Author's note: 2 more replies for Take It All Away then for poor Broken..but then again, this was anticipated. After all, Betty and Nick will always inevitably take a back seat to something involving Jimmy..it is his show, after all. I'm trying to keep this as real to life as is humanly possible with cartoon characters - some OOC is only inevitable. And now, Chapter One. The previous chapter, if I forgot to indicate (and I believe I did) was a prologue.
"Just talk to me for once!"
"I have to get this done, Cindy, I don't have time to talk!"
"You never do!"
Matt pulled the covers over his head, in a desperate attempt to block out the sound of his parents arguing. As always, the flimsy blanket did nothing but suffocate him half to death, and he was forced to throw it off of him once more, the sound of his parents yells filling his ears, overcoming his ten year old mind.
Why, dad? I don't get it..we were all so happy..He glanced longingly at the photo on his dresser. He was on his father's shoulders, his mother standing beside them, holding her husband's hand. They had gotten a tourist to take the picture...the day stood out so well in Matt's mind, perhaps because it was the only happy memory he had.
Now they were all filled with fights..of his father being too busy to do anything other than work - he often went days without shaving, sleeping, or eating. Of his mother being too busy becoming full of hatred towards his father that she only had time to cook dinner, clean, and mutter under her breath, curses against ever marrying 'that man'.
His only means of escape was school, but that did little to help lately. His best friend, Hosea Esteves, was with his parents in Mexico, and his other friend, Lena Wheezer, was out of town as well. They were the only ones that could make it better, but they were of little use so far away.
Why did it turn out this way? All he wished was to go back to being that child on his father's shoulders, for his father to turn back into the kind man he had been. He grabbed a stuffed animal from off his bedside table and flung it across the room.
It was a teddy bear. The same one his father had given him when he was born, the one he used to sleep with every night until he was nine. But now, he so desperately needed a friend..just one friend..
He picked it off the floor and hugged it to his chest as he used to, closing his eyes, praying to go back to that day. He didn't know why he prayed - his parents weren't religious, and neither was he. Yet for now, he needed there to be a God. Needed someone with power to help him.
"Is that how you feel!" Once more, his father's harsh tone and loud words pierced his thoughts. "Because if it is, Cindy, then why the hell are you still here? Just leave already!"
"Fine." Matt let in a sharp breath. She sounded so..calm. "Fine..but I'm taking Matt with me."
"You can't do that!"
"Yes I can! Open your eyes, James..you never do anything for him anymore. You don't even talk to him. I see the way he looks at you, the loneliness in his eyes...You've changed, Jimmy. You're not the man I married. You're not the father you were."
Silence.
It grew throughout the house, disturbed only by the soft creaking of stairs as his mother ascended them. "Matt?" She pushed his door open, and he tried not to look guilty for listening in. "Pack some of your things, ok? We're going on a trip for a little while.."
"How long?"
"Long enough."
Matt didn't ask for anymore information. His mother looked too tired for him to want to argue with, so, obediently, he dug out his suitcase from under his bed and haphazardly began to throw clothes inside. He paused for a moment - there was enough room for one more pair of pants, but instead he grabbed the photo from the day on the beach. He wrapped it carefully inside one of his shirts to keep it from breaking, then zipped the suitcase up.
"You ready?" His mother came in again, toting a large bag. "Don't bother with changing out of your night clothes, we need to get going." He headed after her as she started out of the room, but then dashed back and grabbed the teddy bear.
He followed his mother downstairs. His father was sitting in a chair in the livingroom, face burried in his hands. He'll stop us..he has to. He'll stop us, and make everything right again. Everything..But his father did nothing. He sat there as Matt's mother opened the door and ushered him outside.
Once they were in the car, Matt thought again He'll come. He's going to stop us. He won't let us go away from him. He loves us too much. But nothing happened. Not even as his mother started the car..
Not as she pulled out of the driveway..
Not at the end of the block..
He finally gave up hope when he saw the "Now Leaving Retroville" sign. He pulled his legs up into his chest, and sobbed. His father wasn't coming for them. Maybe he truely didn't care.