6 The Denigrated

Senna opened his eyes and stood up and then yawned, he looked around and there was no sign of Dean anywhere. He looked to my left side and noticed that on the pillow was a piece of paper with writing on it. Senna took it in his hand and began to read it.

—"I'll go for now, I don't want to cause you any trouble. I'm on something I can't tell you, but I promise to come back once I manage to solve some of the problems around me now. I'll be back" —He finished reading and sighed.

His situation has not changed at all.

Flash Back

5 years earlier

Senna felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and it was so unpleasant that he ended up spitting on the floor. The pain that came after that was even worse and more unpleasant; his jaw hurt from the punch he got from one of the guys in front of him.

—I didn't even touch you and you're already bleeding. —Said the puncher.

—It's a little girl. —The other one laughed.

—Give us your money, Senna. This is the last time we will do it.

—If you don't, you know what will happen. —Said the most threatening of them all, the one who hit him.

—I-I don't have any money.

—Don't tell lies, we know you come from a good family. —Grunted the man who had him glued to the wall.

The tallest of them took Senna by the arm and threw him to the ground; he fell on his ass while looking into their eyes. Senna's breathing accelerated, he was so nervous that he would soon faint. The fear had left him completely immobile.

—Since you don't want to collaborate... —the boy clenched his fist ready to hit him again.

Senna closed his eyes waiting for the boy's fist to hit his face, but to his surprise and joy that didn't happen, when he opened his eyes Senna saw that a black haircut was holding the arm of the giant who was mistreating him.

—I hope you have done everything in your life. —He twisted his arm.—Because you are a dead man. — He concluded.

Dean threw him to the ground and the two began to fight. Dean being on top, he hit the boy's face until his face swelled up and blood streamed from his nose, the other two ran like scared little animals while screaming that a monster had attacked them.

—Hell, Senna. Look how they left you. —Dean said as he got to his height. —Come on, let's get out of here. —he offered his hand and Senna accepted it.

—Thank you, Dean. —He whispered.

He shook his head to play it down as he helped him up; his uniform was a mess as it was covered with dirt and blood that would be trouble for his family. He had to look good at all times according to his mother.

—You must go; the others will think it was you. —Senna muttered as he walked away.

Dean took her arm and pulled her towards him, Senna saw his eyes and they were serious.

—I don't care what they think about me, I've accepted the fact of being judged only by my personality. —He answered.

Senna nodded, unable to do anything else. He walked her home, and as expected, her parents blamed Dean. Everyone thought Senna was lying about Dean saving him, but in the end he was judged to be quiet and a bit threatening at first glance.

End of Flash Back

—I feel guilty...—He mumbled and then fell on the bed.

Senna feels that he is partly to blame for the fact that they think badly of the black hair because after that event many boys began to look for trouble, they wanted to measure his strength and capacity, he was never intimidated by it and gave in to the fights in which he was the winner.

—Get up, Senna. It's late. —Said a voice. Then Senna saw Keith enter his room.

—Should I change the hiding place for the spare key? —He asked, laughing. Keith just shook his head.

—Only I know about that hiding place so it shouldn't be a problem. —He shrugged.

Senna got out of bed and went into the bathroom. Once he was ready, he went to the kitchen where his friend was already sitting waiting for him. Senna sat down in front of him and began to devour what his friend had prepared.

��Your parents called, they said you need to get ready to go visit family. —Keith said, and Senna rolled her eyes in annoyance. —I know you don't like that kind of meeting but you have to, otherwise your parents would have a heart attack.

Senna sighed as he nodded his head. Senna looked at the paintings all over the place, they look happy at first glance but the truth is that his family is as broken as he is inside.

—I'm tired. —He mumbled. —We must pretend to be a happy family when we're so broken and divided. —He looked at his friend.

—I know, Senna. We both share the same feeling. —He added, then sighed.

Which of us will live worse, Keith or Senna? One of them seeks perfection continuously, feeling more and more disappointed when he does not achieve it. The other one pretends to be happy with his ideal family, it is like a layer of appearance that hides the sad reality. Be it one or the other, neither of them is happy.

***

Saint looked at his dark eyes and thought that he looks like a little scared dog, one that even though he does not bite, will not come easily to him. Saint took the key of the handcuffs and went to remove them. Shaun remained static when he saw that Saint would let him free. Once without the handcuffs Shaun walks away while looking at him with serious eyes.

—I just want to talk. —Muttered Saint. —If you promise to listen, I won't do anything to you," he added.

—Well, I'm listening. —He crossed his arms. —I hope it's something important. —He said with a raised eyebrow.

Saint nodded his head and then waved for him to follow. They walk up to the room Saint uses as a study. There are all the details of Dean's stepfather's death as well as the files given to him for the case.

—You never seem to stop working. —Shaun said.

—There's no rest for this work. —He said.

Both men approach the board with details of the crime scene written on it, such as the possible time of the crime, and the clues they collected from the scene.

—What did you bring me here for? I don't think a civilian like me should see this. —Shaun pointed to the board.

—Listen, Shaun. —Saint stood in front of him. —I know I can't be trusted by any of you, not after I've lied to you. —He sighed. — But please believe me when I tell you that Nathan and I don't want to arrest Dean, on the contrary, we want to help him get out of the mess he's in. —He explained.

He smiled with nostalgia.

—That's why I need your help; you're the one who was left in charge after we disappeared. I know you know about everything. —He concluded.

—It's good for you to know that none of you can be trusted. —Shaun said. —But let's say I believe you. —He looked at him seriously. —Would you really be willing to disappoint your superiors to save him?

—It would not be the first time I have disappointed someone. —He laughed reluctantly.

Shaun is silent and seems uncomfortable; he knows that he has touched a bad key in Saint.

—Dean's stepfather died from multiple stab wounds. —Saint pointed out. —25 stab wounds in all. But a funny thing about this case is that studies showed there was cocaine in his system. Did you know about that? —He asked.

He seemed to think before answering, walked to the board, and breathed a sigh before answering.

—That man was an alcoholic and drug addict, he used to come home late, and beat up Dean's mother.

—This will be quite complicated. —Saint muttered as he took a marker and began to write. That could be taken as self-defense, but also as a reason to commit the murder. —He added.

—I know. That's why none of us said anything about it. In the end that would make things worse for Dean. He has the bad luck to be denigrated by others, who only judge him without knowing him. —He concluded.

—When we met, he was already living in those conditions. Right?

—Yes. Each of us had our own problems, including you, of course. —Shaun laughed.

Saint nodded his head and looked at the board. This matter is more complicated than he thought.

—Did Dean kill him? —Saint asked as he looked at him.

—I don't know. —Answered Shaun. —And even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. —He concluded.

"And, back to the beginning", Saint thought.

Well. If he thinks about it, they hadn't even really progressed. Shaun still does not trust Saint or Nathan; just because he answers some questions does not mean that he feels confident about them. Saint knows just by looking at him. Shaun's eyes are still like those of an unfriendly animal.