A.N: Only my second fan-fic, tell me what you think, okay?
Disclaimer: I'm not even gonna' bother.
Broken.
It was nearing six o'clock, but already the night was black as pitch. The rain came down in sheets, great peals of thunder shook the earth, and jagged streaks of lightning tore the sky, it was a night no sane person would willingly be out in. But despite all the reasons against it someone was out, driving on the slick Detroit roads towards the house of a woman known as Evelyn Mercer.
A young boy, no older than eleven, sat in the passenger seat; his cold blue-green eyes staring out through matted brown-blonde hair and a brilliant purple bruise that adorned his left eye. A new cut, only hours old, crossed his face in a vicious line, starting on the left side of his forehead and traveling down, over the bridge on his nose to end beneath his right eye. He was deathly pale and thin, so thin he looked like little more than skin over bones. He wore a ragged brown shirt that was about two sizes to big, making him look even smaller than he really was, a pair of patched black jeans, and shabby white tennis shoes that looked as if they would fall apart completely at any moment. He had no other clothing, no other possessions, not even a home. He refused to show it, but he was afraid, lost, he felt cut loose from everything, drifting alone in the darkness. And all he wanted more than anything else right now was a warm, safe place to hide.
The man driving the car was somewhere in his early seventies, with close cropped silver hair, a plethora of heavy wrinkles, and kind blue eyes. Every so often those eyes would shoot concerned glances over at his passenger, but no words where spoken. When they reached there destination, a two story house painted a pale yellow, he took a moment to collect himself before turning to his young charge, offering the boy, who's name was Jack, a smile that the child didn't return.
"Now, I know all this must be scary, but I don't want you to worry, Evelyn is very nice, I've known her a long time and she wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone a child." Nathaniel Stonehall said, trying desperately to reassure him. Jack merely watched him with those unnervingly blank eyes, and Stonehall found himself shifting uncomfortably under the intensity of that gaze. Those eyes belonged to a much older soul, and when they rested upon you it seemed almost as if they could see right through you. Mr. Stonehall cleared his throat nervously, and then went on.
"Please just try to make it work Jack; I know the last home was bad," The older man's eyes lingered on the cut that divided Jack's face. "But I promise this one will be different. Okay?" Nathaniel sighed when Jack refused to reply, the kid hadn't spoken in hours, but he had hoped that the prospect of a new home would bring him out of his self-imposed isolation, no such luck.
With another sigh the elderly man opened the door and stepped out into the driving rain, Jack following after. Together they made a mad dash for the house, Stonehall mentally cursing himself for not bringing an umbrella.
When they finally reached the shelter of the enclosed porch, they where soaked through, and Jack was shivering, his lack of a jacket making him vulnerable to the cold. Mr. Stonehall quickly knocked on the door, and a moment later a benevolent looking older woman had opened it, a smile on her face.
"Nathaniel, hello, it's wonderful to see you again! Come in, both of you." Stonehall took her invitation immediately, but Jack lingered for a moment on the stoop, assessing the woman before him. He eventually stepped through the door, sliding in sideways so that his back was to the wall and both of them where in his view. He had made the mistake of allowing people to get behind him before, and he wasn't about to let it happen again. The door closing behind him was like a death sentence, and it took all his willpower not to bolt, though where he would go if he did, he had no idea.
"Jack this is Evelyn, your new foster mother." Jack didn't say anything, but his eyes took on a vaguely condescending air, as if to say; I know that, dumb ass. After a moment of silence Nathaniel turned to Evelyn, an apologetic smile pasted to his lips.
"Sorry for the short notice, Eve, but I had no one else to call."
"Its nothing Nathan, you know I don't mind." Stonehall nodded, looking relived. He shot a quick glance at Jack, and then quickly pulled his gaze away.
"Well, I'd better go; I've got another couple of cases to work on before my day is over. Goodbye, Evelyn, and thanks again." He offered Jack another smile, but seemed to be at a loss for words, so after a few seconds awkward silence, he left. Jack worked very hard at not sowing the fear that he felt inside him, if they knew he was afraid they would use it against him.
Evelyn's smile wavered, just for a moment, as she took in the marks on her new son's face and the scrapes that adorned the skin of his forearms. She would bet quite a bit of money that there where more wounds hidden beneath the fabric of the t-shirt that he wore. She forced the smile back onto her lips before Jack could notice its absence, it wouldn't do for him to think that she was unhappy to have him here. Her heart ached at the wary look he wore, even more than the physical signs that look spoke volumes about his past, about the things he'd been forced to endure. Evelyn began to lead the way towards the living room, knowing Jack wouldn't like her behind him. She called over her shoulder to him as she went.
"Come here Jack, I want you to meet the boys." She knew, from the light footsteps behind her, that Jack was following.
Bobby pulled his eyes away from the game on T.V when his mom reentered the room, trailing a child who looked as if he'd been put through the ringer. The boy was pale and gaunt, his clothing hanging off of his thin frame. His hair hung in dreadlocks to his shoulders, and the way the kid was holding his head made the matted locks fall in his face, obscuring most of it from view. Bobby could make out cold blue-green eyes staring right at him, and his first thought was that the kid looked feral, like some wild animal that didn't belong anywhere near people, and the slash across his face did nothing to dispel the impression any. The eldest Mercer shot a look at his younger brothers, trying to gage there thoughts on the newcomer by there expressions. Angel looked only vaguely interested, but Bobby knew that the look was just a façade, he knew his brother well enough to tell that Angel was already concocting plans to make the kid more comfortable around them. This didn't really surprise Bobby; Angel had expressed more than once his wish for a younger brother, and their mother had mentioned that the kid might be staying for awhile.
Jerry was more open in his interest; he wore a look almost identical to the one Bobby had seen on Evelyn's face more times than he could count, the 'oh poor kid, I want to help him' look. Bobby could swear he could see the wheels turning in Jerry's head even now. He rolled his eyes, then looked back at the kid, trying to see what it was that had his family so interested.
At first all he saw was the same thing he had first seen, a kid in desperate need of a haircut with a chip on his shoulder the size of Montana, but then he looked closer, at the way he stood, at his eyes, and it took him only a moment of really hard looking to see that the hostility was a front, like Angels indifference, the kid was terrified. Bobby felt something in him softening toward this little slip of a boy, Jack, who despite his fear was facing four complete strangers and life with them.
He's got guts. He thought, smiling. He couldn't help but feel that he was going to like this kid.
A.N: That was the first chapter.