Authors note: (Thanks to Ihavenonamehalp Aka kit419 for co-writing the rest of this story with me. Check out their stories, they're really good.)
(Kit: most of these stories are loosely based on real horrors I've heard and read about from real foster kid stories. I was friends with a few foster kids, some were young girls and also this one kid who was abused by his adopted family. I've heard so many things that I've become extremely passionate about being a foster parent myself and I also want to spread awareness of what's really going on.)
Louie:
Living with the Rüppell family was the worst thing Louie had or will ever experience.
The family consisted of:
Mrs Rüppell who was extremely strict, she believed that affection is something a child must earn and it isn't given freely, in fact in her house, nothing was free.
Mr Rüppell was her husband; he was an alcoholic who was also very old fashioned, believing the idea that woman belong in the kitchen, children should be seen and not heard, men can do whatever they wanted to them and they just needed to deal with it...
You can already imagine how much Louie and him didn't get along.
Despite the fact they're horrible people they have seven kids in their care, seven!
There was their biological children, (they had three)
the second oldest was a teenager named Grace who was 15, she's rude and kind of a bully but she ignored Louie most of the time. As long as he didn't bother her, she didn't bother him.
Their younger daughter Amber, was a lot worse, she was about two years older then Louie, (not even that old) she'd constantly bother him and make fun of him and blame him for things he didn't even do. He found the best way to handle her is to just hide and not react to anything she said. It didn't always work but sometimes she was too tired or even bored to keep trying.
And even even worse was the oldest named Alec who was sixteen...He hung out with his friends most of the time and wasn't normally home but he was still scary and Intimidated Louie to the point where he'd hide to avoid him. Anytime Louie were to cross paths with him, it didn't end well. He was allowed- no- encouraged to be like a second father to the "younger kids" and again, was encouraged to discipline them however he felt like.
Their foster kids consisted of:
Molly: a young girl the same age as Amber and was normally the one she'd mess with, because molly wanted to be her friend, she'd do anything amber asked her to, which by default made her not only a push over but a bully to him as well.
Jennifer who was only three years old. No description needed. She was annoying and loud and they basically let her do whatever she wanted.
And
Tristan who was only a year old, and with Louie and him in the same room- there was no way he'd ever get some actual sleep. Not to mention that they're not allowed in the bedrooms until night, they do their chores, then either stay inside or outside depending on what Mrs Rüppell says.
Louie slept on a mattress on the floor at night with only one sheet and a small blanket he brought with him. Everything else he had was in his bag. His phone, his charger, a flashlight, two extra hoodies, a toothbrush, his drawing pad, two mechanical pencils, and one of Dewey's warn out comic books he grabbed by mistake.
Sigh...
He wondered if Dewey missed it. He wondered if Dewey missed him. Or Huey? Where they ok? And when would he see them again?
Why was it so hard to remember them all of a sudden? They all literally have the same face; but sometimes their face escaped him anyway. To remember there was once a time he was wanted and loved...it seemed impossible now. The longer he lived there, the harder it was.
When Dewey and Huey were around, they kept saying Donald would come back, saying he was ok, saying that everything would fall into place and they'd be as happy as they once were... The optimism was nice, but now Louie wasn't so sure...it all seems too real for him now.
Tristan started crying again, nobody got him of course, why would they?
Where is Gladstone? It's been three weeks and no visit at all! Is this what happens when you rely on family...?
Louie covered his ears to block the noice as best as possible, he didn't like it here, he wanted to go home...
Then he realized, there was no home anymore...
He needed to do something to calm down...
"Look to the stars my darling baby boys,
Life is strange and vast.
Filled with wonders...and...joys..
Face each new sun, with eyes clear and true..
Unafraid of the unknown...
Because..."
He stopped there.
Even if he wished it were different...
Donald was not coming back.
And there was nothing he could do.
Gladstone, two weeks ago:
Gladstone felt bad leaving the boys on their own, but what could he do? Really? He wasn't Donald. He wasn't a parent, and he never would be (hopefully.)
They just wouldn't be happy with him...
He continued waking while he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart...
He'll still be there for them, if things get too rough, he'd take them back. But it's good to try new things to see how they work out. They're ducks, they're tough. They'll be fine.
It's been a week now...he missed the kids.
He worried for a moment: If Gladstone wasn't so lucky to be adopted by good people who cared about him...who knows what could've happened.
He decided, after his trip to Macaw, he should pay them a visit. But for now, he decided to enjoy the place while he still could.
He entered a casino and the manager greeted him, "Greetings Mr gander, I am toad liu hai. Let's test your luck."