Fall into the Break

Prologue

~Mild content warning. This part contains brief depictions of child abuse.~

Two car doors slammed on the morning Chase first arrived at his grandparent's house.

The first one stopped him from grabbing his little stuffed dog. The second one caught Celeste's dress in its metal grasp. On any other day, this would have ignited their mother's anger. Today, however, the woman didn't say word.

Celeste's three-year-old body struggled to keep up as their mother firmly pulled her along. Her stuffed animal's floppy legs bounced with each aggressive step as she was dragged up to the unfamiliar door.

Their mother's grip suffocated Chase's arm too, and he watched as the woman's fingers turned white from the force. Celeste let out a sob which was met with a quick jerk and a verbal attack. She quieted down and clutched her bunny closer.

They stood on the porch and waited after their mother impatiently smacked the green-painted wood.

Chase turned his head and stared through the windshield of his mother's Subaru Justy. His stuffed animal lay on its side, alone and small in the backseat. Chase started to cry.

His mother banged on the door again. Chase looked at Celeste through his tears. Her messy blonde hair was matted in the back. Her face was dirty - snot stuck in a flaky crust to her cheeks. The door opened.

Chase couldn't make out what his mother said, only the way she said it. Her words turned his heart inside-out. Chase didn't see the look of disbelief on his grandfather's face. He only saw the strong, wide hand as it came down and firmly grasped his little shoulder.

Chase looked up at his mother. She let go of him and grabbed Celeste by the shoulders. She pushed her through the entryway, into the arms of a startled woman.

Chase was directed through the door by his grandfather's steady hand. He looked back in time to see his mother get in her car. 

It was the last time he saw her and the first time he ever felt truly alone.