The Ways of Patching Up | ✓

Fifteenth

"So... what is it that you wanna talk about?"

Ms. Fairchild initiated the conversation as soon as she and Elliot decided to settle down on the edge of the stairway that led to the playground. She softened her voice, trying her absolute best to make the small blondie as comfortable as possible. Regardless, her question was left drifting into the air, but she patiently waited until he found the perfect time to explain. Forcing the child to just tell her was far from what she wanted.

On the other side, Elliot folded both of his knees and wrapped his hands around his legs. He blankly gazed at the powdery snow beneath him, subconsciously scooping a handful amount and clenched it tight within his hand. The cold quickly seeped through his glove, biting against his skin mercilessly, but he never winced at the pain. After all, Dad was far more important than all of his insignificant problems.

"Well, it's..." Elliot paused as he saw his smoky breath escaping from his lips, "it's about my dad..."

"Your dad?" Ms. Fairchild immediately inched closer towards him, as he could feel her shoulder brushing against his, "what's wrong with your dad?" 

Now that the counsellor was kind enough to lend him a hand, Elliot didn't feel any kind of discomfort at their close proximity. 

Despite her eccentric looks, the child noticed how she was all ears for everyone, welcoming every story with open arms. Her golden eyes had always been gentle rather than intimidating, and her heartwarming smile was what made her approachable. From here, he began to understand what made Ms. Fairchild popular with the other kids, even with Shanice and Andrew. Shan's sure right... she isn't so bad after all...

Okay, I really have to do this... I have to explain it so slowly so that she knows... Elliot could feel his chest heaving up and down as he took a large amount of air into his nostrils, releasing it through his mouth. If my friends can trust her... then I can trust her too!

"Well... um... " the boy paused as he lowered his head, feeling the counsellor's gaze on him, "honestly... I don't really know how to explain this but... my mom and dad... they got a divorce and split up..."

"Oh my goodness..." Ms. Fairchild quietly gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand. Her motherly instincts quickly drove her to embrace the poor Elliot, gently massaging his back. Whenever she heard about this upsetting news from innocent children, she would always hug them, no matter what condition they were in. No kids deserved this, and none of them were supposed to be going through those stressful moments.

"I'm terribly sorry about that..." Ms. Fairchild whispered, "just letting you know, sweetie, the fact that your parents are going away... it isn't your fault. Remember that you're not involved with all of the stuff they've been doing."

Hearing how overly concerned she was, Elliot glanced up at the counsellor and threw her a tiny smile. It was a huge relief to hear that she genuinely cared for him, even though they barely knew each other. The heat from her body started taking over him, somewhat warming the child up from the chilly weather. She's so nice...

"Thanks, Ms. Fairchild, but that's... that's not really what I'm so upset about..." he muttered faintly, "so... I've been living with my dad for a while now, and everything's kinda going fine for me, but... not for my dad..."

His voice cracked as soon as he thought back about his father for the past few days. He recalled all kinds of memories... ranging from how Dad got upset at him, how he had barely eaten, how he had been nothing but sadness, and lastly... how he had been acting strange throughout the recent nights because of those stupid beers. He folded his arms over his chest as his muscles trembled despite the extra warmth Ms. Fairchild was giving.

"He used to be so happy... he always made me laugh all the time, but now... he has been so upset... he keeps talking about how he missed Mom so badly... even though she's the one who hurt him..." Elliot whimpered as his body shook even more, "... and then... and then he has been crying a lot and acting so weird... and I don't get it... I just don't understand why... I just... "

No... don't cry in here!

What are you thinking?!

You're crying in front of a teacher! 

You're so stupid!

Stop it, Elliot... stop it...!

Despite him scolding himself so harshly, Elliot couldn't hold back the noises that started coming out from his throat. Something threatened to spill from his eyes and he tried restraining them, but all of his efforts went to waste as he was unable to stop them any longer.

Then... the next thing he knew, he just broke down. Tears continued trickling down his cheeks even though he had been trying to wipe them off with his gloves.

Ms. Fairchild couldn't hold her feelings back any longer. A crying child was her ultimate weakness, especially when she found out that the small blondie had been going through such a distressing situation. She then found herself hugging him so tightly in her arms, pulling the quivering child even closer to her as if he was her own son. Although she knew words weren't enough to soothe him down, she couldn't contain herself from saying completely nothing.

"It's okay... just let it all out. It's better to cry rather than keeping it all inside," Ms. Fairchild advised when she saw Elliot trying to stop himself from releasing all of his bottled feelings, "... I'm really sorry about this, I should have known earlier."

This... is why he's about to cry back in the library... 

Ms. Fairchild allowed the child to resume crying within her arms. Simultaneously, she tried distracting the other children that were on the playground, as they were getting too close to the two due to their curiosity. From here, the woman could tell that this child had been through so much, and she could feel all of the emotional pain coming up from him.

... but... I wonder if his father knew about how much this had affected Elliot... Ms. Fairchild pondered deeply as she narrowed her eyes, analyzing the situation properly. Judging on this poor child's story, it seemed that he was... depressed that he wasn't even aware of his son's mental health.

Elliot even said something about him acting weird.

Is he... possibly a victim of child neglect...?

A few minutes passed by the clock, and the boy ultimately quietened down. After some time, he eventually pulled himself away from her. Both Elliot and Ms. Fairchild then noticed a darkened blotch on her blazer, possibly as a result of the child's tears staining them.

"I... I'm sorry about that..." Elliot sniffed, as he instantly wiped his remaining tears away with his sleeves. His eyes had grown really puffy and sore, and that they were drying out. His face was completely red like a ripe tomato, due to all the crying he did.

"It's no problem Elliot," Ms. Fairchild dismissed as she softly laughed, at least lighting up the mood for a bit, "at least you're letting it out of your system and that's for the best... but if you don't mind telling me... how's your father doing right now...?"

Elliot was on the verge to spill the tea and expose Dad's daily routine, but a second thought abruptly stopped him from opening his mouth. It was as if an unknown force was holding him hostage, trying its hardest to silent Elliot from speaking out.

No... I couldn't just tell her about him drinking beers and acting all strange...

What if...

What if she calls someone...? Then, Dad's gonna be taken away... and then... who's taking me in...?

... NO!!! I don't want that!

Elliot mentally yelled, as the horrifying possibility of not seeing his father again was quick enough to affect his decisions. In the end, he decided to brush off the fact that Dad has been obsessed with consuming beers.

"Well... for now... he's still really sad and being a bit strange, but... I guess that's it..." the boy answered, looking away while his arms fidgeted.