save me

THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING NEW

The first time he met her, she was sitting on a bed with her bag in her lap; wearing a pout across her lips. His eyes were drawn to the black eye that she sported. He wondered how she got it. But it didn't matter if he ended up finding out, after all this was only temporary. Just until they can find her a foster parent. Or a better one at the least.

It had been a regular Sunday morning. He woke up at 7:30, unwillingly, and got up to make coffee. He had dragged his tired body down the steps and into the kitchen. Only minutes after the heavenly smell of black coffee graced his nose, he got the call. His phone rang. He let it go unanswered, whatever it was could wait.

Only the caller didn't think so as they called again. He groaned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, answering the call. "What?" He huffed, putting his phone on speaker as he grabbed his mug.

"Hey, do you still have that emergency foster license?" Tommy's voice rang through the small speaker of the phone, sounding tired and out of breath. His eyebrows furrowed. Why the hell would Tommy want to know?

"Why? What happened?" He questioned.

"I will explain everything later, just..do you have it?" Tommy asked, ignoring his questions.

"Yes, why?" He repeated, his confusion growing.

"Great, get your ass to the hospital. Now, it's an emergency," Tommy said before he heard the soft click and then the dial tone.

He turned to look at his phone, placing his mug down. What the hell? Why was Tommy at the hospital and why did he need to know about his license? He groaned, realizing that his Sunday wasn't going to be as peaceful as he thought. He moved to grab his phone, pocketing it before he went to the front door; slipping his boots on before he grabbed his coat and left. He got into the truck and drove to the hospital.

He arrived after a few minutes, parking before he raced inside; his mind thinking of all the worst-case scenarios. He burst through the doors of the hospital, unintentionally scaring the receptionist. He let his feet carry him to the desk, leaning on it slightly as he tried to catch his breath. "My brother's here, I need to see him, please," He said, trying to remember his manners while in the midst of his panic.

The receptionist looked at him with wide eyes before she nodded. "Alright, what's his name?"

"His name is Tommy-"

"Joel!" Tommy's voice carried through the lobby, causing Joel to look to his right, pushing off the desk when he saw his brother as he stormed over to him.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Joel asked, his hand resting on Tommy's shoulder as his brown eyes scanned over the other.

"I'm alright, I'm not hurt. I'm not the reason that I'm here," Tommy explained, shifting nervously.

"If you're not then who is?" Joel asked, feeling his confusion rise up.

"Maybe it's just better if I show you," Tommy said, turning away from Joel as he started to walk down the hallway. Joel tried to protest, wanting answers, but he realized that his attempts were fruitless and so he followed Tommy down the long hallway; the smell of anti-septic and cleanliness hitting his nose and making it burn.

He followed Tommy until they approached room 13. Tommy reached out and pushed the door open. A steady beeping filled his ears as he looked in. In the middle of the room, laying pale against the white sheets of the examination bed was a girl no older than 14 yet no younger than 13. She was sporting a black eye and split lip along with a red cheek. She was awake, her eyes glaring defensively at the men as she and Joel made eye contact.

Joel felt his body freeze, something rising in his chest at seeing a child look so hateful already. He ripped his eyes away from the girl to look at his brother. "Tommy, enough. What the hell is happening?" He questioned, his voice lowering to keep the girl from hearing. "Who the hell is that?"

"You know I can hear you, dipshit. Why don't you just ask me?" The girl spoke up, making Joel glance at her. He wasn't sure if that was a wise idea. He had no clue who she was or why he was needed but he knew that it wasn't for a visit.

"Tommy," he whispered again, raising an eyebrow at his brother who only sighed.

"Alright, I'll tell you just get the room so we're not standing in the hallway," Tommy said, gesturing for Joel to enter the room. Joel sighed but walked inside, going over to one of the visitor chairs before he stared at Tommy, waiting for the other to start talking. "Well, you know how Maria and I moved into a kinda shady apartment until we can save up to buy our house?"

Joel nodded, not getting the point. "Right so after a couple of days, we started to realize that something wasn't quite right with our neighbors. We would hear yelling late at night or sometimes early in the morning. At first, we thought nothing of it since we figured it was adults who could handle themself. Well two days ago we realized that it wasn't two adults but rather one adult and a kid," Tommy said, gesturing to the girl.

"Hey! I'm not a fucking kid," The girl spat. "And I was fine, I can handle myself."

Tommy gave her a pointed look before he sighed. "Anyways, last night or early this morning, we heard a scream and then a loud bang. So naturally, Maria and I went to check it out and we found her in the middle of our living room. Her mother had thrown her through the wall. So I rushed her to the hospital while Maria called the police. However, they don't want her to go home to her mother but for the time being, they have no place for her. Which is where you come in. We need you to watch her until they find a better placement."

Joel was silent for a few minutes, letting everything sink in. He couldn't understand why her mother would do that, she was a fucking child and should've been treated as such. He glanced at the girl before looking at Tommy.

Twenty years ago, he made a promise to him. He wouldn't get attached to another kid. He couldn't handle losing another kid. But this girl needed him, she had no one else. And that's how he found himself nodding, agreeing to watch her for the week or so.