Michael and I

What About Taking This Empty Cup and Filling It Up?

Taking care of two children is a lot harder than Tommy originally thought. Now that they have one more mouth to feed Tommy has to go on a few more trips to get enough supplies for all of them. If they get lucky they will hopefully find enough supplies to allow them to stay until spring (he really doesn't want to have to find a new base in the middle of winter). The first thing he plans to do is get new clothes for Shroud whose current ones are on the verge of falling apart. If Tommy ever gets the misfortune of meeting Shroud's old group he is going to make sure to punch them in the face.

Shroud is a good kid, despite only knowing the kid for a few days, Tommy was sure of this fact. Maybe it was the way the kid smiled at him like he hung the stars in the sky. Or maybe it was when Shroud asked to teach him sign so he could communicate better with Michael. Perhaps it was a combination of the two or something entirely different. But it was safe to say that Tommy already adored the kid.

Michael seemed to love Shroud just as much if not more. The two were inseparable. Despite there being multiple spare rooms in the house the two little menaces decided to share a room. When the two first suggested the idea Tommy was quick to move one of the beds from the spare rooms, ecstatic that the two boys were getting along so well. But what Tommy had failed to realize at the moment was how much chaos this would bring him not ever a day later.

So here he is now lying on the ground, accepting his fate as two children viciously hit him with a styrofoam sword they found lying around. Now that he thinks about it Tommy really should have seen this coming. But he still had one card up his sleeve.

"We finally defeated the monster," Shroud announced triumphantly while stepping on Tommy's stomach with one of his legs.

"Oh no, you got me," He feigned as dramatically as he physically could, "But you both forgot about one thing, tickles!"

With that Tommy dragged the two boys onto the ground with him before starting to viciously tickle them. The boys let out high-pitched sequels as they tried to squirm away from him.

"No no no we give up, promise," Shroud said between laughs leaving Michael to nod rapidly in agreement

"Fine, you guys are safe another day," The kids didn't need to be told twice and quickly scooted away from him

Tommy took a second to stand and dust off the dirt that got on his clothes. His hand was still a bit sore from when he hurt it but it was slowly getting better. The bruise covering his knuckles had turned from a mix of purples and blues to a sickening yellow. Even all of the cuts either disappeared completely or turned into a tiny scars. It wasn't the first time he had gotten a scar so Tommy didn't really mind. He was just glad that it didn't hurt as much as it did before.

In times like this Tommy likes to wonder what his parents would think of him now. His parents weren't around much when he was younger; they were always on business trips or traveling somewhere. But whenever they were home it felt almost suffocating. They were always watching his every movement, waiting for him to slip up which happened often. Tommy was always quick with a snarky remark which always ended with him getting himself in trouble. If they were here they would probably just talk his ear off about how dirty his clothes are and how much he stunk. Maybe it was better that he doesn't know where they are, or what even happened to them.

Tommy's parents were the type to step on dandelions in the cracks of a sidewalk. They were often too focused on their own goals to even notice the things, or people, that they hurt. Tommy knew that they cared about him (or at least that's what he told himself when they left him for weeks on end) they just sometimes forgot to take care of him.

He still remembers the first time they left him alone. His parents decided that at the age of seven Tommy was old enough to take care of himself. They hadn't even hired a babysitter; they just kissed him on the forehead, ruffled his hair, and left. Not even an hour after they left he managed to burn himself on the stove after trying to make himself eggs. He could just barely see over the stove at the time and had accidentally grabbed the body of the pan instead of the handle. Tommy can still remember the scorching heat from the stove and how his blood-curdling screams echoed across the house. His hand was blistered for days afterward.