I Deserve Love

Avalon Duncan

"So you're mother picked up a bottle and smashed it over your head after that, right?" The officer asked. "Yes," I said instead of nodding from the pain in my skull. "Then what did you do?" He asked, staring dead at me. "Aye picked up tha broom and smashed et ova' 'er back as she picked up eh butcher's knife." I knew how thus was going to go. They were going to say I was lying or because of my thick Scottish accent that I was intoxicated as well and send us on our way. Me having to go back home with that raving lunatic mother if mine. Then we would be back here again next Sunday after my mum went to church. "Avalon?" The officer said my name tentatively. "Yeah," I winced as my voice broke and a single tear escaped my eye. "We're not going to send you back home with her." I snapped my head up, immediately regretting it. My hand flew to the back of my head as pain coursed through it. My face winced for a second in pain. "Your mother is going to jail on accounts of child abuse and child endangerment. You will be sent to a sort of recreational center in upstate New York." The officer's dark skin still glistened from having to pull my mum off me about a half of an hour ago. His dark brown eyes stared at me. He was gauging my reaction. "Wha' do ya mean," I asked slowly, choosing what I said carefully. "It's a large farm like place that takes in two kinds of people. One is like you, where they have been abused and have nowhere else to go. Then there are the trouble makers or rehabilitation cases that get a new leash on life." I sucked in my lightly bruised bottom lip and chewed on it for a second, thinking. "Wha' will they do wif me thar," I asked as I started to scratch at my knuckles out of nervousness. "You will have your own room with all of your things from here and they will try to help you with any anger you have. They can also help you with your anxiety. The school on the grounds there is very good and has a great graduating record as well as helping struggling students. They can help you learn to socialize with people easier and such. They also have, as I said it's a farm, so animals. You can take care of them and spend therapeutic time with them. They also can help you choose a college and prepare you for that. They also, I've heard, have really great art and fine arts programmes there." I nodded, still gnawing on my bottom lip. I liked the way it sounded. Maybe I could finally get some peace. "If you don't want to go there the only other option we have is to put you in foster and send you to a shrink." He turned his head with his eyebrows raised to tell me that, this is a once in a lifetime chance. I nodded, "I want ta go," I said softly. He nodded. "Alright, c'mon. Two officers are going to take you home and help you pack up your things. You'll be on a plane there tomorrow, Mr. Duncan," He smiled as he stood up, me standing with him. We walked out of his office and walked down a hall. I saw my reflection in the mirror. My ginger hair was sticking up everywhere from the bandages wrapped around my head. My skin was paler than usual. It was so pale that you could hardly see my freckles that peppered my nose. A bruise was darkening on the hollow of my right cheek and a band-aid was on my left cheek bone for a rather large cut. My left leg hurt real bad and I had to limp as I walked. My back and hips were killing me. My jade green eyes looked exhausted. In short, I looked like I had free fallen into a tornado and got spat back out.
A sigh escaped my lips when officer Ousley told me to sit and rest for a minute while he did some paperwork and found the two officers that were supposed to help me. I laid my head back in the rolling chair at an empty desk and let my eyes slowly close. Sleep taking me soon after despite the brightness of the fluorescence.