● never grow up ●

chapter three

third person pov

Audrey wakes up to complete silence, something the boy isn't used to these days. He rubs his eyes tiredly, looking around the room he's currently in and feeling the softness of whatever he's sitting on.

He's in Mr. Grey's classroom, he concludes after a moment. But no one else is in there with him, not even Mr. Grey.

Audrey's breathing picks up quickly as he begins to realize what had happened.

He'd fallen asleep during class.

Goodness, he was gonna be in so much trouble. Not only did he prove to Mr. Grey that he was a terrible student but he also completely ignored his class work.

Audrey's small form starts shaking as all he can think about is how much Mr. Grey is gonna hate him. 

Bad boy, bad boy, bad boy 

The words are on repeat in his mind, leading to the non stop tears rolling down his face. 

The boy couldn't believe himself. Someone was finally starting to care about him, at least he thought Mr. Grey did. But now that's all over, all because he had to go and fall asleep when he wasn't supposed to.

He just knows he's gonna be punished. Maybe they'll call his foster parents and get him sent away again, maybe he'll get the belt or his foster father's harsh hand; there were endless possibilities. Almost all of them ending in an uncountable amount of bruises.

Audrey thinks that that must be where Mr. Grey is now. He's probably talking to the principal and figuring out what to do with him after he was such a bad boy. 

Why can't he just be good for once? 

Audrey can't help but wonder if maybe all of those years of foster families calling him names, degrading him, and abusing him have been correct. Maybe he deserved it; he is defective after all.

As Audrey's crying continues, his thoughts begin to spiral further and further down.

He wasn't always defective, he used to be loved and cared for. Not that he remembers most of it though, Audrey was far too young for that.

Audrey's father abandoned him and his mother when he was born. His mother struggled but she did anything she could to keep Audrey and make sure he was safe. She loved him with all of her heart.

That was until it gave out.

She died when Audrey was only two years old. He was so small and defenseless, he didn't deserve the years of pain and suffering he would be forced to endure.

It was cancer that did it. It happened quick, Audrey didn't understand what was going on when it all happened. All he knew was that he missed his mother and he wanted her back.

The first foster home came quickly after that and then the shuffling began.

He was just never good enough for a family to keep him, which brings Audrey back to his current problem. Now he's not even good enough for his teacher to keep him.

Audrey feels the wetness of his cheeks and the quick beating of his heart. He tries to stop it, tries to hold the tears at bay but he can't. The nine year old knows how sad and pathetic he looks but for once he lets himself sit in the sadness rather than sucking it up. He holds it together as much as he can and he fights his feelings but it's all getting to be a bit too much, he thinks.