Dark Side |COMPLETED|

Part title

(THIRD PERSON)

18 PAGES

"How is he?" Mrs. Talon asked with concern. The doctor looked up at her with a weak smile, "he's stable, if all goes well we will wake him up this afternoon." She nodded, still worried about the whole situation. A boy, one she barely knew, she felt something for. Maybe it was pity or maybe it was God telling her something. She didn't know, but she wasn't going to leave him until she knew he was safe. Mr. Talon walked in the waiting room with tired eyes, he had been with their kids all night.
A blonde, young adult, right beside him, her make up done perfectly, her slim figure made her look even more admirable. "Pres," Mrs. Talon welcomed the girl in open arms. She gladly accepted the embrace. "What did Dr. Allen say?" Mr. Talon asked. "He's stable, they might wake him up this afternoon if nothing changes," she sighed, stepping back from her daughter. The three settled onto a comfortable couch.
"What will happen when he wakes up?" Pres, wondered out loud. The parents looked at her with calm eyes, "I'm not sure, babe, hopefully it will be fine." Mr. Talon tried to reassure the girl. She nodded, burring her head in her father's chest. He pulled her closer with his arm, his other wrapped around his wife's tense shoulder. As Pres fell into a deep sleep the adults chatted amongst themselves. "Surely he will go to a foster home or orphanage, there aren't any group home in town," Mrs. Talon sighed.
Her husband nodded, "most likely, Beth, I- I just feel sorry for the kid. Based on the condition of their house, his dad, even their food amount was terrible. Mother died when he was eight, now fifteen and living like that... it's just upsetting." She didn't speak, she couldn't. Taking in everything her spouse had spoken made it seem all the more real. She never wanted a kid to live like he had, no one deserved that. She had several kids already at her home, she couldn't handle the stress of another.
All the issues the child would have, medical conditions, physical state, school bill, more food to buy, room decor to purchase. Another kid was a lot, yet she still hadn't convinced herself to leave the child to someone else's hearts. Call her crazy, but she felt drawn to him like he was one of her own. She didn't know his name, she had only known of Mike and Mary Fault. She had sleepovers with Mary when she was a small little girl. After a while the two best friends grew apart, yet Mrs. Talon made an attempt to see Mary in the hospital once a day every week.
Mary has mentioned having a son, but had not spoke of his name. She called him "A" as a sort of nickname. Mary always spoke highly of her husband, she had only complained when her son and spouse verbally fought. It saddened her, she hated to see them try and tear each other apart for reasons she would never see and had never learned. Mrs. Talon was shocked when she found out the broken and bleeding boy on the ground was her childhood best friend's son. She cringed as she recalled the memory.

Flashback A Few Days Before:

Bethany (Mrs. Talon) scrambled to her office with her morning coffee. She grinned at her fellow coworkers, as she slipped inside. She sat her coffee down on a coaster and gracefully sat into a memory foam velvet chair. Her phone vibrated, she pulled the slick object from her pocket, and answered the call.
"Mom, Tina took my waffles and now I don't have anything to eat," Trey all but yelled into the phone. Bethany sighed, having five kids and being a work mom, wasn't ideal nor was it easy. "Trey, honey, just grab a toaster strudel," she put the phone between her shoulder and ear as she turned on her computer. "I would, but Rio grabbed them all," he huffed. Bethany frowned, "there was a pack of twenty last night. It won't kill you to go a day without eggo waffles, did you take your pill?" A minute of silence passed, muffled noise was all Bethany heard. "Yeah, just did. I gave Tina her pill too, incase you were wondering."
Bethany opened her email, getting right to work. "Good, how's Rio?" She heard a distant scoff, "he's fine just a jerk still. I still don't know why you brought home a delinquent kid to live with your four other children." She shook her head, "he'll come around, they all do. Presley went to grab supplies for a school project, I need you to take the kids to school, including Rio. Do you remember which schools to take them too?" She could picture her brown haired son rolling his eyes at her question, "yes, Mother, Tina goes to middle, Rio to the high school with Heather and I. Happy?" She smiled at her son's annoyed act, "much, now bye, love you, be safe!" He mumbled back the exact words, then hung up the phone.
Bethany felt the smooth computer keys rather relaxing under her fingers. She was peaceful at work, no noisy kids, no prying husband, not a single spec of dust... it was magnificent. She worked as a nation-wide author. Her works were mainly about the foster system, group homes, orphanages, and probation orders. She knew a thing or two about them all. She had grown up in the foster system, she saw many new faces monthly, which is probably why she became such an outgoing person.
She was never placed in a group home, but she ran one. She currently had five kids in the home, her home. Tina had gone to an orphanage before she came to live with Bethany, she often wrote about the pros and cons of orphanages. Rio was on probation at the moment, she held frequent meetings with his officer. He was a nice man and genially cared about the well being of the kids he was assigned too. Rio was just under seventeen, yet not the friendless guy around. He had only been living with the Talon's for two months.
She spent the rest of the day at the office, when suddenly she got a call from Heather. She put the phone on speaker as she began to gather her things. "Hey, Mom, I'm on the rough side of Oak Edge and was wondering if you could pick me up?" The tremble in her daughter's tone didn't go unnoticed. Bethany held the phone to her ear, "it's okay, stay right were you are. Daddy is on his way to get you, why are you out there anyway?" Heather huffed, "I was trying to be nice to this kid, but he's even harder to get along with than Rio is!"
Bethany shook her head at Heather's dramatic voice. "How did school go?" She asked trying to get her daughter's thoughts off danger. She walked out of the office and toward the parking lot. "I'm on the track team!! Coach Brown even asked me himself! It starts at five A.M. tomorrow morning, but I have to practice with that guy which I am not fond about," her daughter held a slight hostility in her voice.
"How so?" Bethany replied, she got into her car and drove off onto the highway. "For one thing, he didn't even want to join then freaked when Coach said he was going to call his parents. I even tried to help him today not get in trouble, but did he listen? No! That landed him with a well earned detention. After I was finished tutoring Hailey, I walked out to find him walking home. So I went up to say hi and he flipped when I touched him. We walked for a while, talking a bit. It was like 99 degrees and he was wearing a black wool jacket, so I thought that was odd. I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me and he froze up again. Turns out when I saw his arm, he cuts... but like a lot! Way worse than Trey ever did. A like whole minute passed before he finally registered what happened and took off! Like what the freaking heck? He just left me here to defend myself." Bethany's heart broke at the news.
Tears wetted her cheeks as she recalled the painful memories when Trey was fighting depression. She frowned, Trey never got antsy when someone touched him. She thought for a moment, "I'm almost to you then we can pick up Daddy." Bethany grinned at the sight of her fifteen year old gem, Heather hopped in the back, a weak smile across her face.
It was nearly sundown when they finally picked up Henry (Mr. Talon) from his job. He sat next to Bethany in the passengers seat, a smile plastered onto his face as he told a wild story about another crappy painting the new students did. They drove not too far down before Henry suddenly stopped the car. "What was that about?" Heather's voice hinted with panic. Henry opened the door, "wait here." He got out of the car walking up to a laid figure on the ground.
Bethany was right behind him, just as curious. He gasped at the sight, "call 911!" Bethany plucked out her phone in an instant, she fumbled with the device, her hands shaking. She finally managed to dial the number, talking to the police. Henry slowly bent down to the boy, he looked to just be a teen. Tears welled at his eyes, the teen's body wet with red liquid. Even the boy's jacket was soaked.
Henry, panicked, lifted the child's wrist in an attempt to feel a pulse. He let out a barely audited cry. "Can you hear me?" Henry looked at the boy who had yet to speak. He winced as Henry, presses his fingers to his wrist, feeling a weak pulse. He sighed at the broken body before him. It was a cold night, being in a wet jacket could trigger a cold. Henry with this thought, slowly lifted the boy's arms. He proceeded to slid off the jacket. "S-stop," was a whispered reply. Henry's heart swelled at the hurt in the kid's voice. He sat the jacket down and put his own on the kid.
He stayed for a few seconds before he heard the sirens of help, he got up and went to his wife. "How is he?" She spoke terrified. He sighed, "couldn't really talk, he's in a lot of pain." She wiped the tears from her rosy cheeks. A officer walked up alongside a paramedic. "He's over there," Henry instructed, they turned only to find the boy gone. A groan was heard inside the house and sent the help running in.
Henry couldn't believe the sight. Beer bottles decorated every spot on the couch, it smelt of alcohol and weed. A man with wild eyes shouted at an officer to get out, but it was no use. They restrained him in seconds. Everyone searched the house, looking for one soul and one soul only. Bethany cringed at the slight trail of blood leading into a closed door.
She walked hesitantly, calming herself, she slowly opened the door. "Oh my gawd!!" She screeched as she saw the boy leaned against a wall, blood draining from his wrist fast. The paramedics instantly took over, they put him on a stretcher and carried the boy out to the ambulance. He was supported by an oxygen mask as everyone scrambled to the hospital while some of the police stayed to secure the house as well as the man.
The Talons drove quickly behind the white vehicle to the hospital. Heather confused, Bethany unable to stop her tear flow, and Henry couldn't stop thinking of the man who he had swore he'd seen before.

A/N:

This is a little clear up of what happened after Ash seemingly ended it. I'm so heartbroken 😔💔

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