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Donnie
Dear Leo,
It's me, Donnie. How are you doing? Things are going pretty well here,
"I can't write that. Leo will instantly know that's a lie. He's gotta know about Raph and Mikey by now," I said. I erased my work and tried again.
Dear Leo,
It's Donnie. I know you probably have so many questions right now about what's going on with Raph and Mikey. To be honest, I really don't know how to get the words out of my mouth, let alone on paper. Everything happened so fast and I'm still having a hard time believing it myself. Right after you left, Ms. Adams got a call saying that the state had enough of us trying to find a family together; so they came and took Raph and Mikey away to a different foster home, leaving me behind. I don't believe a word about Raph assaulting his foster mother and then kidnapping Mikey. We've both seen Raph really ticked off before, but something doesn't seem right. He's never hurt Ms. Adams before, and she's gotten him mad almost as much as you normally do. And why would he take Mikey with him if he was that ticked off? I would think he would leave Mikey behind because he'd be afraid of hurting him by accident. You know how easily he can get on all of our nerves. That kid's got that down to an art form; no pun intended.
To be honest Leo, it's kinda scary here now. I know I'm usually tinkering with something by myself anyway, but with you and the others gone, it's made me realize that I have Mikey's fear of being alone too. I don't want you to worry about me though. I can take care of myself. But can you maybe try to stay in contact with me a little more? Please? Just so I have someone else to talk to? It would make me feel not so alone anymore. What does Mr. Saki think about all this? I hope he doesn't go back on his word. Tell him I said hi and not to forget about me.
I love you big brother.
Write me back as soon as you can,
Donnie
P.S: I might get myself a personal email so we can stay in contact a little easier. I don't have a name yet though, but I'll let you know.
I suppose that would do the trick for right now. I turned to another page and looked up real quick to make sure the twins were still in my line of sight doing cartwheels or other stuff.
"Alright, Don. It's been two hours. I think you've suffered enough. You can go play now," Ms. Adams said.
"Okay," I said, not looking up at her.
"Donatello," she warned.
"What?" I said, now looking up at her. "I heard you."
"That's better," she said. With that, I turned back to my empty page.
"Donnie!" I heard another voice say. I looked up, and my heart leaped out of my chest.
"Oh…hey April," I said. April was one of my classmates that my brothers and I always hung out with. She's also in a few of my classes at school. "W-what are you doing here?"
"Well Dad and I were supposed to go to Coney Island together, but the rain stopped that from happening. But never mind that! What the heck is going on with Raph and Mikey? I've tried to call you three different times, but you haven't been picking up, she asked.
"Sorry. I've not been on my phone too much lately," I said. Geez, why did that sound so pathetic?
"Dad and I saw their pictures all over the news, and there's an Amber Alert on all the radio stations. What happened?! And why would Raph attack Ms. Adams?!"
"It wasn't Ms. Adams. My brothers….they were all taken to another home," I explained. April gasped.
"Oh my God Donnie. I'm so sorry," she said, sitting next to me.
"Leo went with someone named Oroku Saki who promised to take us all in when he was ready," I explained.
"What the heck does that mean? How could he just take Leo with him when he knew that he would be separating a family; even though it's short term?"
"Nobody wants to take in four teenagers April. Why else do you think we're still with Ms. Adams?!" I snapped.
"I was just asking Donnie. I just really think that's strange."
"No, it's not you. I shouldn't have snapped off at you. I've just been so angry and alone lately. The day after Leo left, the state took Mikey and Raph away. I didn't even know where they were, and now they're running around the city from the cops!" I said, and the tears started rolling down my face. I sniffled and quickly rubbed my tears away.
"Don I…..I really don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. It's already happened, and no one can do a thing about it!" I yelled, looking back down at my notebook. She was quiet for a minute, and then from the corner of my eye, I saw her dad wave her to leave me alone.
"I'm so sorry Donnie. Who did you say took Leo?" she asked.
"Oroku Saki," I said, starting to draw something.
"Saki, like Saki industries? That's like five blocks away from my house!" April said.
"It is?" I asked, looking up at her again. "I think Leo said something about him owning a company."
"Yeah! I'm sure it's the same one who has Leo. I could see if I could talk to Mr. Saki and ask him about Leo. Then maybe you two can at least see each other and keep in close contact," she suggested.
"Maybe. Wait, I've been writing Leo a letter. Do you think you could give it to Mr. Saki if you see him?" I asked.
"Of course!" she said with a smile. Gee, did she have a nice smile. Anyway, I turned back to my letter, ripped it out, and folded it in half to write something.
'This letter is for Oroku Saki to give to Leonardo Laird.
It's from his brother, Donatello.'
When I finished, I gave the letter to April.
"April, you are a lifesaver," I said.
"It's not a problem Donnie; really."
"Thank you so much. I'm going to set up an email so Leo and I can talk more," I said.
"Really? It's about time! I told you you should have gotten one sooner," she teased.
"Yeah, yeah. But at least it won't be so lonely."
"Donatello Laird, you should have called me!"
"I know, I'm sorry," I said.
"Here, give me your notebook and I can write down my email so we can talk if you ever need to," she said, holding out her hand. I gave her my notebook, and she wrote down her email username.
"Send me a friend request when you get it updated," she said.
"Will do," I said, and April ran back over to her dad.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
Raph
Mikey had fallen asleep on the floor while drawing our 'Dream home'. His head was lying on his bag, clutching his bear close to him. The rain had stopped maybe a half-hour ago, and I wanted to get out of here before dark. Plus, I wanted to try and find something to sharpen Celia with. I don't know why I'm so into her, but maybe it's so I have something to protect Mikey with if something happens.
Feeling bored, I took Mikey's sketchbook that lay on the floor and decided to go through it. He'd torn out most of the pictures with the newspaper clippings glued on them, but I noticed that he kept most of the hand-drawn ones. Mikey definitely lived up to his Italian name of being one hell of an artist. Maybe he could make a living off of it one day?
Then again, he'd probably get bored not even after the first hour. There were a few sketches or quick drawings of us, including one of me and Leo arguing, while Donnie was reading a book on the couch with earplugs over his ears, and part of Mikey's face like he was trying to take a selfie. I couldn't help but laugh at that.
'Only you Mikey,' I thought before flipping. The next one was one I had heard him talk about so many times. It was a sketch of him and a woman hugging him. Recently, he's been having this weird dream where he'd run to this random house with a woman smiling at him with her arms wide open. Mikey said he could never remember what her face looked like, but he said she had long, beautiful black hair, smelled like lavender, and had Mikey's smile that could scare away any storm. Although Mikey drew what he thought her face would be like and the fact that she had no name, he was still convinced that this was the Mother who was looking for us. I wonder why he didn't rip out the entire book if he said he was completely done with families. I kept looking through the drawings, including another with the woman but with all four of us this time.
'Why couldn't she be real?' I asked myself, staring at Mikey. I looked up at the sky and saw that it was starting to turn gold. I put the sketchbook down and started shaking Mikey awake.
"Come on bro," I said.
"Huh?" Mikey said, opening his eyes.
"Time to wake up Sleeping Beauty. We've got to get out of here before dark," I said.
"Can't we just stay here?" he asked.
"No way! Not here," I said, pulling him up to a standing position. "Put your hood up before we go outside."
"But my jacket's still wet, and I'm freezing!" Mikey said.
"You'll dry off in the sun! But keep your head down, you hear me?" I said, running over to the broken window.
"Aw man," Mikey whined, but he did as he was told. After putting his bear and book in his bag, I boosted him up. As soon as he got his footing, he climbed up and was about to jump out the window.
"Wait! Make sure no one…!" I yelled, but he'd already jumped out.
"Stupid kid," I said. I tried to jump up the wall as I did outside, but I couldn't get my footing right. Outside, there was a wall I used to help me jump up to the window, but not this time. That's when I took a few steps back and took a running start. I got one hand on the window frame and pulled myself up using all my strength. I took a quick look around and then jumped out of the movie theater. As soon as I landed outside, I looked over and saw Mikey leaning over something.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding," I groaned. Mikey was leaning over and petting that damn cat from earlier while sharing the last part of his granola bar with him.
"He followed us! That does it! You wanna stay with me, don't ya?" Mikey asked.
"Meow!"
"It was destiny Raph!"
"Yeah, or he just followed ya so he could get more food from ya," I said, rolling my eyes. "You neva shoulda fed that thing."
"But he would have starved to death, and look how wet he got from the rain. We can keep each other warm!"
"Mikey! We ain't takin' the cat with us!" I yelled.
"Can we at least find a nice box and some newspapers for him? Please Raphie?" Mikey said, showing off his baby blues.
"If you promise to shut up about that cat, then fine!" I said.
"Yes!" he cheered.
"But we gotta be quick," I said, looking up at the sky again. Mikey and I ran through a few nearby alleyways with me having Celia out in the open for all to see. Finally, we found a cardboard box that was all wet, but it still did the trick. There was a newspaper on the stoop of an apartment, so I took it and placed it inside the box.
"There you go little guy; all tucked in and safe," Mikey said, putting the cat in, and then one of the papers over top of him like a blanket. "Here's the rest of my goldfish you can eat if you're still hungry. Good luck out here, Klunk."
"Klunk?"
"Yeah. That's the name I just gave him," he said.
"Alright, alright. Come on chucklehead," I said, pulling him away.
"Bye, Klunk!" he said, and we were off once again.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
"Yes! There's the park!" I said, pointing to the entrance of Central Park from East Harlem's side.
"Raph! I think that lady is selling maps!" Mikey said. I looked over, and sure enough, there was a lady selling maps, drinks, and other knick-knacks near the park. She was starting to pack up her stuff, but that was okay.
"Good eye kid," I said. Then I got lost in thought when I saw that the maps were a dollar each. I could just walk past her and swipe it.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Do you know how to get to Chelsea from here?" I heard someone nearby ask. I looked over and saw my little brother was the one who was talking to the lady.
Wait, WHAT?!
"That's a long way from here, young man. You gotta go through the park and past Times Square. Do you need me to call a taxi for you?" she asked.
"No, he's fine! We're fine! We could use the exercise anyway," I said, running over.
"Are you sure? You two have wet jackets on, and it gets cold after the sun….."
"Nah we're good. Thank you," I said, pushing Mikey away.
"You know, I feel like I've seen your faces before somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it," she said, and my heart skipped a beat.
"We've walked through here hundreds of times before. That's probably what you're thinkin' of. Have a nice night, ma'am," I said, and we walked away after I swiped a map from her stand while she wasn't looking. As soon as we were far enough away, I yanked Mikey into an alleyway and pinned him against the wall.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" I shrieked.
"What? I was just asking for directions," he said.
"What part of hidin' from the cops don't you understand?! Haven't you been listening to anything I've told you?! If just one person recognizes us here, they'll call the cops and have me arrested, and then take you away to some other foster home! This one might not even be in Manhattan; it could be in Jersey, or outta state! You'd neva see any of us ever again!" Mikey's eyes got wide at this.
"I….I was just tryin' to help," he whimpered.
"You're so stupid!" I yelled. Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.
"Get outta here kid while you still got the chance!" a familiar voice said. I looked up and saw it was that Jones kid from yesterday.
"Come back for a rematch?" I asked, aiming Celia at him.
"Could ask you the same thing 'dragon scum'," he said, getting out a hockey stick.
"You know? I'm really gettin' sick of ya callin' me that," I said, as we circled each other.
"And I'm sick of you still tryin' to recruit this kid. Kid, or whatever your name is! Get!" he yelled at Mikey.
"Hey! Nobody yells at Mikey but me!" I said and dived on him. Somehow in the scuffle, I lost my grip on Celia and was resorting to throwing punches. Jones kept hitting me in the head with his stick, but I kept throwing punches and kicks whenever I could.
"Let him go!" Mikey begged, and tried pulling Casey off me. That's when Jones pulled my hood down and got a good look at my face. I gave him a death glare as I was trying to reach for Celia.
"Wait, I know you! You're the one who beat up his foster mother and kidnapped your brother!" he said.
"He didn't mean it! Honest! It was all, my fault!" Mikey said.
"Mikey, zip it!" I snapped.
"Really find that hard to believe that you didn't mean to hit your own mom."
"Foster parent; and she's nomom of mine. You would've too if she was about to whip your little brother with a belt!"
"What?" Jones asked, and we both stopped.
"Yeah, I bet the cops forgot to mention that part. She beat up my little brother and is the reason I've got this black eye here!" I yelled. That's when Jones got all silent and was deep in thought about something.
"You get beat up too?" he mumbled. Suddenly we heard more shouting from nearby.
"Michelangelo! Raphael! Where are you! I just want to help you," we heard a female shout. It was the same lady that we stole the map from.
'Dammit! She must have remembered seeing us on the news,' I thought and got up grabbing Celia. Then I went over to grab Mikey, who was frozen with fear with wide eyes and heavy breathing.
"Shhh, we gotta run!" I whispered to him.
"Come with me! I know where you guys can lay low for a bit! Trust me!" Jones whispered to me.
"Why should I?!"
"Please! Raphael! It's not safe out here!" she continued, but it was getting louder. I turned back to Jones, and then to Mikey squeezing my arm.
"You better not be lying," I warned.
"I'm not! I swear on my old man's grave!" he said, putting his stick back in his golf bag.
"Alright," I said, and we all ran off together.
Eh, nothing too special here besides meeting up with Casey again and April making an appearance. I wanted April's intro to be more special, but I couldn't think of anything. This should be okay for now. April's not the main focus of the story, but she will play a role in trying to get in contact with Leo. Hang in there Leo fans! You'll know when Leo's chapter will come. I promise you.
Thanks, and hope you enjoyed.
LaurenHardy13