Taylor stared into a metal pot, brown broth swirled inside, chunks of vegetables and meat popping up to the surface every now and then. Mrs. Harman had left a few hours ago, leaving Taylor to prepare dinner and Brody to watch the kids. It wouldn't be so bad if he didnt know what was to come later that night. Drunken slurs and thrown beer bottles most likely.
Taylor sighed, the Hopkins were a new couple in the neighborhood and had almost immediately made friends with everyone around. Now every week the whole neighborhood would gather at their house to play poker and drink the night away. Mrs. Hartman always left a few hours earlier than the others, claiming it was "To tuck the kids in bed." She always barged in yelling about how annoying everything was, throwing a few things here and there and then trudging up to bed. It has been a continuous cycle for the last two months.
"Hey." Brody walked in, wiping his hands off with a towel.
"I gave the girls a bath and have them preoccupied with My Little Pony if you want to go shower while I finish up dinner." Taylor had yet to actually bathe, just washing his hands and face before starting dinner.
"Yeah, I'll go do that." Taylor set down the spoon and headed out the door, whispering a thank you as he walked by.
The shower was cold, it was rarely ever warm now. The soap was cheap and smelled of wax and dirt. The towels were thin, drying off became a hassle that was never truly accomplished. Taylors clothes were dirty, not having cleaned any in the last few days. Basically everything was cold and damp and uncomfortable. And Taylor hated it. He wanted out, he wanted to live in a home that was big and warm and bright, where he didn't have to worry about what he was going to wear or eat or what was going to be thrown at his head when night was to come.
Cleaned and dressed Taylor headed back downstairs, Brody had gathered all the kids at the table and was struggling to have them all sit while he dished out soup. There were six kids who were stationed at the Mini Miracles, including Brody and Taylor, the other four kids were significantly younger than the two, all aging between 4 and 8. The youngest was May and one of their newest kids from over a year ago when the house was still nice. Sam, a 7 year old autistic boy with light brown hair and plain green eyes was clinging to Brody's leg, screaming and crying over something Taylor couldn't make out. May was standing on the table jumping and screaming to add to the noise. And Morgan, Mays' 5 year old sister, who looked almost identical, was holding bowls up to Brody, whining that he wasn't taking them from her. The only one that was sitting quietly was 9 year old Spencer, who sat with his head down and headphones on. Taylor chuckled quietly meeting Brody's pleading eyes. In an instant he had swooped in taking the bowls from Morgan and had both her and May sitting in their seats. Sam was harder to pry off Brody and get him to stop crying and sit. With a heavy sigh Brody continued to dish out the soup ending with his own bowl and finally sat down to eat. The first few minutes were almost completely silent, only the giggling of the two sisters across from Taylor was heard. Spencer had yet to sit up and start eating which was new since he was always starving and was the first to finish his food. Taylor leaned over from his spot gently shaking Spencer's shoulder, he lifted his head slowly, tired eyes looking up at Taylor. Taylor pointed to his bowl but Spencer just shook his head and let it fall into his arms again. With a frown Taylor returned to his food, instead turning to the girls and starting up a conversation on school and their new "art" project. By the time dinner was over Spencer had left for his room, Sam was crying again and the girls were half asleep. Brody took the girls up to their room leaving Taylor with a crying Sam. Kneeling in front of him he reached his hands out in an invitation for a hug but was rejected. Instead he asked if Spencer would like to help clear the table, which was an immediate yes. Focusing his mind on the task at hand calmed Spencer down until he forgot why he was even crying and when the table was clear he headed up to bed. Taylor had filled the sink with water and soap and hadn't even started on the first dish when the door slammed opened.
Mrs. Hartman was home.
•••
The door slammed open making Taylor jump. The bowl in his hand fell from his grip, crashing into the floor.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" Mrs. Hartman appeared in the doorway, leaning heavily on the doorway and looking furious. Taylor backed away slowly,
"It- it was an accident. I'll clean it up!" Mrs. Hartman surged forward grabbing a hold of his hair and pulling him up to her height,
"Of course you will, what else would you do? Leave it to me! Leave it to me to clean up after all your messes and disasters you create!" Taylor scrambled in his feet, trying to stand on his top toes to relieve the pressure on his head,
"Of- of course not, ma'am!" Mrs. Hartman grunted, releasing his hair and pushing him into the glass shards on the floor.
"Clean it up, brat. I don't want to see anything on the floor in the morning." Turning on her heel she marched out of the room and up the stairs. Taylor let out a heavy breath,body shaking and tears begging to make their way down his face. He let out a sob immediate smacking a hand over his mouth and straining his ears to listen for Mrs. Hartman. When she didn't return he shuddered out another breath, crying into his hands and feeling the sharp pain of the glass in his knees. After a few minutes he began to pick up the bigger pieces, struggling to grab ahold with his bison blurred and hands wet from blood and tears. Grabbing a broom and dustpan he swept up the smaller pieces and then wiped the floor clean of the small blood drops. His hands and knees had been cut, small beads of blood dripping down his legs and staining his jeans. They didn't have any bandages of hydrogen peroxide, so he just jumped in the shower again and scrubbed down his legs. He pulled on shorts and a tank top when he climbed out, his knees still dripping blood. Climbing into his bed careful not to wake the others he told himself it would be fine in the morning.
•••
There was blood covering his sheets in the morning, his cuts had stuck themselves to the sheets and when he managed to unstick them they were bleeding again. Cursing himself ripped the sheets off his bed and ran them to the washer before Mrs. Hartman saw. Taylor managed to get the bleeding to stop after a few minutes, but his knees were swollen and red, moving them stung and he feared he would make them bleed again. Morning were easy for Taylor and the kids as Mrs. Hartman stayed in bed and the kids were more than eager to leave the house. Granola bars were handed out as the younger kids left to catch their bus and then Brody and Taylor were left to get ready and walk to the high school.
School was the same as always, Lucus left him alone which set him on edge. His knees and hands were in pain for most of the day making it hard to walk and write at times. But other than that everything was the same. It was the walk back home that changed everything.
Okay whew! I'm back! Hello again, this is the republished version of I Survived. I'm going to be updating slowly but it's better than nothing. Enjoy :)
-Foxy
YOU ARE READING
I Survived
General FictionTwelve year old Taylor has lived through so much. His mom died, his dad remarried and he's moved across the U.S. just for his step mom. But there's more, Taylors home catches fire killing his step mom and almost killing him, his dad however disappea...
