Chapter 10 - Abandoned
"Yakko. Yakko. YAKKO! WAKE UP! Wake up already!"
His eyes opened suddenly as he was jolted out of his sleep. He was barely conscious at that moment, having just woken up from sleep, but he could see a bright light shining from his doorway. Yakko blinked. He could see a tall figure standing outside of his bedroom. The figure continued to yell directly at him. Rubbing his eyes, he could finally see who the figure was; it was his mother.
"What is it, mom?" Yawned Yakko, sleepiness in his voice.
"GET UP!" She screamed, "GET UP NOW!"
Yakko was taken aback by his mother's actions. It was out-of-character for her to ever wake him up while he's sleeping. Starting at age six, she allowed him and, by extent, his siblings to sleep in for as long as they pleased. Sometimes, Yakko would sleep in for as late as ten in the morning, but neither his mother nor father ever questioned his actions. So his mom waking him up so early in the morning was bizarre to say the least.
"Why are you waking me up?" Yakko asked his mother.
"It doesn't matter! GET UP! GET OUT OF BED, NOW!" His mother yelled. She was aggravated now, bouncing up and down in frustration. "GET UP! Wake your siblings up, too! We don't have much time!"
"Ok. Ok. I'll wake them up," Yakko told his mother, referring to his sibling's.
"Do it! Wake them up, get dressed, and get out of here! This is very important!"
Yakko, having no idea what was the matter or why his mother woke him up in the first place, started to shake his brother awake. His mother watched him anxiously, her eyes not glancing away from him for even a second. If there was one thing Yakko had learned, it's to never disobey his parents, even if their reasoning could be questionable at times. The beatings he has received over the years definitely made this point clear.
It took half a minute to get Wakko awake. He was a heavy sleeper, and it was near impossible to wake the boy up while in the middle of deep sleep. Yakko was anxious to get his brother awake, not wanting to anger his mom even more than she was. Eventually, after shaking his arm hard enough, Wakko's eyes opened. He groaned, looking up at Yakko with sleepy eyes.
"Yakko. What is it?" Wakko moaned.
"We have to get up, Wakko," Yakko told him, urgency in his voice, "Mom said it's important."
"I wanna go to sleep," Wakko drawled.
"You can't. You have to wake up, now!" Yakko reiterated, raising his voice slightly.
Wakko yawned, begrudgingly sitting up in his bed. Yakko's little brother seemed just as thrown off by this unusual situation as he was. Once his brother was awake, Yakko started to shake his sister awake. Dottie had decided to sleep with him that night after the events that unfolded yesterday evening. It was easier to get Dottie awake, as she was a light sleeper. Her eyes shot open almost right away.
"What? Yakko, why you wake me up?" Dottie asked, startled.
"Dottie, we have to get up now. Mom said so," said Yakko, "This is important."
Once his siblings were awake, Yakko assisted both Wakko and Dottie out of bed, setting them on the floor next to him. Both of his siblings were exhausted – Yakko couldn't blame them, because he was too. Quickly, Yakko helped his siblings out of their pajamas and into real clothes. Yakko dressed Dottie in a pink shirt and purple shorts, and dressed Wakko in a yellow shirt and black overalls. Yakko slipped off his pajamas and put on a tattered brown shirt and ripped blue jeans. The jeans were two sizes smaller on him than they used to be, they fit so tight around his waist that Yakko was afraid that he was going to rip right out of them. But it was too late to take the jeans off as they were already on his body. There was no time for an outfit change; he had to get going. Once he and his siblings were dressed, Yakko grabbed onto Wakko and Dottie's hands and led them out of his bedroom. His mom was still standing there watching him, her eyes not looking away from him for even a second.
"Come on, let's go" she demanded.
"Can I have breakfast first?" Yakko asked his mother.
He couldn't believe he asked that. For one, he didn't like eating breakfast that much, mostly because he was getting tired of eating nothing but cereal every morning. And also, his mom seemed frazzled right now (and Yakko still hasn't been told what all the commotion is). His mom answered his question by giving him a slap to the arm.
"NO! We have to get going, NOW!"
"But-"
"Yakkavier, I swear to fucking god if you ask me another question! We have to get out of this apartment and go somewhere important, and I have no time to answer your question! Now, PLEASE! Shut the hell up and get your act straight!"
Yakko lowered his head, ashamed that he had dared try to disagree with his mother. Not wanting to be slapped even harder than before, he blindly gave in to her demands.
"Yes, mom," he muttered.
He followed his mother out of his bedroom, still holding onto his siblings' hands. Wakko and Dottie wore worried expressions on their faces, looking up at Yakko, as if to ask for reassurance. As much as it hurt to ignore them, Yakko knew that this was no time to slow down and calm his scared siblings. Unbeknownst to them, he was just as, if not, even more scared then Wakko and Dottie. By the way his mother was talking to him, and the short, miniscule amount of information that he was provided, things weren't looking pretty right now. He remained quiet, as per his mother's demand, but his mind was racing:
What is going on, mother? Why aren't you talking to me? You never talk to me about anything, but could you please just tell me what is going on for ONCE in your life? PLEASE!?
His mother led him and his siblings through the living room and out the front door. He was in the living room for less than a minute, but it was just enough time for Yakko to pick up on a subtle detail, and another question arose: where was dad? He should be here. If this "place" mom wanted to take him to was so important this early in the morning, then he should have been long awake by now. Whatever, he thought, Mom wouldn't tell me where dad is anyway. Realizing that the thought was useless, he decided to let it flow in one ear and out the other.
It was cloudy and gloomy outside. Light rain droplets were falling from the sky, annoying Yakko as each individual droplet bounced off his head and splashed onto the asphalt he was walking on. A coat would be nice, but then again, his parents were too cheap to afford a coat. So, he and his siblings were forced to be soaked in the light rain, cold and shivering.
"What's going on, Yakko?" Wakko asked, timidly.
Yakko looked down at his frightened little brother. Tears had started to form in his eyes. He must be terrified, thought Yakko, the poor boy is forced to wake up super early and go to a destination that is unknown to both him and me. Holding back tears of his own, he consoled his brother in the best way he could.
"It's gonna be ok, Wakko," Assured Yakko, spazzing out a complete lie. "Everything is going to be ok."
This didn't help. Yakko knew that his brother would continue to be scared, and so would he and Dottie. Yakko had a bad feeling in his stomach that wherever his mom was taking them would not be good. They approached the family car – Yakko was surprised that they could still even afford to use the rusty old thing – and the four of them got in. Climbing into the backseat of the car, Yakko made himself as comfortable as he could possibly be in that moment. His siblings snuggled close to him, begging for his comfort. Yakko wrapped an arm around his brother and sister, hugging them tight. He stared out the window, watching the rain fall. The sky appeared sad and gray, emanating a dark shadow on every building. Nothing looked beautiful at that moment. Nothing was beautiful.
The entire world was depressing to Yakko. Things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already were.
The ride in the car was dead silent.
None of them said a word; not his mom, not his siblings, not him. It was almost too quiet in the car, with the only noise being the light pattering of rain against the car window, and the occasional squeal of car tires on the wet road. His mom had driven out far into the city, much further than he had ever been allowed to travel. It was jarring to Yakko, as he had never been given the opportunity to explore his own city to this extent, see all the tall buildings and strip malls that infested every corner. The liveliness of the city and the showering rain clashed with each other, emanating industrialism and the curiosity of such a large yet scary looking place.
If only life wasn't so goddamn depressing right now, then Yakko could be allowed to experience city life for what it truly was. But his mom was speeding through the streets like a maniac, making every sight appear as a blur, giving him absolutely no time to truly take in what he was seeing. Thus, Yakko found himself feeling even more empty inside, knowing that he would never get the chance to experience these places for himself, not with the life he was living.
His sibling's were shivering next to him, climbing onto his body. Yakko held back a tear as he stared at Wakko and Dottie, knowing how vulnerable they were, knowing how scared and confused they must be feeling right now. Yakko was resisting the urge to feel vulnerable himself; he understood that showing his little siblings how scared he felt, how confused he was, how miserable things were, that it would only make matters worse for both him and his siblings. So he kept strong, against his mind's will.
"I wanna go home," Dottie whimpered.
"Shh," Yakko hushed his little sister, wiping her tear-drenched face. He whispered to his sister, loud enough for her to understand, but quiet enough so that his mom wouldn't hear. "I don't know where we are going, but I promise you that it is going to be ok."
There were only so many times where he could say the same lie over and over again: "Everything is going to be ok". It was one bullshit of a statement, knowing how everything in his life seems to spiral downhill further and further each day. Yakko almost wanted to give up hope, but when he thought really hard about his family's past and how he seems to hate himself a little more every day, there may not be any hope left to hold onto.
To Yakko, having hope was useless if there was not a glimmer of hope to begin with.
"Are we going to Auntie's house," Wakko piped up, his face buried in Yakko's arm.
"Auntie's house is the other way, bud," Yakko informed his brother. Aunt Amelia's house was actually a good assumption, but she lives east in Glendale – they were in the northside of Burbank. "I think Mommy wants to surprise us."
"This surprise is not fun," his brother moaned."
You're right, it's not. Because that was another lie, dear brother.
"We're almost there, I know it," he added, trying to phone in this bullshit he came up with on a whim.
"I guess," his brother replied, doubtful.
What Yakko had intended to be another sorry excuse for positivity turned out to be a more accurate statement than he expected. His mom suddenly swerved the car to the side of the road, cutting off another car as she did so. The woman honked her horn at the passing car, cussing her out and making a weird gesture with her hand. Yakko's body jerked forward in the backseat, having not expected his mom to stop the car so abruptly. His head spinning from dizziness, he looked out the car window to see where his mom had parked. They were outside of an old, two story brick building. The outside of the building looked baren, with only a big, white sign proving that the building wasn't vacant. There were bold letters enriched on the sign, written in a pale red ink that had faded overtime. Yakko squinted his eyes to read what was posted:
ACME Toon Foster care - Northern Burbank Facility.
"We're here," his mom said, looking at him through the rear-view mirror, "Get out of my car! NOW!"
Yakko quickly unbuckled his seatbelt on demand. He grabbed onto Wakko and Dottie's hands, holding them tightly, then opened the car door and stepped out into the pouring rain. It was just as gloomy out as it was when they left, and the rain only got worse since. The rain beating down hard on him and his siblings, Yakko followed his mother into the strange building. His mom walked speedily towards the front entrance, with Yakko struggling to keep up with her pace. The woman stopped in front of the entrance, waiting for him and his siblings to catch up. Yakko stopped in front of his mom, staring up at her, wondering why she had stopped.
"Don't you dare say anything when we walk in there," his mother said harshly, "Don't make a scene, don't cry, don't shout, don't do ANYTHING to make this harder than it needs to be! You understand!?"
Yakko, thrown off by his mother's scolding, was stunned. He barely said a word all morning, blindly following her to this unknown location, and yet his mom had the audacity to tell him to shut up? It made him feel even more confused as to why his mother brought him here in the first place if he was seen as a nuisance.
But he decided to agree to this demand none the wiser.
"Yes ma'am," Replied Yakko.
His mom scowled at him, her cold expression beating down on him as hard as the belt.
"You make me sick," she muttered under her breath.
His mom pulled on the door handle and swung the door open. She was nice enough to hold the door open for him, Wakko, and Dottie, even after that derogatory comment. "You make me sick." The family entered what looked like some sort of lobby. Upon entering, Yakko noticed that every wall in this room was painted in a faint blue color, dimly lit up with fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. The room was cramped, claustrophobic, and didn't feel inviting to Yakko. There was a big desk positioned right outside of the door. A woman with blond hair and glasses was sitting at this desk, reading the newspaper that she was holding in her hand. Wakko, nervous, clutched onto his older brother's arm tighter as they approached this woman. The blond woman looked up from her newspaper, staring directly at Yakko.
"May I help you?" She asked.
Yakko croaked, not knowing what to say. He's never really been approached by a stranger before, and here's this lady that he never met before asking how she could help him. Thankfully, he didn't have to come up with an answer, because his mom spoke for him:
"I want you to take my kids," she told the woman
The woman raised her eyebrows, looking astonished at the woman. She sat up in her chair, adjusting her glasses. Her eyes glanced at Yakko's mother, then looked at Yakko, and then his mother again.
"So you're saying that you want to put your kids up for adoption," the woman figured.
"Yeah, that- whatever, just take my kids!" Yakko's mom huffed, her frown deepened.
"Ma'am, what you are trying to do is a difficult process," the lady explained to Yakko's mom, "You do realize that if you continue this process, that it will greatly change the lives of your children forever, right?"
"Goddammit! Stop trying to guilt trip me into changing my mind!" Yakko's mother shouted at the woman.
"Ma'am, please!" The woman raised her voice slightly, "I respect your decision, but I'm just telling you that-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!!" Yakko's mom cut the woman off, lashing out at her angrily. "TAKE MY FUCKING KIDS ALREADY!! STOP PESTERING ME!! I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!!"
"Ma'am! Calm down! NOW!" The lady yelled, offended by what she was hearing. "I'm not going to help you if you continue to act this way!"
Yakko watched in silence as the argument unfolded. He's heard his mother get into nasty arguments with her husband, neighbors and strangers before, but he has never been in the same room as her to witness it. His mother yelled another rude remark at the woman, giving the same weird gesture to her as she did for that car, and then she turned around and stormed off. The woman got up from her chair and chased after Yakko's mother, who was already halfway out the door.
"Ma'am! MA'AM! Get back here, now!" She demanded.
The woman grabbed the door, preventing it from slamming, and exited the building still chasing after Yakko's mom. Unfortunately, by the time the woman got outside, it was already too late. His mom had sped out of there in an instant, leaving only wet tire tracks behind.
Oh…my…god..
He couldn't begin to process what he had just witnessed. His mother had left the building, she had left him! She didn't even say goodbye or anything. By the way she was talking about him and his siblings to the woman behind the counter, it confirmed a theory Yakko had been wondering for a long time: his mother never cared about it. Never had, never will. All the years of her slapping, beating, neglecting, threatening him and his siblings, and how she decided to one day abandon her own children, abandon her responsibilities in an instant. It was all her fault. Now, Yakko was left alone, scared and traumatized, with his siblings just as, if not more scared than he was.
But now begs the question: what was he gonna do? Where was he gonna go? How was he even going to go about things now that he was completely alone, far away from his parents?
The woman reentered the building after failing to chase after the Warner's mother. She sighed, panting. Her eyes darted at Yakko, the woman approaching him slowly. Wakko and Dottie stood behind their older brother, grasping onto his arm, tears in their eyes. Yakko held back his own tears as the woman neared closer to him. Suddenly, she knelt down to him, a smile emerging on her face.
"Hello, little boy," the woman spoke delicately.
Yakko took a step back, his tail quivered. He felt weary of this stranger who had just approached him.
"Don't be scared. You're safe now," said the woman, putting a hand on Yakko's cheek.
Yakko looked up at the woman. He was cautious of her, having only known her for less than an hour, but she seemed friendly to him. It didn't seem like she wanted to harm him at all. Yakko stepped closer to the woman, allowing her to touch his face.
"What is your name?" She then asked.
Now she was asking him to talk to her, something that Yakko wasn't really comfortable doing after all that had happened up to that point. In the past, he was told to be cautious of people he didn't know, and was told to never talk to a stranger. Yakko, being cooped up in his apartment all day, has never had to interact with a stranger before. He was hesitant, anxious even, but Yakko knew that he had to be brave. He had to speak up He couldn't be cautious forever.
"I-I..I'm Y-Yakko," He stammered.
The woman's smile grew, her face became more lighthearted.
"Do you have a full name?" Was her next question.
"Y-yes. Y-akko Warner," he replied, becoming more sure of himself, "Yakko Alvin Warner. That's my name."
"That's a wonderful name, Yakko," the woman said kindly. She then peered over Yakko's shoulder, an inquisit look on her face. "Who are those two kids standing behind you?"
Yakko knew that the woman was referring to his siblings – Wakko and Dottie. His baby siblings were hiding from the woman, sheltering themselves behind his back, with their ears just barely poking over his shoulder. He knew that his siblings were frightened by everything that was going on, and there was no chance that either of them would say a peep to the woman. So Yakko decided to introduce his siblings for them; he didn't really have a choice.
"These are my siblings: Wakko and Dottie," Yakko answered, "They're a little shy, as you can see."
"They're cute little children," the woman said, "Well, it's nice to meet you three. My name is Betty – Betty Rentman."
"Nice to meet you too, Betty, I guess," Replied Yakko as positively as he could.
"Just Mrs. Rentman is fine. Only my husband calls me Betty."
"Oh, ok."
The smile on Mrs. Rentman's face turned to a frown all of a sudden. Her eyebrows lowered over her eyes to show a look of concern. The woman moved her hand down from Yakko's face to his shoulder. Yakko looked at Mrs. Rentman, surprised by her sudden movement.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
Yakko's eyes widened. Of all questions, he never expected Mrs. Rentman to ask him that question. The answer was obvious: he was NOT okay in the slightest. His mom had woken up him and his siblings at the crack of dawn, and she had forced the three of them to get in the car and drive to this building and left them there. He didn't know why he was here, or why his mom would do such a thing. Actually, he did know: because his mom hated him. She hated him, so she decided to get rid of him. It was clear to Yakko that his parents hated him. Honestly, he was surprised that it took this long for his mom to decide to get rid of him, Wakko, and Dottie. If she hated him that much, then why did she bother to put up with him for so long? What was stopping her from doing this years ago when he was a baby?
So many questions were going through his mind at that moment, and so few of those questions contained an answer to them.
Yakko felt tears start to build up in his eyes. He scrunched up his face, trying to hold back those tears, trying to remain strong just like he always has been. But as much as he liked to pretend that things were okay – because everything was as far from "ok" as they could get, he knew that his life was messed up. Everything. Everything was messed up. And there was nothing he could do to fix that.
And so, he broke down.
He covered his hands over his eyes just as tears started to fall. He allowed himself to cry, for once, and cry loudly too. His wails were insufferable, but Yakko didn't care. How could he care when his whole world was breaking from the seams right before his eyes? His mother had abandoned him without saying goodbye, without a single care – his father probably cared less. "How could I have raised such a disappointment of a child?" What did he ever do to deserve all this? Why him? Yakko was left wondering this as he weeped and weeped, letting out years of suppressed tears finally being unleashed. He couldn't bear to hold it in any longer; there was no longer a reason to. Yakko felt alone, extremely alone in this cold, cold world of his.
Yakko felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. He released his face from the cuffs of his hand. Mrs. Rentman looked at him with a worried expression, showing deep concern in her eyes. He knew that he looked like a mess in that moment, and rightfully so; it was a representation of how messy his life truly is. But there was a certain feeling emanating from Mrs. Rentman, a feeling that a concerned parent would have for their own child. Which was weird, because Yakko had lost his parents, and he had only known this woman for five minutes. But the woman hugged Yakko tightly, squeezing his back with her arms, not letting go for a second.
"I am sorry, Yakko. So, so deeply sorry," the woman whispered in his ear, sorrow ringing in her voice.
"What are you saying sorry for," Muttered Yakko in between a sob, "You did nothing to hurt me."
"I would never hurt you," she told him.
Those words, those five words spoken by the random stranger who sat behind the counter ran through his ear and straight into his head. They caused Yakko to feel a certain way that he couldn't quite understand. Maybe he was too upset to understand the context of that sentence, or maybe he still hasn't fully trusted this person yet. While she may be a new face to Yakko, there was a part of his brain that told him that his woman wasn't just a stranger that he happened to bump into; she was a friend, the kind of friend who really cared about him. Maybe Yakko should trust this person, but maybe he should ask another question just to be sure:
"Do you really mean that?"
"With all of my heart. Nobody has the right to hurt you, even your parents. I know that life must have been hard for you living with your mother."
Yakko nodded. "Uh huh. Father, too. They hurt me." He buried his head in Mrs. Rentman's shoulder as he weeped.
"You're safe now Yakko. There is no longer a need to worry. I am here for you," She soothed him, rubbing her hand down the back of his neck. "I know this must be hard for you, but you have to be strong for me. You didn't deserve what happened to you, as well as your siblings. I promise you, me and everyone here will take good care of you." She put a finger under Yakko's chin, lifting his head up to look at him. "Trust me. You are safe."
Yakko looked up at the woman. He didn't say a word; he didn't want to, nor did he have to. He felt his heart grow one size bigger than it was before, yet it still happened to be two sizes too small than it could be. That strange feeling that developed inside him was spreading throughout his body, his brain beginning to realize the fact that there is someone out there who does love him, even if that someone is still a stranger to him. Yakko already made room in his heart for Mrs. Rentman, the lady who sat behind the desk, the lady who made him realize that someone actually cares about him, Wakko, and Dottie.
With tears still dripping down his face, but his crying coming to a standstill, Yakko embraced his arms around the woman's waist, clinging onto her body fiercely. Words couldn't describe how grateful he felt at that moment.
"Thank you," Yakko thanked the woman, feeling extremely grateful for the wonderful words that she had spoken to him. "I'm- I'm glad you care."
Mrs. Rentman accepted the hug immediately, tightening her grasp around Yakko.
"It's my job to look after kids similar to you," she said, "Kids who are in desperate need of help."
"Where am I, anyway?" Yakko asked, out of sheer curiosity. He was surprised by himself that he took so long to ask that simple question.
Mrs. Rentman smiled. "This is a foster home specifically made for a toon like you," she explained to him, "Where toon kids can be adopted by a family and become part of a new, happy home."
Yakko blinked, slightly confused as to what Mrs. Rentman was talking about. Apparently, there were kids who lived in this strange building on the far edge of town, and that these kids would eventually find a "happy home". The words happy and home did not fit well together in Yakko's opinion; his home was far from being a happy place. Then again, by the way the woman was describing this place, it seemed to Yakko that this was going to become his new home. The blue walls of the room were giving off an unsettling vibe to the room, and the fluorescent lights buzzing above him reminded him way too much of his family refrigerator, but he supposed that this place would do for now. At least Mrs. Rentman seemed like a decent enough person from the way she has treated him so far.
My life is already out of whack, he thought, So if this is the best that I've got, then so be it! This is home now!
"Does this mean that I'm going to live here now?" He asked, just to make sure his assumption was correct.
"Of course."
It was.
"You and your siblings can stay here for as long as you want," Said Mrs. Rentman. "Trust me, you'll be safe here."
If you say so, but Yakko said it in his head.
Just then, Yakko saw out of the corner of his eye another woman walk into the lobby from a hallway. This woman was a short brunette, and was visuably younger than Mrs. Rentman. She wore an all black outfit that stood out amongst the dull blue walls of the lobby. He watched intensly as this second woman approched him.
"Hey, Betty? I want to ask you a question about-" the woman started to say, but stopped when she noticed Yakko and his siblings. "Wait. Who are these kids?"
Mrs Rentman turned her head around to look at the woman behind her. She stood up and walked towards the woman, her face becoming neutral.
"A woman came in and dropped her kids off about ten minutes ago," Mrs. Rentman informed her, "She didn't call beforehand, just came and left, leaving her poor kids behind."
"What are we going to do with them?" The new woman asked.
"There's not much we can do, Rachel," Mrs. Rentman replied, her voice distressed. "We're gonna have to talk to them later and try and get some information out of them. For now, we're just gonna have to find a room for them to stay in."
The brown haired woman, who was revealed to be a lady named Rachel, furrowed her eyebrows. She glanced at Yakko, examining him closely, her eyes darting up and down and up and down again. She then turned back to Mrs. Rentman.
"What are their names?" She asked.
"The tallest one told me that his name is Yakko, the middle child is Wakko, and the youngest of the three is named Dottie."
"Ok. Do they have a last name?
"I was told that it's Warner."
Rachel pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out from behind his back. Fiddling with the pencil, she jotted down a couple notes on the paper. Yakko grew worried, having eavesdropped on Mrs. Rentman and Rachel's conversation, overhearing the questions that Rachel had asked her. He wasn't supposed to be here, was he? He turned back to his siblings, still hiding behind his back.
"Sibs," he started, his voice timid. "I have a feeling that this is going to become our new home."
He already knew that. But his siblings had still not picked up on what was going on. Wakko and Dottie were still so young, and they weren't self aware enough to sense the cause of this. All they could do was react, so Yakko had to be the one to break it down for them and give them the answer, as brutal as that answer was.
"I don't think Mommy is coming back." Yakko bit his lip, those words hurt to say.
"Why mommy not come back?" Wakko asked, about ready to choke up
"Where mommy now?" Dot followed.
Tears were streaming down both sibling's faces. Yakko sighed, rubbing his hand on his forehead, the stress of the situation starting to get to him. Wakko and Dottie were still not aware of the fact that their own mother could abandon them like this. Yakko wouldn't admit it, but he was just as appalled by this as his younger sibling's were. He was only starting to accept the fact that his mother had left him here, and that he was in the hands of these two ladys that he had only known for a day. He himself still didn't have a straight answer, so how was he expected to give his siblings one?
He wrapped his arms around both his siblings, pulling them closer to him. It was important in this moment to let them know that they were not alone, and that there was at least one person who cared about them.
"Wakko? Dottie? Listen to me. Mommy may not be coming back, but I am still here, right? Your big brother is here for you, just like he always has." He stared at his sibling's, holding back tears in his eyes. "I will be right by your side, and I won't leave you, ever. Will you promise me that you won't leave your big brother behind?"
Wakko and Dottie slowly nodded their heads, looking at Yakko as if he was their real parent. Speaking truthfully, he had been more of a parent than his real parents were: kind, understanding, and incredibly caring towards his younger siblings, even in spite of all of the abuse that his biological parents had given him. If his little brother and sister could understand who their real parent was, then that would make Yakko feel a whole lot better about everything.
"Yakko?"
Yakko flinched when he heard a voice behind him. When he turned around, he saw Rachel standing over his body. She put a hand behind Yakko's head, bringing him closer to her.
"My name is Rachel," she introduced herself to Yakko, even though he already knew her name. "I'm one of the caretakers here. Betty told me that your mom dropped you off here just a little while ago. You must be frightened, aren't you?"
He nodded, but remained quiet.
"Me and the other caretakers are here to help you," Rachel continued, "We do not want to hurt you, or your siblings. You are safe here." The woman then smiled, brushing her hand against his cheek. "I am here for you. Betty is here for you, too. If you have any questions, just ask one of us. Ok?"
Yakko remained silent, still not feeling totally comfortable around this woman, but he nodded in understanding. Still, he was amazed by the generosity and caring nature of Mrs. Rentman and Rachel. Both women were already miles more understanding that his mother and father were. His blood boiled inside when he remembered what had happened last night. Yes! I would definitely want to deliberately take a shit on your dishrag, dad! If these two women were going to become his "new parents" in a sense, then he would hope that they were nice to him, as well as his siblings. After all that he had been through, he had reached the end of his rope when it came to being yelled at and attacked for a stupid reason. He prayed that he would never be treated like that ever again in his life.
Suddenly, Yakko felt a strike of discomfort in his lower body. A loud gurgling noise followed, vibrating throughout his body. He could feel his stomach suck in as if a vacuum was trying to swallow him whole. Rachel raised her eyebrows at him, taken aback by the loud, angry sound that was emitted from Yakko's stomach. It was then where he was reminded that he has yet to eat breakfast yet. Granted, he rarely eats most days, but by the strange way his stomach was acting, he felt hungrier than usual.
"Something's telling me that you're hungry," Figured Rachel. "You wanna eat something?"
Yakko clenched his stomach. "No-no, I can wait."
Rachel raised an eyebrow, she seemed unconvinced by his answer.
"Are you sure? I mean, you look so thin. When was the last time you had something to eat?"
Yakko thought for a moment. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time that he had eaten anything at all. Maybe a day? Or two days? He had a faint memory of eating a couple of potato chips out of the bag of Lays that his brother was eating. Other than that, he has barely eaten in over a week.
Another angry growl attacked Yakko's stomach. The growl was followed by another rumbling sound coming from behind Yakko, this time, his younger brother. Wakko was starving too. Dottie's stomach, too, also rumbled loudly. It was like a musical composition of desperate, rumbling tummies singing in harmony, begging for food to be put in them.
"I'll take that as 'yes, I do want food'" Said Rachel, in an almost sarcastic way, as if she was aware of how starving the Warners actually were.
Yakko nodded, finally admitting to the fact that he may need to eat something after all.
"It wouldn't hurt," he drawled.
"Come on, kids. Let's walk down to the cafeteria," Mrs. Rentman said. "I'm pretty sure that the chefs are still serving breakfast."
Yakko looked at Mrs. Rentman, once again grateful for her generosity. Then, he turned his head back to Rachel, who was strangely wearing a smile on her face.
"I'll ask them to make the food fresh, just for you," she told Yakko kindly. "I promise you, the cafeteria food is delicious."
"Anything would taste good right now," he muttered, almost desperately.
"I can understand that," Rachel answered, "Now c'mon. Breakfast will not eat itself."
Rachel and Mrs. Rentman started to walk into the hallway where Rachel had originally emerged from. Yakko turned back to his siblings, grabbing their hands. Wakko and Dot's tears had dried at this point, but the two still looked in despair. Yakko tried to enlighten them with a smile, but it didn't work. Wakko and Dottie were gazing up at him, their eyes hollow. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly changed his mind and shut his mouth.
No words of encouragement were going to change the outlook of the situation. He could only hope that breakfast could take his mind off of this, at least for an hour or so, so that he could clear his head of the morbid thoughts in his brain.
It had now been over five hours since the Warners had been abandoned by their mother, and Yakko was already adjusting to his new caretakers. After his exchange with both Mrs. Rentman and Rachel, the two women had taken him and his siblings to the cafeteria for breakfast, where Yakko was treated to burnt pancakes, rubbery eggs, and a flimsy carton of milk. In spite of the quality of the food, he ate every last bite, minus the milk (he informed Mrs. Rentman that he was allergic, in which she brought him a bottle of water instead). Wakko and Dottie ate all of their breakfast as well. He smiled when he heard Wakko ask Rachel for more pancakes. He was extremely relieved to learn that his little brother's appetite hasn't changed one bit since yesterday.
After they ate breakfast, Mrs. Rentman gave the Warners a quick tour of the building, while Rachel went off to do other stuff. She further explained to Yakko about the foster care center, where foster children are taken care of and can be adopted into new homes. While Yakko is new to the term, he was catching on fast. Mrs. Rentman showed him a play area where little children can play with toys, participate in activities, and watch cartoons on the big television in the room. She also showed them the outside area, which had a playground and a basketball court where the older kids liked to hang out. Yakko had to restrain his brother from running towards the playground, telling him that he could play another time, much to Wakko's immediate disappointment.
The last stop on the tour was a long stretch of narrow hallways, with several doors aligned along each wall. Mrs. Rentman explained that these were bedrooms where the foster kids slept. Yakko found the hallway to be uncomfortable, with nothing but doors as far as the eye could see, and the same faint blue color that pestered every wall in the building. Eventually, after navigating the dimly lit halls for almost five minutes, they stopped in front of a door on the third floor of the building.
"This'll be your room" Said Mrs. Rentman. "It's small, but It'll do."
Yakko restrained himself from laughing at that sarcastic remark. It was scary how accurately Mrs. Rentman expressed his own thoughts in her words. She's pretty funny, he thought to himself. Mrs. Rentman then opened the door for Yakko and he and his siblings entered. The inside of the room was cramped and musty, with a twin sized bed on one side of the room, and a bunk bed on the other side. Mrs. Rentman was definitely right about the room being small. The room felt uninviting to Yakko. It was much smaller than his old bedroom, with less space to walk around in. There was a small window on the wall across from the door, allowing light to peek its way through the pail white drapes.
He proceeded to take a seat on the edge of the twin sized bed, Wakko and Dottie sat down next to him. Mrs. Rentman approached the Warners and started to ask them – Yakko specifically – several questions. "What was your homelife like?" "What are your parents like?" "How often did they abuse you?" Yakko didn't really feel comfortable answering these questions, and decided to be vague with his answers. He held back a few tears during their conversation, as memories started to reappear in his head. Luckily, Mrs. Rentman must have realized that this conversation was making him feel uncomfortable, so she stopped after a while. She ended the discussion with: "If you ever want to talk, come to me. Don't be afraid, ok?" Yakko simply nodded his head and said nothing.
So here Yakko was, lying flat on his bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling, studying the several cracks that were formed on its surface. Wakko and Dottie had decided that they wanted to go play on the playground. "Alright, but be careful," he told them sternly, before his siblings ran off without him. He didn't feel like playing with them right now. Mrs. Rentman or Rachel will keep an eye on them, he told himself. They'll keep them safe…at least, I hope they will. His hands rested on top of his stomach, rubbing against his stained t-shirt. He still felt full from breakfast, which was weird, because he never felt full. He doesn't usually eat so much food in one sitting, prefering to rationalize each of his meals. But he was so hungry that he cindove let himself go a little overboard. At least he wasn't starving anymore.
Yakko thought about everything that had happened today. From being abandoned by their own mother, to meeting Mrs. Rentman and receiving her comfort and support, today was a turbulent one. His mom was long gone now, and he probably was never going to see her or dad ever again. Yakko sincerely hoped that he would never have to see any of his relatives again. Not grandma, not Aunt Amelia, and especially NOT his parents.
Should he even call them that anymore? After ignoring him for half of his life, calling him names, and slapping him over every minor mistake on his part; Yakko didn't want to associate himself with them anymore. His mother was neglectful, and never allowed him to have a say. Her actions from this morning was self explanatory in showing just how much she cared. His father was cold and brutal, hitting him repeatedly and causing bruises to form on Yakko's arm. The harsh way the man would speak to him left a permanent mark on Yakko's brain; the poor child could still hear his father's insults loud and clear.
"What am I to do with you? You little SHIT!"
"Stop acting like a brat, you ungrateful BASTARD!"
"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! I'M YOUR FATHER!"
"YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING IDIOT!"
"YOU'RE USELESS TO ME!"
"How could I have raised such a disapointment of a child?"
Yakko started to tear up as memories started to reemerge from the back of his mind. They were horrible memories, horrible imagry, horrible thoughts that he didn't want to think about. These memories had been engraved in his head for years, with over countless memories of being yelled at and being mistreated. It's when Yakko remembered these moments where he wondered if it was truly his fault that he was in the situation that he was in. What did he ever do to deserve all of this sadness? All of this loneliness? What did he do to turn his loving parents into the douchebags they became. What made his parents change for the worse, from kind and loving people to abusive drunks?
Yakko soon found himself crying again. He knew that his life was broken, and that it was crumbling down before his eyes. Everything that had made his life feel complete was being taken away from him, with nothing to fill in those missing gaps. He honestly couldn't remember the last time where things were ok in his life, a time where he was so happy and innocent, with not a problem in sight. It seemed like nowdays there is never a time where there is not a problem in his life; there were too many problems to count. He was just one big walking problem at this point, and a shell of his former kid self, stripped away of his happy-go-lucky persona that made him the silly, joyful little boy he once used to be.
That's just a memory now, burning away to the back of his head.
The sound of a doorknob turning snapped Yakko out of his thoughts. He forced his body up into a sitting position, his eyes shifting to the front of the room. He could make out the black silhouettes of his two younger siblings through his cloudy eyes, the light from the hallway shining a blinding light into the room. He could tell that his siblings were confused by the way they stared at him.
"Come here, sibs," he told them both, "Close the door behind you."
The siblings understood. Wakko pushed the door shut, the door clicking into place. Dottie ran up to Yakko, Wakko following suit. Yakko allowed his baby siblings to crawl up into his lap, curling their bodies snuggly against his body. He put an arm around his siblings, holding them close. Wakko and Dottie looked at him with blank expressions, their eyes widening slightly. Yakko knew that his siblings knew how scared he felt, as much as he hated to admit that. There was a certain look in Wakko's eyes specifically, that told him that he knew, knew just how he felt in that moment, how insecure he was, how uncertain the situation is. He grimaced, lowering his head to Wakko, running a hand through the toddler's hair. He closed his eyes, allowing one tear to fall from his eye and run down his cheek.
"You miss Mommy, don't you?"
Yakko's eyelids flipped open. He was almost in shock that he would hear his innocent little brother utter that question to him. Do you really think that I miss living in that house? Was what he wanted to say. Do you think I miss being slapped? Being mistreated? Do you think I miss that? There was a part of Yakko that wanted to question his brother for asking him that, knowing how horrible life was living in that house, knowing how miserable he once felt. He didn't want to feel miserable anymore.
But no matter how much he wanted to escape his misery, he felt as if that misery always seemed to sneak up on him, getting a hold of him at the worst possible times, making his already miserable life even moreso. As much as he thought that being out of the house would relieve him of his inner pain, that pain has only grown bigger and swelled inside him. Now that he didn't have a real home anymore, there was no home left for him to go. This, the dirty cramped bedroom that was more of a prison cell than a bedroom, was home now.
For the first time, he missed his real home.
Yakko allowed another tear to fall from his eye, though he still resisted the urge to cry. He realized that there was a feeling inside him, an inappreciable thought in his brain that did miss his home, that did miss his parents. But still, that homesickness did not excuse anything that his parents had done or said to him throughout the years, and maybe he was better off here than at home. But he just wasn't ready for such a change.
As he sat there in the dark room, immersed in his thoughts, musing about uncertainties and hidden feelings, he found himself hugging his siblings tighter than normal. If there was anything positive to take away from this, it's that his siblings are still here. They haven't abandoned him like how life abandoned him. Wakko and Dottie are still by his side, comforting him in all of his angst and misery. He promised himself a long time ago that he would never let anyone hurt his siblings in the same way he was hurt. After today, Yakko is certain that he will never break that promise to his siblings.
And he would hurt himself if it meant that they would remain safe.
"I love you," Yakko whispered in their ears, his eyes getting wet again. "Promise me that you will never abandon me the same way Mommy did to us."
He already had this same conversation with his siblings earlier, but he felt the need to reiterate himself, just to make sure that Wakko and Dottie had kept their promise. He was immediately relieved when the two younger siblings nodded their heads in agreement.
"We stay with big brother forever," Dottie promised.
"We need you, brother," added Wakko endearingly.
Yakko smiled for the first time that day. Wakko and Dottie both put their arms around Yakko's waist and hugged him. Yakko squeezed his arms tighter as he brought his siblings in for the hug. It was here that he was reminded of something that he almost forgot: his family is everything. Wakko and Dottie, his dearest siblings, were the only two people that he has yet to lose. It was the one aspect of his life that life hasn't taken away from him, and he hoped that it stayed that way.
While he didn't know yet what the future would hold, or what challenges and obstacles he might face, Yakko hoped that his siblings would stick by his side as he faced whatever hell was thrown at him.