Loving Him (Him Series Book 1)

Eight

After my prayers, I tried to fall asleep but my mind was refused to cooperate.

I couldn't stop thinking about the story Izabelle had told me about her and Kyle's childhood and how he'd come to love Ava.

Their mom had been killed in a car crash when Kyle was four, Izabelle seven. Their dad had worked a lot while their mom was alive, but after she was gone the pressure of raising two kids without a wife was more than he could handle.

Darryl Huxley had always been a drinker, but it wasn't until after his wife was gone that his sickness rocketed out of control and he gradually turned into someone they didn't recognize. A monster.

He started forgetting to do things like buying groceries, doing the laundry, and housework. Izabelle and Kyle had done what they could, but they were young, and it wasn't the same as when their mother was alive.

The first Christmas after their mom was gone had been the worst. They'd both wanted their mommy back and they'd hatched a plan. Walking to the mall to see Santa, they'd asked for their mommy to come home, too innocent to realize the impossibility of the request.

Izabelle said she'd known something was wrong by the strange look that Santa had given her, but she did her best to assure Kyle that everything was going to be okay. When they'd finally gotten home after walking a total of six miles to and from the mall in the bitter cold, their dad had been furious.

He'd been stumbling around, screaming and smelling of booze. When he'd unfastened his belt, Izabelle said she hadn't understood what he meant to do until he'd whipped them both.

Two weeks later, they awakened on Christmas morning to find their dad passed out beneath the Christmas tree, still drunk and lying in a pool of vomit.

"It's his fault!" Kyle had shouted angrily to Izabelle. "Mama's not here because of him! I hate him! I hate you!" His little fists had pounded Darryl until the man's big fist slammed into Kyle's jaw knocking him out cold. That was the Christmas they learned that there was no Santa Claus.

Nothing Kyle did pleased Darryl. It was as if Darryl hated him, and wanted to punish him for being alive. Izabelle had done what she could to protect her brother, but it wasn't enough, especially since Kyle was determined to shield his sister from their dad.

One afternoon Darryl had woken in a rage to find Kyle gone. Izabelle, who'd been throwing up all day, hadn't gone to school, but Kyle had and she'd tried to tell Darryl that.

"Stupid little rat!" He'd shouted stumbling out the door. "Wait till I get my hands on him!"

Izabelle began to cry and followed her dad to the bus stop where Kyle was about to be dropped off. She needn't have worried. Once five-year-old Ava Foster saw Kyle's dad, she calmly informed the bus driver that Kyle was supposed to be dropped off at her house that day.

Since Ava's dad was a school board member, the bus driver didn't hesitate and drove off leaving Darryl Huxley screaming and carrying on behind them.

Will Foster found out what happened and he insisted Kyle spend the night, but Kyle refused to leave his sister alone, so the Fosters went to pick up Izabelle. She'd begged Mr. and Mrs. Foster not to call social services. "They'll separate us. Please," she'd begged.

In the end, Mr. Foster forced Darryl Huxley into rehab and let Izabelle and Kyle stay with his family while their dad got help. Mr. Foster threatened to call social services and the police if Darryl didn't complete the rehab or if anything abusive happened again.

Izabelle and Kyle spent a lot of their childhood with the Fosters, and Kyle and Ava became inseparable. Some of the kids at school had started making fun of Kyle because of his old clothes and lack of school supplies, but Ava stood up to the bullies, taking Kyle under her wing and insisting her friends accept him.