To Protect and To Serve

Chapter 11

Ciel waved goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster after they dropped him off at the shabby apartment building he lived at. Once they drove away, he took a deep breath and went inside. Most children look forward to going coming home to their parents but not Ciel. His parents Giles and Mary Hughes were just horrible to him.

His father was always out gambling or here beating the crap out of him. He was a very mean and angry man who would be set off by anything. Ciel shoes being left in the hall, a spilled glass of juice, bad hand writing on his homework. And whenever he was set off he would get physical with the boy. However he was always careful to keep his bruises hidden.

His mother Mary was no better. For one thing she was a crack addict who hardly paid any attention to him. She claimed that she loved Ciel but it was all an act. An act to keep him from running away, you see Mary only wanted children to keep Giles from leaving her. She adored her husband and felt that she couldn't live without him but she had absolutely had no motherly love for Ciel.

As expected he came home to find his father gone and his mother too high to notice that he was there.

"Mom I'm home." He told her.

"Where have you been?" She asked.

"I told you this morning that I was going to be at my teacher's house for tutoring."

"Why do you even bother with this tutoring? You're too stupid to learn anything."

"My teacher thinks that I'm very smart you know."

"Well then she's stupider than you.'

Ciel glared at his so called mother and went to his room. Before crawling into bed and falling asleep, he pulled out his two most prized possessions. A toy penguin and a blue blanket. He wasn't sure where they came from but whenever he held them close he felt loved. He slept with them every night and he would have the most wonderful dreams. In his dreams he had a father who wouldn't hit him but would always smile at him and make him laugh. He had a mother too but she was one who would always hold him and sing to him. A real family that loved him.

...

Lucy couldn't stop thinking about Natsu. The last time she had seen him he looked so angry and scared. She knew better than to meddle but she wanted to know if he was alright. Later that week she saw him and Nashi again at the park while she was walking Plue. As expected, as soon as she saw Plue Nashi went over to pet the puppy.

"Hi Lucy." She said.

"Hi Nashi. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Where's your dad?"

"He's walking. He always does that when he's stressed."

"He's stressed?"

"Uh-huh."

"What about?"

"I don't know."

"Nashi has your dad been getting hurt a lot?"

"No. I mean I don't know. He had a black eye once but he said he got it from a fight at work."

"A fight at work? He told me he got it from a car wreck."

"What car wreck?"

"The one you all were in. He told me that you and him and your mom were in a car wreck."

"No we weren't."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I would know if I was in a car wreck or not." Nashi stated as matter of factly.