All I've ever wanted...

All I've ever wanted *2

Wow I'm actually early uploading :O 

LOL 

So anyway here's chapter 2 :)

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As soon as I walked into my house I flew up the stairs to my bedroom to fix my state. I could hear my family talking downstairs in the kitchen, as well as that wonderful sound that my heart was so attuned to; the sound of Ethan's melodic laugher.

I smiled to myself as I imagined him sitting downstairs at the kitchen table joking with my dad whilst my mother kept piling more and more food on to his plate that never seemed to have a limit. I could imagine his light teases he would give my mother about her food, and the way his eyes would light up when she would present him with one of her famous heavenly double chocolate fudge cakes. I could almost literally see the way his perfect lips would slowly part, and he would be doing all he could to resist the urge to drool.

It was the image of pure imperfection, yet only he could look so perfect.

My parents loved Ethan; they always have.

Ethan and I have been best friends since 5th grade and he had just moved in next door with his parents from New York. His parents were going through a... rocky patch, and so they decided to move here to Florida for a fresh start. At first they were behaving just like a normal happy family. My parents would always invite them round for dinner, and they would sometimes invite us to theirs. There wasn't a say where I didn't see Ethan because our parents were so close and his were so happy together. Unfortunately it didn't work out. A few weeks after, Ethan's mother abandoned him and his dad and never came back without any word of explanation. To this very day I could still see the look of devastation on that little boy's face as soon as he realised his mother had left him. He started to torment and blame himself for his mother's departure... and so did his father. 

I was lying on my bed in my room when I started to hear shouting and banging noises from next door. I could hear the torturous sounds of agonizing tears, and I instantly knew who they belonged to. I remember my mother trying to comfort me telling me it would be okay, but all I could think about was how worried I was for that boy. I begged my mother to let me check on him and she kept warning me not to get involved, that nothing was wrong and they were just having some work done to the house next door. I knew she was lying but what could else could she say to a naïve child?

I wasn't so naïve though.

Later that night when I got ready for bed, I felt two warm arms wrap around me into a protective hug. I turned around and was about to scream until I noticed it was Ethan. His face was covered in blood and bruises and his hands had cuts and gashes in them, some so deep it looked as if it had been inflicted by broken glass; or a broken glass beer bottle. He was clinging on to me with such ferocity that I had to scream for my mother to come in to get him off me because I could feel some of the glass that was still in his hands digging into my skin. As soon as my mother came in the room, her eyes were wide in both astonishment and horror as she ran to Ethan's side and tried to pry him off me. I remember the pleading look Ethan gave me begging me to stay with him. The way he looked... so vulnerable and upset, it made my heart ache. My father called the police on Ethan's father and he was convicted of child abuse and sent to jail. Since there was no family around for Ethan that he could contact, my parents decided to take him in and live with us for a while until his Uncle came to live with him. It was then that first night occurred when my life altered forever.

After my mom had cleaned Ethan up and dressed him in (yes don't judge) some of my spare jammies, she tucked us both up in my bed and left us to sleep. I was about to close my eyes when instantly a pair of warm hands were wrapped around me again. The way his touch felt against me... even as a child it still held so much power.