" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 28

" What the fuck?! " The voice of Charlotte boomed through the house, catching the house off guard. She stormed out her room, holding her phone in her hand, looking around for her parents " Mama! Papa! " She called out " Mama! "

Esmeralda was busy in the living room, trying to fix the A.C, as it was broken and dirty, due to it not being used for months until now. It was now July 2012, it was hot, The sun was blazing down on the entire street. " Charlotte Marie! " Esmeralda called out " Language! " She sighed, shaking her head as she tried to figure out what was wrong with the A.C.

" Mama! " Charlotte called out once again " Stacey is yelling at me through the phone! " She held her phone up, showing that she had been on call with Stacey for 30 minutes. The woman on the opposite end of the phone's voice being heard so loudly, it was like she was yelling through a megaphone.

Esmeralda turned to look at her daughter, raising an eyebrow as she heard the woman's voice " How.. did she get your number? " She questioned, earning a shrug from her daughter " Micheal? Felix? " she got the attention of her two sons, whom were trying to cool off with lukewarm ice packs on their legs " You two didn't give your sisters number out at school, did you? "

" Mama.... " Felix whined, laying against the couch, beads of sweat dripping from his head " You know we aren't like that, we wouldn't give out Charlotte's number to anyone! " he threw his hands up " Maybe she just kept dialing numbers trying to get a-hold of Mr. Goro "

" Yeah, Maybe! " Micheal responded to his mother " Besides, Apparently some weird shit is going on with Mr. Goro and Stacey, and.. i heard it's not pretty " he cringed a little as he spoke.

Esmeralda cocked her head as she took Charlotte's phone and placed it against her ear " How'd you get my daughter's number, Stacey? " She asked with a stern tone of voice. " Cause i recommend you forget her number, and if you don't, i'll beat you so silly you'll look worse than the melting asphalt outside " She furrowed her brows.

" Mama " Felix called, getting Esmeralda's attention " She's our Algebra 3 teacher, and all she does is rant about getting full custody of Natsuo and keeping him from Mr.Goro and his friends! " He immediately covered his mouth, realizing what he had just said.

Overhearing the commotion had gotten Edgar's attention. Due to the heat, he could care less about not wearing a shirt or getting in his wheelchair. He dragged himself from his humid room, his own A.C not working too well and relying on a box fan for coolness. " M-mama? What's going o-on? " He asked, a worried look on his face.

" D-don't... " Esmeralda bit her tongue, trying to keep herself quiet. Yet, she knew she couldn't lie to her child, it wasn't right to do. She sighed softly, turning to face Edgar " Nastuo's mother, Stacey, is trying to get full custody of him and move him out to the city.. " She started, still holding her daughter's phone " Meaning, if that were to happen, she'd enroll him in a different school and you wouldn't be able to see Natsuo often or.. ever again " She frowned, immediately expecting her child to break down and cry.

Edgar's eyes widened, his expression filling with shock and sadness at the same time. He sat there on the floor, trying to process what his parent had just told him. He looked at his hands, as if he was trying to think of what to say but couldn't find the correct or best words to express how he was feeling. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked back up at his parent. " S-she can't do that! " he exclaimed " S-she doesn't e-even love him! " He slammed his hands down on his hips " W-why would she take h-him when s-she doesn't even l-love him?! "

" Because she's a cunt! " Felix exclaimed, earning a stern, dirty look from Esmeralda " Je suis désolé, Maman " He apologized " She want's control, Ma Biche. She wants to control Natsuo and everything he does or who he sees, She thinks she's the damn victim! "

Without thinking twice, Edgar scurried to his feet, stumbling over his leg for a moment before he practically bolted off to his bedroom, it was the fastest his siblings and parents saw him move at home, even on good days when he didn't have flare ups, he didn't move too quickly. He frantically grabbed his wheelchair, hopping into it, fumbling with the leather seating for a fleeting second as he began to wheel himself from his room, making a quick stop in the kitchen to grab an ice pack and a box of Grapefruit Juice as he left his house, his parents and siblings watching with wide eyes.

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Edgar rolled around in his wheelchair, ice pack on his belly and his Grapefruit Juice clenched in his hand as he did so. His best friends and confidants, Fatima, Gary, and Habiba all following suit on their bikes, with Gary being on his skateboard. " N-Natsuo's house isn't that far! Just a-a couple more blocks! " He exclaimed, taking a sip from his juice " We c-can hide out at the skate park until his mom l-leaves! "

" Edgar? " Gary asked, skating up next to his friend " If worse case scenario happens, what do we do? We all know you can't do anything, you'll be labeled as.. god knows what.. " He cringes, shaking his head " I Can't do anything, Fatima can't do anything, Habiba can't do anything, what do we do? You think Natsuo can do something? "

" M-maybe, Stacey is his m-mother, m-maybe he can like.. hit her or something a-and leave? " Edgar shrugged " I-i know i-i haven't hit my parents, b-but my parents aren't t-total shitheads either! " 

Habiba squealed loudly, pointing at a small flat home. The home itself was lower class, one that was rather common  in the area. There was only one car parked out front, it was Stacey's car. The kids could tell, it was the same old, run-down hunk of metal the kids had seen just barely a year prior at the skate park. The car this time now had a tire that was completely missing the rubber casing and screws that would keep it from falling off.

" Well, there's her car, how do we get Natsuo out here without any fight from Stacey? " Gary asked, skating up to the side of the house, peering in through the windows of the living room. " I see Mr. Goro and Stacey talking, or, wait no-- " He looked again, pressing his ear against the window before stumbling back " She just called him a not nice word! " He yelled to the others approaching.

" Habiba, You and Gary go around to the side, Me and Edgar have the backyard! " Fatima spoke firmly yet calmly as her and Edgar headed to the backyard, where they knew was a fence and a door.

Gary and Habiba peered through the windows, watching as Stacey yelled and berated Goro. The rather.. colorful display of words she called him would even make a sailor, or a hillbilly from the deep south blush.

Habiba noticed the window was slightly cracked open. Being as quiet as she could, praying to god that the window didn't creek or squeak, she pulled the window up and open. She poked her head in and through, looking around the living room. The living room was a complete mess! The couch had its cover torn and stuffing was exposed. The small box TV had a large crack in it, the screen black and showing nothing. a crackling noise coming from it. The walls had holes and dents in it, clearly damaged by someone's fist slamming into them. Her eyes continued to scan the destroyed room until they landed on another pair of eyes...

Goro, Natsuo's father.

Goro was cowering as Stacey yelled at him, He looked so afraid yet he tried to remain calm and collected, he didn't want the kids to see him scared, he loved the kids as if they were his own. Thankfully, Stacey hadn't noticed Habiba and Gary peering their heads through the window. Goro motioned using his eyes for Habiba and Gary to leave, he didn't want them to see this, they were only 12, not even 13 yet, he didn't want them to get upset at such a scene.

Gary grabbed a piece of broken vase and hid it in his pant pocket, looking at Habiba and gesturing for her to head around back, where they would try to sneak in. The two headed around the fence and saw Fatima and Edgar trying to unlock the door to no avail.

" Got anything? " Gary asked, raising an eyebrow. Fatima shook her head as she tried to unlock the door again, she was using a bent paperclip and was jiggling it in the keyhole, thinking it would work. " Here, let me try something.. I saw it in a movie once.. " He reached into his pocket and pulled out both the broken piece of vase and a thin, sharp, nail filer. " If these don't work, we're screwed.. "

Using the vase piece as a ruler, Gary carefully lined the nail file into the keyhole and began turning it. The group of kids waited with baited breaths as they watched Gary fumble with the keyhole. After a few fleeting seconds, the sound of turning locks was heard as the door opened slightly, a creaking sound coming from the hinges.

The group all smiled happily, holding back their excitement as they quietly snuck into the house. Edgar made sure to get out of his wheelchair, using his knuckles to crawl around as to not make much noise. They all scanned the hall and the various rooms. They saw Goro's bedroom, a bathroom, a  laundry room, and a small prayer room with a Kamidana in it. The prayer room was the only room left untouched and clean, as if Goro has kept it closed when Stacey was there.

They found Natsuo's room and found the poor boy huddled in the corner of his room, hands over his ears, eyes squeezed closed, rocking back and forth, as if he was trying to calm himself. The group could see the chunks of hair on the floor, as if it had been hastily chopped off with crude intent. Thick chunks of brown hair laid strewn about on the tatami flooring of Natsuo's room.

" Inko? Inko? " Fatima called out Natsuo's nickname, not getting a response from the shaking boy.  " Natsuo? Hey, it's us, your friends, w-we're gonna get you outta here and down to the skate-park. " She explained as carefully as she could.

Habiba walked around Natsuo's room, taking note of how it looked. It too was a mess, but not as messy or destroyed as the rest of the house. There was a few spilled cups and some old food that had ants crawling all over it. She groaned as she grabbed Natsuo's bag and packed some of his clothes into it, along with some sunglasses, his tablet, headphones, and a full, unopened can of chips. She tossed the bag over her shoulder and motioned for everyone to follow her.

Gary scooped Natsuo up and into his arms, almost cradling him like a baby. He carried Natsuo out of his room and outside to his backyard, helping him onto his feet and covering his eyes with his hand until they could get his sunglasses to him.

The rest of the friend group followed suite, leaving Natsuo's house and getting back onto their bikes. Habiba gave Natsuo his sunglasses and the group set off instantly. They all began to make their way to the skate park, where they knew they'd be safe and protected.

As the kids all peddled their way to the skate park, a thought came to Habiba's mind, she turned to look at Natsuo, who was peddling as quickly as he could. ' Let's all go to the park instead of the skate park! ' She signed to him and the others ' Stacey doesn't know about the park we go to! '

" T-The park? " Edgar asked as he wheeled himself along his friends, wiping their forehead of sweat " O-oh! The park w-with the p-playground! " Edgar exclaimed. He tied his hair scarf around his hand and he began to pick up pace, wheeling as fast as his hands and body would allow him, sweat dripped from his forehead.

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After nearly an hour of biking and wheeling, the group made it to the park with the playground. There were barely any other kids there, most likely because the playground was made of metal and scalding hot from the summer heat.

Edgar and his friends all sat on the equipment, the heat not really bothering them now. Habiba was pouring a cold bottle of water all over Edgar's hair, trying to cool him down a little. ' Where's Umaiza? ' Habiba signed, a confused look on her face as she looked around the barren playground ' She's not here with us and i haven't seen her in a week! ' 

" Didn't you hear? " Fatima asked, earning a confused look from Habiba " She's in the hospital, her health isn't good right now, it's really bad from the heat! " She exclaimed, gesturing towards the hot sun in the sky " Her momma told my parents that her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome had gotten really bad, especially on her legs! " the mention of surgery seemed to catch the others attention.

" Surgery? As in... cutting someone open while they sleep surgery? " Natsuo asked " Why would she need surgery on her legs? "

" I don't know. " Fatima responded, grabbing onto the monkeybars that hung above her head " Her momma said it was her nerves? I think? I don't know, it's hot outside and i can't remember. " She groaned out, shaking her head softly, using the edge of her hijab to wipe away a small amount of sweat.

The sound of wheels on concrete caught the kids attention, making them all look over the sidewalk that lead to the playground, along with the sound of footsteps. Upon looking over to the sidewalk, they saw the source of the sound: A girl around their age with a rollator and her two mothers following behind.

The girl had deep, golden brown skin, black hair that was done up in a faux-hawk, almond shaped eyes that were hazel in color, and she had beauty marks all over her cheeks. She was dressed in a black tank top with a ' Black Sabbath ' Logo on it, black shorts that had a red flannel patch stitched onto it, red sandals, and a pink medical alert bracelet. Her rollator was a deep red and the seat was a deep violet purple.

The girl approached the playground, pushing herself and her rollator up the small sidewalk and to the monkeybars and the swing set, where the group were all at. She looked up at them and smiled warmly, the hot sun shined on her rollator. She reached into her bag that was attached to her rollator and pulled out some frozen Ice-Pops, all different colors and flavors. She handed Edgar and his friends one Ice-pop, smiling warmly as they took them.

" My mommies saw you guys were sweating badly over here, and they told me to give you guys Ice-Pops to help you guys cool down! " The girl spoke with a cheerful, happy tone " My name is Kanani! Me and my mommies and siblings just moved here from Samoa! "

The group all looked at one another, almost as if they were mentally communicating with one another. They all looked back at Kanani, and with a nod, Kanani sat next to Edgar on the swings. Another addition to the group.