Patterns of Blues

Chapter 14

Niall cried the whole ride to the foster home, as loud and terrible-sounding as he could, hoping the guy, Art's what he called himself, would pick up the hint and drop him back off to his brothers. That didn't happen, though.

No, Art didn't try to console him and instead drove in complete silence, ignoring Niall's existence altogether. He didn't want to be soothed anyway. What he wanted was to scream and kick and scratch until he got his way, that's how panicked he had become, each second the man drove from the hospital, the more dread seeped inside of him. 

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the man slowed to a stop, and for a moment Niall hushed himself, hopeful he would say something useful to him, like 'Okay, I'll take you back,' or 'Don't worry, your brothers will be here too,' but instead he got,

"This is it. Ms. Claire'll come here tomorrow with some of your stuff."

Niall's hope left him entirely, and he resumed crying, this time much quieter. He then realized that he physically couldn't stop the tears if he tried to, from the pain he felt when he sat down to the metaphorical dagger that was being twisted inside of his heart at the prospect of being away from the only people who loved him and kept him safe. He was a wreck. 

Art left the vehicle and opened the door for him, standing patiently as Niall fumbled with the seatbelt with his good hand, shaking so rapidly that it took him half a minute to unclip it. He stepped outside as well, keeping his distance from the man, and wiped his eyes to try and clear his vision, but new tears spilled over immediately.

Art knocked at the door of a small, and well-kept white house, and the door was opened wide within seconds, a blonde woman on the other side with a soft smile drawn upon her face,

"Hi there," she said to Art, but her gaze rested on Niall as she spoke. 

"Hello, Mrs. Corden. This," he waved a hand at the still-teary-eyed boy, "is Niall." The woman nodded encouragingly and gave him another smile,

"Nice to meet you, Niall. My name's Julia." He tried to return the smile as best he could but was sure it didn't look remotely close to one, swiping at his tears again.

"Thank you for taking him in," Art said formally, "his main social worker, Claire, the one you spoke to on the phone, will be stopping by tomorrow for more details." Julia nodded again, 

"That sounds wonderful," then she turned to Niall, who instinctively stepped backward, "How about we get you inside? You must be exhausted." He looked from the woman back to Art, hesitant to move, before nodding slowly, watery eyes stuck on the boards of the deck. 

Art left as soon as Niall stepped inside, and he felt the need to start sobbing again, though for no reason in particular, except maybe because he was afraid. Dead afraid of everything.

"Awh, hey, baby, let's get you to bed, yeah?" Julia knelt to his level and offered him a sympathetic smile, and Niall had to stop himself from sobbing even harder when she used his brother's nickname for him. Then the sound of running water caught his attention and he glanced around the kitchen to see a man standing over the sink filling up a glass,

"Here's some cold water, alright? It'll help calm those nasty feelings." Niall nodded silently, taking the cup from him if only to appease the man, not thinking twice about disobeying. He took a few sips and glanced at him nervously. He had a stubble like Greg's, though his face was much nicer to look at, a polite smile plastered on, not sharp with irritation. "My name's James," he added, tone still warm, and took the glass back when Niall didn't move to finish it. 

"I'll show you to your room, okay?" Julia took over the conversation, "It's very late." Niall nodded wordlessly, finally regulating his breathing enough to stop crying, though his breaths were still quite ragged, and he noticed how badly his throat hurt. 

She walked him up the stairs into a small bedroom with light blue walls. There wasn't much in there, one bed, a dresser, and a large wooden chest, but it was clean, tidy, and smelt of lavender, much more homely than the one back at Greg's. On the walls were a couple of paintings, one of a sunset over the ocean and the other a fleet of sailboats, adding a much-needed feeling of peace to the room. 

Julia opened the dresser and removed a pair of soft-looking pajamas before turning back towards him, "The last boy we took in was just about your size, so these should fit you nicely." Niall nodded again but frowned when he looked at the sling his arm was wrapped in, aware that he would need help changing, and his alarm immediately started to rebuild. Julia noticed this, and breathed out sadly before kneeling to his level, "Hey, love, no one's going to hurt you anymore, okay? I only want to help you. You're safe here." 

"I don't want your help," he whispered, tears succeeding in spilling over again, "I want Harry. He always helps me." 

"I know," she murmured, unhurt by his words, "but he isn't here right now, so I'll have to be the one to take care of you." He shook his head repeatedly, frustrated,

"No, I just want Harry. Harry and Liam. They take care of me, not you." His breaths shortened, quick, and panicky, and his emotions took over full force again, squeezing his eyes shut tightly to stop the tears from puddling out. 

"Oh, shhh, it's okay," Julia whispered from beside him, "How about tomorrow we ask Ms. Claire if we can schedule a visitation? I'm sure they want to see you as well." He opened his eyes and peeked into her light blue ones, nodding a couple of times,

"Thank you."

Julia smiled, cupping a hand around his cheek, "It's not a problem at all, honey. How about we get you to sleep?"

Niall sniffed loudly before agreeing to let her help him out of his clothes and into the pajamas. Julia then helped him into bed and covered him with several blankets, her kind smile never wavering. 

"James and I sleep right across the hall, okay? If you need anything at all, please find us," she didn't wait for a response, flicking the light switch off and closing the door behind her, leaving Niall completely alone.

He breathed out a sigh before turning over and falling asleep, so exhausted that it only took a handful of minutes.