"What happened Ellen?" he asked, concerned. I told him that Mrs Brackett used to beat us kids up whenever she was angry. Particularly me. She always hated me.
Scott was utterly shocked. He ran into the kitchen and returned seconds later with some ice. He cautiously placed the ice onto the bruise. I flinched when it touched my face, both from the pain and the temperature. After a while, just sitting in my bathroom, Scott sent me to bed. Mitch and Scott kissed me goodnight, before heading into the lounge. The door was left slightly ajar, so I could hear their conversation ever so slightly.
"She's so small and skinny!" Mitch said. "When I hugged her I thought she was going to snap in half...We need to feed her lots more pancakes."
"Agreed. Did you see the bruise on her eye?" Scott asked. "She said that back at the home, she would get beaten up by the staff....some people make me sick" he said in disgust. "We should tell the others about it before they come tomorrow, just so they know" Scott suggested. I heard the keyboard clicks of Scott typing on his phone. I assumed he was texting the others and telling them about my ugly, battered and bruised face. Eventually, I heard them head off to bed. I let my eyes close and my body drift off into sleep. But, it didn't last long.
I saw her, just laying there with her eyes closed. It felt like the ambulance was rushing at a million miles per hour, but still the journey to the hospital seemed endless. I gripped her hand tightly, watching her as she deeply inhaled and exhaled, slowly...very slowly. I heard the aggressive screams of my father, his fist flying towards my face.
The bright, white halls of the hospital and all the doctors and nurses rushed by, hurrying to be somewhere. I stared at my mother, her pale face and bright blue eyes looking back at me. But then they closed. And they closed forever. "No! Mum! Come back!" I screamed. I saw her fade away, piece by piece until there was nothing left. She was gone.
I shot straight up out of bed, my face sticky from the dry tears. My entire body was uncontrollably trembling like an earthquake had begun from deep inside of me. I heard the door swing open and Mitch came running into the room. He didn't say a word. He just sat with me on my bed and held me, rocking me back and forth until I stopped crying. I fell asleep cradled in his arms. When I woke, Mitch was gone. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms, before slipping on some socks and heading into the lounge.
"Morning." Scott and Mitch said, simultaneously. Scott was making breakfast in the kitchen, and he handed me a small bowl of cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
"Morning..." I replied, sitting down on the couch beside Mitch, who was watching Spongebob on the TV. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close. "Do you want to tell me what happened last night?" he asked, looking intently into my eyes. I explained that I have horrific nightmares every so often, usually of my father attacking me or my mum just before she died. Mitch didn't interrupt, just nodded and hugged me tighter. Unlike a lot of people, he understood. "It's okay baby girl, you're safe here with us now. We won't ever let anything happen to you. I promise" he said, softly.
Nobody had ever made me feel so safe. I'd been living my whole life in fear, suffering every waking moment. But when Mitch told me I was safe, that he and Scott would protect me, I believed him. A single tear emerged from the corner of my eye, rolling down my cheek. Mitch wiped it away and kissed me on the forehead. "Now go and get ready, the others will be here soon!" he said, motioning towards my bedroom.
YOU ARE READING
PTX Adoption (#PTXtoNZ)
FanfictionI lay on my bed, thinking about my life and they way everything turned out. I remembered that one night, where everything changed, and now, I'm stuck here.