Boys Don't Cry

Chapter twenty-four

Chapter twenty-four

I walk out of the entrance immediately and out of the car park, taking out my phone and calling Hayley. It takes a couple of rings for her to answer.

"Hello?" I hear from the other end.

"Hayley? It's Michael." I say back.

"Hey you, it's been a while."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. You busy?" I ask, hoping she says no.

"Nah, not just now. You coming round?" She assumes.

"Yeah, I'm on my way, I love you." I don't wait for a response and hang up. I walk through the quiet streets, thinking about today's session, I feel drained, physically and emotionally. I hope I've done enough to impress the social workers and all the people involved in making the decision about me and my dad. There's a meeting on Thursday afternoon, where everyone will get to discuss my future. I hope they see how much I want this. Hayley is standing at her door when I walk round the corner. I see her standing there, giving me her most beautiful smile. I walk up to her and peck her on the cheek, she takes my hand and leads me inside and in to her room. I walk in and collapse on her bed, exhausted.

"You alright? How did therapy go?" She asks, knowing that's probably why I'm so glum.

"It was draining, I spoke about it just to shut them up, and it was awful. My dad will definitely look at me differently now, he probably just thinks I'm a stupid, fucked up kid." I say, knowing I'm probably right. She climbs on to me and sits on my stomach, pinning my arms down and putting her face right to mine.

"He does not think that. Do you understand? I've met the guy like twice and I know he does not think that. Stop doing that to yourself." She presses her lips to mine, and I don't make any attempt to stop her, she slides her body off of mine and down to the bottom of my bed, starting to un button my jeans. I feel her hands, moving about, my mood lightens up drastically and I feel her moist mouth, and my grip on the back of her head tightens.

I pull the sheets up to cover both of our naked bodies, the scent of Hayley's hair wafts in to my face as she puts her head against my chest. She wraps her arm around my waist and puts her hand on my naked bum.

I reach for my phone on the table beside her bed and check the time. It's 16:57. Half of me thinks I should probably go back home to prove that I have changed and I want to go live with my dad, which is the truth. Meanwhile, the other half of me wants to stay with Hayley. I sigh, knowing what I have to do. I kiss Hayley's forehead a couple of times.

"I have to go, Sweetheart." I mumble closely to her ear. She tilts her head up and looks at me sadly.

"Ok." She says, kissing my lips a few times. She smiles at me and I smile back. Getting out of bed, I grab my boxers and put them on, I stand up and look around for the rest of my clothes, putting them on too. I lean back on to the bed, kissing Hayley a few more times.

"I love you so much." I say, kissing her one last time.

"I love you too." She smiles back. I get up from the bed and walk out. I run down the stairs and open the door. Walking down the path, I spot Hayley's Dad getting out of his car, he sees me too and smiles. He walks up to me and I shake his hand.

"Looking after my girl, eh?" He half jokes. I smirk at the comment.

"As always." I say, being one hundred percent serious. We exchange a couple of other jokes and comments before parting ways, if only he knew what happened the other night...

I walk up to the door and press the button, waiting to be let in. Ben answers, somewhat surprised to see me.

"What you doing back here so early?" He asks.

"I'm hungry. All strays come home when they're hungry." I say, trying to joke with him. He laughs and stands to the side allowing me to walk past. I walk through to the dining room, where Lauren and Nicole are sitting with a couple of other children while they eat. I sit on the empty seat beside Lauren, who turns to me.

"Would never expect to see you here at this time of the day. You okay?" She asks, pouring a kid some juice.

"I'm great." I smile, sounding sincere. I put my head down on the table, on top of my crossed arms.

"Hungry?"

"Kind of." I reply, lifting my head and pouring myself a drink. Lauren gets up out of her seat and in to the kitchen. She comes back moments later with a plate of sausages and mashed potatoes. Placing the plate in front of me, with a fork and knife, she pats me on the back.

"Thanks, Lauren." I say cheerfully, before tucking in. It takes me about half an hour to finish the plate, during that time I also make small talk with Lauren and Nicole, which I never normally do.

"I've seen a real difference in you the past couple of days. You're a lot happier and talkative. Don't you reckon Lauren?" Says Nicole, wiping the table. I assume they're speaking about me. I look down at my plate, which is almost finished.

"Must be the thought of getting out of here." Jokes Lauren. I smile at her.

"Calm down, no ones made a decision yet." I say sounding pessimistic. "I might not even get to go."

"Positive thought only, please Michael." Assures Lauren, lifting a couple of dirty plates off the table. "You all done?" She asks.

"Yes. Unless there's any ice cream you fancy letting me have?" I say cheekily. She gives me a smile before disappearing in to the kitchen again. Nicole tells me she's going to put a couple of kids to bed, and disappears as well. Lauren appears again with a bowl, in it is two scoops of mint Choc chip ice cream, she probably knows it's my favourite from all the times I asked for it when I was younger. "Thank you." I say, letting out a smile. I eat the entire bowl in a matter of two minutes.

"You scared about Thursday?" Asks Lauren, out of the blue. I nod. "What do you want the outcome to be?"

"I want them to say I can live with my Father." I say quietly. "If they tell me I can't then I don't think anyone would understand how devastated I'd be."

I pour myself another drink of juice, sipping it slowly.

"You just need to keep positive. Never know what will happen." She says, smiling and rubbing my back. I get up and take my bowl through to the kitchen and place it in the dishwasher. I walk back through and Lauren is standing up, we both walk through to the TV room without saying a word to each other. I sit down on a couch, next to some girl around the age of thirteen. The TV is on and I'm not really sure what she's watching, but I watch it anyway. Ben is sitting on a chair in the corner, watching it too, he looks just as bored as I am.

After an hour or so of watching shit programmes, Ben suggest putting a movie on, after a long, picky decision everyone decides on Night at the Museum and Ben puts it in the DVD player. I'm not sure how long the movie lasts but by the time it's finished, Ben announces it's lights out. Which means it's 21:30 and every one has to go to their rooms, apart from the younger children who should already be in bed. I slowly walk to my room, trying not to think about the days events, therefore hopefully meaning I can go to sleep quickly, without having to stay awake for hours and think about everything. For the first time in years, I take the time to change in to pyjamas, forgetting how comfy they could be. Choosing the blue checked ones with a grey t-shirt, I switch off the light and climb in to bed. I do lie awake for a bit. Thinking about what my life might be like in year or so. I don't dwell on it too much and soon, I can barely keep my eyes open.