Alfred sits up. "What is it Mattie?"
I tremble and sit next to him on the bed. I look down at my shaking hands and sigh. "I'm not exactly sure how I am going to say this."
Alfred nods. I let out a shaky breath. "I-It's about the-the bruises on my b-back." Well… here goes nothing. "It's also why I came to stay here… With you and Arthur."
"Does Arthur know?" I nod in response. I look over at Al; he has a bored expression on his face. He was becoming impatient. I don't say anything for a few minutes.
The sky outside is darkening slowly. I peek over at the clock. 6:20. That made sense because it was getting closer to autumn. That also gave me an excuse to wear my hoodie if i ever cut myself again. Feeling the sharp metal blade drag across my skin was… Relieving. It made me feel better, but why? That doesn't make any sense,
"Je veux aller a la maison, mais je ne peux pas." I say, filling the empty room. Alfred looks at me curiously, raising an eyebrow. "I want to go home, but I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'm afraid of getting hurt again." I whisper, barely loud enough for even myself to hear.
"What?"
I say it again, but almost shout it as hot tears fly down my cheeks. Alfred looks surprised. He scoots over to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. "what is that supposed to mean?" He says harshly. His actions were comforting, but his tone was not. I shift slightly.
"Papa hurt me."
That was all Alfred needed to hear before getting up and rushing out of the room. I chase after him. I grab onto his shirt and stop him from going down the stairs. "What are you doing?" I mumble.
"I'm going to give your father a piece of my mind."
"No! Stop! Please don't call him, You don't even know the whole story!" I quietly shout.
"I know enough." He snaps
"Please just let me explain." Explaining might make it worse.
Alfred nods and stops trying to get away. He slumps and slowly walks back to my room. He sits on the bed and I sit next to him.
"Papa was always nice to me… Even after he hurt me. It was my fault anyway, so I have myself to blame for what he did."
"What did he do?"
I sigh and my hands tremble. His sickening laugh resounds in my ears, the phantom feeling of a belt whipping across my ass, and the sound of my screams filling the empty room. "He would beat me." I say so quietly that not even a mouse could hear. Alfred makes a 'hm?' sound. I repeat the sentence louder.
He gasps and leaps off the bed. He faces me. "What?! Why? I'm not letting you go back to your house if it means that you're going to get hurt. Those words hurt me more than Papa ever could. That means that I won't be able to see him again. I stand up and shove Alfred.
"Y-You c-can't do that!" I shout and run out of my room. Alfred grabs onto the back of my hoodie, flinging me back against him. He brings his arms under mine and holds them up in a full nelson. I kick and scream. "No! Let me go! I want to see Papa!" I kick the back of his shin, he drops me to the floor, and cries out in pain. "Sorry Alfred." I whisper and hurry down the stairs.
Arthur was standing by the front door. "You ready to go, lad?" I look at him curiously for a moment. I make a surprised 'Oh' sound and look down at my wrist. He was supposed to take me to the doctor's office to get my cup fixed up.
Alfred comes stomping down the stairs with an angry look on his face. "You can't let him run away!" He shouts and rushes to Arthur's side.
"What are you talking about?"
Alfred glares at me. He points his finger at me and looks up at Arthur. "He was going to run away back to his father that abuses him!" I cringe after hearing those words shoot out of Alfred's mouth. Arthur sighs and gets down on a knee. He looks me in the eyes. "You can't go home yet. I made a promise to Francis that I would protect you until you could take care of yourself. It's your choice if you want to go back home. I'm not stopping you."
I was shocked at what he said. Would he really let me go home? I want to go home, but I probably shouldn't. It hasn't even been a full day…
"I'm not going to run away." I whisper. Arthur stands back up and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Good." Alfred mutters. Arthur holds the door open for me. I feel something bump into the back of my heel. I turn around and smile. Kumajiro was in the doorway. He paws at my leg and I pick him up in my arms. I smile and head to the car. I get in the passenger side and buckle my seatbelt. Arthur gets in the driver side and starts the car.
The rain stopped earlier. It left that unusual after smell like it always does. It smells like fresh mowed grass and mornings, if that is a way to describe it. If I were to describe it, I would say it smells like peace, or like a mountain side. It reminds me of home.
I open my window to get more of the fresh air. Arthur exits the driveway and turns down the road. I breathe in and let out a shaky breath.
"What's wrong, lad?"
I don't respond. I rest my fingers in Kuma's fur and stare out the window; watching the scenery flash before my eyes. A few moments later, Arthur speaks up. "I was on the phone with the doctor and told him that you dropped a glass and it sliced your wrist. Is that okay, lad?"
"Oui." I nod. The rest of the car ride was silence. We arrived outside of a tall building in no less than 10 minutes. I get out of the car, England does the same, and we walk to the front. There weren't many people there. I sat in one of the waiting room chairs and put Kuma on the chair beside me. Arthur went up to the front desk and said some things to the receptionist.
England motions me over to him. I get up, picking Kuma up in my arms and walk over to him. He puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me through the hallway in the hospital. He brings me to a room. The small room looked like a normal checkup room. I sat in one of the chairs off to the side.
The room smells like sterile bandages. It had assorted medical equipment in jars such as band-aids and cotton swabs. I sigh and look over at England. He was sitting next to me, looking out the window. He had dark circles under his eyes, he wasn't sitting up straight like usual, and his clothes weren't as neat as they should be. He was stressed. So I spoke up.
"Why are you stressed?" I whisper. He looks over in my direction, and raises an eyebrow. I can pick out the words before he even says them. "It's Matthew."
"Right, Matthew. Sorry lad." He pauses before continuing. "I have a meeting tomorrow… With… Russia… To discuss business." He shudders at the name. I nod. Who's Russia? I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
The doctor comes in and I quickly explain to him the lie that England and I came up with. He nods and sets a few stitches into my cut. I don't think he actually believed that story, but whatever.
On the way home, Arthur took me to the grocery store to pick up some things. I asked him to buy certain things that I wanted and he did buy them. After that we headed to an Italian pizzeria to go and pick up a pizza that he ordered in advance. Al would be happy with this.
It was around 7 when we arrived home. Alfred was excited about getting pizza. "It doesn't taste like garbage." He claimed and took about half of it for himself. I took a slice of it and sat down at the dining room table to eat it. I finished then said goodnight to Alfred and Arthur. I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, slipped into my favorite red and white pajamas, and then crawled into bed.
A thousand thoughts clouded my mind before I drifted off to sleep. Who was this "Russia"? I've never heard of him before. Why did Englandshudder at his name? Should I be worried?
I fell into a peaceful sleep. At least tonight I wouldn't have to worry about being abused.
