I don't need you

Hide & Seek

Hidden behind the woodpile, trying not to aggravate the spiders. This was not how most kids spend their mornings.
I, on the other hand, do this way too often. The Mother is in quite an angry mood this morning, Thomas broke her favourite plate. She beat him 'til his back was bloody. So I hid. Her voice sounds out across the yard, she found Evangeline. Running from her is fine, but if she catches you.... Evangeline's cries echo in the walled-in courtyard.

She's gone back inside, so I slump back against the woodpile, accidentally knocking a log to the floor. Big mistake.
I could try to run, but The Mother is much too quick for that. A cold clammy hand grabs me by the hair.
"Boy! You've been hidin' from me, huh?" Her rattly voice breathes down the back of my neck.
"N-no ma'am!" I squeak pathetically. I wish I could say I wasn't afraid of her.
" Evangeline! Bring me a branch, from the rose bush," She smiles devilishly at me, she never did like my strange surname, Rose. Evangeline, a small timid redhead, scurries off into our dismal garden, returning quickly, eager now she is not being punished.

Most teenage boys swear they never cry, but my eyes were red and puffy by the time she had finished hitting me.
She let go of my hair, threw the rose branch at me, and stalked off to find the next poor victim. Evangeline helped me up, twitching uncontrollably with fear, and offered to help me clean up.
" I'm fine," I choke out unconvincingly, and with a sympathetic look from Evangeline, I clear my throat. "I swear, I'm all good. Just stay away from Henry, alright?" I go to pat her on the head, but withdraw instantly when I see her flinch. I smile sadly and nod at her instead. I pick up the bloody rose branch and head back to the garden, through the crumbling archway. The institution is a giant square, with the courtyard in the centre of it, and the garden in the centre of the yard. The rose bushes are hardly ever allowed to grow there, but I've secretly been watering one for a while. The Mother must of found it, the branch is extra punishment. I walk painfully to the hidden rose bush, cringing at the blood running down my back. The bush was just about to bloom too. Instead I yank it up by the roots, chucking it into a cluster of trees.
I creep back inside, whimpering quietly in pain. I have to keep quiet, if I show I'm weak, I'll be done for. The Sisters walk by, leading Martha, our resident screamer. As she passes me Martha sees the blood stains on my back. The Sisters end up restraining her on the ground.
"Haven't you the sense to clean your self up outside?" One cranky lady screams at me. " Run to the bathroom now!"
I nod, beginning to jog down the hall, and picking up the pace when I see Henry. Henry is a shifty man, probably in his thirties, who killed his little baby daughter, but couldn't be arrested for his mental health. Henry is kept in a straitjacket majority of the time, but his eyes always follow the children.
I sprint down the hallways, dodging grabby hands and sickening smiles. I was never admitted here. In the record books I don't even exist. I was found out on the driveway one day, and this Sister Amelia took me in. She was the only one who cared for me. She's gone now.
I slide across the bathrooms mouldy tiles, staring quickly into each stall before slipping into the furthest from the door. I pull my shirt over my head, nearly crying out as it pulls at my fresh wounds. I angle myself to look at my back in the cracked, dirty mirror, and wince when I see five straight lines, vertical on my back. The multiple shadows of previous beatings make me shiver. I turn away from the mirror, and turn on the shower. At first a measly drizzle runs out, boiling hot. I punch the wall, right where the water tank is, and soon enough, nice cold water streams out. I hesitantly wash my back, biting my lip to stop from screaming. As I'm about to turn the water off, I hear the bathroom door open. Now the bathroom is a little square in the North-eastern corner of the institution and it's unisex, so Henry is always trying to creep in here at showering time. I leave my blood stained shirt in the shower, and slowly pull open the door on the bathroom stall. The door swings shut, with no one to see. I creep forward, if someone like Evangeline is showering and Henry catches her, she'll never be the same. I stalk around the corner, listening to the strange muffled cries, worried that Henry has already been here. He's done it before, and the poor girl was found in the garden later, next to bloody razor blade. I step bravely around the corner, puffing myself up to fight Henry. Instead I see Evangeline, sobbing on the floor, sitting on the green tiles. I crouch down slowly and whisper quietly, not wanting to scare her. "Evangeline? What's up?"
She looks up, and I scoot next to her, now that she can see me.
She rests her head on my shoulder, and plays with my wet hair. Now I'm well aware I forgot my shirt. She mumbles something, staring up at my brown hair, caressing the shaved sides.
"What's that, Eve?" I tilt my head to look her in the eyes,smiling supportively.
" I had a baby, and they took it from me."
I shut my eyes for a second in disbelief, surely I would remember someone my age being pregnant.
"When did you have a baby?" I stared at her, deeply confused.
" I hadn't even seen her little hands. They took her from me early. She was gonna have green eyes, and I was gonna call her Rose. After you, y'know." She smiled sadly up at me, her freckled face framed by fiery hair. I smiled weakly back at her. Who stole her baby?