It was late Sunday night when Dean's mother finally showed her face.
She arrived at Kat's apartment, and it was obvious that she was cracked out. Her badly dyed blonde hair was a mess, and she was wearing a torn up Van Halen shirt, a pair of pink zebra print pajama pants that had various coffee stains on them, and she had on a pair of holy slippers on her feet. She looked like she just got up, hit the pipe then decided to make her way to the apartment complex down the street to pick up her son before the clock struck midnight.
"Thanks so much for watching my kid." She said, a smile emerging on her chapped lips.
"I wasn't going to let him be alone." Kat laughed, trying to make it sound like she wasn't enraged at the woman in front of her.
"I don't wanna go home." Dean pouted.
"You have school tomorrow." His mom seethed, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him closer to her.
"Do you need me to watch him after school?" Kat asked.
"Yeah, I need ya to watch him tomorrow. I got an appointment with someone and I can't have no kid around."
"I'll pick him up after school." Kat nodded, feeling sick to her stomach.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."
She walked off and pulled Dean along with her by the collar. Kat heard Dean yelping and his mother screaming something.
Kat closed the door and leaned up against a wall and just let out a scream.
She looked at the clock that was next to the TV. 11:45 PM it read. Dean's mother sure did make sure she had the whole weekend to herself, huh?
Kat sighed and let out another scream. She was just so irritated by the way Dean's sad excuse for a mother acted. It annoyed her to no end on how a mother could just forget about her child and then suddenly remember at a horrible hour a few days later. Kat also would have thought that Dean's "mom" would have at least wouldn't come to pick up her child looking like the crack whore she was. But then again, Kat knew that it was asking too much.
Kat kind of hoped that Dean's mom wouldn't have come tonight-she could have gotten Dean up for school, and ready and all that stuff. She had a little dresser in the spare bedroom that she kept some clothing for him in. It wasn't anything grand or elaborate, but just in case she had to keep Dean for days on end, she wanted to make sure he had some clean clothes, because she could only guess how often his mother did laundry. And she knew that Dean maybe had 3 outfits, at most.
She knew that his mother couldn't be bothered with spending money on anything that wasn't for drugs or alcohol. Hell, Kat even knew that if his mom didn't get food stamps and if the school didn't have a free lunch program, the only time Dean would be able to eat was at her house. Kat was just glad that Dean wasn't a thin little kid-he was kind of chubby and you could tell he wasn't denied food-that was the only thing that made Kat feel ok with sending Dean back home. She knew he would be able to eat.
Kat decided that she would try to get some sleep-but as she climbed into bed and got under the covers she found herself being unable to fall asleep. Her mind kept racing, and she felt quite uneasy. She felt bad just letting Dean go home.
"You've let him go home plenty of times before." She told herself. She sighed and pulled out her cellphone to entertain her before she eventually fell asleep a few hours later.
*The next day*
Kat picked up Dean from school, and once they got back into the apartment Dean just clung to her like a lost puppy.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Kat asked, scooping him up.
"I'm scared."
"Why are you scared?"
"Because Mommy hurt me today." Dean mumbled.
"Oh, poor baby." Kat cooed, and rubbed his back. He winced.
"Did Mommy hurt your back?"
Dean nodded.
"Can I take a look? I promise I won't hurt you. I promise."
Dean sniffled and nodded.
"Alright, lift up the back of your shirt." Kat said, setting him down on the couch.
Dean did as asked; Kat noticed a very bruised and scratched back. Some of the scratches were open and would probably get infected if weren't treated.
"Stay put." Kat said, and she made her way into the bathroom and grabbed some antibacterial cream and a box of Transformers Band-Aids.
"This might be a little cold." Kat warned as she got back into the living room.
"What might be cold? You're not gonna pour iced tea on me are you?"
Kat laughed softly. "No, but if you want iced tea in a cup I can give you some."
"Than what's gonna be so cold?"
"I'm putting a cream on your back so you don't get an infection. Infections are bad."
Dean nodded and winced as Kat put the ointment on his back. Once she was done putting the ointment on, she placed the bandages on his back. She pulled down his shirt and picked him up once more.
"Did she hurt you anywhere else?" Kat asked.
Dean shook his head.
"You have to tell me the truth, Dean. Did she hurt you anywhere else? It's very important."
"She grabbed my arms real hard. They were all red this morning."
Kat nodded.
"She was mad because I had to go to school and she wanted to sleep because she had a hanger over."
Kat smiled softly. "Hangover, honey."
"Whatever it is she was mad I interrupted-ed it."
"It's not your fault baby. Ok? I promise you, it's never your fault."
"But Mommy said it was."
"I know you're supposed to listen to your parents, but don't listen to your mom."
"Who am I supposed to listen to? Kevin Nash?"
Kat laughed. "You can listen to Kevin Nash if you want to."
"I don't wanna listen to Kevin Nash! Don't make me listen to Kevin Nash! I wanna listen to Hulk Hogan!"
"Say your prayers and take your vitamins? That's some good advice." Kat smiled.
"Hulk Hogan knows a lot of things. I hope I grow up to be like him." Dean smiled.
"You wanna be a wrestler, don't you?"
"Yeah! I wanna be the champion! I wanna be just like Hulk Hogan!"
"You're gonna be the best wrestler ever. Better than Sting, better than Hulk Hogan. I know it!"
"You think I could be better than Sting? You love Sting though!"
"I do love Sting…" Kat laughed and tickled Dean, making him smile.
They sat down, ordered a pizza and watched wrestling videos until Dean's mom came to pick him up.
When Dean's mom came by Kat's apartment, she wasn't in much better shape than she was the day before. And it was Monday-Mondays were the days where the parents of the kids she baby sat for paid her.
"I don't got the money. Business was slow this week." She stated.
Kat tried not to roll her eyes.
"It's fine. Pay me when you can."
Kat closed the door behind her and rolled her eyes. Week number 5 of no pay.
Kat watched the way Dean's mother pushed her child down the street. She was being a little too rough and a little too loud. She could hear screaming from closed windows and doors.
Kat picked up her phone and dialed a number she wrote down on a little notepad.
"Hello, you've reached the county office for child welfare. Currently it's after hours, but please leave your concerns after the tone and someone will get back to you as soon as possible during our operating hours."
"Hi, I'm Kat VanDokken, and I'm reporting a case of suspected child abuse and neglect. The suspected abuser is named Tanya Ambrose. She resides in the Stevenson Apartments. Please call me at this number to follow up. Thank you." Kat left her number on the answering machine and promptly hung up.