Raises By Humans

Chapter 4

“Come here you little s**t! It is all your fault that your mother died today!” Kieran steps onto Luke’s bed and grabs him by the neck and pulls him back over the bed.

Kieran throws Luke face down onto the bed and starts to take off his belt. Luke tries to get back, but Kieran warns him, “stay where you are boy!”

Kieran hits Luke with his belt, coming down hard on his rear end.

Luke screams in pain that makes Kieran angrier.

Kieran pulls him up and hits Luke through the face with a fist, “if you didn’t come in the way this morning your mother would still be alive right now!”

Luke feels himself being pulled up to his feet by his throat before being thrown to his bed, his head hiding the headboard.

Kieran leaves him there to cry and goes downstairs to finish his dinner.

Over the next few days, a few neighbors came over to give their condolences, and even though they all requested to see Luke and wanted to know why he is not attending his own mother’s funeral Kieran told them that he is not coping to well, knowing if they see Luke they will know that he beat him up as both his eyes are swollen and blue.

“Come downstairs and clean up, I won’t be your maid,” Kieran says, standing at the entrance of Luke’s bedroom, the door still broken to the side.

Luke gets up from his bed, still wearing the same clothes with bloodstains from his mother and Sky on it.

“You smell and look like filth. Don’t think I am going to allow you to be a little filthy b*tch under my roof,” Kieran spats.

“Your roof?” Luke dares to questions.

“Who do you think has been paying the bills? Your mother that worked for free?” Kieran asks.

“Who do you think paid for the clothes on your back? The bond of this house? Why do you think your mother was so quick to marry me?” Kieran asks even though he knows he is talking bullshit since Maxwell left a fortune to his wife and Luke. Kieran just received Ronel’s last will, a will that was never updated, and leaving everything to Luke but while Luke is still underage his legal guardian, in this case, Kieran will manage the account.

‘As long as this boy stays under my care his money is mine,’ Kieran thinks, planning to get an excuse to place Luke under conservatorship by his sixteenth birthday and keep him there for the rest of his life.

‘Can’t believe Ronel did not tell me about all the money and the massive estate in Luke’s name that his father Maxwell inherited from his family,’ Kieran thinks, shaking his head, wondering who in their right mind will leave so much money and possessions to a ‘wet behind the ear’, kid.

‘It is just a matter of time, surely I can push this kid to attempt taking his own life?’ Kieran thinks that it will be the perfect excuse to put Luke under conservatorship.

Luke looks at the mess and realizes that nothing has been cleaned since his mother’s death a few days ago. Kieran didn’t even care to pack away the food that neighbors brought.

Looking at the food, Luke realizes that he is feeling faint from not eating for so long.

“What are you waiting for? Start cleaning up,” Kieran orders him, walking to the living room.

Luke walks into the kitchen and looks through the dishes and takes one that looks eatable and starts to eat with his hand, the hunger getting the best of him.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kieran asks, disgusted at the sight of Luke eating straight out of a serving dish with his hands.

Luke drops the serving dish with food in it out of fright and just stares at Kieran, his one hand still full of food.

“Now you will eat it off the f*cking floor since you want to behave like an animal,” Kieran orders, pointing to the ground.

Luke just looks at him, not wanting to eat of the floor.

In a few big strides, Kieran is in arms reach of Luke and grabs him by the back of his neck, and forces him to the ground, “eat, dog.”

Luke keeps his mouth shut, refusing to eat but Kieran just pushes his face harder to the mess on the floor, some of the glass pieces from the broken dish cutting into his face.

“I am going to bed, when I wake up tomorrow morning, I want this place clean,” Kieran says, letting go of Luke.

The next morning when Kieran woke up, dressed, and ready to go to work he found the house still a big mess.

“Luke!” he calls out but gets no answer.

Kieran stomps upstairs, “Luke!” Kieran turns into Luke’s room, but he is not there.

Kieran takes out his phone, thinking, ‘let see if the kid has some brains.’ Kieran taps on his WHERE’S MY FAMILY app and selects Luke’s name.

‘Good he has his phone with him. What is he doing at the Wild Animal Sanctuary?’ Kieran wonders, a frown on his face.

Kieran grabs his gun holster and swings it over his chest before getting his gun from the safe.

Kieran heads for the Wild Animal Sanctuary first and makes his car’s siren go off once, just for the fun of it, wanting to install fear into Luke.

Luke jumps up from the Kennel floor where he is laying with Samuel (Sky). Samuel sits up as well and starts to growl.

‘How does he even know I am here?’ Luke wonders, getting up.

“Officer Kieran, good morning. How are you holding up? Did you come to fetch Ronel’s things?” Cindy asks, unaware that Luke spend the night in the Sanctuary as he took his mother’s keys.

“I am looking for Luke,” Kieran says, shutting his car door and walking over to the entrance.

“Luke?” Cindy asks, confused.

“Yes, Luke, I know he is here,” Kieran says pushing past Cindy.