Broken Together

Chapter 17: It Will Get Easier

"You snuck out at 12 in the morning! I don't know how the hell you all did it or who was the mastermind behind it but I need to know this. Why!? We're you trying to run away!?" Grendale shouts at us as we all sit on one side of the desk and he paces back and forth shouting at us  from the other side

"No. I wanted to buy a pack of cigarets and convinced them to come with me" I tell him

The lads look at me like I've gone insane but I just give them a "trust me and shut up" look.

"What!? Cigarets! you're 17!" Grendale shouts shaking his head

"I know I was bored and wanted to try them. It was stupid I know" I look down picking at the table in front of me

"Damn right it was stupid! I had 10 police officers looking for you all!" He pinches the bridge of his nose sighing "just go to bed it's late. all your parents and Maura are coming tomorrow. We'll discuss this more then" we nod and silently leave the room and go up to dorms but not after getting our bracelets put back on us

"Why did you do that?" Louis asks me as we get into our dorm

"Because you all have parents who can actually punish you for leaving. I don't. Maura can't do anything to me and neither can Grendale so I might as well take the fall" I tell them what I thought was obvious

"You don't have to do that Niall." Louis says to me

"Yeah our parents would be mad at us but they wouldn't like hurt us" Liam tells me making me feel uncomfortable

I'm still trying to figure this normal family thing "let's just go to bed I'm exhausted"

~

I guess I never thought about it before. That Niall has never been in a family situation where he wasn't abused relentlessly. So how would he know for certain our parents don't do that.

I guess it's because I don't think of him in that way. I don't think of him as a sad abused orphan who lived alone on the streets of Ireland for years. I think of him as a funny, kind, & a bit mischievous. And if anything I think if him as someone who you make sure not to start a physical fight with cause he could probably take you down in about 0.2 seconds!

I climb up to my bed and peel the bandage off my ankle. Yeah this tattoo hurt like hell to get but I don't regret it. It's like a symbol. The screw that keeps us all together no matter how stupid thing we do next may be we'll always do it together.

~

After meeting with the boys parents Maura and Grendale it was decided that we loose an hour of free time for in undetermined amount of time and during that time we have to do various tasks around the facility.

Maura was pissed at me saying I shouldn't even be trying to smoke let alone bringing the other lads along with me. I don't know I didn't listen much to be honest.

I sit on one of the benches out back of the facility watching some other kids I don't know kick around a football.

~*~

I stumble through the streets looking for anything edible. I'm not sure the last time I ate something. I finally found food yesterday just some half eaten apple that was lying on the side of the road but some dick came and beat the shit out of me and took it.

"Hey!" I stop hearing the loud voice coming from the park I walk past "yeah you! Homeless freak" I roll my eyes turning around

I find a group of three boys all maybe 16 a year older than me at the most dressed in nice school uniforms playing football. "Is there a reason your dragging your discussing pathetic arse around this town?"