Love You Regardless

13

CW's:
-Muscle disease
TW's:
-Mentions (child) abuse

Clay's POV

When I came home, I took a short shower before having dinner with my family. I was watching videos during dinner and when dinner finished, I went upstairs with my brother. I was a bit sad, because I had been thinking a lot about the fire and my parents. With that I was also confused about what was happening with George.

I looked up at my brother before I started the new episode and sighed. 'I have a question.'

'Okay, what's up?' he said with a smile on his face.

'George's face is very bruised and I saw his dad hit him this morning.'

'Hit him?' my brother yelled as he sat up. 'I mean, I suspected that, but are you sure you saw that?'

I nodded. 'I was looking at George through the window and saw him cry and get hit.'

'I already thought so,' my brother said, sighing softly. 'I'm going to tell this to our parents, okay?'

'What does it mean?'

'George gets abused at home, his dad hurts him.'

I looked at him shortly with big eyes. 'Does he have pain?'

'He might have a lot of pain. Before we start the episode, can we talk to mum and dad about this? I think they know what to do with this.'

I nodded and my brother grabbed my hand as we walked downstairs. I didn't really get what was going on, but I was a bit stressed. I put my thumb in my mouth and held Wolly tight as I walked with my brother to the couch.

'Mum and dad, please come here. Clay told me something and this is not good at all. George isn't okay in the slightest.'

Mum and dad sat down in front of us and they looked at my brother with shocked faces. 'What's wrong?'

'First of all, I don't think George is okay since he seems very weak. I have seen him fall multiple times today and he can't lift anything. It's not okay at all.'

My dad nodded. 'And the other thing?'

'George gets abused by his dad. Clay said that he saw George's dad hit George today and his whole face is covered in bruises, not even speaking about his body probably.'

'Oh my goodness, I already suspected this as well. His dad was very harsh on him.'

'George always says he's in pain, but his dad doesn't seem to care.'

'I think it might be best to talk to his dad or call the police. I'm not sure which one.'

'You can try to talk to them first. Actually, maybe it's best if I do it,' my brother asked. 'I saw his dad trying to hurt George today, I could just obliviously asked something about it.'

'Okay, that's a good idea,' my dad said.

'Shall I go immediately? It's weird if I go tomorrow.'

'Episode?' I whispered as I pouted slightly.

'We are going to watch the episode after that, okay? I'll be back in a little bit. Do you want to come with me? Or do you get scared?'

'I want to come with you,' I muttered as I nodded. 'Wolly?'

'Take Wolly with you.'

I nodded and my brother grabbed my hand. 'You can put your thumb in your mouth if that calms you down. Or stim a little bit.'

I nodded and put my thumb in my mouth as I made soft sounds as well. We started walking to George's house, but I stood still.

'Are we going to watch the episode together? And the soccer match?' I whispered quietly.

My brother ran his free hand through my hair and kissed my forehead. He was taller than me so he had to lean forwards a little. 'We are going to watch it, I promise you.'

I nodded and walked further. My brother wanted to ring the bell, but I ran to Wolly first to say hello to him. After I said hello to Wolly and cuddled with him for a while, my brother rang the bell. He seemed to be a little bit nervous and I put my thumb in my mouth to calm down again.

We waited for the door to open, but it took a really long while. I was pretty sure that I heard screaming voices as well, but they stopped as soon as the doorbell rang.

'What is happening?' I whispered.

'I don't think this is good, Clay. You might want to leave before the door opens. I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here.'

I nodded slowly. 'And our episode?'

'We will watch it when I'm back home, okay? You can go to Wolly, I'm sure he's a little bit alone without you.'

I nodded heavily and let go of my brother's hand. I ran to Wolly and saw the door opening a while later. I heard my brother talking to, I figured, George's dad.

'Could I maybe come inside, I'd just like to ask some things, if that's alright? It doesn't have to take long at all, I only have a few questions.'

'It's pretty late in the evening, I'd rather go to sleep soon then let people come in my house now. Can you come back tomorrow?'

'I have to work tomorrow, I'm sorry.'

I looked at Wolly, put my thumb back in my mouth and cuddled up with Wolly. I liked being with Wolly and grabbed my phone to look up a video with fish. Then I had my thumb in my mouth, Wolly the Sheep, Wolly the Llama, videos of fishes and I could softly rock and stim. That made me really happy and it made me smile.

'Clay, I'm going inside for a little,' my brother said to me as he smiled. I missed the other half of their conversation, but apparently my brother could still go in now.

I nodded my head at him and looked back at Wolly. I felt a little bit scared alone in the dark. It made me remember the day that I stood outside in the dark, calling for an ambulance. I concentrated on the video, but I kept having thoughts. I started crying and stood up to look for my brother.

1040 words