His mother's name was Anna Beth, he remembered. She had black hair down to her shoulders and she always wore red lipstick, even when she was crying. She cried a lot, too. There were nights where it seemed like the crying would never stop, and she'd never stop rocking him in her arms while she leaned against the bedroom door, because the lock had broken off long ago, with a kitchen knife beside them, just in case.
Just in case of what, she never told him, and Laddie knew better than to be asking questions at a time like that. He thought, though, that it had something to do with Daddy.
He wasn't around a lot, Laddie's daddy, but when he was a bunch of noise came with him. There was always the sound of a lighter, the sound of a beer being opened or a door being slammed. There was a lot of yelling too, between him and Momma. They used words Laddie didn't know and it made him squish his head between the pillow and the mattress, trying not to hear them. He'd fall asleep eventually, like he had all the other times, and when he woke up Aunt Jackie would be there.
Aunt Jackie was Laddie's favorite person, besides his mother, that is. She came every morning after a fight, like clockwork. Laddie would wake up and there she'd be, sitting at the kitchen table with Momma peeling an orange while his mother smoked. Every time, she'd bring him a doughnut from the bakery by her house.
Aunt Jackie lived alone, and drove a bright blue Thunderbird, which Momma sometimes let Laddie ride in. He wondered why Momma didn't live like Aunt Jackie, just her and him, without Daddy, but he figured that was something they had fought over at some point.
"Hey, my main man!" Aunt Jackie would say, hugging him tightly and, sometimes, picking him up.
His mother smelled like cigarettes and perfume, and Aunt Jackie smelled like the beach.
The morning after this fight was different.
Aunt Jackie was already in his room, packing his things into a bag, and she jumped around like a frog. The house was quiet, but not the good kind of quiet-this quiet meant Daddy was still here.
"Laddie, baby, I need you to be quiet." Aunt Jackie said, putting a manicured finger to her lips. "We're going to go for a ride in the Thunderbird, if you're good and quiet?"
Laddie almost yelped for joy, but he caught himself and settled for a wide smile instead.
"That's my boy," Aunt Jackie left him on the bed, and continued packing his things.
When she finished, she opened his bedroom window.
"There's a screen," Laddie whispered. "Why can't we just use the front door?"
"I guess we'll have to." Aunt Jackie sighed, grabbing his hand tightly as she opened his bedroom door. "Okay, now I need you to not make a sound, okay."
Laddie wondered why he couldn't talk, but he didn't say anything as Jackie led him down the hall towards the living room.
His father, he could see, was passed out on one of the chairs in the living room, the TV playing this morning's baseball game. In the kitchen to his right, he could see his mother's shoes, shiny leather shoes she wore only on special occasions.
"Momma," He whispered, before remembering that he wasn't supposed to talk. He clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Shit," Aunt Jackie mumbled, using one of the words he wasn't supposed to know. "Close your eyes, Laddie, and don't look at her. Mommy's..."
Aunt Jackie didn't say anything else and suddenly Laddie knew what all those 'just in case's meant. He knew that they were real now, that they had happened...that his daddy had done something to Momma.
His feet were moving, but his body felt numb, Aunt Jackie had to lift him into the car. She shut the door quietly, going around to the other side.
"It's just going to be us now, okay Laddie? Are you okay with staying with your Aunt Jackie?"
"Am I ever gonna see Momma again?" Laddie said.
"Well, no, I don't think so." Aunt Jackie bit her lip, and because of that Laddie knew he was upsetting her.
"Okay, then," he smiled. "Yeah, I love you, Aunt Jackie."
"I love you too kiddo."
They moved to Santa Carla, too afraid to be close to Laddie's father. It was the first town they came to that felt like home, that's what Aunt Jackie said, so they stayed there.
That summer Aunt Jackie got a job working at a bar on the boardwalk, and Laddie was allowed to wander the boardwalk alone during her shift, the only rule being that he couldn't leave the actual boardwalk, couldn't go onto the beach or onto the parking lot. Laddie was happy with this, as he could still go to the arcade or buy cotton candy. He liked the rides too, but he was too small for them right now.
One night, when he was eating cotton candy outside of Aunt Jackie's bar, waiting for her shift to be over, a group of boys approached him.
"Hey kid, you hungry?" A blonde haired one asked, kneeling down to his height. "I'm Paul, do you want me to go in there and get you some real food?"
"You're scaring him." A muscular man said.
"Aw, he looks homeless." Another boy, this time, one closer to his height, whined. "He has to be, no other kids are out here at midnight."
"Hey, I'm not homeless!" Laddie said, pouting.
"Shouldn't you be at home, in bed then?" The muscular man said.
"I'm waiting for my aunt." Laddie said proudly.
There was a fourth member of the group, a boy with a bleached mullet whose eyes gave Laddie the creeps. Luckily he wasn't too focused on Laddie-his eyes were following a tan girl, one with a gypsy skirt and no shoes, as she wandered down the boardwalk.
She was a pretty girl, though not as pretty as his Aunt Jackie or his Momma. She looked over at him, too, and saw the boys surrounding him. Quickly, she made her way over.
Pushing her way through the group, she knelt in front of the boy.
"Hello, my name is Star." She said, taking his hands in hers. Her voice was like honey, and it reminded him of the tea his mother sometimes made before bed, on the nights when Daddy didn't come home and there was no fighting. "Are these boys bothering you?"
"Hey, we walked over to offer our assistance!" Paul said, winking at the girl. "Star, that's a pretty name. These are my brothers, Marko, Dwayne, and David. I'm Paul."
Star pointedly ignored him and turned back to the little boy.
"What are you doing out here so late, huh?"
"Like I told them, I'm waiting for my Aunt Jackie! She works there, in that bar, and I'm not allowed in. I told her I didn't want her to work in a place where I couldn't go with her, but she said it's the only job she could find right now, so that's that. I'm allowed to walk around the boardwalk though, while she works." Laddie shrugged.
"Well, how about I wait with you until your Aunt Jackie gets off work, okay?" Star said, and Laddie nodded, eager at the prospect of making a new friend.
"Do you want us to wait with you too?" Marko said, smiling at the boy invitingly. "We're lots of fun, I promise."
"Get out of here," Star said, glaring at the boys.
Putting their hands up in defense, three of the boys walked off. David, the one with the mullet, stayed behind a moment longer, smiling at Star in a way that made her stomach roll.
He looked down at Laddie only once before he left, giving the boy a wink.
"Boys," David said afterwards, as they walked away. "I know how we're going to get Star."
"Does it involve the kid, I like him!" Paul said excitedly. "C'mon, David, we need a baby around. He'll even us out, make us seem a little more inviting. Besides, if Star was any indication, I'm sure it'll get us more chicks."
Just a quick little oneshot! i hope you enjoyed! xx.