Same Mistakes

9. Brokenhearted

9. Brokenhearted

Danielle.

I stared at the boy, who had started cowering into the corner. His nose had begun gushing out even more blood. I began to notice that his neck was covered in hand-print marks and bruises. "You can come inside with me if you want," I told him, biting the inside of my cheek.

He nodded, eyes wide. "Thank-you, ma'am." He whispered, standing up with his brother in his arms. "Let me take him," I whispered, taking the baby from the older boys' arms. "Thank-you, ma'am." He said again, rubbing his arms. That's when I noticed his arms were covering in purple, blue, green and yellow bruises. All fresh. "Let's get inside," I said, standing up with the baby boy in my arms.

I took out my keys, and unlocked the door. I pushed it open and everyone flooded into the apartment. Once all the children were inside, I closed the door behind us. I flicked on the light, and kicked off my shoes.

I looked down at the boys' feet to see if they were wearing shoes. The older boy had bare feet, and the baby boy was only wearing socks. "You can sit down on the sofa if you'd like?" I suggested, motioning to the living room. "Thank-you, ma'am." The boy said in a mono-tone voice, and began walking towards the white sofa. "You can call me Danielle," I told him, as I walked into the kitchen.

I slid the baby into Megan's old high-chair. I hadn't donated this high-chair yet, and I guess that's a good thing. The baby boy smiled, revealing two teeth that were pushing their way through his gums. I smiled back, as the baby smacked his hands down on the high-chair tray.

I turned around. The older boy was sitting on the sofa, Madison and Max on either side of him. Megan was seated in the recliner, staring at the TV which had been left on. I slowly walked into the living room, not wanting to scares the poor boy. He pulled his knees onto the couch, and hugged them towards his body.

"What's your name, buddy?" I asked the older boy, as tears built up in the corners of his eyes. "Billy," He whispered in reply, as three tears ran down his cheeks. He wiped the falling tears away with his knees. "Hey, you're aloud to cry. You don't always have to be brave," I told him, crouching down beside the sofa.

"Don't worry, we're actually really nice people. You can even have a snack if you would like. We have oreos and chocolate chip cookies," Said Madison, putting a hand on Billy's shoulder. Billy tensed up as soon as Maddie made contact with his shoulder. Madison took the message, and quickly pulled her hand back.

"Which apartment do you live in?" I asked Billy, trying to sound calm and easygoing. "I don't know," Billy whispered, wiping another tear away with the back of his hand. "You can stay with me and my children tonight, if you'd like?" I suggested, not wanting to sound creepy or kidnapper-ish.

Billy nodded slowly. "Can Jake stay here, too? I can't leave him alone with Father." Billy asked, sniffling. "Of course," I nodded. "Let me go get you a damp cloth for your nose." I told him, offering a small smile. "Okay," Billy agreed, looking down at his pant leg which was covering in blood from his dripping nose.

"You can borrow some of my son Max's pyjamas. He has lots of different options." I told Billy as I stood up. "Yes! I have some really cozy batman pyjamas that you can wear." Said Max, sliding off the sofa and running down to his bedroom. "I'll get that cloth," I told Billy, and began walking towards the kitchen.

This apartment is pretty open concept. No walls between the dining room, living room and kitchen. Then there's the hallway that leads down to the bathroom and bedrooms. I'm glad it's so open concept so I can keep an eye on Megan, Max and Madison. They all like to get into trouble from time to time.

I picked up a light-blue tea-towel and put it under the tap. I ran some cold water over it, then turned off the water. I rung the excess water out from the cloth, before bringing it back to Billy. "Here you go," I said, passing him the cloth. "Thank-you," He whispered, accepting the damp cloth. He placed it under his nose.