4 days since Mikey's arrival
(Don's POV)
"We're home mom." Leo announces the moment we walk into the home. I glance over to the left, where mom was sitting on the couch.
"Keep your voice down please" She responds quickly, standing up and walking over to the three of us. I frown slightly, keep our voice down? She seems to catch on, gesturing to the the figure behind her on the couch when she saw the looks of confusion on our faces. I glance at the couch, spotting Mikey curled up on the couch.
There was a blanket draped over his body, and his eyes were shut, asleep.
"He hasn't slept well ever since he came to us, he fell asleep 20 minutes ago" Mom explains with a sigh. "So don't you guys wake him" She warned with a stern voice, but her face was filled with a gentle smile.
"School was great though, thanks for asking." I snort as mom walks back to the couch, Raph elbows me at the comment, rolling his eyes before walking away. I snicker, glancing at Leo. He shakes his head, following Raph towards the family room, I do the same.
"Three days of walking around eggshells" Raph mutters the moment I closed the door behind me. I sigh, walking over to the couch and sitting down, pinching the bridge of my nose for a moment.
"He came from juvie, of course he's not going to be comfortable" Leo retorts, sitting down as well. Raph groans.
"Shit Leo, ya know Case has been in juvie before. That's not how you come out of it" Raph mutters, glancing out of the window.
"Casey has been in juvie for not having his license on him" Leo snaps, rubbing his forehead. "He's been in there for a weekend. I'm not saying that this situation doesn't suck but you can't compare Casey's sentence with Mikey spending a year in juvie for God knows what" Leo continues.
"Leo's right, mom said he was wrongfully convicted. Spending a year in juvie is terrifying enough, spending a year when you're innocent?" I shake my head, trying to get the thought out of my head. Even if we weren't close at all, and Mikey would only be staying with us until they found a better foster family..
I couldn't help but see how damaged he was.
He was still pale. Not as much as he used to when he came to us 4 days ago but still pale. The bags under his eyes hadn't disappeared, the bruises were still visible and only just now starting to turn yellow. He was twitchy, withdrawn and slightly moody. He didn't speak much unless asked.
"Use your head braniac, mom and dad don't tell us why he was in juvie for a reason" Raph frowns.
"You don't believe he's innocent?" Leo counters.
"Shit, I don't know man. I'm just sayin' he's hiding something" Raph mutters, sitting down on the office chair with a frown on his face. I glance at Leo for a moment, who sighs, running a hand across his face.
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I do agree with Raph on this one" Leo says softly, glancing at me again. I put up my hands.
"Don't look at me, I was thinking the same thing. I just don't believe it's all black or white" I defend myself. Leo nods absently, bringing his knees to his chest. Raph fell silent as well after that, the victory of us sort of getting to agree with him enough for now.
At least until the next time we were confronted by the teen in our house.
TMNT
"I am really sorry Shen but we haven't been successful so far" Tyler says softly, taking a sip of the coffee. "With his record, no one is very keen on fostering him" He continues, rubbing a hand through his hair.
"I can imagine" Shen sighs, looking down at her cup of tea, closing her eyes for a moment. "He hasn't been doing well at all Tyler, he's in a bad shape"
"How come?" Tyler asks softly. Shen glances around the room quickly, but the boys were all at school right now and Yoshi was still at work.
"He rarely sleeps, and he is scared. He doesn't trust us or the boys, for good reason" Shen spoke softly. "He's just not comfortable with us around, and he flinches whenever I try to touch him."
"That's certainly to be expected" Tyler mutters, rubbing his forehead. "Especially considering how his parents treated him, and made him do."
"It's just-" Shen starts, standing up and walking over to the window. "Have you seen the look on his face when he wakes up from a nightmare? Or the startled look when I touch his shoulder or something?" Shen cries out softly. Tyler sighs, standing up as well and walking over to the woman.
Shen sighs again, glancing at Tyler with tears in his eyes.
"I know Shen, I've been on Mikey's case ever since he was sent to Juvie. I talked to his therapist, I've talked with him multiple times" Tyler says softly.
Shen sighs. "I know Tyler, it's just so hard to get him to open up" Tyler nods absently, putting a hand on Shen's shoulder.
"With this history I'm honestly surprised he hasn't run away yet"
"You think he wants to see her?" Shen asks, but Tyler immediately shakes his head.
"I asked him about that a few times, he doesn't want to see her at all." Tyler mutters, taking another sip of the coffee and walking back to the couch.
"He doesn't want to see her at all?" Shen asks with a frown, turning around but not moving from her spot. "After all he has done to protect her" Tyler frowns, putting the cup away and looking up at Shen with a dire expression on his face.
"He doesn't want to see her because he is still protecting her Shen"
TMNT
It wasn't even loud, and I probably wouldn't have heard it if I hadn't been awake. I frown, climbing out of my bed, and walking out of the room. For a second I wait, glancing at the door on my right leading to Raph's room but it didn't open after a few moments, neither did Leo's on the other side of the hall.
I turn left for Mikey's door. I carefully open the door, clicking on the light.
"Mikey?" I ask softly, walking into the room far enough to see the blond boy sitting upright in his bed.
"I woke you?" He whispers softly, looking at me with tears streaming down his face.
"No I was already awake" I snicker softly, taking another few steps. "But I am in the room next to you, I heard the scream" I continue softly.
Mikey swallows thickly, sniffling and turning his head away for a moment. I sigh, walking over to the wall, and leaning against it. I run a hand over my face, glancing at Mikey's form for a moment, but it was clear that he wasn't going to talk anytime soon.
"Nightmare?" I ask, but Mikey doesn't move. I sigh again. "Come with me Mikey" I say softly, and this time Mikey does look at me. I extend my hand, gesturing for him to stand up. For a moment he doesn't move, before he sighs, slowly getting out of the bed and standing up. He looks at me with a confused expression.
I just smile at him, gesturing for him to follow me.
I walk downstairs, walking through the living room and walking into the kitchen. Mikey followed me silently, sitting down on the table. I could feel him watching me, knowing he was looking at me with sad, blue eyes, but I ignore him as I walked through the kitchen, grabbing two mugs from the cabinet.
I just continue, blocking the light sniffles that Mikey was trying to hide. Several minutes passed before the microwave beeped. I glance at Mikey for a moment, but he was still huddled into himself, looking miserable, but his gaze travels to mine.
He glances at me for a few seconds, a slight look of confusion on his face. But I ignore it for a moment, grabbing the two cups from the microwave.
"Here" I say, handing him one of the cups.
"Cocoa?" Mikey asks softly, but accepts the cup nevertheless.
"You bet" I smile gently, sitting down at the opposite side of the table with my hands around the cup. "Mom used to do this when I got nightmares ever since I came here" I shrug, glancing at Mikey while taking a sip.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask, but Mikey doesn't respond to me. I look down at the cup, his hands tightening around the cup.
"Why did you get adopted?" He asks suddenly, voice still as soft as ever. He glances up at me, a worried yet curious expression on his face. I smile gently, taking another sip of the cocoa. A few seconds afterwards, Mikey does the same, taking a hesitant sip from the cup, a look of content spreading across his face.
"It's not a very interesting story though." I say, looking down at the table again. "My mom gave me away when I was just a few days old, dropped me off anonymously with a note 'Take care of my little Donnie'"
"That's all?" Mikey asks softly, gazing up at me with anxious eyes.
"No happy ending there Mikey. She left me, they named me after the name on the note, and that's all I ever knew about my parents, or where I came from" I continue. "I spend 8 years switching between families until I got here"
"Your mom never reached out to you?" Mikey asks, and I shake my head, putting the glass down on the table again.
"They thought naming me 'Donnie' would give my mom or dad an opportunity to reach out for me later on, but no luck so far." I tell him. At first it had bothered me. I mean it still does, knowing my biological parents gave me up without anything that would point me to their direction.
I would never know who my mother was, who my father was. How they met, if they loved each other, what the family was like. I'm not able to find out where my intelligence came from. Was it my mom? Was it my dad? Or had it skipped a generation. If my bad eyesight was genetic, and in the family.
Small things that a lot of people take for granted, but something I would never know but desired so much.
There was a guilty look on his face, a look I couldn't really figure out. What would he be guilty about?
"But it's okay, it's not ideal but I found a family here. Mom and dad love me, and Leo and Raph are brothers to me in every way but blood" I continue, smiling at Mikey. "Do you know how long you'll be fostered?" Are your parents still out there? Is there a chance they'll take you back?
Or basically, information on his past life. Because even after 9 days we still hadn't gotten information from mom and dad, Tyler, or Mikey on why the latter was here, what he had done, his past, why he had ended up in juvie and so on.
Mikey gazes at the floor.
"My parents are dead" He states, and immediately I can feel my body freezing. Yet, there was no sadness in his eyes, not more than there always was.
"I'm sorry Mikey" I whisper, but Mikey shakes his head.
"I'm not" He spat, a venomous tone in his voice. I frown slightly at the statement. So that was an interesting piece of information. His parents were dead, and apparently he wasn't the least bit sad about it. Abandonment, psychological abuse, physical abuse? Or did they just not care?
Or Mikey was somehow the cause of it, and not his parents. I shake my head, immediately banning those thoughts. The boy in front of me would never be able to hate his parents unless they did something, that much was evident.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I whisper before I can even stop myself. Mike glances at me, a slight glare on his face. Stupid, of course he wouldn't have told.
"I don't know you" He whispered, gaze softening ever so slightly before looking away. Then, after a long silence. "You'll hate me if you knew, and… " He stops, swallowing thickly. I don't say anything, silently looking at him to finish his sentence.
"And.. I don't want to go again. I don't want to go back to Juvie.. or sent into foster care… I… -" He stops again, tears streaming down his face. My face falls, and I slowly get up. I recognised that tone, because 7 years ago that had been me, begging my parents to not give me up yet again.
Another house that I didn't fit in, and I was sent back to the group home again, a place without loving parents, and where every day was uncertain. I knew how he was feeling, and I knew what it was like to feel so helpless, and not wanting to move again. And yet, never bothering to unpack all your stuff.
Because there was always the thought of having to move out of the house. After my third house I had given up on unpacking immediately. I wasn't in the situation anymore, but I remembered.
"Oh Mikey" I whisper, walking over to the other side of the table and sitting down on the chair next to him. "That won't happen, Tyler will find you a permanent family, parents that will love you" But Mikey shakes his head furiously.
"Tyler's not gonna find it, nobody would want me" He mutters. "I'm only here because Tyler knows your mom.. and she will happily throw me out in a few weeks"
"That's not true, and you know it" I almost snap, but I manage to keep my voice down.
"Yoshi didn't even want me Don" He retorts. "This may be my first foster home, but I'm not ignorant" He continues. I frown, because honestly? I couldn't even deny his statements. I've experienced it, Raph has experienced it as well. We both bounced from foster home to foster home.
Parents weren't actually nice all the time, both Raph and me have had parents who either didn't care, or hit us. I had gotten stuck in a home with people who didn't appreciate my smarts, Raph had gotten placed in a family that had a father with a temper worse than Raph, adding gasoline to a fire that was.
So Mikey's assumption of being put away soon probably wasn't far off.
"You'll find your family Mikey, I don't believe for one bit that you're a bad guy" I say, and he looks at me with a slightly shocked expression. Tears were still streaking down his face. "This cocoa break was supposed to make you feel better" I chuckle, glancing at him. Mikey chuckles despite everything.
He takes a deep breath. "Thanks for this Don, really" He looks up again, wiping away the tears on his cheeks. "The guards weren't this nice when I woke up" He mutters. I sigh, standing up again and gesturing for him to stand up. He does so with a slight look of confusion.
"I don't know how long you'll be here, but you can always come to me when you have a nightmare or when you want to talk about stuff" I tell him, putting both hands on either shoulder. I chuckle. "Besides, I've always wanted to be the big brother for once."
TMNT
More answers! So Mikey's parents are dead, what happened to them? I would love to hear your thoughts. *hint hint hint* 10 reviews for an extra chapter on Wednesday :3