Tragic Magic

Chapter Four: Depression.

*10 Years Old*

The little dark haired boy walking alone on the street with only a backpack of clothes and chips had gone unnoticed by civilians for hours. He didn't know how he seemed to be invisible to them until now, but he was glad he at least made it this far.

You see, his new "father" had hated Fang. The little boy didn't know why or what he did, but he was hated by him none-the-less.

The family had four kids of their own already, so Fang guessed that they only let him in so that he could clean for them. So that he could be their butler. They were rich, yet they counted on a kid to do everything. Smart, don't you think? Yeah, no. Though so.

They even had little bells that they rung whenever they needed something done. It was a signal for Fang. That house was like being in Cinderella. The evil siblings and the evil parent. The deceased parent. Plus, it was like a mansion. The mansion could easily fit three regular two story houses inside of it and there would still be more room.

He hated it, and he hated them. He was glad that he got out of there.

With his head down and his hood up, he stepped onto the street and instantly heard honking from more than one car. When he looked up, the last thing he was able to process was that a car was headed straight towards him.

-[**]**[**]-

Max hasn't seen the light in two months. She's still stuck in that horrible house with Linda. Max tried to escape through the windows again, even though they were barred. She was so skinny that she could fit herself all the way through the bars. Her head was a bit difficult, but the rest of her body barely touched the bars on the way out. Of course, Max fell about two miles from the house, her legs giving out. Linda found her lying in a ditch, too weak to move anymore. Linda hadn't given her a bite to eat in more than a month. Her stomach stopped growling about two weeks ago. She can barely move. Max tried to stand, and when she couldn't do that, she tried to crawl. When she couldn't crawl, she tried to move her arms to pull herself across the floor. When she successfully pulled herself an inch, her arms gave out on her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't even pull herself just a little bit. She wanted to cry. Her eyes were dry. There wasn't enough water or salt in her body to produce any tears.

She was so weak that she couldn't even think anymore. She was only ten, why did this have to happen? "Because you're worthless", she told herself. She was worth nothing. Nothing at all. If she didn't exist, no one would mind. She wouldn't mind, either.

At the top of the basement stairs, the door creaked. Max almost stopped breathing. What was going to happen to her? Was she in for another beating? Did Linda want to kill her?

All these thoughts and more were racing through her mind, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't do anything. She was so weak.

Slowly, Linda came down the stairs. Every step creaked. Time seemed to be going slower than usual. It seemed to have almost stopped. Max barely lifted her head before being slapped so brutally hard that she passed out.

•••••••••••••••••

Max woke up in a hospital. Her stomach wasn't painfully gnawing on her insides to get nutrition anymore. She could move her arms and legs. She could move her head without so much effort. Linda wasn't there. That was the best part. Linda was nowhere to be seen.

A nurse walked in, and set a cup of water on her bedside table.

"They told me that you should be waking up anytime now. I got you a cup of water. You must be very thirsty!"

Max only nodded.

"Here you go, darling," the nurse said, "I hope you're feeling better. You've been through some tough times. I'm sorry."

Max sipped at the water, and then gulped when she realized how thirsty she actually was. She wished the nurse would either stop talking or say something important.

"Don't worry, Linda's in jail. She was in possession of some illegal drugs as well as beating you. We will put you with a nice new home. We'll take care of you this time." the nurse said, smiling.

Max knew that no one could take care of her but herself. She wished people wouldn't promise things that they didn't mean. Max nodded, not trusting a word the nurse said.

-[**]**[**]-

"We're losing him!" The doctor's exclaimed. They were doing everything they could to save him, they really were. The doctors and nurses were rushing around, trying to keep him from dying. Trying to keep the 10 year old kid alive.

Iggy had been in the hospital for about a week now. His new parents beat him horribly. He slipped into a coma for about two days, but the third day he woke up. He was a fighter, this kid. They had to keep him longer in case he went comatose again, and because his leg and his right arm were broken. Two of his fingers were fractured and his ankle on his good leg was sprained. The doctors didn't want him to go out like that. No, he needed to stay in here for a while.

They were aware that he was blind, so that was also something they worried about. I mean, if they let him go with even a broken leg, how was he going to get around?

Suddenly, in the middle of all the chaos, Iggy's heart began to work again. He didn't open his eyes, but at least he was living. The doctor immediately went and checked him out.

The doctor sighed heavily.

"He's in a coma again."

-[**]**[**]-

*Eight Years Old*

Nudge stared into the tiny mirror in her school's bathroom. She was scared. The intercom told the whole building to go into lockdown. She was going to the bathroom at the moment, and couldn't really go into the nearest classroom right then..
Nudge turned around, looking for a hiding place. Problem was, the bathroom is a really open place. Except the stalls, of course, but even then you can see peoples' feet. She couldn't hide anywhere in here. She opened to door to the bathroom very slowly. She poked her head out and looked around. No one was there.

It was absolutely silent. Everybody knew that they shouldn't talk when this happened. It's happened to her school more than once. Break-ins, lockdowns. She's always been in a classroom when it happened, though. She's never been this far away from anyone's room. Even when they were just having an unexpected drill.

She rushed out of the bathroom, looking everywhere. She didn't see anyone..

She relaxed a bit. Nerves wouldn't help her right now. She knocked on the nearest door, hoping they would know it was her. Hoping they would open up for her. Her hope was lost when she knocked on the third classroom door and nobody answered. She wasn't surprised, really. Just scared.

Nudge turned a corner without thinking. She didn't look first. She bumped into someone. She looked up, fearful. He had a knife. He plunged it into her leg and ran. Nudge screamed and fell, but he kept on running. He ran right back out the doors. She guessed he just wanted to hurt someone. She didn't know why it had to be her though.

Her vision blurry, she barely saw all the teachers crowding around her. She still felt the pain. She was still screaming, and the ambulance came about three minutes later. Nudge was taken to the hospital.

•••••••••••••••••

When the doctors were done poking and prodding her, she was fine. They bandaged her leg, and told her she would be able to use it still. It might take awhile for it to completely heal, but it would.

She was grateful for that, but at the time, she wanted to be left alone. Everyone was buzzing around her, trying to see if she needed anything. Her "family" never came to see her, but they were probably busy with work. Nudge fell asleep, followed by nightmares of the man.

-[**]**[**]-

*5 Years Old*

Drew was getting ready for his first day of Kindergarten. He had the afternoons, because he wasn't a morning person. Kyla, his mom, was helping him pick out clothes.

"Mommy, I should wear this one!" Drew exclaimed, showing Kyla is Batman suit.

Kyla laughed, "Oh no, sweety, that's not for school! That's for halloween or costume parties."

He pouted, not pleased with this information. "But Mommyyyyy", he whined, "I wanna wear this oneee."

Drew dragged out his words, still pouting. Kyla smiled down at him, lovingly. "How about we make a deal?", she said. Drew nodded enthusiastically. "If you wear this", she motioned to the blue jeans and short sleeve shirt that she picked out, "then when you get home, you can put Batman on and we can go get ice cream."

He smiled and nodded, even more enthusiastic. "Yeah, I want the superman ice cream!"

Kyla once again laughed at him. His obsession with superheroes was so cute. "Okay, D, let's get this on and go wait for the bus to pick you up."

"Okay, mommy."

•••••••••••••••••

Drew was all dressed, waiting for the bus. Kyla gasped. "Wait, we need to brush your hair!"

She got a comb and brushed his short black hair for him. A few strands were still sticking up, but it didn't look horrible. When she was done, he smiled up at her again. His dimples stood out and his eyes seemed to smile, too. A blue pool filled with happiness. She hoped he would always stay so happy. She wanted nothing more than happiness for her sweet little angel.

The bus pulled up and she took his hand, walking him out to it. When he was safely on, the bus driver shut the doors and started up the street. Kyla waved and sighed. He was growing up way too fast.

-[**]**[**]-

"Why don't I have a mommy?", Asher asked both of his dad. For a minute, they were speechless. They looked at Asher, then looked at each other. Both looks were identical, both saying the same thing: What do we tell him?

They knew that someday the question would come up. They knew that someday he would ask, but they figured that the question would be later. They didn't even imagine having to explain it all to a five year old.

Ben, Asher's biological father, answered first.

"Well, Asher...", he paused, trying to find his words. "Sometimes, men marry men and women marry women. You don't have a mommy because I chose to marry a man-"

Jake, his other (unbiological) father, cut Ben off. "So, you have two dads now. It's just like having a mommy and a daddy. This family is just more special." Jake and Ben smiled, satisfied with their quick answer.

"But Tony said that if I didn't have a mommy, I was weird." Asher said, looking up at them. "Am I weird?"

"No! You aren't weird at all!" Ben exclaimed.

"Tony just doesn't understand yet. Having two daddy's is way cooler than having a mommy." Jake told him.

Asher smiled. "Okay." His black hair fell in front of his eyes. Asher tried to move it away, but it fell right back again.

"Looks like someone needs a haircut!" Ben laughed, picking Asher up and setting him on his shoulders.

Ben wondered if he would ever get bullied for having two dads. He really hoped that never, ever happened.

-[**]**[**]-

*3 Years Old*

Dylan was in his room. Crying. Again. His life was alright and happy until it happened. Until his father got sick. Until his father died. Dylan's mother took it hard, but so did he. He cried for the loss, but his mother didn't. Her face was void of emotion. He didn't know what to do, so he tried to hug her, or hold her hand. As soon as he stepped towards her, she slapped him. Hard. On the face.

He was mortified. Why would his mommy do that to him when his daddy just died in front of him? Why?

And here he is, a year later, and she still hasn't stopped hitting him. She's not just hitting now, though. Sometimes she gets drunk and starts kicking and punching, too. Sometimes she just leaves him alone.

All the time, he cries.

Dylan doesn't understand why she's hitting him. It isn't going to bring his daddy back. Sometimes he thinks he deserves being hit because why else would his mommy do that to him? He must deserve it. He must've done something horrible. He doesn't know what, but it must have been really horrible.

A/N:

Ugh, I'm horrible at updating! Sorry if this chapter is really bad, I had writers block. I hope it satisfies you all, though.

Thank you to those who reviewed and urged me to write more.

It really helped, even though it still took me a long time.

High School is busy, y'know? Writing this chapter was my procrastination on writing an essay. ;)

Anyways, Thanks for sticking with me. (Well I hope you all don't hate me and continue to read this story..)

Love y'all and I really will try to write the next chapter faster.. but I'm not making any promises!

Bye y'all!

-Andiey