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Sixteen

Scott and I applied to adopt a little boy with in the week, and told Maddie. But we wanted to make it a surprise. She had always loved surprises.

"Guess what?" I told her on Christmas day. The room was littered with wrapping paper and presents. The tree we had standing in our room was decorated brightly, with the few ornaments I had been given from my parents, as well as one we had bought as a family. The biggest and easily seen was a large portrait of The Family. It was taken the day after my birthday.

Scott was meticulously dressed, hair neat, suit neat. I myself was clean and ready for the picture. But the focus was always on Maddie. She Sat while Scott and I stood behind her. I was leaning against Scott's chest, smiling widely, while his arm wrapped around my waist. Her hair was a

"What?" She asked, the red shinning Wrapping now still in from when Scott had placed it there.

"Papa and I are planning on adopting another kid." Scott and I had never been secretive with Maddie about where she came from, and she was quite aware.

"Really?" I had never seen a child's face light up so much. "A boy or girl? Will they be younger than me? Will I have to change their diaper?" She looked at us with suspicion and I couldn't help but laugh as she pointed her new Platypus stuffed animal at Scott and I.

"I promise you, Maddie, you won't have to change their Diaper. I'm fact, Scott and I are planning on adopting a Boy. But we don't know if he will be older or younger than you." Scott told her and she squealed again.

But, despite this, it took us nearly a year and a half to finally find a Boy that we clicked with and that we were able to adopt.

His name was Carson. He was about eleven, with the most beautiful hazel eyes I have ever seen hidden behind his wide lensed glasses.  He had cute dimples in each cheek, with freckles, and his hair, wavy, was styled nearly for one his age. His nose was a little upturned, and yet nothing seemed out of place or wrong. It was all just Carson.

Maddie had always taken a liking to me. I was her favorite parent. Carson preferred Scott.

He and Maddie hit is off. By now, Maddie was about ten, and where ever Carson went, Maddie followed.

Maddie had always been a bookworm, an imaginative spirit, and had always been a target of abuse from her peers and it hurt me to see her go through it. But, she had a secret weapon of sorts.

He was so protective of her. He never let anything happen to her, or he made sure it would never happen again.

I remember one time, from back when Maddie was in Seventh grade, just starting Junior High.

"Papa! Papa!" She came bolting into the house. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

"Honey? What's wrong?" I asked as she ran I to my outstretched arms, both of us disregarding the dirty state of the apron I had donned.

"The kids at school!" She clutched my clothes tightly as I heard the door open once more and Carson, now fourteen, came in, glasses in his hand, eye already swollen, with a bloody lip and cracked, bloody knuckles.

"Carson? What on earth happened to you?" I asked and ushered them to the bathroom, where I knelt down on the floor. I lensed into the cabinet and pulled out the first aid kit.

When I backed out, my shirt caught on the hinge and pulled up to reveal my back. While my children had grown accustomed to the marks on my arms, and would soon, if they didn't already, know what some of them meant, they had never seen the ones on my back.

"Papa! What happened to you!?" Maddie gasped as I unhooked my shirt and fixed it. I turned to my son and began to wipe the blood off. I didn't repond to Maddie. To many bad memories would be dug up with my answer. Instead I focused on getting Carson patched up.

"Not now, Maddie. Now, Carson. What happened?" I asked sternly.

"He picked a fight with the kids at school. The ones who were making fun of me." I looked at my daughter as she spoke up for Carson.

"And I kicked their asses." He grinned boyishly.

"Carson, don't swear. And next time, please, Let the teachers handle it. But I will not ground you, because you fought for your sister." I stood up, after I had patched the cuts and wiped his face clean.

Those two, though I didn't know it at the time, would become much closer to each other. Right around the time our lives began to fall apart.

It was the fourteenth of October, four days after our eleventh wedding anniversary. Maddie was the only of the two still living at home. Carson was living on his own now, a proficient College student. Scott had taken on longer hours at the station and was gone until late at night, and most times, didn't climb into bed until early in the morning, exhausted. Sometimes, he wouldn't even make it home. This meant that I was home alone a lot. Last night was one of those.

"Mitch?" A voice asked me through my sleep.

"'O'way!" I groaned and rolled over in bed, pulling the covers over my head. It was Scott. He probably just got home. So why the hell did he wake me up?

"Mitch." He said with a bit more urgency, thought there was something else in his voice, a coldness he hadn't had in years. Groaning and complaining incoherently, I sat up in bed.

"I'm awake. What?" I grunted, rubbing my bald head reflexively.

"Had fun last night?"

"What?" Maybe I was so tired that I was spacing some important detail.

"Did you have fun last night?" His words were cutting.

"What the fuck are you going on about? Did you wake me up to ask if I enjoyed being home alone? Because, if so, it can wait."

I went to go lay back down, but Scott's hand wrapped tightly around my forearm, making me cry out in pain.

"This is what I am talking about." He ground out.

I glared at him, refusing to look at my arm. Behind the anger, though, was fear. He had never, exceot for the first few times that we had interacted, acted like ths towards me.

"Mitchell." There was a dangerous tone in his voice. "Look at your arm. Now. Then answer my question." He ordered and I begrudgingly listened to him.

I let my eyes travel over to my arm. The tattooed skin has small purple and red marks, all up and down it. I studied them closely. They looked a lot like..."Oh."

"Yeah, oh." He said bitterly.

"You think that I wou-"

"I'm not just guessing, Mitch." He informed me. "What was his name?"

"There was no one!" I said defensively.

"Like hell there wasn't. Look at your arms. There are hickeys on both of them."

Before I could defend myself even more, I began to cough violently, curling up.

"Mitch?" Now, Scott's voice was worry. All anger and coldness was gone as he rested a hand on my shoulder while my body shook.

As I coughed, I bought a hand to my mouth to cough into. When I pulled it back, my world stopped around me.

Blood.

~°~

Ta'da! The late update! But hurry. The end is near! Prepare yourselves.

I just watched the #PTXOnBones(I know, I'm late. I had to wait for Netflix) and I was Fangirling the whole episode. My sister thinks i'm crazy. But now I have Walking after Midnight/Chandelier stuck in my head. And the fact that Mitch kissed a chick.

But that is all. So here. Take it you lovelies.

Oh, and stay sexy

-Scomiche❤💛💚💙💜