Crash! At the sound of breaking glass Donna Way ran up the stairs to see what was broken, who broke it, and if anyone were hurt. "Gerard?" Donna screamed for her eighteen year old who was already cleaning up the mess and keeping the littler kids away from it. "Did you see who did it?" Gerard shook his head and Donna sighed in frustration. "There is sixty-five kids here not including Mikey and I, do you really except to catch a kid each time something goes wrong?"
Donna shook her head, she'd been a foster parent since Gerard had been born and she didn't stop after Mikey. She knew how hard it was and the struggles that came with it, but she also knew that she was their last hope. Donna took in the kind that no one else wanted, that had been kicked out of every home that they'd been to. Sometimes she was able to help them and sometimes, well, she didn't even want to think what happened if she wasn't
"Daddy?" Donna turned around to look at her six year old biological son, Mikey, who was stumbling towards Gerard with bare feet. Gerard made quick to get up and pick him up before he could step into the glass. "Whoa there buddy, you almost got your feet cut off. You wouldn't be able to walk with out them, eh?" Gerard blew raspberries on Mikey's tummy causing the younger boy to giggle before being put down away from the glass. "Now stay there and don't get up. You don't wanna get hurt, okay?" Mikey nodded his head and Gerard went back to cleaning up the glass.
"When did it happen?" Donna quizzed, asking louder when she didn't receive an answer. "I don't remember, he just called me it one day." Gerard answered with a sigh, "it makes sense though doesn't it? You guys aren't ever around. You didn't teach him how to walk, talk, or how to use the potty. He's six years old and doesn't know anything!" Gerard took a deep breath not wanting to upset this younger kids by his yelling.
"Susie is three and she can beat Mikey's ass in everything! She's out of diapers while Mikey is still in them and you wanna know why? Because you and dad spend more time with these lost causes then your own son!" Gerard didn't know he was crying until he felt two small chubby arms wrapped around him and a small head nuzzle into his neck. Luckily, all the glass was cleaned up because Gerard would never forgive himself if Mikey had stepped on it. Taking the smaller boy into his arms, Gerard sat on his butt and leaned against the wall looking at his mother.
"Gerard, you've been around kids like these for years. You know how it works and you've always been jealous of them!" Gerard scoffed and held Mikey tighter against his chest, "you're unbelievable! Mikey is the one hurting from this not me! I can't be his brother because I'm to damn busy being his parent and he's gonna remember that in life. He's never gonna come to me with the things little brother come to big brothers for because
he's gonna be worried about me grounding him! I'm gonna be the bad guy and it's going to be all your fault!"
Donna sighed and walked away from the eldest child sometimes Gerard could be a bit of a drama queen, yes Mikey was behind in a lot of things for his age but the other kids always came first. That had been the rule in their house since the Way family became a foster family. It was easy to keep up with teaching Gerard things at his young age because they
hadn't had as many kids as they had now.
"Donna? You okay?" Her husband asked and Donna shook her head, "He's right. I do pay more attention to these kids then I do my own." As soon as the words left her mouth small sobs followed Donald sighed while putting his paper down, "You give these kids hope." He said embracing his wife. "You know how Gerard gets jealous, he says this every time a new kid comes in. He's just afraid of being forgotten." Donna wished that she could believe her husband, deep down inside she knew that she was neglecting Mikey and she hated herself for it.