#!proofreadlater

"Hah..." A tired sigh escapes your lips.

Another day is over... agh.. i could really go for a latte right now.

Stepping out of the library, you tie your hoodie around your waist, the humid, salty air enveloping your body, as the cool feeling of the ac from inside, fades.

As you near your favorite cafe, you see a tall, brown-haired man, yelling at who you think are his two kids. Right outside the cafe.

You glance around confusedly, wondering what happened, and why no one seems to be intervening, or caring about the full blown, one-sided screaming match going on.

The two girls look only about 11 and 8, respectively. Both their expressions mixed.

The older of the two defiantly glaring into the eyes of the man. Their eyes filled with annoyance and anger.

The younger simply staring dazedly at their feet, their hands fiddling nervously behind their back.

You quickly walk over, maybe it's stupid, and none of your business, but something just felt off about the whole thing.

The man notices you walking over to them, and his expression seems to relax.

The older sibling flinches, stepping back to hold the hand of the younger.

"Sorry, if I disturbed you." He smiled calmly, "My kids were just acting up."

"I don't know what they did, sir, but yelling at them like that-" You start, concern in your voice.

"Look, they were being bratty in the cafe, I'm just being a good parent." The man cuts you off sharply, smile wavering, "I'm sure you'd understand if you had kids of your own."

The last sentence came off a bit... condescending. Am I being too sensitive?

A mocking snort comes form the older sibling, as they start walking off, their sibling in tow. The smaller one giving a frightened glance back at their father.

The brown-haired man shakes his head, "Kids are a hassle, haha", he joked, as if he hadn't yelled and screamed at his kids so openly, and instead had teased them and watched them get childishly offended.

Is... Is it normal to brush something like that as a joke?

You mused, weirded out by the encounter.

You stared at the cafe for a few seconds, before realizing your now lack of appetite.

Dismayed, you decided to walk back to your apartment, mulling over what happened along the way.

"It was just.. weird." You trailed off, finishing your story of the whole encounter, "I just feel like.. something was wrong? It that invasive? Am I being nosy or something?" Your voice added quickly, trying to explain the unease you felt.

"N-no! What?" Ren said, reassurance in his voice, "That's a pretty strange way to react after yelling at your kids like that..." he looked off into the distance a bit, as if remembering something, but quickly looked back at you, smiling warmly as they drowned you (ⱠØVł₦₲ⱠɎ) with attention.

You gave them a skeptic look, your thoughts of him having a bias on you written clearly on your face.

"R-really! I-I'm sure if you noticed something was off, y-you're right!" He exclaimed, giving you a shy, but serious, smile.

"Thank you, Ren. Really..." You mumbled, finally believing him, "It means a lot having a friend like you by my side"

"A-anytime, Angel."

His voice echos in your ear, the genuine emotion in those two words, succeeding in making your heart skip a beat.

Quickly excusing yourself for the night, and ending the call, you sigh, hoping they didn't notice your blushing mess of a face before you managed to hang up.

Maybe... he's more than just a friend...

Tapping away on the old, clacky Microsoft Dell keyboard all libraries seem to have, you hear a small *ding*, from the 'Help' desk beside you.

"Oh! Hi, I'm Y/n, how can I assist- " Your voice pauses in shock as you see the same 11-year-old from yesterday, standing before you.

Are they here alone? An 11-year-old? Not even their sister is here...

They seem to notice your weird look, and grip their arm uncomfortably. It's.. much different from the tough persona you saw them take on yesterday.

"...I just needed some help looking for a book, s-sorry." They quickly blurt out. They didn't seem to recognize you from the day before.

"Ah.. sure! And you don't need to apologize, I'm always here to help!" You say with a gentle smile.

They nod, their expression relaxing, giving you an awkward but comfortable smile.

"So what kind of book are you looking for... uh.. sorry, can I get your name?" You asked.

"Oh, it's Rowan, and uh.. maybe a book on...herbs?" Rowans' eyes darted to the left, trying to remember what they needed, "M-More specifically the kind for wounds, broken bones, stuff like that??"

Wounds? Broken bones?

It was concerning for a 11-year-old to be thinking about stuff like this...right?

Something is definitely up, I don't think I can ignore this.

Still, even though you're 100% sure something is up, you lead them to the correct aisle and point out a few on topic books that an 11-year-old could handle.

You hate to remind them of something that might make them uncomfortable, but the question in your head kept rebounding anytime you tried to push it back.

You sigh, mentally preparing yourself for the poor kid to run off or to glare coldly at you, refusing to say anything.

"Rowan... I was there yesterday, at the cafe." You tell them, calmly and gently, desperately trying to not make them defensive.

Sadly, your approach doesn't seem to work completely, as their eyes immediately glaze over with a critical look.

"That was you?" Rowan's hands were shoved inside their hoodie pockets, as they bit the corner of their lips in embarrassment. Their face a humiliated and distrustful mix of emotion.

"Ah...yes, it was." You hesitate to talk about it more, but realize that what Rowan is going through... could be serious.

"Rowan, are you okay?" You ask, gently, but seriously.

"I..." They start aggressively, before pausing, their guard against you melting away.

The tough exterior they put up disappeared again, and you saw Rowan for what they truly were, a kid, hurting and in need of help.

"I'm.. not okay." Rowan admitted, their eyes glossing over with unspilt tears, "I.. I hate him. He isn't my dad. He's a monster."

Each word that came out of their mouth stung your heart. You continued to listen, your hate for the brown-haired man growing by the second.

"We stopped by the cafe because he wanted coffee." Rowan said, shakily, wiping away their tears, "We were just hungry and wanted a snack to eat. He didn't have to.. why did he.." Rowan huffed, holding back an angered sob.

"Why don't we go back to my desk and talk about it? I.. could give you some tissues." You suggested.

Rowan nodded, smiling gratefully.

"So that's what happened." You finished, once again telling Ren what happened, biting down angrily on a chocolate croissant (or whatever pastry you prefer).

Ren had a sympathetic look in his eyes, and an un-characteristicly dark frown.

"I-it was kind of you to help them, Angel.", He said, softly, looking at you with affection, "You should definitely report this to Social Services."

You frown, gently disagreeing, "Rowan's mom is too scared to leave him, and I'm sure he could pressure her into lying about how Rowan's sibling got a fractured wrist."

"Their mom would be powerless in a divorce, or a custody battle..." You add, feeling immense helplessness.

You hated to admit it... but you felt like Rowans' father... shouldn't live. It scared you, but you just couldn't see Rowans' father as a thinking, conscious, human being.

What kind of person would break their kids' wrist over asking for a snack?

The dark emotions stirred inside you, refusing to die down.

"Rowan doesn't deserve this, their mom and sibling don't, either." You hissed, "Rowans' father should die.", You say, complete and open, as your feelings of disgust and frustration, mount.

It takes a second for the weight of your words to hit you, and you look up awkwardly at Ren, not knowing what to say, or if you came off a bit too strong.

So you just stuff your mouth with the rest of the croissant, hoping you can both agree to ignore that comment.

Ren looks at you, wide eyed, before breaking the silence, "A-are you.. sure?"

"A- about him deserving to die?", You almost choke, swallowing your food before continuing, "If so.. then yea. I full-heartedly believe that thing... doesn't deserve to live after all the emotional and physical damage he's caused."

Ren looked off the the side, "You're really an angel, aren't you? How could someone as selfless as you exist..", before turning back to smile at you.

"I.. I know s-some people on the d-dark..w-web." He said, sheepishly, before quickly stuttering out a string of apologies, "A-a-a-a... s-sorry! P-please don't ask.. "

"It's fine! I.. I'll do anything to help out that kid. People like that... absolutely disgust me." You mutter with an infuriated tone.

"I..I s-see." Ren, perked up a bit, smiling at you, "I'll p-pick you u-up tomorrow..i-if that works-"

You nod your head, helping Ren clean the table at the cafe you were sitting down at, before leaving the cafe together, and Ren walking you to your apartment.

Closing the door behind you.. you can't help but feel eager.

Eager to rid the world of one less abusive psycho

(ɎØɄ ₵Ø₦Vł₦₵Ɇ ɎØɄⱤ₴ɆⱠ₣)

Waves of anticipation flow through your hands as you imagine cutting that piece of shit open. Making him feel 10 times the pain he caused to those around him.

The look of despair his pathetic face will have, and how Rowan and their family will be free from that things' clutches, will make everything worth it.

Seems like I've learned a lot about Ren this week

You realized that, while hugging onto his waist, on his motorcycle. A motorcycle you didn't know he had until tonight.

And you didn't really hate having to hold onto his waist though.

He feels way more.. muscle-y than I thought... I mean- it's not like I think about touching him like that-

You snap out of you chain of thought, as Ren gently stops his motorcycle in front of a warehouse.

It's grey concrete walls, dancing with multi-colored graffiti art, seem to call out for you, in some sick, twisted way.

But following Rens' silent lead, you stop at the entrance.

"This...wouldn't be breaking and entering, right? Ironically.. I don't .. want to break the law," You chuckled, a bit nervously.

"Pfft- No.. D-don't worry.. I- M-my f-friend is letting us use this place." Ren said, giving you a reasuring smile, motioning for you to come inside.

The interior of the building was more organized than you imagined, On one side of the warehouse, were operating tables, separated by curtain. And some other medical equipment.

Was that a cell salvage machine??

On the other, was various equipment, some stuff you could recognize, like a tripod camera, and others that were unfamiliar to you. It seemed pretty high-tech , from the look of it all.

With a soft smile on his face, Ren pushed back the curtains in front of one of the operating tables, revealing the brown-haired man.

Rowans' father was gagged and strapped into place, his wide blue eyes staring at you in terror, as muffled pleads tried and failed to escape his mouth.

"There are...tools... on the left." Ren pointed out to you, before setting up a few expensive cameras at different angles, some audio equipment, and (₳₴ ₥Ʉ₵Ⱨ ₳₴ ⱧɆ Ⱨ₳₮ɆĐ ₮Ø) handed you a fox mask to keep your identity safe.

Giving them a dumbfounded glance, he smiled (ł₦ ₳₦ ₳Ⱡ₥Ø₴₮ ₳ⱤØɄ₴ɆĐ ₩₳Ɏ) excitedly.

Ren grinned, "I..-I had a great idea, w-while we were on our way here, why not..l-live stream this? A-any donations that come through c-could go to... Rowans' family.." (ⱧɆ ₴₳Ɏ₴ ₳Ⱡ₥Ø₴₮ ⱤɆⱠɄ₵₮₳₦₮ⱠɎ)

Your eyes lit up, and you nod in agreement, about to reply, when-

"MGHHMPPH"

Your captive makes itself known again.

"Livestream started." Ren says with a smile in their tone.

Back to the cameras, you lift the mask onto your face, everything but your (₵ØⱠĐ) eyes hidden from sight.

"Lets start with an eye~." You mumble, loud enough for the mics to pick up, as your oblivious prisoner stares helplessly as you pick up a pin...

3̳.̳.̳.̳

2҉...

1̷.̷.̷.̷

₲₳₥Ɇ ₴₮₳Ɽ₮!

<<The remains of an eye are thrown away into a bucket>>

<<Ren enthusiastically reads a few comments and conditions for donations>>

<<The gag comes off, pained swearing and desperate threats loudly echo in the room>>

<<You equip yourself with a scalpel>>

<<Cries and pleading fill the room>>

<<Ren tries and fails to stifle their laughter>>

<<More ₳₦Đ ₥ØⱤɆ blood fills the bucket>>

<<The chat goes wild>>

<<After 30 minutes, the only sounds in the room are Rens' encouragement and the ₴₵ⱤɆ₳₥ł₦₲ ₳₦Đ ₵ⱤɎł₦₲ Ø₣ ɎØɄⱤ Vł₵₮ł₥>>

<<After 60 minutes, the last ₴ØɄ₦Đ₴ Ø₣ ฿ⱤɆ₳₮Ⱨł₦₲ fade>>

₵Ø₦₲Ɽ₳₮₴!