Foster Care [COMPLETE]

Bruises

I couldn't relax until Kieran's friends left. It was 9:30 when they all finally walked out the door and I could finally sneak into the bathroom. I showered, washed my hair and wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel. My stomach was bloated after eating an entire pizza by myself and I felt nauseous. My nose was a bit achy after getting hit by Kieran's door but it wasn't fractured, I think. I peaked out into the hall outside the bathroom in a search for Kieran and his prudishness. It seriously isn't my style to get dressed right after showering. I'm the type who lays around in my towel until I'm completely dry and then maybe I'll get dressed. I never quite understood prudishness. It's just a body, what's there to be scared or embarrassed about? It was probably because he was an only child. Well, I was an only child too but my mom never bothered to even put on a shirt. Most of the time she just walked around wearing a bra and hot pants. Best case scenario she'd wear an actual shirt too. My mom never dressed like a mom. She couldn't care less if I saw her naked. I took a quick sprint down the hall and snuck into my room. The music was still playing loudly through Kieran's wall and I sighed deeply as I flopped down onto the bed like a wet noodle. I didn't feel like changing, I was too tired.

Tuesday
February

"Max get your ass out of bed!" Kieran yelled as he burst through the door. I woke up with a panicked jump and looked up at Kieran as I tried to realise what was going on.

"Where's Cheryl?" I stuttered and pulled the covers over my naked body.

"She's at work with dad..." He muttered. Kieran himself was pretty much naked too. He was only wearing boxers and socks. I glared at him in annoyance. He didn't seem to mind it when he himself was lightly dressed but apparently, I couldn't wear a towel without getting yelled at for being naked. "What?" He hissed and gave me an annoyed look.

"Are you going to leave?" I muttered and pulled the covers closer around me. He glanced over my naked shoulders and the cocky look on his face faded. His cheeks turned bright red as a mortified expression spread over his face. Kieran jolted out of the doorframe he'd been leaning against. So predictable. I rolled my eyes and sighed as I slipped out of the bed.

As a child, I used to hate getting out of bed. It meant that I had to leave my safe fortress of freedom and imagination to do something set in reality. I once stole melatonin pills from a drug store when the clerk wasn't looking just so I could sleep more. Sleeping meant my mom didn't have any reason to be mad at me. Sleeping meant I stayed out of her way. I glanced down at the small scars on my knuckles. I'd gotten into a lot of fights before I moved. Some of which I started. Faint white lines and dots decorated my knuckles. They weren't visible from afar but they were quite obvious if you knew what you were looking for. I used to be the kid who always had skinned knuckles no matter what. I didn't always pick the fights in school, the neighbouring kids used to call me a whore child and that pissed me off. They always called my mom a slut. To some degree, I agreed with them. She was a slut. She slept around with anyone she wanted, even if she was dating someone. She barely wore any clothes when she went out, she never once smiled at a man just to be nice. 

I slid my legs into a pair of skinny jeans and pulled a long-sleeved shirt over my head before putting a t-shirt over it. It fell over my shoulders like a light table cloth would and it hung loosely around my neck. I tucked the t-shirt into the pants and looked at myself in the mirror as I pulled my hair back into a bun. It was raining outside and it looked pretty chilly as the wind shook the trees. The bruises were still dark on my skin but I didn't care. If my mom taught me something it was that you should never give a shit what others think of you. I glanced over at my phone screen and let it light up in my hand. "KIERAN!" I yelled and sprinted down the stairs. "We're gonna be late, asshole!"

"Calm your tits we've got plenty of time!" He murmured and pushed me out of his way as he walked past me, holding his car keys. He had gotten dressed and styled his hair very quickly and there was a bowl of cereal on the kitchen table. I sighed and walked out the door with him.

...
Kieran's schooldays looked the same every day throughout the week. He had the same classes in the same pattern every day and the days were long. I could see how that type of schedule would be effective but even after one day, I had already gotten sick of it. Following patters was never my thing. After the second class, which just happened to be math, I felt my patience running out. Kieran kept giving me glances that I couldn't understand the meaning of and on top of that Auto and Puck kept trying to get my attention. They reminded me of pop up ads, whenever I let my guard down they'd come out of nowhere and try to get my attention. I was quite tempted to just go along with what they said and start a conversation but each time they spoke, Kieran would clear his throat and glare at me. Puck and Auto were the only ones who didn't seem to ask any questions about my past. They wanted to know about me, not what I'd been through. They would ask questions like "what music do you listen to?" and "do you wanna go with us to a party this weekend?". I said yes. Their faces suddenly lit up and Kieran kicked my foot under the desk. I'd much rather hang out with Auto and Puck then Kieran's rude friends. As far as I could tell they were all just blank and boring. Kieran's friends were white painted walls, plain and simple, normal and common, everyone probably knew them. But Puck and Auto were graffiti walls in a new city. They were the rare type of common that you don't come across too often even though it's there.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Kieran hissed at me as we got out of class. He grabbed onto my shoulders and shoved me against a locker. "You can't go to a party!"

"Why not?!" I growled and pushed him away from me. I knew I wasn't strong and my arms were half the size of his but when I got mad my strength exceeded my physical ability somehow. My adrenaline rushed through me when I got upset.

"They're dangerous!" He hissed and launched two fingers into my chest in a pointy motion. It hurt as his fingers punched into my chest and I felt like hitting him. "Mom and dad aren't gonna let you go!"

"It's just a stupid party! What do you think I'm gonna do? Take drugs?"

"What else would you do?!" Kieran spat in my face and looked down at me. "Isn't that what you used to do?! Bet you've had lots of needles in your arm! Bet your nose is all powdery too!"

"What the fuck is your problem?!" I yelled and pushed him as hard as I could to get him away from me. His eyes flickered slightly and I saw him raising his hand towards me. I wasn't going to let him hit me. It only took a millisecond for me to raise my fist and slam it against his jaw. He stumbled backwards with a raging look on his face and rushed towards me, raising his fist as he got closer.