April's POV

I walked up the steps of a place I'd hoped that I'd never have to step foot in again. Unlike last night to door was only hanging on by one hinge and the window glass was shattered all over the entrance. I carefully made my way in, stepping cautiously so I didn't hurt myself. In the hallways I could see people half naked passed out laying across the floor which was covered in a layer of vomit, spilt drinks and crushed food. Every time I lifted my foot the floor clung to my shoes like mud and squelched as I walked. I passed a group of people who were obviously very stoned staring scarily unfocused at the wall.

Finally I made it to Casey's next door neighbours apartment. I knocked on the door which opened to reveal the 14 year old girl with purple hair that I recognised from last night.

"Hey. You must be here to pick up Shadow right?" She said with a brooklyn accent as she leaned against the doorframe. Her purple hair was tied back in two pony tails and she had warm chocolate eyes to match her warm chocolate skin tone. Her street punk clothes and demeanour with an obvious good heart reminded me of Casey.

"Yes I am. My name's April" I said as she led me into her apartment which was small and kind of messy but it had a nice homely feel to it unlike the rest of this place.

"Call me Angel" she said walking into the bedroom were an elderly lady was cradling Shadow in a rocking chair. They were both resting peacefully and I was happily relieved that Shadow had been looked after well.

Angel gently prised the baby out of the elderly lady's hands and held her sweetly in her arms.

"That's my Nana" she pointed at the lady in the rocking chair. "She usually looks after Shadow while Casey's at school. I sometimes look after her when he's out 'vigilanteing' "

"Does Casey pay you to babysit?" I immediately regretted asking as soon as it left my mouth. I hoped that she didn't get offended but she didn't seem to mind.

"No way! Well sometimes he'll buy me some pizza or take me to the cinema as a thank you" I tried to ignore the jealous pang in my chest.

"So ... erm ...are you and Casey ... dating?"

She looked at me disgusted "Eww, that's gross! Casey is like a brother to me."

"Is that why you help him out?"

"Sort of" It was clear she didn't want to go in to details and I wasn't going to pressure her. Then she fixed me with a serious look. "Is Casey going to be OK?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

I reached out to touch her arm "hey don't worry Casey's going to be fine. He should be out in a couple of days, infact some of his friends are at the hospital checking up on him right now" I said to calm her down and it seemed to work as she visibly relaxed.

"Hey if you're going to be looking after Shadow for a while do you want me to come round with you to Casey' place to get her stuff. I doubt that you want to be seen buying stuff for babies by yourself."

Urghhhhh. I can't believe I forgot about Shadow's stuff. I'm so glad that she reminded me, she's saved me from a lot of very awkward situations.

"Thanks" I smiled since I thought that Casey's dad would have gone out and that Angel wouldn't find anything strange about his apartment since she knew him. So we headed next door with her still holding Shadow. But just after I knocked on the door she stopped and turned to me.

"You know Casey's Dad wasn't always so bad"

I sighed "I don't know but it doesn't matter now since he's- wait you knew!" I shouted angrily at her.

She flinched and looked guiltily at the floor. I know that I probably shouldn't have yelled at her but I don't under stand how she could have kept this a secret if she knew for as long as I now suspected.

"I really wanted to tell someone but I promised and ... I owe him to much to go behind his back" she mumbled apologetically.

I rubbed my temples as I felt another headache coming on. I couldn't judge her since I'd lied to this hospital and promised too.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't know ... I wish I could help him but..."

"I don't know how" she finished for me and we smile sadly at each other as I opened to broken door.

The room was exactly the same as I left it. There was still broken glass and cans all over the floor and- but then I heard a strange choking sound and I looked at the wall where Casey's Dad still was.

He hadn't moved from last night but his entire manner was completely different. He was hunched over as he screamed out painful retching cries. In between them I could barely make out words like 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm a terrible person'. I could tell by the big stain on his pants and the puddle he was sitting in that he had wet himself. He had also been sick as his mouth was filled with vomit that dribbled out of his mouth and spat across the room every time he tried to speak. It covered his chin and front including his beard and chest hair which had collected lumps of solid sick. There was a gash against his forehead where he'd hit the wall when I'd blasted him yesterday. The blood was trickling down the side of his face till it mixed with all the vomit, sweat and tears. He was holding a bottle that he would take a glug from occasionally close to his chest like a child with a teddy bear. It was the most pathetic sight that I had ever seen.

I stood there in shock. I had no idea what to do. I know that he is a bastard who beat up one of my best friends but he just looked so miserable that I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The thought made me hate myself but I still felt pity towards him.

But when Angel started to move towards him I came to my senses and grabbed her arm before she could get any closer.

"Don't go any nearer! He might hurt you." I warned but she just yanked her arm away.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt anyone when he's like this"

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach "Are you saying that he's often like this?!" I asked in disbelief.

She groaned "Look will you put Shadow in her cot in Casey's room then help me with him."

I wanted to scream at her but she had this knowing look in her eyes so I took the baby from her and placed her comfortably in her cot.

She looked apologetically at me when I came back "Sorry about that but I know it sounds stupid but I didn't want Shadow to hear this"

"It's fine, what did you want to tell me?" I asked.

She sighed and said "Casey's Dad's life is like a cycle. He is so drunk in the evening that he ends up beating up Casey. Then he sleeps it off and in the morning he is horrified by what he has done. This makes him drink some more so that he can drown his anger and guilt with himself in alcohol. This means that by the evening he is so drunk that he beats up Casey again in a drunken rage. And then it starts all over again."

I could feel tears prickling behind my eyes at the thought of Casey having to go through that every day.

"I wish that there was anything I could do to help." I mumbled

"Well you can help me with him." Angel said pointing at Casey's Dad

I blushed. I hadn't realised that I'd said it out loud.

"What do you need help with?"

"I need you to help me clean him up which means we have to get him to the bathroom"

I gave her confused look "You're not saying that we have to shower him are you?"

She shook her head disgusted "Ewwwwww no. Usually around lunch time he's just sane enough to take a shower by himself but if he wasn't then Casey would help him" she finished sadly.

Well add that the long growing list of things that I didn't know about Casey.

So Angel and I both went round to grab an arm each. I hoisted his large left arm round my shoulders and tried not shiver at the stickiness of it.

Angel took a breath "Ok on 3. 1...2...3!" And together we managed to lift his heavy frame off the ground. He made no effort to stand on his own weight so we had to drag him to the bathroom all by ourselves. Eventually we got him there and into the bath tub even with his constant sobbing. When we got him sitting up Angel took his bottle off him so he threw a sloppy punch at her which she easily blocked.

"Hey we're trying to help you, you ungrateful bastard!" she yelled at him which only made him cry some more. Honestly I was kind of proud of her for shouting at him. He did this to himself so why should we be any more kind towards him. We were already helping more than he deserved.

At Angel's instructions I got the first aid hit and cleaned his wound while she washed him down with a flannel. I tried not to feel guilty as I removed a piece of rumble from his graze but I couldn't help feeling disappointed with myself for hurting him. I was fine with hurting the Kraang and footbots but it was something about making another human draw blood that made me feel guilty. I should be harming the real enemy not some sorry messed up asshole.

Out of the cornet of my eye I saw Angel gradually slow down her scrubbing until eventually she stopped altogether and just stare at Casey's Dad with a scared look on her face.

"Angel are you alright?" She jumped when she heard my voice as though waking up from a nightmare.

"Not really. You know if it wasn't for Casey then I would have ended up like that, a stupid drunk who ain't worthy of anything or anyone!" she cried. I stared at her in shock at her outburst for a moment. I couldn't ever imagine even in the short time that I'd known her that she'd ever be like that. I gave her a hug to show that I was there for her and waited to see if she wanted to go on. After a few deep breaths she continued "A couple of years ago after my parents died I went kinda 'off the rails'. I started hanging out with bad people, doing a lot of bad things. I got into trouble with the law and at school. My life was really heading down hill. But Casey he'd known me since I was born and he helped me to see that there was still people that loved me like my Nana, him and at the time his family. That's why I help him out. He saved my life and I can never repay him for what he did to me. It just makes me so sad that he can't do with Dad what he did to me. I wish that he'd been able to save his Dad instead of me. He is a father with a baby girl and teenage son. Im just a dumb kid from the crappiest part of Brooklyn who ain't never going to amount to anything." her voice started to shake and in the moment I remembered that she was just 14 years old so I held her close as she tried to hold her tears back. Neither she or Casey deserved the life they lived. They were good people who just happened to have had bad times. It made me want to help if it was possible even more.

"It's alright. You're better now. Trust me you deserved to be helped alot more than this asshole does. I'm sure Casey is glad that he was able to help you even if it didn't work when he tried to help his father."

She rubbed her nose "you really think so?"

"I know so. Casey cares more about his little sisters then he ever has about his dad."

She smiled "I knew that there was a reason Casey likes you so much."

I blushed "What do you mean?"

"He talks about you all the time. It's kind of annoying actually. Well you and his secret vigilante friends who he won't even tell me the names of" she said in a huff.

I giggled. It was kind of funny yet comforting to know that Casey had his own Irma.

I'd actually been able to forget about Casey's Dad for a moment before I heard a rumbling snore from the bath tub. He was reasonably clean now and his graze was dressed in a bandage.

"Let's leave sleeping beauty here and get Shadow's stuff" Angel said. "I'll get get food and bottles while you get shadow and her clothes and stuff." I nodded and headed into Casey's room.

I hadn't had a chance to look at his room properly since I was in a mood earlier so I looked at it now. It was very small, almost like a cupboard with just enough room for a bed, cot, desk and nothing else. You could easily tell it was Casey's room though with all the hockey posters and gear everywhere. It was mostly grey and black but with a hint of colour here and there. There wasn't room for draws or a wardrobe so his clothes were flung all over the bed and floor although I think even if he did his clothes would still end up like that. However in the corner by Shadow's cot it was completely different. The parts of the walls that touched the cot were painted pink and there was a box shoved under it that said 'Shadow's stuff'. I opened it to find her clothes, nappies, and toys which included a turtle teddy that I couldn't help find adorable. She had her birth certificate and other important things like that. And tucked away at the bottom I saw a picture taken the day she was born. It was at the hospital and she was being held by her mother as she smiled at the camera. Her Dad had his arm around his wife an was looking lovingly down at his family. And her big brother Casey with one less missing teeth was holding his mother's hand and had the happiest look that I'd ever seen on his face. I looked at Shadow as she woke up from her sleep and started gurgling cheerfully and I made a promise to her that I would make sure that she wouldn't have to grow up in a hell hole like this.

"I got everything, are you ready?" I heard Angel yell from the living room.

"Coming!" I said as I shoved some if her stuff into a backpack and gently lifted Shadow up. I came into the living room as I felt a vibration in my pocket. I looked at my phone to see Donnie texting me that he could see me from the fire escape and if I was Ok.

"You will look after Shadow properly won't you?" Angel warned as she handed me a shopping bag. I nodded.

"I'll do everything I can to make sure she's safe. Plus I have a friend who would like to be a doctor said he'd give her a check up as soon as I got her home."

Angel looked satisfied that I could take care of her and after a hug for Shadow she said goodbye.

I thanked her and was about to go for the apartment door when I had an idea.

"You don't mind if I leave through the fire escape do you?" I asked walking towards the window.

She gave me a look of disbelief "You mean you came here through the hallways?!"

I giggled then waved before going out on the fire escape I walked to the top where I met Donnie.

"Hey April! Are you Ok? Did Casey's dad hurt you? Do you want to me to carry something?" he asked with worry and concern.

I shook my head "What I want is to talk to Splinter"