The familiar sound of angry shouts filled the stagnant air, shaking the small boy to his bones.
He looked down at his best friend, hollow, button eyes staring back with a comforting look. The small doll was stained and tattered but he loved it just the same. It had been his friend for many years, protecting him, giving him a sense of home.
"I told you not to walk away, Elizabeth!"
His father's voice is so harsh, so mean, and the small boy hugs his best friend, praying that it'll go away, the fear.
"Please, please, I'm sorry!" His mother cried out.
He knew what would come next and he held onto his friend as his mother screamed in pain. The sound of shattering glass filled his ears and tears slipped down his pale cheeks.
"Come on, Wallie. Daddy can't find us," he sniffled and crawled toward his closet.
Inside was a cubby small enough he could fit in. His mother had built it after his father lost his temper and came after him again. Once he was nestled inside, he shut the door and hugged Wallie tightly.
"Where is he?!" His father's thundering voice came from down the hall and the boy hugged his friend tightly, rocking back and forth.
"No, please. He's just a child!" His mother's sweet voice rang out as his father's booming footsteps neared.
"Edward, boy! You get your ass out here!"
He stifled his sobs, holding onto Wallie, his best friend and protector. He shut his eyes tightly, curling up tighter into himself.
The closet door was thrown open and his father's deadly eyes looked down upon him, raging with a thousand storms. His hand reached down, pulling him up by the front of shirt, shaking him so violently Wallie fell from his thin arms.
"What the fuck did I tell you about that damn toy?!" He yelled in the boy's face.
Edward cowered, crying softly.
"No boy of mine is going to cry like a damn pussy!"
He raised his hand, knocking it into Edward's pale cheek hard enough to turn his head. He cried out and his mother appeared by the door, holding a gun in her trembling hands.
"Y-you let go of my son!" She warned, her green eyes swimming with fear and determination.
her husband smiled darkly and tossed Edward into a nearby wall. His head slammed into it, his vision blurring quickly as pain filled his body.
"You won't shoot that gun, Elizabeth. You can't," he taunted, approaching her slowly.
"I will do anything for son," she whispered through her tears, swallowing hard.
She stood tall, staring him down, and then he was running into her, shoving her into a vase. It shattered on impact, the shards digging into her as she hit the floor. her husband stood over her, a shard of glass in his hand as he sunk it into her stomach.
Edward watched in horror, screaming out for his mother, for Wallie, for anyone to save him.
Elizabeth never screamed from the pain but she sobbed when she realized her son had watched it all. Her poor, innocent baby. His mirrored green eyes filled with the same tears as her own.
His father turned away when Elizabeth's eyes closed and he looked at his son, who was crying, holding onto Wallie. When he approached, Edward scrambled to get away but his body hurt too much to move.
"What did I tell you about that toy?" He snatched it from Edward's hands, ripping the head off.
"You don't deserve a friend," his father spat as he cried out Wallie's name, buttoned eyes looking back at him.
He looked down at him and Edward simply stared at Wallie, silent tears dripping down his cheeks.
When the shot rang out, his last image was Wallie.
The friend he'd built.