Elsie Taylor knew nothing more than the life that involved the constant moving around. She had always thought that it was normal to not have a place to call home, as she was too young to understand what was really going on.
"I knew nothing more tha...
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| Oliver Taylor |
After seeing Elsie in tears yesterday, and just looking at her scrunched up face as she lay on my chest this morning, I had made the executive decision, that this girl needed something more than just what she had.
When we had first found her, we had bought her mountains of clothes as she had had the bare minimum. At the time, that had solved many issues, one being warmth, but right now, she didn't need those clothes. What she needed, was something that would make her feel like every other child, if they had grown up under normal circumstances.
So, hence why I was digging through my cupboard, searching for the box that had been hidden from sight just so I couldn't let it open the wounds of my own childhood, but I would do it for Elsie. I would do anything for my little Elsie, and that scares me. Grabbing the box with two hands, I took a breath before I pulled it out, climbing out of my closet, and sitting down on the ground.
I stared at it, seeing all the words written on the sides; from the good to bad words. The words that you write at the start, of 'don't open until..' to the words of 'waste of time'. My childhood had been rough, and the state of this box proved that. But for Elsie, I would open this box. And I did. I opened it and let everything roll through my body.
I avoided some things, but when I found the one thing I was after, I grabbed it, and pulled it to my chest, smelling the faint scent of people that had held me close, before they too, had left me. I took one final glance in the box, before I was pushing it back, but for the first time in years, I kept it at the front, before I quickly grabbed one other thing from it, and then I closed the door to my cupboard.
"What are you doing?" a voice grabbed my attention, and I was quick to hide the objects behind my back, as I turned to my brother. "Nothing" I muttered, feeling my cheeks turn a light pink at being caught holding what I was holding. I was doing this for Elsie though, I reminded myself. This was all for Elsie, and it always would be.
"Weirdo" and Ezra just kept walking. That was the most he had spoken to me in a while, and my heart burst at it. Ezra was one of the only brothers that had always made it his mission to make me feel left out. He had always tried to get me in trouble or pin everything on me. I loved him, I truly did, but as a child, he always wanted to make me feel like shit, whether it was on purpose or not.
Just getting him to talk to me, would be the highlight of my day, and it still is. I don't care as much, because he has backed his teasing and insults off these past few years, as I have grown, but still doesn't mean that I beg for his attention. I beg to be seen by him, even if it is a nasty glance or just calling me a weirdo, I still know that he loves me in his own way.
Taking a deep breath, I walked down the hallway, knocking on the final door, before it was slowly opened it. "What's up?" the slow reaction of Henry was hard to hide the chuckle that passed my lips, but I quickly covered it when I remembered why I was here. I was here for the small girl that was in his bed, that he was hiding the light in the hallway from waking her.
