Sleep Soundly, Sabella [Finished]

Chapter Seven

       "When I was seven, my parents left me outside one of those shelters for the homeless people. They drove away without a second glance. After that I was put into foster care, but you know about my poor experiences there already," He started, pressing one hand over his face. "I was abused in one of the homes for two years. It was the longest I had stayed in one of the homes, and I was shocked that they actually got away with it.

       "Anyways, after that whenever they put me in a new home, I ran away. Sure, I would wait a few weeks, but I just kept getting scared. If the people even looked at me the wrong way, I would be gone the next day. Once, when I was eleven, my foster parents had already had a son living with them. He was two years older than me. We started arguing over a stupid thing kids argue about, and he said that the only reason I was there was because my own parents didn't want me." Tears were still falling down his cheeks, and I gripped his one hand in both of mine.

       "I'm sorry," I mumbled, moving my thumb in a circle motion over his hand. I had read somewhere that this was a comforting motion, or something.

       "After that I ran away again. Eventually the people got sick of chasing me down and I was a twelve year old when I first got put in the orphanage for adoption, or whatever. I figured no one would ever want me." He was blinking back the tears now, and I felt a few prickling my eyes.

       I hate seeing people this upset. It truly breaks my heart, and his voice just sounded so broken...his mask was now slipping. He was showing the real him; the one haunted by a past that no one should have.

       "But then my lovely new parents came in. They saw me and they claim now that they fell in love with me when their eyes landed on me. When they adopted me I was thirteen. It's been a little over four years, now," He said, his lips turning up in a small smile before the corners dropped once more.

       "If I'm being honest, I was the happiest kid alive that day. Finally, I would be with people who really loved me," He paused slightly before continuing. "The first year was amazing. They had adopted me four years after they had had Mark. I became Kyle Deen, brother of Mark Deen and son of Madison and Sean Deen."

       "I'm guessing the second year wasn't amazing?" I said quietly, saying the words in the form of a question.

       "Not as good as the first one was, no. They started to ignore me a little bit, focusing more on their amazing son. They were amazed at what he was able to do, his brain seemed to be more advanced than that of a five year old. He skipped over first grade, and then he skipped over third. I would never compare to that. I had at first been the star child...then my brother stepped in.

       "Nothing I could do was good enough. I couldn't skip two grades, heck, I couldn't even manage to do good in the grade I was supposed to be in. I was barely passing my classes. I hadn't really had great schooling before I was adopted, after all." The tears had slowed down, and at this point it was just the fact that Kyle needed to tell someone everything.

      I hadn't known if he had told anyone before me, but the way he was talking made it seemed like he just needed to talk about it. It was like he was bursting from all sides, a mixture of pain and happiness and fear. It seemed like if he had held it in any longer he would explode.

       "Each year, though, it got worse. Last year, which was my third year with the family, it seemed like I was invisible. I didn't do anything good nor bad. I was just another mouth to feed. It seemed like everyone just wished I wasn't there, sometimes, so they acted like I wasn't.

       "This year is my fourth year with the Deen family. I keep arguing with my mom and my dad...all I am is a failure. They say a bunch of things that make me want to curl into a ball and sob for hours." That's when the tears started to fall again. This time, though, he was sobbing and shaking. He couldn't finish his thoughts and he just let his head fall onto my shoulder, his tears immediately dampening my sleeve, but I could care less.