Chapter Nine - Midnight Snacks And Conversations:
Maxie had gone to sleep an hour earlier as she had to get up early to work on some last minute details for the magazine before the next issue went out. Spinelli had lost track of time while working on a new video game and as such, was still awake. He worked with a small team on the games now, but he had already gotten permission to work from home for a week until the boys were ready to go back to school. Though they were out of the hospital, Benny and Kyle both still had some healing to do before returning to an environment where they would be surrounded by other children and could easily re-injure themselves. Kyle was simply happy that he wouldn't need the crutches anymore by the time they went back. He didn't know what Benny thought, as the younger boy still hadn't spoken to the adults.
As his mind slowly left the game he was working on and began focusing on the children down the hall that he was supposed to take care of now, he quickly saved his work and turned off his computer. Kyle's nightmare the night before had broken his heart and he hoped the boys would be able to sleep tonight. He knew there would be other nightmares though and he was surprised Benny hadn't had one the night before as well, or even yet that night. Almost before he completed that thought he realized that it was highly likely that he had and that Kyle had handled things before they heard. Kyle was obviously used to being Benny's one and only protect er and Spinelli didn't think that Kyle would give that up easily, whether he realized he was doing it or not.
With these thoughts he decided to check on the boys before he got ready for bed. He gently open the door to their room just enough for him to peak in, so as not to wake the boys up. Kyle was wide awake and sitting on the bed. He had startled when the door opened and was looking right at Spinelli. Spinelli smiled at the young boy "I was simply checking on the two of you before I went to bed. However, I think I would like a snack before I go to sleep. Would you like to join me?" he asked, hoping that he wouldn't frighten the thirteen year old. Kyle seemed to ponder this for a moment before reaching for his crutches and heading for the door.
Spinelli led the way into the kitchen and headed for the freezer while motioning for Kyle to sit down. As he began digging through the contents of his freezer Spinelli commented that ice cream was the best midnight snack. With a quiet "Ah-ha!" he pulled out one carton and went back to digging. Kyle watched in amusement as his foster father continued to search for whatever he was looking for before the man finally pulled out another carton. After quickly gathering bowls, spoons and an ice cream scoop, Spinelli brought everything to the table. "This is my favorite." he said, as he gestured the the container of orange sherbet. "But I have a hard time finding anyone else who prefers it to 'real ice cream'. So I got you this - Maxie's chocolate obsession." he finished. Kyle smiled, "Actually, orange sherbet is Benny's favorite too. But I never have liked it, so the chocolate stuff is fine with me." he said carefully, still not sure how to act around this man.
Spinelli chuckled, he had someone else to share his sherbet obsession with. He would have to make sure he gave Benny some soon. The kitchen was quiet as Spinelli scooped the ice cream into bowls, but once he was done he handed a bowl to Kyle and began to talk. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked the boy. Kyle froze for a moment before he replied, he really didn't want to talk about it. "No." he finally answered. Spinelli nodded, "I used to hate the nightmares, I still do to be honest. Some days my granny was baffled at how exhausted I would be when I had not had a nightmare. She never knew that I would stay up half the night at times, simply to avoid sleeping and risking having one." he told the boy. Kyle was silent, simply watching this man who seemed to know exactly what he had been thinking and not knowing what to say.
Spinelli hadn't expected the boy to reply yet, so he kept talking. "I never did tell my granny what my nightmares were about, because she never knew what my life was like before I came to live with her. She eventually figured out that I had witnessed my mother's death, even though the police seemed to think that I had not. I never informed her how my step-father had treated me. I did not tell anyone, and it never truly became much easier to handle even though I tried to forget about it. I never told anyone until I told Maximista nearly two years ago. After I began to talk about it, I discovered that it did become easier and I found that the nightmares which had started to happen quite frequently began to happen less and less." he told Kyle, watching the boys reactions the whole time.
The both ate in silence until Kyle finally spoke. "I just hate remembering that stuff. And they're ... they're memories. They aren't normal nightmares. And I hate them." he said, almost whispering. "I know. I know that it is very, very hard to deal with. We are going to do our best to make it easier for you. If you want to talk, you can talk to me or Maxie whenever you need too. And we will take you to Lainey so that you can talk to her. I promise you that it will get easier." he told the child in front of him. Kyle thought for a moment before replying, "Ok. But not tonight. I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep." he said as he limped over to the sink with his bowl before coming back for his crutches. "Good night." Spinelli told the boy as he headed back for his room. Kyle looked back and smiled, "Good night." he replied.
Author's Note:Yeah ... I know. It's been an insanely long time. I've been really, really busy and when I wasn't I've had a bit of writer's block. I've been productive though! I have been working on a project to help find missing children with two of my friends. The website for the project can be found at SnapshotSearch (dot) net . We've gotten several celebrities involved - including Daniel Manche who's younger pictures I use to represent Kyle. I've also had to revamp a couple of my sites and I've had Real Life stuff to deal with too. Anyway, I know it's been waaaaaaay to long so I hope somebody still reads this! I'll try to be better about updating. Oh, and yeah - I gave up on the song lyric titles for now!
KKJ: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews of each chapter! I love seeing what people like about my stories. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Yes, I think I have made Michael and Kristina a bit different then they were on the show. I've managed to mix in a bit of Dylan Cash and Kali Rodriguez's personalities I think. Kristina has also ended up with traits from my ten year old sister and my little cousins.
