The House of Broken Hearts and Shattered Dreams {NCT JENO}

I

I watched my mother grab the knife from the shelf, holding it up to me as my father took his belt off. I stared at them both in fear.

"You fucking animal, what did you think, calling Child Protective Services on us?" My mother roared in an orotund voice. I flinched at them, staring at them in complete and utter fear at the sight.

Just a few more minutes.

I looked at the blood colored splotches on the floor, before feeling my body being thrown against it. I felt the blood coming up my nose, and I looking up at the two adults before shaking my head, watching as my dad picked me up by the hair. His knee was brought up to my stomach, hitting its mark. My body went limp.

When they come I'll be dead, I promised myself, closing my eyes as I heard the sound of a door crashing open, the sound of heavy boots on wood floors obvious. I allowed my body to relax and fall limp, unable to support myself any longer. My work is done. I'm safe.

I believe.

I opened my eyes to the look of being inside of a car, a heavy blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I looked around the car, curling into a ball and pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders. I buried my face into the blanket's soft folds, finding immediate comfort in its warmth.

"Had a rough time, kid?" I heard a man ask me. I immediately looked up to see the man, wearing a suit, his jaw sharp with his jaw locked. I immediately cowered back in fear, hiding in the blanket.

"Who are you?" I questioned the man, the fear coming to my brain as tears came to my face.

"Someone you might never see again," he responded, looking at the road. "You passed out a few hours ago. We took you to the police station to let you rest, and I offered to take you home. Got any family, kid?"

"J-Just my parents." I clutched the blanket in my hands to stop them from shaking.

"Hm. Maybe we can make an exception for you." The man pulled into the driveway of my home, getting out of the car. He smoothed out his suit, walking to the door next to me and opening it. He reached a hand over to me.

He's going to hit me. He's going to drag me out onto the floor and kick me and beat me and leave me there to die. He's going to kill me.

The man gently took the blanket off of my body, holding my hand and lightly pulling me out of the car. When I was out of the car, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled my head into his chest.

"Mr Lee, you are one of the strongest kids I have ever met. Don't worry, you're safe with me. Nothing will hurt you while I'm around," the man promised. I looked at him, letting out a small nod as I walked back to my home. He followed close behind, walking right with me as I walked up to my bedroom.

A stolen phone.

A small blanket that could never cover my whole body.

A heap of hand-me-down clothes, none of which fit me.

Blood.

Tally marks on walls, carved in with a razor.

The man looked around the room. "Kid... Jeno... You lived in this?"

"Don't all kids live like this? Momma and Papa always says that this was how children were supposed to live."

"No, kid. This ain't how people are supposed to live," he insisted. "Get anything you want to keep. I'm going to take you to the orphanage. I know you'll be okay there."

I let out a small nod, going into the room and getting the phone I stole, the small blanket that I've had since I was a baby. I left the clothes. They didn't fit me. I went to a corner of the room, lifting the floorboard and getting a pocketknife, kissing it softly before putting it into my pocket.

"I'm ready."

The man took me outside, back to his car. I got right back into the backseat, wrapping myself in the large and warm blanket.

Whenever my parents were gone for a "business trip", I would sleep in their room. They had a large bed, a warm blanket, and their room was warm. My room was small, the blanket my only bed. It was cold, and the window was broken and shattered. There wasn't even glass left in it. No curtains, so I woke up at the break of sunlight and I couldn't sleep from the lights and the noises outside. Whenever it snowed, snow would come into my room, causing me to freeze.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw the man pull into a large mansion. There were kids playing outside, running around in newly fashioned clothes, playing with balls and sticks. I gawked at them in awe, shocked that they could be playing so freely. They weren't getting whipped by anyone, they weren't getting yelled at or cut. Their clothes weren't dirty.

I have to be dead, and this has to be Heaven.

An old-looking woman came over to me. She was plump, her graying hair framing her wrinkled face. Two people followed behind her, neither looking like they were above my age.

I only just barely knew my birthday. April 23, and I was 17 years old. My name is Lee Jeno... Or I suppose it is probably just Jeno now.

"Oh dear... Oh dear," The woman muttered, walking over to me. I stepped back in fear, pulling the large blanket around my body as if it was a shield. "Oh no, don't be scared, child. I'm not going to hurt you. You won't be hurt here."

My attention snapped to the male behind the old woman, who snickered at me. "Look at him. So jittery. I wonder what makes him like that, don't you, Joy?" He smirked, looking over at the girl. The boy stood with confidence, his chest up, his chin up. He spoke with a cocky accent, one I only heard when my parents were saying how much trash I was. His dark hair was perfectly styled, not a single flaw about him. He was perfect.

The girl shifted slightly. I noticed the white dress she wore, her bodice tight while the skirt flared out in the light wind. No strap to keep the dress up. Her hair flowed out in light ringlets, but only brought me to her face. She smiled at me, Her face turning gentle at the smile, but she only looked dead in her eyes. Her eyeliner, barely visible, smudged around her eyes. Red lines were circling her iris, her eyes puffy. Was it from crying? Her eyes, a cognac color, having no life in them, but only sadness. Even with the dead look in her eyes, she looked ethereal.

"Chilhyeon, don't talk like that. He's new here, he's probably been through a lot," the girl, Joy, said with a smile.

The boy, Chilhyeon I'm guessing, went to Joy, kissing her cheek, causing her to recoil in disgust. "I don't like the way he's looking at you, Joy."

"You don't own me, Chilhyeon. Don't think that because you're Mama's biological son that you own whatever and whoever you want." Joy said, glaring daggers up at him as she walked up to me, grabbing my hand. I waved goodbye to the man, looking back at Joy. She pulled me inside of the house, dragging me to a bedroom. The beds inside were large, and there was only two of them.

"My bed, your bed." She said, pointing to each bed. I nodded, going to the bed that had nothing on it or around it, putting the blanket down there. I put my belongings on the bed, smiling softly.

"Hey... It's Jeno, right?" she asked. I nodded in response. "Cool. I'm Joy, and... Come with me, were buying clothes for you." She grabbed my hand once more, dragging me to another room. She threw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and a jacket to me. "Put them on. I won't look."

I changed my clothes, looking at her. I noticed that she was looking, but I felt... relaxed. At peace. I didn't feel like I was in pain when I was with her, and I felt safe.

I finished getting dressed, going to grab her hand as we went out together. She bought me clothes upon clothes, the two of us arriving back at the house with a bunch of bags.

I really do think that I like this place...

But it could also be Joy.