The Swan

Chapter 13 (Quackity)

possible TWs, stay safe <3

The boy went through a long stage of depression.

Whenever he was invited on road trips or family trips, he would say no. After a while, they just stopped asking him to come. On his 15th birthday, they tried to get him to come out, but he didn't do anything. He still received presents, but they were fairly small. Cards were given to him wishing him a happy birthday and hoping he'd feel better soon. He stored those in a corner of his room.

At some point, his dad got sick of it and tried to give him up to an orphanage. Tried meaning a friend of the father's offered to take care of him instead. The father had agreed and helped the boy move into the new house.

The change was definitely weird for the boy. The man was nice and he only had one other son that was a bit older than the boy. The man gradually helped him come out of his shell, bringing meals to his room and reminding him to take care of himself, never entering his room without permission and always knocking.

The boy was becoming more open with the man. He set the boy up for online school so he could catch up on schooling. The boy also got along with his adopted brother surprisingly well. They bounced off of each other nicely. Overall, he adjusted to his new family and felt like he belonged for the first time in a long time.

When he hit the age of 17, he got a job at a casino as a dealer and a bartender. It paid real well since he was taking two jobs there. His adopted father didn't mind since he's known and trusted the owner to take care of the boy.

The boy moved out a few months after turning 18. He moved into a comfortably sized apartment and only had around 10 boxes coming with him. It took around 3 months to get the whole apartment furnished before he started unpacking his boxes.

He sat on his bed with the last box. Tears were dripping from his face while he sifted through the contents. There were pictures of his mother, all except one taken at skating competitions she participated in. A few medals sat in the box too.

That old shoebox was there too. He cried more as he gently hugged a picture of his mother. Yearning for her affection, wishing she was still there for him. He cried until he had fallen asleep.

The next day he rose in the afternoon. First thing he did when he woke up was look up directions for the nearest ice rink. Second thing he did was make himself look less like a high person who was sobbing their eyes out. The last thing he did was grab the skates and head out the door.

He walked along the sidewalks to the ice rink that was three blocks away.

Once he arrived, he signed in on the guest list after reading the sign about the receptionist being temporarily unavailable and estimated to be back in fifteen minutes.

He found the door that led to the locker room right before the ice rink. The boy changed into his mother's- well- his skates. He walked out into the auditorium with a huge oval ice floor in the center with barriers surrounding it. He put in some earphones to listen to music.

Nostalgic, fresh, icy air filled his lungs when he breathed in. He exhaled before gliding onto the ice.