Carvings

Chapter 3 ✪

Elise's mind ran blank like the brand new page of a notebook. Invisible? There was no such thing as invisibility! She was scared that her mind was playing tricks with her. Was this a sign? A symptom of madness? Was there a family illness she didn't know about? She rubbed her soft hands over the rough edges. Once more she carved a message into the table just to prove her sanity was still intact.

So, are you here with me?

Yes, I'm standing right next to you.

Elise gasped. She ran her fingers through the dents. It was real. She continued

Were you with me this entire time?

For the past eight years, yes.

You've been following me!

Not following, just observing.

Why?

You're interesting.

How old are you now?

14.

Can you appear in front of me?

Yes.

Then do it.

Elise waited patiently. Looking around the room; waiting for a person to appear. Nothing happened. She got worried that her imagination was running wild. However few seconds later she noticed some fuzziness, and then a boy started fading in. He looked like a character on a TV with a bad signal. A few seconds later, a young male was standing in front of Elise.

"Ta dah!" Brayden said. He had short blonde hair, spiked up at the top, hazel eyes that sparkled under the science lab light and was wearing an old white T-shirt wrinkled at the edges with cream chino's. They were quite stained.

"How did you do that?" Elise wondered aloud in amazement.

"Well, it took a long time for me to discover that I could do that in the first place. But all I really have to is imagine myself in this room and suddenly I'm just... here."

"Why don't you stay like that then? Why do you go back to being invisible?" Elise asked.

"Well I can only stay like this for a few hours, then without me knowing, I just turn back to being invisible. I'm not that stable but I'm learning to control it" Brayden explained. He looked at Elise for a few seconds and began laughing. Elise furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't know how good it is to have a conversation with someone that can actually acknowledge me!" he explained.

"How did... this happen?"

"Long story."

"I've got time, I'm meant to be seeing the headteacher you know."

"I know" Brayden replied. Elise sat back down on her stool.

In a small area in Tottenham, a frantic mother was waking up her child.

"Brayden, wake up, wake up sweetie" Brayden's mum shook him. She was teary eyed. Brayden stirred then slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry. He rubbed them hard with his fists.

"What is it mum?" Brayden asked. His mum didn't answer and just held his hand and got him dressed.

"There's someone here to see you" Mrs Lloyd eventually replied. She managed a small tender smile for her son. Brayden took his mother's hand, wearing a crisp white shirt and black trousers, and walked into the living room. His father, Mr Lloyd, was sitting down on the sofa. He was drunk and Brayden - although very young - knew it. The careless stupor, the bloodshot eyes all led to one thing. A violent night and sticking his head under the pillow to block it all out.

He had an almost-empty wine bottle in his hand and hiccuped a lot. His father was a big gambler, always wasting the money that his mother earned from working hard day and night. A total disappointment to Brayden. Opposite Mr Lloyd was an old man in his mid-fifties. He was astonishingly bald and wore a long, dark coat. Black sunglasses covered his eyes. Brayden wasn't sure if he was looking at him or not. His mum led him to the sofa where he sat directly in front of the weird stranger.

"Hello there Brayden" the stranger greeted him. Brayden looked at his mum, unsure. Mrs Lloyd nodded.

"Hello" Brayden replied quietly, shuffling his feet. Mr Lloyd slapped his son's back, hard.

"My boy, this is Dr Higgins" he said mopily. Brayden winced. He was sure there would be a red hand print on his back now.

"Now Brayden, after today your life will be very different" said Dr Higgins.

"Why?" the young boy asked, curious, his voice trembling only a little bit. He tried to stare into the black void the sunglasses reflected but all he saw was an unsure little boy staring back at him. 

"You will be coming to live with me." the doctor announced.

"What?! You told me he was here to meet him!" screamed Mrs Lloyd. She tried to run towards her innocent little boy but Mr Lloyd held her tightly and dragged her into a bedroom. He locked the door and placed the key on top of a bookshelf. The sound of his mother's fists against the weak wood echoed into the room. 

"I don't want to go!" shouted Brayden suddenly scared. He tried standing up and go to his imprisoned mother but his father placed two firm hands on his shoulder and pushed him down. He glared at him, keeping Brayden frozen in place.

"You will go with Dr Higgins and live with him in his home." Mr Lloyd ordered. Brayden just gulped.

"Why?" Brayden repeated, quietly, his voice quivering. His big eyes watered but short years of experience taught him to never cry in front of his father. The belt marks on his back were proof of the 'disciplinary' his father instilled in him.

"Because your drunkard of a father sold you to me" Dr Higgins smirked scarily. Mr Lloyd let out a weary sigh.

"I lost the money through a little gambling and had to get some money to pay the rent. You understand don't you son?" Mr Lloyd asked his 6 year old boy. Although Brayden was young, he knew what his father was talking about. Ever since his dad started gambling, his mum helplessly explained to him why he was coming home drunk every evening and why she always had to work extra hours. Brayden was raging.

He grabbed a lamp and threw it at his useless-excuse-of-a-father's face. The painful sound of a bone crack rang throughout the room. There was no doubt that would leave a mark and a bruise! Mr Lloyd howled in pain and doubled-over. Dr Higgins just grinned. He took hold of Brayden's hand and started dragging him into his shiny black car. The last thing Brayden heard that night were the shouts of his mother and the banging of the door as she tried to get out.

"What did that doctor want with you?" Elise asked in awe. She was biting her nails absent-mindedly only stopping when she realised, but it was too late. The tips of her fingers stung because she bit on the skin when her nails were too short to bite.

"He was performing experiments on me." Brayden answered hesitantly. Elise was about to ask more questions when suddenly she heard footsteps. Quickly, she hid underneath the table out of the view of the doorway. She didn't want a teacher poking their head in and seeing the mess she caused. She was about to warn Brayden to hide too but realised he had transformed back to his 'normal' state. It was a reminder that Brayden was no ordinary boy. She waited until the footsteps were gone.

"We'll talk when you're back home" he whispered, still invisible. Elise nodded and quietly left the science lab.

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