It was hard for Ryan to hide them at school, when he was getting changed for PE or something. The bruises that blanketed his chest and stomach. They weren't ordinary bruises though, not from playing football or something like that. They were from home. From his dad. Ever since his mum died, his dad liked to thank him with the bruises. He knew he deserved it.
His mum and him had been driving home from school when a car hit theirs side on, from his mum's side. She died and he survived. Nothing more than a couple of broken ribs. He should have died too, he knew it, but he didn't.
This was when he was seven. Ever since the day of the funeral, it got too much for his dad. He got drunk, high on drugs; every day. Every day for two years, Ryan would have to get up, go to school. No breakfast. No lunch. No dinner. Sometimes he managed to get a cereal bar from his only friend, but that was it. His dad would sometimes even lock him out at night or at the weekends, only to get drunk. Ryan had had enough.
One day, at 9pm, he walked out, bringing nothing but the clothes he had on him. That's all he ever had. The same pair of jeans, now three sizes too small, the same white shirt, now stained with blood, three sizes too small and the same blue shoes, giving him blisters every waking moment. Ryan had no idea where he was going, he was only nine, but he knew he had to get away from the mad house. It began to rain, so heavily that he was soaked through to the bone within seconds. His white, clingy shirt had become see through, making his ribs more prominent than they needed to be.
After about an hour of walking, he came across a big house with a sign out front.
STABLEGROVE
CHILDREN'S CARE HOME
That's all he wanted, care. He walked up to the big oak door and lifted his hand up to knock. He hesitated. The rumours about care homes were far from nice. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Then again, he needed a home. A fresh start. A blank page. He knocked, quiet enough so he wouldn't wake anyone but loud enough so people would hear him. A man opened the door harshly. This man has pale skin, dark brown eyes and short, straight dark brown hair. He had a round race and a cleft chin. He looked quite old, late 50's. He looked to be about 5' 9" and had barely any muscles to speak of. He was in a white vest and shorts.
"Hello? Who are you?" The man asked softly.
"Um…Ryan. I…need a…home," He stuttered.
"Come in, come in," The old man said. "Let me get you a towel and some new clothes," the man rushed off, leaving Ryan to admire the inside.
The interior of the house seemed to be focused around a large central hallway serving as the main avenue of traffic and entrance area to the adjacent rooms. The wallpaper was Anglo-Japanese design with Roman and Greek themes in the frieze on the ceilings and walls. The predominant colours were dark with tan and gold highlights, creating an interesting contrast to the original interior trim painting of ashen pinks, tans, pale blues and black detailing. There was a small table with papers on the edge of the room. The wood of the table looked to be quite cheap but glazed. All in all, it seemed very nice.
The old man came down again with a white towel, some blue pyjamas and a blue dressing gown.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier. I am Andrew Cox, head care worker. These belong to a boy named toby. I'm sure he won't mind. I'll show you to the bathroom, take as long as you want. I'll ask Toby to let you sleep in his room tonight."
"Thank you, sir. I was wondering, what time is it?"
"Almost midnight," the man replied. He had been walking for longer than he thought.
"Thank you."
"How old are you?" Andrew asked.
"9."
"Thanks. I'll show you to the bathroom now," Andrew stated. He brought Ryan up the big stair case and down a hall. He pointed to the door that said bathroom on it.
"Thank you sir."
"No need to call me sir. Call me Andrew. I'll be down stairs if you need me." With that, Andrew walked off. Ryan walked into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet lid. He had walked out. He was sure his father wouldn't miss him. Not one bit. This was the new chapter he had been waiting for.
This is just a one shot but if you guys favorite it and comment and stuff, I might do a second chapter.