know that it is my fault, I'm not good enough!" the young boy said, crying and yelling every time his father's fist collided with his fragile body. 
                          
"You're dishonoring our family! Look at how weak you are! Fucking brat!" 
                          
And the hitting continued until the boy fainted under the intense pain he was feeling, losing the few strength he had left...
                          
***
                          
Red Hood and Robin peered at the young man who was still unconscious. They had brought him back to Hood's headquarters. Damian had silently sneaked inside the large warehouse as no one in Hood's gang should be aware that their boss actually knew Batman and his allies. They had both put him on a hospital bed in a secured room where no one could see from the outside what was inside. Kyle was severely injured and his state was extremely concerning. He had multiple fractures inside his chest, his nose was broken and so was his jaw. His left arm was broken as well on the upper part and his back was already darkened with blackish red-blue bruises and the doctor that Hood had hired also declared that the young man had several hemorrhages and probably a concussion in the head. 
                          
In other words, it was a miracle that he was still alive...
                          
Jason was pacing back and forth in the room. He knew exactly who was at the origin of all of this and he had a feeling that he also knew why too...
                          
"You do realize that walking all around the room will not help him get out of coma, right?" Robin said with a rather annoyed tone. 
                          
"I'm not worried about him..." Hood snapped, clearly annoyed by this remark, "I'm concerned because he was still working with Black Mask and he probably gave him information on the gang." He then violently kicked the chair which was standing just next to the one Robin was sitting on, causing it to crash into the opposite wall. "Fucking hell! I trusted him!" he shouted.
                          
"'Don't trust anyone'... First thing I learned and I was two" Robin replied with a shrug and Red Hood shot an angry glare in his direction. Robin snorted. After a few instant where nothing was exchanged, the young boy broke the silence which had imposed itself between the both of them, "What are you going to do with him now?" 
                          
"I don't know..." Hood sighed, leaning against the wall next to Robin and crossing his arms while looking in the empty. 
                          
"Will you keep him with you anyway?" 
                          
"I don't know." 
                          
"I wouldn't," the young boy stated, "He betrayed both you and your gang. If I were you, I would eliminate him now." Jason looked at his little brother. He knew he would normally have done that too, but at that moment, he had mixed feelings toward Kyle. He wasn't exactly feeling pity for him... or maybe he did. The young man was lost, he had no aim in life and no one to rely on.