Kyle hopes that when he comes home his parents might not be shouting. Perhaps they'll be sat at the dinner table with Kyle's little sister, waiting for Kyle to get home so they can have a meal. Perhaps they'll see Kyle's bruises on his arms and ask him about it. Perhaps they'll actually start caring...
The hopes fall away as he walks up to the front door and hears his parents yelling. His heart drops and he hangs his head almost in shame as he silently enters the house and skips straight to his bedroom upstairs, still remaining unnoticed by his parents. The house, as usual, is brutally cold, the heating bill remaining unpaid once more.
Tears flood his eyes as he flicks on his CD player, allowing the music to drown out the shouts of his parents downstairs. I hate this. He thinks to himself, sitting down on his bed. A deep sense of dread flows through his body at the idea of going to school. In fact, the whole idea of living fills him with a sense of dread. He doesn't want to have to go to school every day to come home with bruises to parents who are too caught up in arguments and a sister too young to understand.
He lets the tears fall down his face and he feels pathetic as he buries his face into his elbow as he lies on his back.
Dan can't help but worry about Kyle when he gets home that evening. He eats dinner with his family knowing that Kyle won't be doing the same thing. The thought of Kyle sitting alone in his bedroom in absolute tears makes him want to go over there and just hug him, and never let go.
He eats in silence, mind overwhelmed by guilt that he's not helping Kyle right now. There's no emotion on his face as he shovels forkful after forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.
"Something wrong, Daniel?" His dad asks, glancing up from his own plate. "You've been so quiet."
Dan just shrugs, shaking his head.
"Has something happened with Kyle? I know you said you were going out with him after school tonight. Is he okay?" At Dan's face of mixed emotions, she continues. "Are things at home still a little rough?"
"He's having a really, really rough time. He gets bullied at school and never stands up for himself, his parents are always shouting and they never spend any time together as a family unit, and he's coming in with bloody noses and bruises on his body and there's nobody there to tell him that it's okay- and there's only so much I can do! I can't tell him all the time because that's what friends are supposed to say. Even when I offer to help him he tells me I'll make it worse, and I know he's right..." Dan rants, throwing his arms up into the air in frustration. "I just want him to be happy, Mum."
"Oh, Daniel. Sometimes it's not as easy as that. People can't just be happy, there needs to be something to make them happy. Be empathetic with Kyle- put yourself in his shoes. Imagine if your mum and I were always shouting at each other, Fran never spoke to you, and you hated to go to school. Where would your happiness come from?" His Dad asks, but Dan can't answer because he knows his dad has a point. "Do you see what I mean?"
"Well, yeah but I just wish... I wish I could do something about it. I wish that he could go to school and not be scared of being hit, and at least have someone at home who cares about him."
Mr Smith smiles and ruffles his son's hair. "He'll come around, Dan. Don't worry so much. Just remember, our house is always open to him if he needs somewhere to stay."
"Be back by the time the street lights come on!" Mrs Smith shouts after her son as he peddles down the street, away from their small cosy home on his bike. His coat blows behind him as it catches the chilly wind of the cool September morning. He and Kyle have just come off of the phone with each other and have arranged to meet at the village's local park. Needless to say, Dan can't wait to see Kyle.
