Curveball

Chapter 5

A/N sorry for the slow updates what with work and dealing with everything else but I'm going to try and post as frequent as possible much love.

"Yes, I am glad he beat you up." The look on her face showed that she was 100% not joking. It hurt me to the core, but it also pissed me off beyond the point of recognition. How could the person who gave me life say that she was glad someone was beating up her child? I thought a mother was supposed to love and support her child no matter what.

"Wow, mom," I said as I started tearing up. "I thought a parent was supposed to be there for the child no matter what. What is this new shit all about?"

The look on her face turned from one of solemnity to one of pure and utter rage. She swung her hand up, and when it came crashing down on my face, I saw stars flying around my head and felt my body hit the floor. Not only did she hit me, but while I was on the floor, she kicked me in the stomach. As a result of this, I started coughing up blood on the kitchen floor. However, there was only one thing I felt at this moment.

Hurt. Hurt by my mother. Hurt in my body AND in my soul. This is not how a mother or any family member should act toward any other human being. I looked up at her, looking down at me in utter rage, and I tried to mouth the word "Why?". I was harshly interrupted by another kick to the gut.

"You get the hell out of my house right now, Joseph Copeland," she softly said in her rage. "You are no longer my son." She then proceeded to walk to her room and lock the door, but not before kicking me again a couple times. I knew then and there that there was nothing left for me here. I had to leave. I used the railing to hold me up as I walked up the stairs. When I got in there, the first thing I did was tried to clean off my bloody chin with a towel. I got most of it cleaned up before my mother's voice came up the stairs.

"You better be gone by morning!" I heard my door slam while I started packing up my few belongings in their own bag. After that bag was filled, I packed my clothes in my only suitcase I ever owned, zipped it shut, and took my bloody, bruised, and hurt self and my bags down my stairs. I wrote a note with a few colorful words describing my feelings toward my mother and what happened that night, and she came out and stood in her doorway, just staring at me. I looked at her and told her that she was nothing but a bitch and she should never look for me after I left. With that, I walked down the stairs and out of my house with a final slam of the door.

As I was walking down the road, I started crying about the whole situation. How could a mother, who is supposed to love her child no matter what goes on between them, turn her back on her own son when he needed her the most? How could she literally kick him when he's down, especially when she slapped him down to the floor?! Where was the love in that? He knew he had to keep walking and get as far away from that hellhole of a house as soon as possible. As I was walking away, I saw a sight I never thought I'd see coming down my street.

I saw a car stop right where I was walking, but when it did, I collapsed from the pain that my mother induced. At that moment, Angel got out of the car and ran to me and picked me up in his arms. He started freaking out.

"Oh, my God, baby! Are you okay?!" He then opened up his passenger door and sat me in the passenger seat. He then gently grabbed my face and turned to see the hand mark on my face. At that moment, I brought my hand up to my mouth because I felt a coughing spell coming on. I couldn't let him see the blood in my coughs, but as I coughed, he looked down into my hand. He saw the blood in my hand and grabbed a towel from the glove compartment. He wiped my hand and my chin free of any blood.

"What happened, Joey?" he asked me. "Who did this to you?"

"My... my mother...," I weakly started to say before he went to load my stuff in the trunk of his car.

"Your mother did this to you? Why would she do something like this to her own son?! Why?!!" He started getting upset by this, so I told him about the night's occurrences. He just stood by me the entire time with his jaw open, tears starting to form in his eyes. After I told him, he just held me close and tight. I winced from the pressure because one of his arms hit where I was kicked. He saw my reaction and released that spot.

"Everything's going to be okay, Joseph Copeland," he sweetly and quietly said. "You don't have to worry about having a place to live. You are coming to live with me, okay?"

"Angel, you don't have to do this," I told him. "I can find someplace to live. Besides, I don't have anything else with me but those two bags, which have everything I own in them. I don't wanna be a burden."

"Baby, you will be no burden at all. I can have Mom get the guest room ready as soon as we get home. It's right next door to my room, so if one of us gets upset, we can just walk over to the next room. But tonight, I don't think you will be in the guest room or alone. I'm gonna have you sleep in my room with me tonight. I'll take you up there and lay you in my bed. Then I'll explain to Mom the situation. I'm sure she will understand and be accepting of it all."

"Are you sure?" He then stopped me by putting his finger on my mouth and looked at me with that look he did when he was at my locker.

"Don't worry, Joey. You have a new home now." I started crying at that moment. I smiled and looked at him.

"Thank you, baby. You know, your name describes you perfectly. You are my angel. If you didn't find me tonight, who knows what would have become of me? I cannot thank you enough."

His only response to this was him getting in the driver's seat after shutting my door, looking at me, smiling and winking, and turning on the CD player in his car. RENT'S "I'll Cover You" started playing, and he turned and looked at me with a look to say, "This is what I have to say." I looked at him as if I was singing Collins' part directly to my Angel. With this act of kindness, the next chapter in my life was about to begin.

*so a new character is getting ready to enter comment what you think she will be like.