Abandoned DM x CS

For screechingismytalent who requested a bromance

"And don't EVER think about coming back," an adult male shouts, seconds before slamming his front door in a short teenage boy's face. The boy sighs, then picks up his backpack and starts walking away from the place he used to call home. He has no family now, no one will take him in long enough to work through any of the issues the boy has. The system has failed him once again, leaving him alone and defenceless on the harsh streets of Los Angeles. It is a blessing to the young man that he has been homeless enough to become street smart. This is probably the fifth time in the space of 6 months that he has been kicked out of his foster home and the foster carers will lie to the authorities until they find out he has been kicked out again.

He will get used to being on the streets again. He has done this so many times before, he knows the ins and outs and how to earn enough money to get food and to buy some clothes if he needed it. He also knows one of his social workers will find him and put him back in the care home when child protection finds out again. As soon as he is spotted on the streets it gets reported. He is going to return to his spot behind the Chinese takeaway closest to the care home in the meantime. The owner has known the boy for years now, he will be well looked after there. The boy decides he should run there, it is still open, and he might have a chance of getting a hot meal tonight. The owner was outside the alley entrance to the takeaway when the young boy got there.

It was like the owner was expecting the young boy to show up that night. He hugged the boy tightly and gave him a box of his favourite Chinese meal. It was just cooked so it was amazingly hot, just what the boy needed on the cold night. "What happened this time?" the older man asks. Each foster family had a different reason as to why they kicked the kid out of their house. "They found out the real reason why I was taken from my real mom and dad," the boy says after he had a mouthful of food. He didn't each lunch today, so he was starving at this point. "Surely they would react better than this?" the man asks, not quite sure why the kid was kicked out for the fifth time in a year. He knew the boy better than most of the foster families did by now.

"You would think so, but they didn't. Well, my foster mom was willing to help me. She said every child needs love regardless of what happens in their life. My foster dad was not keen at all; hence the whole being kicked out while foster mom was not home," the young boy answers, pausing every now and then to eat his dinner while it was still hot. He didn't know when he was going to get his next hot meal. The foster father would not want the boy back now. So that was now another failed foster placement. It was now looking more and more likely that the fourteen-year-old is going to spend the next four years in the care home until he is given a home. People would not foster him or adopt him now he has a record of failed placements.

"You know something, if I had a room for you in the house then you would be adopted by now. I would adopt you in a heartbeat," the man tells the young boy. The young boy nods, trying to hold back his tears. He just wants a family who will love him and treat him right, not spend the day drinking all different kinds of alcohol and taking drugs when they should be looking after him. The owner takes the empty food tray away and hugs the boy tightly again to try and offer him some comfort. "I am sorry kid, I didn't mean to make you cry," the older man says. They boy wipes his eyes. "I am used to being rejected, but I don't know what I keep doing wrong," the boy admits to the older man. The older man hates how often the kid feels that way.

He just needs a stable household and get the help that he needs to get over what happened during his early childhood. Whoever does end up taking care of him in the long run will have their work cut out in the beginning, but if they stay persistent with the help then it will pay off and the boy will be happier in the long run. Well, this can only happen if someone does adopt or foster him long term. "You can have some blankets tonight, that is the best I can do I'm afraid. Tomorrow I will call the child protection services so that they can get you some place to go, unless someone takes you in," the older man says, rubbing the boys arm. He was not going to make the boy do the walk to school in this weather, he would be invited in for breakfast and then the phone call would be made.

The owner has no place in the takeaway where the boy could sleep and then leave for school anyway. It all had to be locked up because of all the break ins which happed recently. The boy would not get that cold tonight with the blankets, Los Angeles does not get that cold at night in early winter. In fact, the boy could barely remember a winter where it was cold. It was just his body temperature problem messing things up. He knows the takeaway owner is going to call CPS while the boy was in school and he would be taken back into care by the end of the school day. "You have done nothing wrong either, it's all these foster carers not listening to what you have gone through and what you need help with," the owner says.

It made the young boy feel a little better about himself, but he was still in a lot of doubt. He has been told too many times that he has been a failure and everything that has ever happened to him has been his fault and there was nothing he could do or say to make those people change their minds afterwards. "I know, but so many foster carers blame me for their kids misbehaving or me not responding to their half assed efforts at trying to help me out," the boy says. The takeaway owner also knows that the current foster father abuses the young boy. He has a black eye and bruises all over his torso. The poor boy couldn't afford the health care bill to go to hospital so that is up to the care home when he gets picked up.

That is another thing that has to be mentioned before the young boy's social worker comes to collect him tomorrow afternoon. He's going to have to go to the emergency room tomorrow. The young boy tried to settle down on the floor, but his face gave away how much pain he was currently in and he was probably going to have a rough night. "Ahh stuff it, one of my kids is away at university so you can sleep in his bed for tonight, you need pain meds and I can't get any here," the takeaway owner says and drapes one of the blankets over the young boy's shoulder before escorting him to the car. The young boy was so grateful for the help he was being offered and smiled at him. He knew it was only going to be for one night, but it was so much better than sleeping on the cold concrete floor.

"Thank you so much," the boy says when the takeaway owner starts driving towards his house. He knew his wife was going to be a bit sceptical of what he was doing but she had heard so much of this homeless kid that keeps appearing, so it might be nice for her to meet the youngster and see how much the help was appreciated. Soon the car pulled into a driveway and the young boy had nearly fallen asleep despite his car sickness. "Come on kiddo, you'll be in a warm bed in no time. Gonna give you some Tylenol first though," the takeaway owner says, waking the kiddo out of his doze for a moment. His wife looked sympathetic when the owner walked in with the shivering kiddo not too far behind.

"This is the boy I keep talking about. He got kicked out from another foster placement, so I offered him Keith's bed for the night. He will be going to school tomorrow and most likely picked up by his social worker after school," the takeaway owner explains and went to get the Tylenol. The wife introduced herself and the boy did the same. The man gave the boy the Tylenol and a cookie. Then he showed the boy to the bedroom where he was spending the night. "I am so grateful that you have done this for me. You could have left me outside of your shop," the young boy says. "You're welcome kiddo, I know you need help and this is the best I can do right now," the owner says and then the young boy snuggles under the warm cover. He was fast asleep in seconds and the owner touched his head before leaving the room.

Two weeks later – Danny p.o.v

"Danny your new foster carer is here to pick you up," my social worker says, and I sigh. I already see this not going well. I came out of the last one two weeks ago with broken ribs and a black eye which are still healing to this day. "Why do you keep trying, you know these don't work out," I tell him, he knows of my frustrations when it comes to this stuff by now. I am tired of being sent back here, I am only fourteen and I have another four years to get passed back and forth before I can have a place of my own. "I keep trying because you deserve the chance that so many other children get. I have actually gone to the lengths of explaining to the man who is taking you on what is going on and he has assured me he will help you. I wouldn't let anyone take you unless I was certain you would not be dumped again," my social worker says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I reluctantly walk with the social worker, called Thomas to the reception area of the home where this new foster carer will be waiting. Apparently this is going to be the best placement I am going to have. There was a man sitting looking towards the entrance and stood up as soon as he saw Thomas approach. "Kevin, this is Danny. Please understand that he is incredibly nervous and doesn't have a positive outlook on this," Thomas says as I hide behind him. He was right, I had a very negative look on what is about to happen. "Hi Danny, my name is Kevin Ragan and I promise you that what has happened before with you won't happen in my house," he says, and I nervously shake his hand when he offers it.

Thomas hands him my backpack with my few personal belongings. I only carry a few clothes, my sketch book and pencils and a picture of my mother and father before they died. I reluctantly walk with Kevin out to his car. He knows everything about me according to Thomas. "Well, I should tell you about myself. My name is Kevin and I have a wife and two sons. I work as a business man. My eldest son George is quite keen to have another younger brother. Connor is not so sure right now, but I am sure he will warm up to you soon," Kevin tells me, and I smile. He does sound really nice and kind. Then again a lot of them do at first and then they turn nasty on me. "Are you really not going to hurt me?" I ask him.

I was well aware how weak and fragile I sounded but I really needed to know his true intentions before I spend the next however long with him before he decides that he is going to kick me out like so many others have done before him. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I flinch from the sudden contact, but I soon relaxed. "I am not going to hurt you Danny. I don't think Thomas would approve the foster part if that was going to happen. You need a family who will show you compassion and love and my family will do that," he says, and he rubs my back carefully. I smile at him, something about the way he spoke made me think that he was different to anyone that I had met before. He felt genuine and he isn't going to hurt me.

I feel like I am going to ask him that question a lot while I settle in. "I trust you," I tell him, and he smiles at me. "That's good Danny. I am not expecting that trust to be complete yet. Maybe when you have settled in you will feel better," he tells me. I smile at him, I hope the rest of his family are as nice as he is. The car ride was okay apart from my carsickness. I told him about it and he said he would be careful and he would show me where the bathroom is if I need it. It turns out when we arrived I did need the bathroom to be sick and he showed me right too it and I felt awful afterwards. This was not how I was expecting to arrive at the house. I want to meet my new foster mom without feeling so ill.

"It's okay Danny, why don't you rest on the couch for a while?" Kevin tells me and guides me to the couch. I will probably get a house tour when I feel a little better. "Is he okay?" his wife asks. Kevin sat next to me on the couch where I curled myself up while I get over this little sickness blip. "Yeah, he is okay, he just got a little car sick on the way here. I am sure if we give him the right meds before he leaves on a car journey he should be fine," Kevin replies and plays with my hair. No one has done this with me before, I feel very comfortable right now. "Aw bless him, I hope with some rest he will be alright," Kevin's wife says, and she leaves the room. I close my eyes and relax a little more. "You can get some sleep if you need," Kevin tells me.

A few hours later

"I can't believe you have done this. I thought you said we were the only kids you would have," I heard as I woke up. I did fall asleep not long after Kevin said I could. "He didn't Connor, we have known about Danny's arrival for a week now. He needs a supportive family," I heard another voice say. So, the first one was Connor and the second one was George I am guessing. "George is right, Danny needs a family who will support him. He has been through a lot in his life and he needs people to care about him. you don't have to support us Connor, but you will find that it will not work out well in your favour," Kevin says, confirming my theory. I flinched as Connor decided to storm up the stairs and then Kevin and George walked in.

"Hey, are you feeling better now Danny?" Kevin asks, his voice was quiet, so I was not startled, and George was watching our conversation. "I feel a lot better now thank you," I tell him. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, before looking towards George. "Hey Danny, I'm George. I guess we are foster brothers now," he says, and I nod. I like the sound of that though I would prefer adoptive brothers. That is just wishful thinking at this point. "Yeah, I hope I don't cause any bother," I reply, and George comes to sit next to me. He hugs me very gently with my permission. "You won't be a bother Danny. You are going to be part of the family and we will treat you as such," Kevin tells me, and I smile. That sounds amazing.

George gives me a drink of water and I take a little sip of it to see how my stomach will cope with it. If I get this to stay down then I should be okay. I get to know George a bit more and I can already see I will be spending more time with him then I will be with Connor. George was amazing, he is passionate about music and he enjoys poetry which is something that I found interesting. He could probably help me with my English homework for sure. "Hey Danny, what kind of stories are you into?" George asks me. I have had a lot of time for reading, but never owned a book of my own. "I like the fantasy novels, like Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit," I tell him, and he smiles. I think we are going to get along better than I realised in the beginning.

"I have a spare copy of the books if you want them. I think I have read them about fifty times now," George says, Kevin was deciding which bedroom I was going stay in while I am in the foster placement. "You'd let me have them? Wow no one has ever given me books to own before, I have always borrowed them for a week or something," I tell him, I am safe with them and I feel like I can open up to him about what I have been through. "I am sure while you are with me I will introduce you to many book series and we will be going to a bookstore a bit to buy you some books to keep," George tells me, and I smile. Everyone but Connor have been so nice and welcoming to me. It has even been better than any of my other foster placements.

I am going to enjoy this placement now, I feel more positive about it. I need to send a message to Thomas to say sorry later and to say that he was right about the Ragans. "George would you mind Danny sharing with you?" Kevin asks, George and I are getting along probably better than his father expects. "I don't mind dad, I think Danny will be great company," George replies and I don't think I have smiled quite as much as I have today. They are so nice to me and it does feel very foreign. My birth parents abused me before dying of drugs overdose which was what initially alerted CPS to me and I was taken into care at the age of 3. Kevin knows all of my history, so he knows what to expect and how to deal with it.

"That sounds good to me too," I say and George smiles. George then shows me around the house. It was bigger than I was expecting, but I have only seen the outside, one of three bathrooms and the living room. There are another two bathrooms, a kitchen/diner, a study room, three bedrooms and a game room. I suppose Kevin has the income to afford a house like this. George has a bunk bed already and he was quite comfortable on the top bunk. I would be fine on the other one. "Feel free to look around and stuff Danny. I don't mind, there aren't many things I keep private in here," George says and Kevin hands me my backpack. "You've not got a lot of stuff have you?" Kevin asks me, and I shake my head.

I barely own any clothes. I only keep the picture because it was before they used drugs, so it is the only picture where I can see them before the drugs took over. I was born going through withdrawals of drugs because my mother used throughout her pregnancy. I keep my sketch book and pencils with me at all times. Mom used to randomly give me between $20 to $50 before she died so I saved it all up to buy good quality artist equipment which has lasted a long time. "Can I have a look inside?" George asks, gesturing to my sketch book which I had taken out of my bag. "Sure," I tell him, and I pass over the sketch book. George carefully looks through it, I was watching his facial expressions and his reactions to my art work.

"Danny these are amazing," George says and with my permission he shows Kevin. Kevin looks in awe at the drawings. Some of them are my childhood memories however fuzzy they are. I think in that sketchbook I have drawn what I remember as a three-year-old seeing my parents on the night they died. I called the ambulance because I was scared, and I wanted help. I was so used to my parents being on drugs I thought that the medics could help them, and I could have them back. That turned out not to be the case. "Yeah, these are really good. Could I ask you a question on this one?" Kevin asks, he sits next to me on the bed and shows me the drawing I was just thinking about. "Sure," I tell him, and I look at him.

"Is this what happened when you got taken into care the first time?" Kevin asks, George was curious about the drawing as well. "Yeah, I was three at the time so my memory of it is not great, but it sticks out. I had no idea that doing drugs was wrong, I was so used to it and it affected me too since my mom took drugs when she was pregnant with me," I tell him, feeling like I can open up about my past to them. It was a shock to both of them, they didn't quite realise how bad my early childhood was. Kevin knows about how I have been badly treated by other foster carers but never was told about my birth parents since I never really confided in Thomas with that information. Kevin rubs my shoulder and George hugs me.

Later on, we had dinner, Connor decided he wanted to go out with his mate instead. Kevin wasn't happy, but he couldn't really do anything to control the situation. "Don't worry Danny, he has been like this since before we knew you were coming here as a foster placement. He's in that rebellious stage," George tells me. It did little to reassure me, but I am going to take his word for it. After dinner I was a bit nervous to go to bed, we had watched a film first. George sat with me on the bed and said that he was going to be there for me whenever I needed him. I just had to let him know. I managed to sleep after three hours of trying. George fell asleep within an hour and I didn't want to wake him up.

13th July 2010 – Danny p.o.v

"Wait so you two are brothers?" Jorel asks, I was meeting some of George's band mates for the first time today. "Yep, my dad adopted him when he was fourteen," George says, and I smile. I was so happy that I had the Ragan family in my life, they let me keep my surname Murillo and they helped me through some really difficult times. I rest my head on George's shoulder and he rubs my arm. I enjoy relaxing with him. I don't feel happy sharing with these guys what happened through my childhood yet. "That's good George, Danny is such a good addition to the group," Jorel says, they wanted me to be the on taking over from Aaron who stopped showing up because I get along with them so well.

"He is, he was originally at our house as a foster placement, but they gave us the option to adopt him after a few months and my mom and dad naturally took that option," George says, and I smile at him. The most successful foster placement that I have ever had was obviously this one since I have been in a stable family now for almost 11 years. "Best thing dad could ever do for me," I tell him, and he smiles. I look at Jordon who smiles at me, I am sure there is something going on inside his head. He has not stopped staring at me since I arrived a little while ago. I am sure I will get to know the guys more as the days go by. We are already talking about the second album which they plan to release next year.

The album is going to be called American tragedy and I can't wait to be the lead vocalist for it. I was the only singer in Lorene Drive, but that didn't go so well. I walked over to the guitars and just started playing the first thing that came into my head. They were all watching me, George was the one who taught me how to play so my talent was no surprise to him. The others were just amazing at what they were hearing even though I thought of myself as average if not weak compared with their skill and talent. "Wow Danny, you definitely fit in with us. I can see you becoming popular amongst the fans," Jordon tells me. George already shared pictures of me hanging out with him on his social media and fans have taken a liking to me already.

"He already is Jordon, he is the cute yet hot younger brother of me, so he is bound to be popular," George tells them. I try and hide my face in embarrassment, but George wouldn't let me. "I know, I just see Aron stirring some shit and getting a lot of negative attention towards all of us, especially the one who is taking over from his role," Jorel says, I know that is something I am going to have to consider when I look at my own social media profiles. I am going to receive hate and I am going to do my best to ignore it and rise above it. I am not going to feed the hate to make them think that what they are doing is acceptable. "I'm sure Danny can handle any hate though, he is the strongest kid I know," George tells them.

I have been dealing with hate from a young age through how I was treated by former foster carers and some of my birth family members who refuse to accept that my birth parents took drugs way before I was born and only kept up that habit for the first three years of my life. "I am sure he is, he has a very good big brother to guide him through life," Matt says, George does deserve a lot of the credit as does Kevin for my recovery from all the abuse and bad memories. Jordon looks a little jealous, but he knows now that George and I are brothers and nothing else. "Yeah, him and dad have a lot to do with how I am today. I don't think I would be half the person I am if it wasn't for them," I tell them.

Now it is George's turn to feel the embarrassment. I bought Kevin, our father a really good Father's Day gift this year and he cried when he opened it. He has been so much more of a father to me than my birth father that is for sure and the same goes for my adoptive mother too. Then again it doesn't take much to be better than someone who takes drugs for a living and died of an overdose. The vague memories I have of my early childhood followed by memories of all the abuse means I don't sleep well at night because I don't get a lot of sleep after them. George knows this, I was texting him when he woke up this morning and I let him know that I had a bad night and I was exhausted. "Do you want a nap in a bit Dan? I know that you had a bad night last night," George tells me quietly. I look at him and nod.

"Okay, I'll sort it out in a little while, there is a room that we don't really use that has a comfy couch and blankets," George tells me, again keeping his voice quiet so we don't disturb the guys who seem busy creating lyrics. "Okay George, that sounds good to me. As long as I don't bother anyone then it should be fine," I tell him, and he hugs me. "You won't bother anyone, if anyone asks then I will say you were really tired," he tells me. That is fair enough and it is the truth at the end of the day. I will work hard for these people, but I don't think I will be much use if I keep dozing off into my notebook every five or ten minutes. I was even falling asleep in George's hug I was that tired. "Come on then sleepyhead," he whispers then lifts me up and takes me out the room without the others noticing. I am soon fast asleep.

May 4th 2015

I don't know what to call mine and Jordon's relationship. I suppose it is a bromance since we aren't quite friends, but we aren't in a sexual relationship either. He comes over and cooks me breakfast every morning. If I tell him that I have had another bad night then he will come and comfort me and help me get some more restful sleep which I am so appreciative of and I am sure George is too. He just wants me to get as much sleep as possible and he is a protective big brother which is what I needed in my life. "Morning Danny bear," Jordon tells me, I had just woken up at 10 am and the breakfast smelt amazing. Jordon will never make me a bowl of cereal, well he will if I ask him too. "Morning Jordon," I tell him.

"Breakfast is served," Jordon tells me, and I chuckle. He made me sausage, egg and beans with toast. I guess since it is 10 am I can call it brunch. "Thank you," I tell him and then I give the chef a kiss on the cheek. We tend to kiss each other on the cheek a lot, but it never goes any further than that really. I think that is mostly because we are still trying to figure out where we stand and what we want our relationship to be. We have all the time in the world and as long as we are not hurting each other in the process then I don't really see any problem with it. I don't think Jordon does either because we keep doing this. "I'll wash my plate," I tell him, I woke up to him washing the pans that he used to cook with.

"Alright then Danny. I was going to do it, but I know when you set your mind to something then it is best to stay out of the way," he says, and I chuckle again. He is learning finally, well it was a bit silly of me to say but he has learnt more about me and what I am like. "Yeah, don't worry. If you stay for dinner then you can wash those dishes alright," I tell him, and he shoves me gently. I was lucky that I was done with my breakfast otherwise that is going to go everywhere. I take the plate downstairs and wash it. "Can I stay for a movie day Danny? I feel like binge-watching something with you," he tells me. "Yeah sure thing Jordon," I tell him, and he smiles. Today is going to be a good day I can feel it.

And that is the end of another one shot. I might post more often with these during the next month or so for a rough summer schedule as I have some one shots I never posted from a previous years summer lot. Keep the requests coming I love them.

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