abandoned ➪Small Town Murders [henpat]

1

October 23, 1958
Age 12

"Where are we going?" He rests his chin on his palm and looks out of the closed car window. It was rainy and cold and his breath fogged up the glass, but he didn't mind. "Somewhere where you can be treated" The young boy looked up again, meeting the gaze of his mother in the driver's seat across from him. "What do you mean 'treated'? Will it take long?" His mother's gaze went back to the road as she took the next turn off. "Not at all, don't worry hun" He could tell she was lying to him. She sounded worried and her fingers kept tapping on the steering wheel. She did that when she wasn't telling the truth or was nervous, he'd picked up on it over the years. Even so, he didn't point it out. "When will I be back?" The woman's eyes darted over to her son and she offered a weak smile. "Soon hun, very soon. You'll be back in school and seeing your friends before you know it" His head cocked to the side, like a confused puppy. "I don't have any friends, mom- just Henry. He's not real though" She glanced at him again. "Henry's real hun, you had him over just two days ago, on Friday" The boy shook his head. "No, he's like you." He didn't elaborate, she didn't question.

"Mom.. I don't want to go in" She turned the keys in the ignition and the car shut off. "I'm sorry hun, you have you. Don't be scared, it's just a check up" He frowned and the two locked eyes, the mother's being clouded over with concern and fear while the boy's were cold and almost dead looking. "I don't want to go" He repeated "If it was just a check up, why didn't we go to the doctor's in town?" She sighed, facing forward again and tilting the review mirror a little, using it to check her makeup and her hair. The raven haired male watched her with an almost sad look. "Mom tell me-" She fixed the mirror and looked at him with a smile and a fake look of confidence in her eyes. "Because hun, it's a psychological check up" She gently tapped his head "To make sure everything's going smoothly up there" He nodded slowly, soon turning and opening his door as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He knew what was going on now- and he didn't like it one bit. He wasn't crazy. He was real! They were all the crazy ones, fake and full of fake emotions.

"Don't forget your umbrella, hun. It's pouring" He hopped out of the car, making a small splash as his black rubber boots landed in a puddle. He grabbed his umbrella and opened it, protecting himself from the rain. It was soft yellow color and had little cartoon characters on it. The boy grabbed his backpack as well, knowing his mom would be doing a lot of talking. He didn't want to have to listen to that, so he brought crayons and paper. He would've brought his stuffed bear too, but he'd left that with Henry only days before. He wasn't sure why, but he felt Henry needed the little teddy more than he did. The young blonde came from an abusive household, though he wouldn't tell anyone for fear his dad would get in trouble, then punish him for it. Why did the pudgy boy know this? He and Henry were close, surprisingly. Even after what had happened between them in the dumpyard a couple of months before, they hung out quite frequently. The two told each other almost everything- but he didn't get to tell Henry about this. It was sudden and he couldn't call the other boy due to being rushed out of the house right after dinner.

The mother and son approached the glass doors and the older pushed one open. They walked in and up to the tall desk in which a middle aged woman with far too much makeup on was sitting at. "Let me guess, Marcy and Patrick Hockstetter- Welcome welcome, you want to enter this young chap in into our facility, correct?" The boy's eyes flashed with what could only be considered fear and he backed up a little. "I thought-" He was interrupted "I haven't decided, I just want you guys to run some tests" He sighs as the older woman nods and motions for him to sit down. He sat on the floor beside some chairs near the door and got out his coloring supplies. The room was cold, the floor even more so, and the walls were bright white- actually, everything was a bright white or pastel blue. He didn't like this either, but he kept quiet and watched his mom walk into some room with the other lady. As he started to scribble, the chubby boy started to think. Was his mom really planning on leaving him at this horrid place? She couldn't- She wouldn't! Would she..? Shit, this was going to be difficult. Why was he even here? Did his mom find out about Avery?