The Mystical and Foolish Mr. Kirkland (FACE)

19 (final)

"Well...he slammed my head on the floor, so that's how my nose was broken...as for my wrist, I kept trying to wiggle it out of his grasp, but he was too strong..." I explained.

"What about your clothes? Did he sexually assault you?"

My eyes widened, and I felt nervous.

I didn't want to talk about this in front of them, but if I asked to be alone, they would know the truth, not the details.

"Alfred, you need to be completely honest, you both are minors, and so far, this has been a serious abuse case," Vargas spoke. I closed my eyes sadly, and my heart began to race.

I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

This was all my fault!

I should have left Mr. Kirkland alone, then I wouldn't have gotten attached, and then this wouldn't have happened.

I moved away from them and looked at them sadly. Arthur had tears in his eyes and looked speechless. Francis tried to hold him, but he was in shock too. "I'm sorry..." I spoke.

"Alfred, the doctor says that you have physical signs—"

"Can you not?" I asked. He was about the get on my nerves by bringing up the physical. I looked at Vargas and shook my head. I placed my hand on my forehead, and it was like I had begun to hyperventilate. "Alfred, it's okay," Arthur spoke. He reached for me and made me look at him. "You don't have to go into detail, but you need to tell him if he has," Arthur spoke. He wiped the tears from my eyes, and I couldn't stand looking back at Matthew anymore.

His jaw was down, and he looked at me, horrified. Waiting for my answer.

"He told me...that if I said anything, he would do the same to Matthew..." I spoke. Arthur nodded at me sadly and pulled me in for a hug. I couldn't help it anymore.

I began to sob in his arms and felt my legs giving out. "Please, don't separate us," I cried. I could hear Matthew begin to cry, and I was sure that Francis had started holding him. "Please, don't separate us," Matthew cried.

Arthur helped me up again and continued to hold me close. "Boys, you know I have never sugar-coated anything..., but there is no one left willing to take two more kids in, you both don't have family, and there are no more options left," Vargas spoke.

"THEN WE WILL TAKE THEM!" Arthur spoke.

I stopped crying, and my eyes widened.

"What?" Vargas asked.

I separated from him, and he looked at Vargas seriously. "We won't foster them, but we will adopt them! Francis and me!"

What?

He was serious?

Vargas was shocked and looked at Francis, who was still holding Matthew. "Yes! We've wanted to adopt them anyway, so now is perfect. We will take them in!" Francis spoke.

They've wanted to?

"What? Really?" Vargas asked.

"Yes! I actually emailed you about this today, but you haven't gotten back to me yet, and with everything going on, I didn't expect you to know it was me. I have the paperwork on everything we need, but Francis and I have been planning this," Arthur said.

What?

"If you both will let us, of course," Arthur spoke. He smiled at me, and it happened again.

The sparkles emerged from his smile.

He turned into this wizard who would save us.

He was an idiot...but a happy one at that.

He was...

The Mystical and Foolish Mr. Kirkland...

And he was here to save us...

I smiled at him and began to nod my head as tears fell. "Yes!" I cried. "But there will be fees, paperwork, court dates, and—"

"That isn't a concern for us; when can they be in our custody? We can take them in tonight, I know Matthew will be in the hospital, but we can start the process," Francis spoke. I looked at Matthew, who had his face in his hands, crying.

"Oh...we can make arrangements," Vargas spoke.

"Good, because they are coming home with this after all of this is over," Arthur spoke. He looked serious, and Vargas began to gather himself. "Okay, we will move forward with this. Ivan is looking at time in prison, and the boys will need to testify; then you will need to get a lawyer, too," Vargas spoke nervously.

I wanted to laugh because it seemed like we would drive him insane with our case.

But I was too sad and happy to think about anything other than OUR new parents.

"Don't worry; we are willing to do whatever it takes," Arthur spoke. Vargas stopped blabbing and nodded at him. "Okay then, I promise we will get this done," he smiled.

"I will leave you all for now, but know that things will get a bit complicated soon," he warned. Arthur began to hold me, and we watched as Vargas left.

Once the door closed, the four of us looked at each other shocked. Arthur pulled me toward Matthew and Francis, and they held us. "We didn't plan for it to happen like this, but we want to...from the bottom of our hearts," Arthur whispered.

It was like we all were floating in the air, and he used his magical charm to carry us. "We don't have to talk about anything else that happened, and we won't press it; if you need to talk, we will be here for both of you," Francis whispered.

We didn't say anything else to each other. We all held each other in silence. It wasn't strange at all, but it made me feel better. I was scared for the future, I didn't want to get my hopes up, and they suddenly changed their minds. There was a part of me that knew they wouldn't, but the scared part of me kept screaming at me.

I think that I want to enjoy this a little longer if it were to be false hope. I want to feel this feeling for as long as I can. Maybe then, I will get better. The horrors that happened in the last month were terrifying, but I knew that being around them would make it a little more bearable.

"We love you..." Matthew whispered.

"We love you too..."