God Bless The Broken Road (Jonathan Toews)

Helping Hand (Part Two)

Maisie

I drive back the familiar road but don't stop at my old house. No, instead I pull up to the one next to it. It was about one in the afternoon and the boys were in school. Everly was at a play date with Sharpys kid Maddie and Jon and Mason were having a boys day. I decided to get down to the bottom of who Sam was and why he was so mentally and physically hurt. I knock on what was left of the front door and a man about a foot taller than me answers.

"Who are you" he asks opening the door just so his mouth shows. His teeth were nearly gone and I could smell his breath from here.

"Hi, I'm Maisie Toews. Your son has been with my husband and our family off and on for the past two weeks. I had some questions" I say kindly. It goes silent before he unlocks a bunch of locks and opens the door all the way.

"You're not the cops are you" he asks.

"Nope. I'm a photographer" I tell him and he nods.

"Come on in, make yourself comfortable" he says. I go in but in no way know how to make myself comfortable. There isn't a light in the whole house, but if the lighting was bad then the smell was terrible. It smelled like a sewer in this place. There was a soul couch in the whole living room, nothing else. I sit there and he sits next to me.

"May I ask your name" I ask.

"For a legal reasons I think it would be best if you didn't" he replies. I understood, I've been there before.

"Okay. I get it. But I'm not leaving until I know it's safe for Sam to stay here" I inform him.

"Maisie, is it, this place is a lot of things, but safe ain't one of them" he says before lighting a cigarette. Gross.

"I care about your son a lot. And I know you think I'm some rich uptight white lady who is looking for a charity case, but that's not what is happening. In fact I grew up in the house right next to this one" I inform him.

"You're Anna and Brian's little girl" he asks a bit shocked.

"Unfortunately" I admit.

"Wow. I remember when you were just a little girl just laying in the grass staring up to the sky. You always did have your head in the clouds" he remembers.

"Yeah, but thanks to that I was able to get out of this place. Chase my dreams and fell in love along the way. Now my husband and I have three beautiful children and that house is just a memory. But I'm not here to boast. I'm here to make sure Sam has what he needs to be happy."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but happiness is short circuited around here. You know that. As long as the boy is here he isn't going anywhere. He's a good kid, and I love him. But it's not safe for him here. In fact when he's out with strangers and I don't know where he's at, I know it's better than him being in this house. My wife is a bad person. She hits abuses him and yells at him and he never does say a word. I can't stop her, I've tried. Sam has tried. It's no use. He is a respectable kid, doesn't talk back and calls people by their proper name, but in this house that's all he'll be. If I could get out I would take him with me, but I always get sucked back in. I starve too, I hurt too, I know what he's feeling. But I'm afraid there's no more I can do" he sighs. Well that explains why he wouldn't let me touch him for so long. It's nice to know his dad loves him, but it sucks that he's exhausted his opportunities for a better life.

"What can I do to help" I ask.

"I'm not sure if there is anything you can do. I know my wife won't give him up no matter how bad things get. She won't do any of the legal work. Plus you're already doing so much for him, I couldn't possibly ask for more" he insists.

"I'm not asking what you want, I'm asking what he needs. Is it money? Is it food? Name it" I beg.

"He needs a family. He needs someone like your little boy to look up to, he needs someone like your husband to think like. He needs someone like you to show love and compassion. He won't find that around here. You made it once you left this hell hole, but you know as well as I do that until that happens it's a endless cycle of drugs, gangs, alcohol, you name it. I love that kid but I know I'm not good for him" he sighs. It sucks hearing that. Knowing that your best isn't good enough, that hurts.

"What if we take him in. No legal action, nothing from you guys. We let him stay with Jackson and when you clean up and get better he can come back" I offer.

"I don't know..." he trails off.

"Listen, growing up here does damage of its own. I might seem fine but every time I hear a bang I think it's a gun shot. Every time someone yells I feel as if I did something wrong. Every time a man holds my baby I think he's going to kill him. Sam is young, a lot can happen in these next few years that could completely mess him up. I'm begging you to let us take him in. Show him that this isn't what life is about. He should never feel these things. Starvation is a terrible feeling, but not even close to being as bad as feeling unloved" I tell him.

"You're right... you can take him. I know you're going to take good care of him. Just... just tell him I love him" he says. I place a hand on his knee and he looks up at me.

"I will remind him every day that you love him" I assure him and he smiles. He helps me pick up the few things he had and I put them in the car. He hands me the shark Jackson gave him last week and I smile at him.

"Thank you so much for doing this. You're a angel" he says and I nod. I get in my car and head to the school to pick the boys up. Once we get home Jackson gets out the car and I pull Sam aside. We sit on the front porch quietly by ourselves.

"Am I in trouble" he asks timidly.

"No... unless theres something you want to tell me about" I trial off.

"Nope" he claims and I nod my head.

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to live me and my family for a little. I talked to your dad and he said it was okay. He loves you a lot but wouldn't mind if you stayed here for a while. Only if you want to" I assure him. He looks up to me with tears in his eyes, that breaks my heart.

"I would love to live here" he whimpers and I smile.

"Glad to hear that. I have your things in the car and we can put them up in Jackson's room. You can take the top bunk and we can get you your own dresser soon" I explain. He doesn't say anything but instead wraps his arms around me. For the longest time he wouldn't even let me touch him. And when we hugged I had to hug him first. But he trusted me enough to hug me first and that made me feel good. That was the easy part, now I got to tell Jon.