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Breaking Free
Chapter 2
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Disclaimer:
Recognizable characters are Marvels. The Master and any non
recognizable are mine,
so be nice and ask if you want to play with my toys :-)
Rating:Rating:
I'm going with a PG 13 rating for this part. Rampant cursing and a
SOB who thinks he has a right to kick the crap out of anyone he
chooses, including a seven year old boy, in this chapter. If that
kinda thing bothers you ... stop reading this now.
Archive: RedShades, anyone else just
ask. I'll pribably say yes, and I'll send you the HTML version.
Feedback is welcomed wholeheartedly. Flamers will have a hose turned
on 'em.
Dedication: This is for Ali Malik, 'cuz
she asked for it.
Acknowledgments: Jubes, Sequoia,
Dannell, and MistyBlueAngel for some betaing. There where a few
others who gave me some help with this part, but for the life of me
I can't remeber their names. Sorry! You know who you are so . . .
thanks! Many thanks to my beta, Crystal Wimmer. She's the best!
-
~words~ Is telepathic
talking
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*words* Is someone's
thoughts
- November 13th 1985
- "Lemme go, lemme go," Alex cried, as he pulled away from
the women who held his hand. As soon as he was free, Alex ran back
to Scott. He threw his arms around Scott's waist, hugging him
tightly, and buried his face in his big brother's shirt. "I
don't wanna go with them, Scotty! Please don't let them take me. I
wanna stay here with you."
- Scott hugged Alex tightly, fighting back his own tears. He didn't
want to let Alex go, but he knew what he had to do. He took a deep
breath and held Alex at arms length. Then, he kneeled to Alex's
level. "I know you don't Lex," he started, wiping the
tears from his brother's face. He held up a tissue.
"Blow," he said. Alex blew his nose and Scott continued.
"I don't want you to go either, but you have to go. These
people are gonna take care of you know." Scott pointed to a
young couple standing not far from them, by a car.
- "NO! I don' wanna go," Alex said stubbornly.
"You're my brother. You take care of me. You always
take care of me, even before Mommy an' Daddy died. I wanna stay with
you!" Alex cried. "You promised," he whispered. He
broke Scott's grip on his shoulders, and threw his arms around his
older brother's waist again.
- Scott took another deep breath. He didn't want to ever let Alex
go, but he didn't have a choice. He pushed Alex to arms length
again. "Stop it, Alex!" he said sternly "Just stop
it! You're four years old, now. You're not a little baby anymore, so
stop bawlin' like one. You're a big boy now, remember? Just like me.
I know I promised, Alex, but there's nothing I can
do." Scott stared at Alex, pleading with him to believe what he
said.
- Alex sniffled, "Scotty ... please ..." he began again,
choking on his tears.
- Scott felt his heart breaking. He wanted to grab Alex right then
and there and run away, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. They
had no money, nowhere to go, and his own headaches were getting
worse and more frequent.
- Alex sniffled again, but this time he nodded.
- Scott took another tissue from his pocket and wiped away Alex's
tears. "Then, stop crying. Big boys don't cry." His voice
was gentler as he spoke this time. "We'll see each other again.
I promise, but you have to go with these people now. I'll call and
write to ya a lot. I'm sure they will read them to you. "As
Scott looked up though, he wasn't so sure. The man had his arms
crossed in front of his chest. The women had her hands on her hips
and was tapping her foot. Both had impatient expressions.
- Scott looked back to Alex. "Promise me you'll listen to your
new parents like you listen to me. Promise me you'll write me back
as soon as you learn how."
- Alex sniffled once again. "I promise," he said, trying
to be as brave as his big brother. Scott's grip loosened and Alex
hugged him again. "I'm gonna miss you, Scotty. I love
you."
- "I'll miss you to Lex. I love you." Scott gave Alex one
last tight squeeze, then gently pushed his little brother away.
- Alex was still crying softly as he waved good-bye to Mrs. Branson
and the kids who'd come to see him off, then turned and walked over
to the car. "I'm ready to go, now," he said sadly.
- The women smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "Good. We'll
stop and get some lunch, then do some shopping for new cloths and
toys, then go home and meet you're new sister. She'll be home from
school by then. How does that sound?"
- "Fine, Ma'am," Alex muttered.
- The woman opened the car door, picked Alex up, and strapped him
into a car seat. "You're going to love you're new home, Alex.
We have a big house with a big yard and a dog! You're sister is very
eager to meet you," she said as she got into her seat and
fastened her seat belt.
- Alex said nothing, but covered his eyes with his small hands and
let his tears fall freely.
- Scott knew Alex couldn't see him, but he waved until the car was
out of site. The other kids followed Mrs. Branson back into the
orphanage, but Scott stayed outside. He walked to the curb and
stared at the long road. After a few moments he sat on the curb and
cried. *Goodbye Alex,* he thought to himself. *I love you. Please,
don't forget me.*
- Scott didn't know how long he'd been sitting there when he heard a
voice behind him and felt a hand on his shoulder. He wiped his eyes
and nose on his shirt-sleeve, then looked up.
- "Come on Scott," Ms. Branson said gently. "It's
time to go in now. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here any
longer." She handed the boy a tissue, and a sweater, then stuck
out her hand.
- Scott hadn't noticed the drop in temperature, or that the sky was
beginning to darken. He stood up, shivering slightly, and rubbed his
arms. Once he was standing he accepted the tissue and sweater. He
blew his nose, then put on the sweater and took the offered hand to
walk quietly back towards the orphanage.
- "Don't worry, Scott. Everything will work out. You'll see.
Everything will be OK."
- Scott nodded, but he wasn't so sure.
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- January 28th 1986
- Ms. Branson sighed as another couple stalked out of her office,
slamming the door behind them.
- The couple brushed hurriedly past the orphanage's director, Mr.
Johnson, as he walked to Mrs. Branson's office. He knocked on the
door. Upon hearing Ms. Branson's muffled call her him to come in, he
opened the door and entered.
- "Let me guess," he began. "They brought back Scott
Summers."
- Ms. Branson nodded sadly. "No-one will give him a chance.
He's only a little more than seven years old. He's still so
young." Prospective parents seemed to understand that brain
damage had caused him to have headaches at times, but they assumed
it was why he was so quiet. They didn't understand - didn't even
want to hear - that the brain damage had nothing to do with why he
was so quiet. He had been a little withdrawn when he first came to
the orphanage, and even more so when Alex had been adopted, but he
had still been fairly sociable. Since Alex's new parents had cut off
all contact between the two boys, only a week after the adoption,
Scott had become much more quiet and withdrawn. His headaches had
also gotten more severe, and the stress and anguish of failed
adoption attempts weren't helping him any.
- "I called the Smith's a week after Alex's last call.
Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Smith also talked to Scott. He won't tell
me exactly what they said, but I've never seen such a hurt or sad
expression on that little boys face. I tried to get them to let the
boys stay in touch. I told them how much this separation was hurting
Scott, and probably Alex as well. They didn't care. They said they
thought it'd be best for Alex if he had no further contact with
Scott. They want Alex to forget that he even has a brother.
Apparently, they've also heard some rumors about how Scott has been
rejected by so many families, and why, because they said that Scott
would be a bad influence on Alex. They return all of Scott's letters
unopened. Do you believe they actually threatened to have Scott arrested
for harassment if he didn't stop writing to Alex?" The last
sentence was spoken with all the anger Ms. Branson felt in her
heart. She sighed again then added, "All Scott wants is to be a
part of his little brother's life. He's already lost his parents, he
doesn't want to lose Alex too. He shouldn't have to."
- Mr. Johnson listened quietly to Ms. Branson, not speaking till she
finished. "I know. It is very unfair, but the fact remains that
they legally adopted Alex. There is nothing we can do, now. I to
tried to contact the Smith's and got the same response you did. We
can't force them to let Scott and Alex stay in touch. Alex is their
son now. Like it or lump it." *Maybe I made a mistake,* he
thought after he'd finished speaking. *When they first came here,
they seemd thrilled about the idea of taking both boys. Why did they
so suddenly change their minds and turn against Scott?*
- Ms. Branson sighed deeply, then got up from her desk. "I
know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." That said, she
walked out of her office.
- "Neither do I, Ms. Branson, neither do I."
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- *Stupid jerk!* Scott Summers thought to himself. *It's not my
fault. I didn't ask for any of this. Not for my
parents to die, not be left in this orphanage, not to have Alex
taken away from me, and not for these damn headaches.* The
boy grew angrier as he walked. *What the Hell does that moron know
anyway? Asshole didn't have to kick me!* Scott unconsciously rubbed
the unseen bruise on his back. The whole five days he'd been with
the Carpenters had been miserable.
- At first, he hadn't thought it would be so bad. Mr. and Mrs.
Carpenter had said he could call them by their first names, and
they'd bought him ice cream on the way to their home. By the end of
the first day, he had realized that he was very wrong. Mick
Carpenter was a harsh, mean bastard. Each morning, he'd dragged
Scott out of bed at six thirty to toss around a football or
baseball.
- It wouldn't have been so bad really. It would have actually been
quite fun except that, but Mick wasn't satisfied with a simple game
of catch. He yelled through the whole thing. When Scott missed the
ball, Mick called him an idiot and a sissy, as well as every other
name he could think of. When Scott caught it, which he usually did,
Mick found something wrong with the way he'd caught it, and the
bitching and name-calling started again.
- Jane Carpenter was entirely to cheerful, and ignored the fact that
Mr. Carpenter was an overbearing, abusive, jackass. She always
smiled, even when her husband was complaining about something she'd
cooked wrong or hadn't cleaned properly. She would re-iron his
clothes or completely re-cook a meal (after cleaning up the mess
he'd made by tossing the first one around the kitchen) if he didn't
like the way she'd done it the first time.
- At first, Scott had felt sorry for Jane, but by the end of the
third day that pity was gone. She actually believed wholeheartedly
that he had a right to treat her like dirt simply because they were
married and he was a man! *Mom never would have let anyone
treat her like that. Dad would never have lifted a hand to
Mom or talked to her like Mr. Carpenter does to his wife.* Scott had
thought to himself as he'd gone to bed that third night.
- Scott's stay was actually supposed to be for a week, but it had
ended abruptly this morning. He'd had a few minor headaches through
the first four days, but nothing major. This morning however, he'd
gotten out of bed and headed down the stairs for breakfast when a
major headache started out of nowhere. He'd collapsed on the kitchen
floor, holding his head and moaning in agony. Ms. Carpenter had
tried to help him, but couldn't. She'd gone to get him some Tylenol
and a glass of water when Mick had come into the kitchen. Scott
shuttered as the scene replayed in his mind.
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- Mick walked into the kitchen, took one look at Scott, and snorted
in disgust. "What's the matter with you boy," he asked, as
he sits at the table and starts eating his breakfast.
- "My head hurts real bad," Scott somehow managed to
reply.
- That got him another snort from Mick. "It can't be that bad
boy. Get up now and eat your breakfast before it gets cold."
- Scott honestly tried to get up, but even the slightest movement
caused the pain in his head to get worse.
- Mick got angry. "I said get up now you little Wuss."
- When Scott still wasn't able to get up, Mick got angrier. He stood
up and walked over to Scott. "Jane slaved over a hot stove to
cook you a nice hot breakfast you ungrateful little bastard, so get
up and eat NOW!"
- Scott moaned and brought his hands to his ears. Mick's yelling was
making his headache worse. He planted his hands firmly on the
kitchen floor and made another attempt to get up. Pain thundered
through his head, and his hands instantly went back to clutching his
head. Tears began to form in the little boy's eyes as the pain
steadily got worse. "Please, stop yellin'," he whimpered.
- Mick's eyes flared with anger. "You tellin' me what to do
boy? You don't tell me what to do! I tell YOU! Now, get your
little pansy ass up and eat before I show you the meaning of the
word hurt!"
- The tears flowed freely down Scott's cheeks as his body trembled
with pain and fear. He made one last ditch effort to get up, but it
was useless. He couldn't get up.
- Jane came back into the kitchen after finally finding the Tylenol
in the upstairs bathroom. For the first time since Scott had met
her, she wasn't smiling. "He's just a little boy Mick, you're
scarring him. Yelling won't help." She looked fearful as her
husband glared at her.
- "Stay outta this Woman! It's time this BOY learned to
be a MAN!" Without warning, Mick lashed out with a
fierce kick that connected with Scott's lower back. The boy cried
out in pain, and Mick lashed out again. "Shut up, and take it
like a man," he yelled.
- "Mick, please stop," Jane begged. "He's just a
little boy. It's not his fault." Mick lashed out and backhanded
her. Her hand flew up to her cheek in shock. Mick had been cruel to
her many times in the past, but this is the first time he had ever
struck her. She had never seen such anger in her husband's eyes, and
it frightened her.
- "I said stay out of this," he screamed. "Or I'll
give you what I'm gonna give him."
- Jane sobbed into her hands and ran to her bedroom.
- "I said, get up now, Boy, or you'll get it even worse!"
Without giving the sobbing boy a chance to even try, he lashed out
with an even more viscous kick to Scott's back. The boy cried out
again as the pain increased, but he remained on the floor. Mick
reached down with both hands and lifted Scott into the air.
"You are the biggest NANCY BOY I've ever met," he
yelled into Scott's face. "Stop crying baby!" he added as
he shook Scott violently. "Christ, what was I thinking when I
let Jane talk me into bringing you here. No wonder you've been
brought back so many times. No one wants a little Nancy Boy like you
for a son! You're going back, and I'm gonna get a REAL boy,
not a cry baby, wimp like you!" Mick threw Scott over
his shoulder and stormed up the stairs.
- Mick threw Scott roughly onto the bed. The boy instantly curled
his small body into a tight ball. "I gotta go to work with no
breakfast now thanks to you! You'd better have your shit packed and
be ready to go by the time I get back!" Scott curled into a
tighter ball and cried himself to sleep. Mick gave the boy one last
disgusted look, than stomped off to his own room.
- Jane looked up teary eyed as her husband stormed into their
bedroom. "We're takin' him back! Make sure that runt is
packed and ready to go by the time I get home from work," he
says angrily, as he turned to leave. Suddenly, he turned back and
added, "Next time, I pick the kid." Then, he left the
bedroom, slamming the door on the way out.
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- Scott shook his head as the memory faded. True to his word, as
soon as Mick got home at four o'clock, he'd stormed into the house,
dragged Scott out, and threw the boy and his suitcase into the back
seat of his car. When they got to the orphanage, Mick had grabbed
the boy by his much too slender arms and threatened him. "If
you tell anyone what happened, I'll ... " His voice had trailed
off as he leaned close to Scott and whispered in the boy's ear.
Scott's eyes went wide in fear. "Got it?" Mick had asked.
Scott nodded.
- The Carpenter's went into the orphanage. They followed Ms. Branson
to her office while Scott took his bag to his room, threw it on his
bed, and went outside. "Dumb fuck," Scott muttered as he
rubbed his sore back.
- "You really should watch your mouth, Scott," he muttered
to himself. "Mom would have a conniption fit if she heard you.
You'd be suckin' on a soap bar for a week. Dad would kick you're
butt and give a nice long lecture on why you aren't supposed to say
those words." A sinister voice in the back of his mind seemed
to take sadistic pleasure in adding, *But Mommy and Daddy aren't
here anymore are they? No, they're as dead as can be now. No-one
cares about you. NO-one loves you.* Scott pushed the voice to the
back of his mind, blocking it out.
- Scott stopped as he reached his destination. His thoughts shifted
to Alex as he climbed up his and Alex's favorite tree. Like every
time he saw it, Scott couldn't help but wonder how old the tall Oak
was. *This tree is really, really old. Probably older than ...
Grandpa,* Scott thought to himself. He starred in awe at the tree,
looking more like the little boy he was, and less like the man he so
desperately tried to be. It never lasted though. As he climbed up
the tall tree, his thoughts turned back to Alex again.
- *I miss you, Alex,* he thought as he reached their favorite branch
and sat down, leaning against the thick tree trunk. *Nobody wants
me. I didn't want to cry. I tried to get up, but it
just hurt so much. What if Mick was right? What if I am just a ... *
Scott paused as he tries to remember the word Mick used, *... a
Nancy Boy? Whatever that means. I don't want to stay here forever,
Lex. Dave and his little jerk buddies keep picking on me, and
picking fights with me and Nathaniel. One of these days, I'll learn
to stay out of it when those two get into it. When will Nathaniel
learn to keep his big mouth shut around Dave?*
- Still caught up in his thoughts, Scott doesn't see the small
blond-haired boy approaching. *Why are the Smith's being such ...,
jerks. I just want to talk to you. They act like I'm gonna turn you
inta some kinda rebel punk or something. Mr. Smith actually said I
was a bad influence on you. He thinks I'm bad, just like Mick does.*
Scott felt the tears well up in his eyes, but he refused to let them
fall. He heard a noise below him and looked down. *Aw man, not him
... not now.* Scott groaned as he saw the boy that had
disturbed his thoughts.
- "What do you want, Nathaniel?" Scott asked as he climbed
down the tree. He didn't hate Nathaniel, not really, he just didn't
like the boy much. He was nosey, pushy, and an all around
pain-in-the-butt. He also had a knack for getting himself, and
Scott, into trouble with the older boys like Dave.
- "Oh, nothin' in particular. I was bored and I heard you were
back early ... again. So I thought I'd come say hi, and see why
these people dropped ya off early. Same as last time huh? That
makes, what ... six times in less than a month?"
- Scott sighed, jumping from the lowest branch and landing on his
feet. "Nine. Nine times," he answered. Nine times Scott
had gone to stay with a family; and nine times he'd been brought
back. Only once had he as long as he was supposed to. That had been
a three-day weekend visit last month. That was also the only visit
where he hadn't been either hit, cursed at, or both. For a moment,
he'd let his hopes be raised that maybe, just maybe, they'd want him
forever. But that wasn't to be. He'd snuck into Ms. Branson's office
and hid in the closet, hoping against hope that the nice young
couple would want him . . .
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- Scott quietly opened the small hidden door in Ms. Branson's
office. He'd discovered it about two months ago, and as far as he
knew, no-one else knew about it. Not even Ms. Branson. He was
careful not to bump anything or make any noise as he listened to the
grown-ups talk.
- He liked this couple. Theirs was the fourth home in two weeks that
he'd visited. It was the only one he honestly liked. The Coppers
were nice to him. They didn't curse at him like all the others had,
or hit him like some of the others did. They also didn't get angry
when he had one of his bad headaches. They had a nice house with a
big back yard and a dog! A German Shepherd they named Cookie because
she used to steal cookies from people as puppy.
- "He's a very quiet, very polite boy Ms. Branson," Mrs.
Copper began, "but we just don't think it would work out."
- "Scott has some ... issues ... we just don't think we're
qualified to handle," Mr. Copper added. "He really is a
very nice little boy, and we did enjoy his visit, but we feel we'd
do better with a child that hasn't had such tragedy's in his life.
We really hope you find a good home for Scott. It just can't be our
home."
- Scott held his tears back as he listened to them talk. Just as
quietly as he had entered, Scott left the office. He ran to his and
Alex's tree, climbed to their favorite spot, and let the dam burst.
He cried for only a minute, then wiped the tears away and forced
himself to regain control of his emotions. *Come on Scott. Stop
cryin' like a little baby. You didn't really think they'd
wanna keep you, did you? Just 'cuz they're the only people who took
you home with them and didn't curse at you or hit you since you came
to this crummy place doesn't mean they'd actually want to keep you
forever,* he thought bitterly.
- *Three months! Three months I've been here, and I've been to about
a million homes, and none of those people wanted me.* The actual
number was nowhere near a million, but it sure felt that way to the
lonely little boy. *What made me think these people'd be any
different? Just 'cuz they were nice to me and brought me Ice cream,
and let me stay up late and help take Cookie for a walk. Just 'cuz
Mr. Cooper didn't call me a baby and curse at me like all the
others, or hit me like some did. Just 'cuz Mrs. Cooper let me lick
the spatula after she mixed the cake, and didn't get mad when I got
one of my bad headaches and dropped her glass mixin' bowl. Just 'cuz
they were just really, really nice, I shouldn'ta thought they'd
actually want to make me their forever son.*
- "There you are." Mr. Cooper called up to Scott.
- Scott climbed quickly down the tree. He felt his hopes start to
rise again. *Did they change their minds? Please, please let them
have changed their minds,* he prayed. His hopes were once again
dashed as he reached the ground.
- Mrs. Cooper gave him a quick hug, and then said, "We've been
looking all over for you. We wanted to say good-bye before we left.
We really enjoyed having you stay with us, Scott, but we can't take
you back home with us."
- Tears formed in Mrs. Copper's eyes, but she didn't let them fall.
*Maybe we're making this decision to quickly,* she thought. *Maybe
we should take him for another visit and try a little harder to help
him.* As quickly as that thought went through her mind, another one
entered. *No, we just can't handle a boy like him.* She was puzzled
for a moment. It was almost as if that last thought wasn't her own,
as if it was planted in her mind. She pushed that notion aside
though as her husband began to talk to the boy.
- "We're sorry, Scott, we just don't think it will work out.
It's not your fault, Scott. Do you understand?"
- *Oh yeah,* Scott thought, *I understand. You want a nice, normal
little boy, not one with a screwed-up head.* Scott wanted to be
angry with them. He wanted to hate them like he did the others, but
he couldn't. They'd been to nice to him, and though he was only a
kid, he could tell it hadn't been an easy decision for them. He
nodded yes.
- Mr. Cooper gave the boy a quick, hug then stood up.
"Good."
- Scott put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small plastic
figure of a German Shepherd dog. "Do you want this back?"
he asked, a slight quiver in his chin. They'd stopped at Walmart on
the way to the Cooper home on the first day, to pick up a few
things. On the way to the hardware department, they passed the toys
and the figure had caught Scott's eye. It reminded him of a dog he
barely remembered that his grandparents had had.
- "Do you like that?" Mrs. Cooper had asked. Scott had
nodded.
- "Then it's yours." Mr. Cooper had said, and they had
bought it for him. Scott sighed quietly at the memory.
- Mrs. Copper knelt in front of Scott again. "No, Honey. We
bought it just for you," she said as she closed his hand around
the plastic dog. "Good Bye, Scott." She hugged the small
boy again, and then stood.
- "Good-Bye, Scott," Mr. Cooper said as he gave Scott's
shoulder a squeeze.
- "Good-Bye," Scott whispered as they walked away. The
tears threatened to fall again, but he refused to let them.
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- Scott glared at Nathaniel as the boy knocked on Scott's head
several times and said, "Hello, Earth to Scott, anyone
home?"
- "Knock it off, Nathaniel."
- "Hey, it's not my fault you were off in La La Land. So, that
makes, like, twenty-five times since you got here, huh? I think
that's some kinda record."
- "Yeah," Scott answered, pushing a lock of brown hair out
of his face. "Something like that. Look Nathaniel, I just want
to be alone right now, okay?" Scott walked away without waiting
for an answer. He headed for the orphanage.
- A sinister smile crossed Nathaniel's face as he watched Scott walk
away. "Yes, Scott Summers," an inhuman voice whispered.
"I'll leave you alone ... for now." The voice laughed
harshly. His plan was moving along nicely.
- End chapter 2
Part
3
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