Spot sighed and took a deep breath. "I guess I should start on the day that I became an orphan..."
Flashback
A little Spot Conlon, who was really named Gabriel Conlon, sat alone, curled up in a corner of the dirty alley. Tears were streaming down his puffy cheeks, he had his arms wrapped around himself to try to keep himself as warm as possible. A few raindrops stormed from the darkened sky above. It was the perfect night to end one's life.
He stared up at the open window above him in which he had came. He stared down at his hands, in which where cut up and bruised all over. Drops of blood rained from his hair from when he had hit the cold, hard floor. He grabbed his head and shut his eyes, trying to shut out all the horrible sounds around him.
This was no way for a four year old to spend his birthday.
When he opened his eyes again, he was staring down two giant great Danes. His heart skipped a few beats as they began to growl and show their razor sharp teeth. Gabriel backed up against the metal fence and clenched the sticky red mud under his small hands. He glared at the two and hissed, "Get away from me!" as he threw it in their eyes.
He turned around and began to climb as fast as he could up the fence, making it half way up before the dogs began to pull him down. He screamed and shut his eyes, again.
A gun shot ringed throughout the narrow alley, making everything around him stop. There was a man with a gun standing behind the two beasts. He frowned and picked the frail boy up. His eyes grew wide when he realized that the back of the boy's head was drowned with blood.
"My God..." he whispered to himself. He glared down at the two dogs, who whimpered and backed away. "Come. Let's go home."
End Flashback
Spot stopped and stared down at Becka, who seemed to be in a haunted gaze. She could see everything that was happening to him. She could feel everything that had happened to him. He turned his head away and closed his eyes.
"The man that saved me that night...he took care of me, not the orphanage. His name was Franklin Kelly, but I came to calling him Frank. He had a son named Francis..."
Becka stared up at her boyfriend, surprise and fear in her eyes. He nodded and sighed. "Yup. I've known Jack for that long."
Flashback
Gabriel awoke in a puddle of oozing sweat, blankets towering around him and a cold wet rag on his forehead. He looked around the strange room and began to panic. Where was he? He put his hand on his head and found that it was taped up, then he realized that his hands where too.
'Who did this?' he thought to himself. He looked up when he saw a small boy at the door. He seemed like he was around his age, so he was someone that he could trust, right? "Where am I?" the young Gabriel asked. The boy at the door shook his head and yelled for his father.
A man appeared at the door next to the boy. He was rather tall and very big. It looked as if he hadn't shaved for weeks and his hair was in a messy mop. He smiled down at Gabriel and nodded. "It's bout time ya woke up. Do ya feel any better?" he said with a Brooklyn accent.
Gabriel nodded and said, "Mr., where am I?" The man sighed and walked over to the bed that he was lying in. "Boy, I found ya in a alley right before me mutts where bout ta feed on you." Gabriel raised his eyebrow, trying to remember what he was talking about.
His eyes immediately widened when it hit him. He threw the blankets off of himself and ran out the door, making the other boy ran after him. Gabriel stopped when he saw the rays of sunlight coming through the bottom of the front door. He swung it open, but wasn't able to look outside because of the two strong arms that brought him to the floor. He looked up at the other small boy's face, really seeing him for the first time.
"Let me go!" he yelled, but was unsuccessful. "I gotta see where momma and poppa are!" Tears began to stroll down his face when the man closed the door and told his son to get up. The boy obeyed and brought Gabriel with him. The man went down to his knees and grabbed the hysterical Gabriel by the shoulders, making him look at him.
"Look!" he screamed, bringing a newspaper to the young boy's face. He pointed at a picture on the front cover, making Gabriel's heart stop, if but for a few moments. There, on the front page, were pictures of his parents. "You're parents are dead! They were murdered. You're lucky that you weren't, too."
Gabriel stared at the newspaper, trying to figure out what the man had said. His parents couldn't be dead. They were super heroes, super heroes don't die. He shook his head and threw the paper to the floor. "You're lying!" he made tiny fists and glared up at the man.
"Momma and poppa aren't dead! They can't die!" he yelled at the man. His legs began to shake as his face turned red and his knuckles turned white. The man took the boy by the shoulders again, but this time he was much gentler. He brought the boy into a hug and held him for a few moments, letting the small child cry.
"You're gonna stay 'ere with me and Francis, alright?" he said, looking over at his son who rolled his eyes at his name. Gabriel slowly nodded as the man stood up and smiled. "My name is Franklin Kelly, but you can cal me Frank, is that ok with you?" The boy nodded and wiped away a few of his tears.
"What's you're name?"
Gabriel looked up at Frank, as if he were some strange creature that he had never seen before. He cleared his throat and nodded. "I'm Gabriel Conlon..."
End Flashback
Becka had been quiet for some time now, not saying a word to a single thing that Spot had said. He stopped and brushed away a few strands of her hair so he could see her eyes. The were glossy and red, as if she was going to cry. He smiled and held her closer to him.
"Who killed them?" she finally asked. Spot sighed and shook his head. "I never quite understood who did." She looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "What?"
He laughed and hook his head again. "I never figured it out." Becka sighed and rested her head on his chest again. "So, how did Jack get to be called Jack?"
Flashback
Gabriel had been living with the Kelly's for about three years now. He found that they didn't exactly live in the city, but not in the county, either. He and Francis had many chores around the house every day, each to which Gabriel never complained about.
He had become apart of this small family. He found out that the two dog's names were Viso and Keedo and he had made good friends with them. Francis, on the other hand, didn't really like Gabriel that much. He thought that his father was giving their new member all of his attention, like he was his son.
He often found ways to mistreat Gabriel. He often left him out of games that he and his friends were playing, just because Gabriel was smaller than all the other children, but he never complained; which made Francis even more mad.
He didn't understand why his new "brother" never complain, never got mad, always took things well. He found that it was quite fun to pick on him because of his small size. He made it a game to give him the heavier piles of whatever it was that they had to carry around the house, making him stumble and trip. He thought that it was fun to give him less blankets in the bed that they had to share because of the shortage of money that his father had. He thought that it was funny because Gabriel didn't have any friends and he did.
What he didn't know, though, was that Gabriel didn't really like him, either. When Francis would go out to play with Max, Trey, and Aaron, he would stay inside and make little "weapons" for himself. He wasn't exactly sure why he did this, but for some reason, he thought that he might need them to protect himself from things.
He made himself a knife, a slingshot, a bat, and even a cane; all out of wood. He thought that it funny because Francis hated his name and had told all his friends to call him Jack. So, just to be funny, Gabriel would sometimes call Francis, Jacky-boy.
Then, on a night similar to the one that Gabriel parents had been killed, Frank had decided to get drunk. He came home with a beautiful red-head named, Medda. The two boys had never seen Frank like this before, and it scared them. They spent the whole night awake, making sure that their "father" didn't do anything that he would later regret.
Some men came to the house two nights later, claming that Frank had made a bet with them on the night that he was drunk, but he didn't remember it. They said that either Frank paid them or they would kill him. Now, Frank didn't have that much money to begin with, so of course he couldn't pay them.
So they killed him.
But he didn't die without a fight. Gabriel had taken out all his "weapons" and he and Francis had attacked the two men until their faces were no longer attached to their heads. Gabriel had stabbed one of the two's eyes out with the cane that he had made and Francis had knocked the other one out with the bat.
Viso and Keeno did everything else. They ripped the two men apart, leaving their body parts scattered throughout the yard. The dogs protected the two boys for the rest of the night, before the cops came and took them away. They put the two dogs to sleep and sent Gabriel and Francis to the orphanage.
Gabriel never called Francis by his real name ever again, he called him either Jack or Jacky-boy, and that was it. "Jack" never called Gabriel by his real name ever again, either. He had decided to call him "Spot" because for some reason, he thought that Gabriel had some sort of extra sense. He thought that he somehow knew that something was going to happen because of all the "weapon" that he had made. And thus the name "Spot", for being able to "spot" when bad things where going to happen, if only for that night.
End Flashback
There was another moment of silence between the two. Becka was the one to break it.
"So...both of your parents were murdered?"
Spot nodded and sighed. "There's so much that I want to tell you, but I don't think that right now would be the best time to do so." Becka nodded and proceeded to stand up, but couldn't. Spot shook his head and said, "Stay with me...for just a little bit longer?" She slowly nodded and wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.
Flashback
A little Spot Conlon, who was really named Gabriel Conlon, sat alone, curled up in a corner of the dirty alley. Tears were streaming down his puffy cheeks, he had his arms wrapped around himself to try to keep himself as warm as possible. A few raindrops stormed from the darkened sky above. It was the perfect night to end one's life.
He stared up at the open window above him in which he had came. He stared down at his hands, in which where cut up and bruised all over. Drops of blood rained from his hair from when he had hit the cold, hard floor. He grabbed his head and shut his eyes, trying to shut out all the horrible sounds around him.
This was no way for a four year old to spend his birthday.
When he opened his eyes again, he was staring down two giant great Danes. His heart skipped a few beats as they began to growl and show their razor sharp teeth. Gabriel backed up against the metal fence and clenched the sticky red mud under his small hands. He glared at the two and hissed, "Get away from me!" as he threw it in their eyes.
He turned around and began to climb as fast as he could up the fence, making it half way up before the dogs began to pull him down. He screamed and shut his eyes, again.
A gun shot ringed throughout the narrow alley, making everything around him stop. There was a man with a gun standing behind the two beasts. He frowned and picked the frail boy up. His eyes grew wide when he realized that the back of the boy's head was drowned with blood.
"My God..." he whispered to himself. He glared down at the two dogs, who whimpered and backed away. "Come. Let's go home."
End Flashback
Spot stopped and stared down at Becka, who seemed to be in a haunted gaze. She could see everything that was happening to him. She could feel everything that had happened to him. He turned his head away and closed his eyes.
"The man that saved me that night...he took care of me, not the orphanage. His name was Franklin Kelly, but I came to calling him Frank. He had a son named Francis..."
Becka stared up at her boyfriend, surprise and fear in her eyes. He nodded and sighed. "Yup. I've known Jack for that long."
Flashback
Gabriel awoke in a puddle of oozing sweat, blankets towering around him and a cold wet rag on his forehead. He looked around the strange room and began to panic. Where was he? He put his hand on his head and found that it was taped up, then he realized that his hands where too.
'Who did this?' he thought to himself. He looked up when he saw a small boy at the door. He seemed like he was around his age, so he was someone that he could trust, right? "Where am I?" the young Gabriel asked. The boy at the door shook his head and yelled for his father.
A man appeared at the door next to the boy. He was rather tall and very big. It looked as if he hadn't shaved for weeks and his hair was in a messy mop. He smiled down at Gabriel and nodded. "It's bout time ya woke up. Do ya feel any better?" he said with a Brooklyn accent.
Gabriel nodded and said, "Mr., where am I?" The man sighed and walked over to the bed that he was lying in. "Boy, I found ya in a alley right before me mutts where bout ta feed on you." Gabriel raised his eyebrow, trying to remember what he was talking about.
His eyes immediately widened when it hit him. He threw the blankets off of himself and ran out the door, making the other boy ran after him. Gabriel stopped when he saw the rays of sunlight coming through the bottom of the front door. He swung it open, but wasn't able to look outside because of the two strong arms that brought him to the floor. He looked up at the other small boy's face, really seeing him for the first time.
"Let me go!" he yelled, but was unsuccessful. "I gotta see where momma and poppa are!" Tears began to stroll down his face when the man closed the door and told his son to get up. The boy obeyed and brought Gabriel with him. The man went down to his knees and grabbed the hysterical Gabriel by the shoulders, making him look at him.
"Look!" he screamed, bringing a newspaper to the young boy's face. He pointed at a picture on the front cover, making Gabriel's heart stop, if but for a few moments. There, on the front page, were pictures of his parents. "You're parents are dead! They were murdered. You're lucky that you weren't, too."
Gabriel stared at the newspaper, trying to figure out what the man had said. His parents couldn't be dead. They were super heroes, super heroes don't die. He shook his head and threw the paper to the floor. "You're lying!" he made tiny fists and glared up at the man.
"Momma and poppa aren't dead! They can't die!" he yelled at the man. His legs began to shake as his face turned red and his knuckles turned white. The man took the boy by the shoulders again, but this time he was much gentler. He brought the boy into a hug and held him for a few moments, letting the small child cry.
"You're gonna stay 'ere with me and Francis, alright?" he said, looking over at his son who rolled his eyes at his name. Gabriel slowly nodded as the man stood up and smiled. "My name is Franklin Kelly, but you can cal me Frank, is that ok with you?" The boy nodded and wiped away a few of his tears.
"What's you're name?"
Gabriel looked up at Frank, as if he were some strange creature that he had never seen before. He cleared his throat and nodded. "I'm Gabriel Conlon..."
End Flashback
Becka had been quiet for some time now, not saying a word to a single thing that Spot had said. He stopped and brushed away a few strands of her hair so he could see her eyes. The were glossy and red, as if she was going to cry. He smiled and held her closer to him.
"Who killed them?" she finally asked. Spot sighed and shook his head. "I never quite understood who did." She looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "What?"
He laughed and hook his head again. "I never figured it out." Becka sighed and rested her head on his chest again. "So, how did Jack get to be called Jack?"
Flashback
Gabriel had been living with the Kelly's for about three years now. He found that they didn't exactly live in the city, but not in the county, either. He and Francis had many chores around the house every day, each to which Gabriel never complained about.
He had become apart of this small family. He found out that the two dog's names were Viso and Keedo and he had made good friends with them. Francis, on the other hand, didn't really like Gabriel that much. He thought that his father was giving their new member all of his attention, like he was his son.
He often found ways to mistreat Gabriel. He often left him out of games that he and his friends were playing, just because Gabriel was smaller than all the other children, but he never complained; which made Francis even more mad.
He didn't understand why his new "brother" never complain, never got mad, always took things well. He found that it was quite fun to pick on him because of his small size. He made it a game to give him the heavier piles of whatever it was that they had to carry around the house, making him stumble and trip. He thought that it was fun to give him less blankets in the bed that they had to share because of the shortage of money that his father had. He thought that it was funny because Gabriel didn't have any friends and he did.
What he didn't know, though, was that Gabriel didn't really like him, either. When Francis would go out to play with Max, Trey, and Aaron, he would stay inside and make little "weapons" for himself. He wasn't exactly sure why he did this, but for some reason, he thought that he might need them to protect himself from things.
He made himself a knife, a slingshot, a bat, and even a cane; all out of wood. He thought that it funny because Francis hated his name and had told all his friends to call him Jack. So, just to be funny, Gabriel would sometimes call Francis, Jacky-boy.
Then, on a night similar to the one that Gabriel parents had been killed, Frank had decided to get drunk. He came home with a beautiful red-head named, Medda. The two boys had never seen Frank like this before, and it scared them. They spent the whole night awake, making sure that their "father" didn't do anything that he would later regret.
Some men came to the house two nights later, claming that Frank had made a bet with them on the night that he was drunk, but he didn't remember it. They said that either Frank paid them or they would kill him. Now, Frank didn't have that much money to begin with, so of course he couldn't pay them.
So they killed him.
But he didn't die without a fight. Gabriel had taken out all his "weapons" and he and Francis had attacked the two men until their faces were no longer attached to their heads. Gabriel had stabbed one of the two's eyes out with the cane that he had made and Francis had knocked the other one out with the bat.
Viso and Keeno did everything else. They ripped the two men apart, leaving their body parts scattered throughout the yard. The dogs protected the two boys for the rest of the night, before the cops came and took them away. They put the two dogs to sleep and sent Gabriel and Francis to the orphanage.
Gabriel never called Francis by his real name ever again, he called him either Jack or Jacky-boy, and that was it. "Jack" never called Gabriel by his real name ever again, either. He had decided to call him "Spot" because for some reason, he thought that Gabriel had some sort of extra sense. He thought that he somehow knew that something was going to happen because of all the "weapon" that he had made. And thus the name "Spot", for being able to "spot" when bad things where going to happen, if only for that night.
End Flashback
There was another moment of silence between the two. Becka was the one to break it.
"So...both of your parents were murdered?"
Spot nodded and sighed. "There's so much that I want to tell you, but I don't think that right now would be the best time to do so." Becka nodded and proceeded to stand up, but couldn't. Spot shook his head and said, "Stay with me...for just a little bit longer?" She slowly nodded and wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.