This is set in the Trying to Fit In universe as a one shot. There is implied corporal punishment of a child, so if it bothers you, don't read.
"Carlos! You need to do your laundry." Anita called to him from the other room.
Carlos rolled his eyes "I'll do it later." He was right in the middle of one of his projects and didn't want to stop right now.
"CARLOS! NOW!" Anita's tone carried a warning with it.
The boy sighed and brought down his laundry muttering under his breath. Anita wasn't his mom, even if she was the closest thing to it that he had, at times like this however it was easy to use that as the reason to be annoyed. Actually, lately Carlos wasn't just annoyed, he was down right moody. Everything irritated him and he was getting in trouble in school too.
While last year when he first met the Radcliffes Carlos was young and scared and everything about normal life was new and fascinating, Anita had patiently loved him as he was, setting boundaries that all good parents do for their children. She made sure Carlos didn't just gorge himself on peanut butter cups, restricted screen time unless homework was involved, made sure he got enough sleep, and outside as much as possible. It was everything he needed at the time since he hadn't gotten any of that growing up, but now at 15 Carlos was sulky more often than not and what had made him feel safe the year before now chafed at his growing need for independence.
Carlos threw his laundry in the washer and slammed down the lid before storming off all the while complaining (not so quietly) about being bossed around.
"I can hear you." Anita called after him only to the response of the bedroom door slamming shut. That was it! Up until then Anita had patiently waited out the moods, knowing that to an extent it was normal, but there was a limit to how much she would take.
Anita went up to the door and tried to open it, fully intending to give Carlos a tongue lashing, but it was locked.
"Carlos open the door."
"No."
"Carlos… we need to talk."
"No."
Anita could feel her blood pressure rising she had a key to the room but what would she do if she opened the door. With a "wait till your father gets home" on the tip of her tongue she pressed her lips together knowing saying THAT wouldn't go over well either and decided they both needed to cool off.
Within the room Carlos paced around, he was too irritated now to work on his project, he pulled out his phone to call Jay
Jay: Hey C, whats up?
Carlos: I'm going crazy over here, wanna go do something?
Jay: I wish I could, but I have to go to work in an hour. Maybe later this week?
Carlos: Sure, later.
Carlos hung up and tossed his phone on the bed, that was an other thing that just sucked. Jay who was almost 18 now had gotten a job during school breaks and it cut down significantly on his ability to hang out anymore. Carlos had asked about getting a job too, but he wasn't old enough. Apparently in Auradon you had to be 16 but most places wouldn't hire you till you were at least 17 anyway, AND he couldn't drive yet either, well legally anyway, so what good was having a job if you couldn't get there. Carlos fumed, no one really knew exactly how old he was, he could be 16! But even he rolled his eyes at himself, somehow he knew they were right and he was more likely to be a young 15 rather than 16.
Carlos looked outside, he needed out, NOW. And without a second thought climbed out his window onto the roof of the porch and down one of the supports. He only momentarily debated taking the car again by decided against it and grabbed his bike instead taking off down the road.
Anita watched from the living room, she could have opened the front door and dragged him back in but what good would that do?
He would just leave again. She just hoped that he would come back soon on his own. And if he knew what was good for him it would be before Roger got home.
Roger came home shortly after to find his wife crying in the living room. "Anita, darling, what's wrong?" he asked as he rushed to her side. Anita managed to calm herself down and explain what happened, the more she spoke the redder Rogers face got. He went to the stairs to call the boy down,
"He's not here."
"What do you mean?"
"He climbed out the window and rode off on his bike."
Roger just stared at his wife for a moment "That pup needs a rolled up newspaper." he growled.
"Oh, Roger, there has to be another way."
"What, Anita? We've tried grounding him. We've tried taking away privileges. We've tried giving him chores to do but he barely does the normal ones anyway. What's left to try?"
Anita shook her head, she couldn't think of anything they hadn't already tried.
Carlos rode his bike for what must have been a couple hours before finally pulling off the side of the road to rest, he hadn't brought his phone, or water, he'd skipped out on dinner, it was almost dusk and he didn't have a flashlight either. In other words, he knew darn well that Anita and Roger would be worried and beyond pissed off when they discovered he was missing. He knew he was being a little shit, but he couldn't seem to snap out of it either, everything irritated him. He picked at the grass next to him for a while as he just sat and stared off into woods around him. He heard a small yelp and turned to see a puppy bounding towards him and the road, Carlos crouched down and caught the young dog before it ran into the road, not that there was any traffic.
"Easy boy.. Er girl." he said as the puppy squirmed in his arms. He giggled at the puppies antics "Where'd you come from?" he asked her, knowing he wouldn't be getting a reply.
"Could ask you the same thing." A deep voice said making Carlos jump up. An older man with well worn clothes and unkempt hair strode towards him, he was carrying a hunting rifle and a leash for the puppy who had apparently escaped him. "Well, boy, what are you doing out here?"
"Nothing."
The man looked at Carlos and his bike "Well if you were planning to run away you didn't think it through very well."
Carlos didn't respond.
"Name's Amos. And you are?"
"Carlos."
"I see." the man rubbed his chin which made the sound of sandpaper rubbing against each other as he studied the boy who looked a bit like a trapped animal. "You're a skittish pup aren't you." the man commented and Carlos responded with a look that shot daggers. Amos chuckled "I haven't seen you around here before. Who's your old man?"
"Don't have one."
"Ok, let me rephrase, who's worried sick right now not knowing where you are?"
Carlos hung his head and mumbled "Anita."
Amos growled, "That sweet little lady, and you causing her grief?! Boy, what's gotten into you?! Grab your bike, I'll drive you back."
"No thanks." Carlos said stubbornly.
"I wasn't asking. Get your bike. It's almost dark and I'm not leaving you out here when the sun sets." Amos ordered but Carlos stubbornly refused to move.
Amos gave the boy a stern look "I'm guessing you're gonna be in a world of trouble when Roger gets a hold of you, but if you don't want me to warm your ass first get your bike, now." Amos' voice rumbled deeply.
Carlos glowered at the man but got his bike and followed the man to the truck. Amos had so much stuff in the cab with him that Carlos had to sit in the back. Which was just fine with him, it gave him more time to pout. Amos pulled into the driveway after about a half hour of driving, he easily took Carlos's bike down while Carlos climbed out. Amos half lead half carried the boy by the scruff of his shirt to the front door. They didn't need to ring the bell because the door flew open and there stood Anita and Roger. Both looked more than a little mad.
"I believe this belongs to you." Amos said.
"Yes, thank you for bringing him home, Amos." Anita said stepping aside to allow Carlos to come in.
Amos left and Anita closed the door and turned to Carlos with her arms crossed she was waiting for him to say something, anything, an apology would be a good start. But Carlos was still being stubborn and surly.
"Right then, time for us to have a little one on one." Roger said leading Carlos by the nape up to his room (which had since been unlocked).
The following morning Carlos woke up early, he had slept soundly. He and Roger had had a long talk last night, followed by what Roger called "an attitude adjustment", and then more talking. It had been exhausting and the boy promised himself he wouldn't ever have to go through that again. Roger had guaranteed they would if there were any more problems, even at school; Roger warned that if he had to make the long drive to Auradon Prep to deal with any issues this was going to feel like a fond memory. Carlos winced as he got up and dressed, both Roger and Anita were still asleep and he noticed his laundry still in the washing machine when he got downstairs. Carlos started the drier and then unloaded the dishwasher and let the dogs outside before having some breakfast.
"You're up early" Anita said as she walked into the kitchen and noticed Carlos standing by the counter with his cereal. She went over to the coffee maker to start a pot and noticed a fresh pot was already made. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at Carlos "You made coffee?"
Carlos timidly nodded and looked up at her before rushing into her arms. " 'msorry, mom" he muttered into her shoulder. Anita was so taken by surprise it took her a moment before wrapping her arms around the boy she had come to think of as her son.