Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-Nine

Amelia stood at the edge of John's bed, watching as he drooled in his sleep. She knew better than to startle him in his sleep, but she really needed him to help her with something. "John…" She whispered, nudging his bed. "John… wake up."

He rolled over in his sleep, the blankets moving just enough to show the bare skin of his pecs. "I'm… okay… Mom…" He mumbled, his dream controlling what he said at the moment. "Not… hurt…"

Amelia giggled, poking his arm to try and get him out of bed. "John…" She whined, noticing that Chance was reacting slightly to her master's change in heartrate. "John…" She jumped back as John bolted awake, seeing that his eyes had little rays of yellow in them.

"Holy fuck, Amelia." He rubbed a hand over his face, propping himself up on his elbow. "God, I could have been having a nightmare and smacked the shit outta you before I knew what was going on."

She bowed her head, knowing that John did have his moments where he could become dangerous. "I need help." She mumbled, lifting her eyes slightly to look at him. "It's for school…"

He sighed, throwing his covers off to show that he was wearing sweatpants instead of only his usual superhero boxers. "What do you need help with?" He yawned, looking down at his watch. "Holy shit." He sighed, as he saw that he'd only gotten an hour of sleep at most. "Five in the Goddamn morning?"

Amelia nodded, able to tell that he was still exhausted and knowing that his potty mouth always got worse when it was early or he was tired. "I forgot I had to do it. And Momma's asleep."

John groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes. "Amelia Vivian Johnson. This is the fourth time this month you've pulled this shit." He looked at the girl before him, giving an exasperated sigh as he opened his dark eyes. "You have got to stop pulling this." He pressed his lips into a thin line, tired, and frustrated with not only Amelia but himself as well.

Over a month had passed since he'd been gang raped, and he still couldn't find the guys who'd done it. Even with the rape kit they'd done on him, they still needed to find the actual people who'd done it and the kit would only be kept for a few more months before they were no longer able to do anything with it. He had to fight the guilt of what had been done to him every day, he'd lost his virginity, not to Claire but to a gang of men.

Amelia nodded, watching him rub his temples and comb his fingers through his hair. "Sorry."

He slapped his hands down on his knees, pushing himself to stand. "What's the assignment?" He asked, rubbing a muscle knot in his back.

She grinned, leading him to the kitchen where she'd set her homework. "I have to make a pretend solar system."

John rubbed a hand over his chest as one of the newer scars itched with healing. "Alright, and what are we making this out of?"

She shuffled her feet, looking up at him as he rubbed the shiny scar around his neck where the leather cord had cut into his neck when someone had pulled to hard on it and it had failed to snap. "Can we use some of the little bearings you used on your Harley?"

He nodded, pulling on one of Claire's thin jackets and a pair of slippers that belonged to Cody and were way to big for him. "Alright? What else?"

"A tennis ball?" She asked, pulling on a pair of slippers as she followed John out the door and down the little pathway to the garage.

"What about the smaller planets?" He yawned, scratching his hip as he flipped the light on to show the grease spots on the concrete floor, and the various other random projects he was working on at the moment. "I've got some ping pong balls, um, probably about fifty million wire coils to hold this damn thing together, there's gotta be some kind of foam balls somewhere, and there might be a soft ball or some shit around here if someone didn't steal it." He picked up a box of junk, noticing a strange white powder on some of it. "The fuck?" He wiped his pinky through the dusting of powder, placing a little on his tongue and instantly spitting it onto the floor. "Amelia, go inside." He pushed a flashlight into her hands, pushing her out the door. "Whatever happens don't look back or turn around."

She nodded, rushing back to the house. She knew from his tone, that John's nerves were telling him something was wrong, and she also knew that she needed to get help just incase something were to happen to him.

John watched her as she entered the house, turning to look at the dark corner of the garage. "What do you want?" He growled, twisting his wrists to loosen the tendons in his hands.

"Cute kid." Sneered the man as he stepped from the shadows, holding out a cigarette and a bag of cocaine. "I brought you some good shit." He smiled, knowing that John was one of his best customers.

"Thanks Darin." He took the cocaine from him, handing him a few twenties to pay for it. "But next time, don't show when I've got the little shit with me."

"You've got it asshole." He grinned, showing his missing teeth. "Just get me my cash and I'll take all your pain and worries away."

John nodded, pulling a dollar bill from his pocket and rolling it into a tight tube. "You got it." He poured some of the white powder onto his work bench, making a neat line with it. "Now get out."