I walked to the bus stop alone playing the 'Don't look back' game, that's when I saw him.

There was a rule when I walked home alone. A game my dad called it, but a rule the rest of us knew it to be. He said it was all about confidence and trust, trusting and believing us to make it home safely but that was a load of shit. It was his paranoia. He had been waiting, and if I looked back during that whole walk, then I was subject to a punishment he would make up at the time. <br><br>He was a stickler for the rules, my dad, even if they were his own, because it gave him control. A lot of control. Too much.<br><br>"Rule number one: you walk alone, you walk by my rules."<br><br>That was what he said, as he let the door close behind him and watched me walk away down the path. I thought about looking back to see him, but the threat still lingered in my head as I walked. <br><br>Thank fuck I did, I thought, the moment I came to the end of the path and stepped onto the sidewalk. Then I thought about the weird old dude who was on the street. <br><br>It was a Friday, so the streets were pretty empty, only a few people here and there but one old dude, who always stuck out to me, was always on the streets at the same time every day that I left the office. For the record, I didn't work at the office, it was my dads, and I was just a bitch boy, sometimes, though I liked to refer to myself as a PA. <br><br>Anyway, back to the old dude. His name, or at least, what dad said, was Mr Edwards. The name itself was pretty normal, but the fact that he sat outside the office building every day, dressed in a dirty raincoat with a flat cap on his head, even on a days like today when it was pretty fucking warm. That, and the fact he always left with me, but never said a word.<br><br>I looked back, in spite of what dad had said, but he wasn't on the bench. I shrugged, feeling a strange sense of disappointment as I continued down the road to the bus stop. The red brick tower blocks playing host to a group of kids, playing tag and laughing, as well as a group of piss heads playing cards and drinking what I assumed was a mix of OJ and pure alcohol, like it was water. <br><br>I continued to walk down the pavement, feeling a strange sense of calm as I looked back at the tower blocks. The tower blocks were, almost, home, and even with the knowledge that I had a shit journey ahead of me, the fact that my journey was almost over. The thought of coming home to my lovely parent free flat, like an oasis on a desert highway, made everything feel like it was gonna be alright.<br><br>"What's up with that mother fucker?" One of the piss heads slurred, as I stopped to see what he was talking about. A car had crashed, head on, into a lamppost and everyone was in a panic. The driver of the car had gotten out, stumbling around like a moron as he fumbled for his phone, the bled from his forehead gushing like water. <br><br>I giggled, in spite of myself, at the sight of him. Fuck knows why, though as I looked back at the piss heads drink, I decided, probably, because I was a sick individual.<br><br>"Must be a new one round here." The piss head, who'd already spoken, said, as he stared after the driver. There was a commotion, but my attention was drawn back to the lamppost in question. A figure was on the ground, writhing about as the driver screamed. <br><br>"Holy shit!" One of the playing kids shouted, before they all ran as far away from the accident as possible.<br><br>"How did he not see the fucking lamppost?" The same piss head asked, almost detach, as if he knew how bad the situation was. "Shit!"<br><br>I turned, as I heard a groan, to see the guy on the ground, writhing about as he tried to get out the road. His leg was like a potato chip, and his screams were attracting the attention of the whole street, even the playing kids as they heard the commotion and ran back to see what all the fuss was about. One of them, a little blond kid, pointed. <br><br>"Look at that!" He shouted, his blonde frizzy hair and pointed finger making him look like a caricature. As he pointed, as everyone watched as he slowly tried to get up, and fell to the ground, in tears.<br><br>"What the actual shit?" the piss head asked, as more of the tower blocks residents came out to watch.<br><br>I giggled again, almost in disbelief as the driver stumbled around, screaming in panic as the screaming got louder. His screams and groans filled the street until, eventually, the sound of sirens and the arrival of the ambulance drowned them out. <br><br>A small crowd had gathered, and I watched, almost, detached as one of the guys from the ambulance tried to stop the bleeding, while the other tried to move the twisted wreckage of the car off him. The driver was placed on a stretcher, before he screamed for them to stop, and fell off the side of the stretcher and onto the ground. <br><br>"Shit, he's done for!" One of the piss heads said, as he shook his head. The guy was still alive though, and as he got to his feet, he was clearly in a daze. <br><br>That was when the screaming started. A woman, with a screeching voice that pierced through the sounds of the emergency workers as they were trying to get the dying guy out from under the wreckage. The driver shook his head, almost detach as he stumbled towards her. She grabbed his arm, shaking him as she screamed, before she collapsed into screaming sobs as she held his arm, clinging to it like a life line.<br><br>"How is this in anyway representative of what he'd be like in a real situation?" I heard one of the tower residents say, as she shook her head. The tower residents, the piss heads, the kids, the emergency workers and the dying man all watched as the driver was put into the back of the police car, still screaming, as he was carted away. <br><br>I watched him go, shaking my head as I turned the corner. I couldn't believe it, though I knew how dangerous the streets were because of 'people' like him. The word echoed in my head as the screaming faded away.<br><br>"Rule number one: you walk alone, you walk by my rules."<br><br>My dad had been a paranoid, control freak, for as long as I could remember. Always telling me to be careful, playing the 'Don't look back' game whenever I went to school. The rules were simple, you walk alone, you walk by my rules and you played by the rules whenever you left or arrived, anywhere you went.<br><br>"Don't look back."<br><br>"Don't look back, and you'll be fine."<br><br>I would never know if what he said was true, but I knew he was a stickler for the rules, even if they were his own, because it gave him control. A lot of control. Too much. <br><br>I walked alone, and if I looked back during the whole walk to the bus station, where I usually waited, then I was subject to a punishment he would make up at the time. <br><br>"You look back, and the punishment is worse, though I'm sure you'll realise that no matter how bad it is, it'd be better than what happens if you look back."<br><br>That was what he said, as he let the door close behind me and watched me walk away down the path. I thought about looking back to see him, but the threat still lingered in my head as I walked. <br><br>Thank fuck I did, I thought, the moment I came to the end of the path and stepped onto the sidewalk. Then I thought about the weird old dude who was on the street. <br><br>It was a Friday, so the streets were pretty empty, only a few people here and there but one old dude, who always stuck out to me, was always on the streets at the same time every day that I left the office. For the record, I didn't work at the office, it was my dads, and I was just a bitch boy, sometimes, though I liked to refer to myself as a PA. <br><br>Anyway, back to the old dude. His name, or at least, what dad said, was Mr Edwards. The name itself was pretty normal, but the fact that he sat outside the office building every day, dressed in a dirty raincoat with a flat cap on his head, even on a days like today when it was pretty fucking warm. That, and the fact he always left with me, but never said a word.<br><br>I looked back, in spite of what dad had said, but he wasn't on the bench. I shrugged, feeling a strange sense of disappointment as I continued down the road to the bus stop. The red brick tower blocks played host to a group of kids, playing tag and laughing, as well as a group of piss heads playing cards and drinking what I assumed was a mix of OJ and pure alcohol, like it was water. <br><br>I continued to walk down the pavement, feeling a strange sense of calm as I looked back at the tower blocks. The tower blocks were, almost, home, and even with the knowledge that I had a shit journey ahead of me, the fact that my journey was almost over. The thought of coming home to my lovely parent free flat, like an oasis on a desert highway, made everything feel like it was gonna be alright.<br><br>"What's up with that mother fucker?" One