I've watched enough crime-related shows to sound like a creepy pedophile, so please forgive me. Just a warning! Thanks! Review, pleeeease!
He only ever tried to be good. Tried to stay away from the pain, the feeling of being worthless. But it was always inescapable. Suddenly, there were heavy footsteps descending the basement stairs as a bright light appeared at the top of them. It was blinding, but Jack was more focused on his racing heartbeat as the steps got closer to him. Suddenly, the very man responsible for this hike in fear came into view, blocking the blinding light above him.
"Get up", he snapped, angrily grabbing Jack's arm and forcing him to stand. Jack whimpered slightly, despite himself.
"Now, I got a friend comin'. And you better damn well behave yourself this time, cause if not... well, you know the consequences", he stated, giving Jack a quick, sinister smile before calling a name, "John!" Just then, another pair of footsteps made their way down the stairs, once again increasing Jack's heartbeat.
"You got one hour, John. Just like we talked about", a quick nod from the tall man standing by the stairs was his only answer before Jack's foster father ascended the stairs once again. Just as the door shut, John slowly made his way over towards Jack with a sinister, half smile on his face.
"Well, would you look at what we've got here", he announced in a low voice that sent shivers up Jack's spine, "Aren't you just the sweetest little thing?" another round of shivers. Jack tightly closed his eyes when the man in front of him reached for his arm. He was thrown onto the dirty old matress in the corner, his head just inches away from hitting the back wall. When Jack finally opened his eyes again, he saw John kneeling in front of him on the bed, tightly tying Jack's wrist to the water pipe behind him with his belt. Once he was finished, Jack's eyes widened at the sight of John unzipping his pants. He turned his head away, but John roughly grabbed his chin and forced Jack to look at him. Or rather, a different part of John altogether. Jack tried his hardest to turn away, twisting his small and fragile body any way it would go to get away. Unfortunately, John forced Jack's mouth open...
"Jack? Jack, wake up!" Bobby nearly shouted, shaking Jack's shoulders to try and wake him up and keep him from screaming anymore. Suddenly, Jack bolted awake, tears streaming down his still slightly bruised face. He began gasping for breath, his whole body shaking. Evelyn quickly walked over to him, sitting next to him on the bed and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Shhh. Jackie, it's okay. It's okay, baby. Calm down", she whispered soothingly, gently smoothing his hair and rocking him back and fourth as he cried into her shoulder. Jerry and Angel quietly left the room, Bobby following only seconds later. Evelyn continued to soothe Jack until his crying began to fade and all she could hear from him were small sniffles as he began to rub his eyes furiously.
"I'm s-sorry", he whimpered, quietly enough to the point where he was almost inaudible.
"Oh, Jackie. What are you sorry for?" she questioned as he pulled away from her.
"I- I woke you all up. I'm sorry", he whispered again, burying his head back into Evelyn's shoulder.
"Don't you worry about that, sweetie. You are much more important than any amount of sleep", she re-assured him before smoothing his hair again. After another several minutes of this, Jack had finally calmed down enough to go back to sleep, and that's just what he did. Just as Evelyn gently closed Jack's bedroom door, she turned around to see Bobby leaning up against the side wall with his arms crossed.
"How's the kid?" he asked, pushing away from the wall to follow Evelyn down the hall.
"He's alright. For now, he just needs some rest", she assured, giving him a small smile before closing the door to her room.
When morning finally rolled around, nerves were high within the Mercer household as it was only Evelyn, Bobby, Jerry, and Angel at the breakfast table. After several minutes of silence, Bobby stood up.
"I'll go get him", he stated rather than offered, but Evelyn stood up herself.
"Sit down, Bobby. I'll be back", she advised, making her way up the stairs. She got slightly worried when she eased open Jack's door and didn't hear anything, but breathed out a sigh of relief once she noticed his chest moving up and down every few seconds. Not wanting to startle him too much, Evelyn took light steps over to Jack and whispered his name.
"Come on, sweetie. It's time to get up", she coaxed, putting her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump and his eyes to snap open. Evelyn immediately moved her hand, instantly regretting that decision, "I'm sorry, Jackie", she whispered, standing up and waiting for him to follow her. After rubbing his eyes, Jack slowly got up and followed Evelyn down the stairs and into the dining room. The three boys stopped to look up at Jack, before continuing to eat when they realized how uncomfortable he was.
After breakfast, the boys retreated to the livingroom while Evelyn washed dishes. Just as she began, an idea hit her.
"Jackie, could you come here for a minute?" she called from the sink, causing Jack to jump and his heart to race at the thought of her possibly being mad about the night before.
"I thought I'd take the day off today to take you shopping for some new clothes. Would you like that?" she wondered as she finished drying a dish. When she didn't get an answer, she looked over at him and saw him shake his head 'yes'. A smile quickly formed itself onto her face, and she passed Jack a dish to dry for her so that they could go shopping sooner. As soon as they finished, Evelyn grabbed her car keys and the two of them went out to the car, letting the boys know that they would be back in about an hour or two. Jack would never admit it, but he was actually excited to be going clothes shopping as no one had ever bought him anything, never mind cared enough to give him something new. If and when his past foster parents had given him clothes, they were either old and worn or too big on him. In fact, the sweatshirt and jeans that he was wearing now were at least two or three sizes too big, and he couldn't wait to get out of them and wear something that was actually made for someone of his stature. Not to mention, the only thing keeping his jeans from falling down to his ankles was a thin piece of string.
Evelyn and Jack eventually arrived at a small-sized mall near the end of town. Jack had never been to one before, so this was certainly something new but exciting for him. Evelyn watched as Jack looked all around the building with wide eyes, a large smile spread across her face at the sight.
"This way, Jackie", she beckoned, having him follow her towards the boys' clothing aisles, "Pick anything you want, sweetie. Then we'll go find you some shoes", Jack was about to start looking at some shirts when he realized he had no idea what size he was. He looked to Evelyn for help.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked, watching as he turned to stare at one of the shirt racks, "Oh, I see. You don't know what size you are, huh?" she recognized. He slowly shook his head, hanging his head slightly in embarassment. Evelyn 'hmmm'ed her response before looking around for someone who worked there. One she spotted a young girl, she called her over.
"How can I help you, ma'am?" she asked, approaching the two.
"Yes, we're trying to figure out what size he is. Is there any way you could possibly help us?" Evelyn wondered, referring to Jack. At first, the girl looked from Jack to Evelyn, slightly confused as to how this kid could be ten years old and not know his own clothing size. But then, she quickly realized just who Evelyn was and automatically went to find a measuring tape. She returned only moments later, a long, thin tape in her hands.
"I'll just measure him to see what shirt and pant size he is. Okay?" she explained, going to put the tape around Jack's torso, but stopped once Jack took a step backwards.
"Oh, he's just a little skittish", Evelyn explained to her, "She's just going to measure you, Jackie. It's okay", she assured him. In return, Jack nodded his head and hesitantly allowed the girl to measure him. Once she finished the measuring, Jack finally went to pick out some clothes with his sizes in mind. About thirty minutes or so passed before Jack was satisfied with what he had, which to Evelyn's surprise, wasn't much.
"Jackie, you can get more that that", she emphasized, pointing to the small pile of shirts and jeans in his arms. He began to shake his head 'no', not wanting to push this kind woman's generosity, but Evelyn lead him back towards the different clothing. After she was satisfied with all that Jack had, they both made their way over to the shoe aisle. They also had to measure his feet as the shoes he was wearing were too big, as well. They were able to find three pairs that Jack liked, so with their cart full of everything that he needed, they began to 20 or so minute ride home.