Devil's Backbone // Frank Castle

·CHAPTER TWO·

It was another restless night of sleep for Scarlett. She either didn't sleep, or she had nightmares. After tossing and turning and sweating for about 3 hour's, Scarlett decided to get out of bed and open a window to try and circulate air through the apartment.

Scarlett walked out of her bedroom and poked her head into the door that was cracked open. She leaned on the door frame of her son's room and watched as his little stomach heaved up and down slowly as he slept. She smiled softly at the sight of her pride and joy sleeping peacefully. She smiled and backed away from the door, careful not to make any sound so she won't wake Jack.

Scarlett made her way down the hall and guided herself through the dark living room, switching on the lamp that sat on the table beside the couch, illuminating the room. She went to the kitchen and switched on the light, pouring her a glass of ice tea then turned the kitchen light back off and sat down in the living room and turned on the tv. She was sure that she wasn't going to find anything to watch but infomercials. She just settled for the news channel after switching through all the channels. Scarlett didn't pay any mind to the news reporter that was on her television screen. She took a sip of her tea and her eyes wandered to a picture frame that held a picture of her father and herself that was across the room.

They were standing in front of her dad's boxing ring, both of them facing each other and holding their fist up that had boxing gloves on. Her dad had a serious look on his face while the young Scarlett couldn't stop grinning. She was only about 7 or 8 at the time. Growing up, Scarlett really looked up to her father. He was the only strong, solid role model she had growing up. He pushed her to do her best. He helped her up when she got knocked down and would cheer her on when she did great. One thing she learned from her dad was that when you get knocked down, you get back up. You always get back up. Scarlett guessed that's how Matts still alive. Even though he gets the crap beat out of him he somehow finds a way to get back up on his feet and keep fighting.

Scarlett smiled fondly at the picture. She missed him. She missed her dad more than anything and she wished he was there. Wished he was there to meet her son. Wished he was there to tell her what she needed to do. Wished he was there to knock some sense into her idiotic brother.

"Breaking news. There has just been a report that there has been a shooting at a local hospital in Hell's Kitchen."

Scarlett's ears perked up and she looked to the tv with full focus now.

"The name of the hospital hasn't been released yet and they do not know the ID of the shooter. They say the shooter is still at large so they want us to urge you to stay indoors for the time being and keep your doors locked."

"God," Scarlett shakes her head. "Nothing good ever happens in this city." She sighs. Scarlett glanced at her front door, making sure it was all locked. Scarlett turned off the tv and took one last look at the pictures of her and her father before switching off the lamp and trying to get some sleep while she can.

· · ·

Scarlett got up and got Jack up so they could eat. He sat at the counter with his toy dinosaurs and waiting for Scarlett to fix the food. Scarlett switched on the tv and retreated in the kitchen to make breakfast. The buzz of the tv and the sound of Jack playing with his toys was in her ears. A normal morning to her. Scarlett set a plate with a pancake in front of Jack and he dug in.

"Hey hey, kid. Slow down." She laughed and the little boy grinned at his mother with a mouth full of pancakes. Scarlett shook her head fondly at her son. She stood at the counter with her coffee and took a sip. Her eyes traveled to the tv that was on the news. The story was the same as last night, about the shooting at the hospital. She bit her lip then glanced down at her phone. She set her coffee down and picked up the phone and dialed Matt's number. She walked out of the kitchen and ruffled Jacks hair before walking into the hall.