A Foster's Home

Chapter 7

Freddy took a few deep breaths before he told Billy his story. He gathered his thoughts, deciding what he should say first, where he should start. He appreciated Billy waiting patiently. He felt Billy put his arm around his shoulders and pull him into a side hug.

"It...it was suppose to be the best day of my life, not the worst. I was able to walk normal, but the accident ruined it all. It was Saturday and my dad surprised me with tickets to go to a comic book convention. He got one for Mom, too, even though she was never interested in superheroes like us. We just thought it would be a good family day. It was fun. We got our comic books signed and bought action figures..." Freddy took a moment to get himself together.

Billy looked over at the desk, at the spot where the Batman action figure used to be. Never would he have known that that action figure came from a painful time in the boy's past. He never thought any of it was until this very moment. It must've been hard to have that thing staring at you, reminding you of that day. Tears were beginning to well up in Billy's eyes at the thought. He hugged Freddy tighter and waited until he was ready to start again.

Freddy took a breath and continued. "You know, with Mom being surrounded by superheroes, Dad and I finally accomplished our goal. Mom finally got into it and she became one of us. Her favorite became Wonder Woman and she got a comic book about her." Freddy smiled sadly. "Dad kept teasing her about it and she would just roll her eyes and punch him lightly on the shoulder. They were like the best of friends and with me, we were like the Three Musketeers...inseparable."

Freddy's smile faded as he began to explain the most difficult part of the story. "It was around eleven and Dad and I were still bugging Mom about it and asking her what she was gonna do with her new 'hobby'. I remember the radio was on and it played "My Girl" by Temptations. That was Mom's favorite. We were at a stoplight and it turned green. We were turning left and just when my mom was about to answer...a car...he ran a red light and...crashed into our car so hard that it kept flipping on the road. I...I passed out before the car stopped and I know that they were...dead...before the car stopped rolling." Freddy couldn't speak anymore. He put his face in his hands and sobbed.

Even Billy had several tears running down his cheeks. He pulled Freddy into a full hug and let him cry on his shoulder. He felt his brother's hands shake. He couldn't help but sob a little himself. Just the thought and Freddy crying hard on his shoulder. It was difficult, but he wanted to hear the rest.

He held his brother until he was able to speak again.

"It was raining when I woke up. I heard sirens and shouting. My head was bleeding and I felt light-headed. The car was wrecked so much that my leg was pinned between I'm guessing was the door and the seat, and the metal was piercing my leg. It hurt a lot. I didn't know where I was or what happened. I wanted to scream and cry for help, but nothing came out.

"And then I saw a bloody hand that was dangling from the driver's seat. I knew it wasn't mine. It belonged to someone sitting in front of me. There was another dead person next to him. And when the lightning struck, I...I saw them. They were my...parents. That time I screamed and cried.

"The last thing I remember being in that car was that I couldn't reach his hand. I tried, I was just centimeters away, but my entire leg was stuck. I...couldn't...I couldn't reach him." Freddy sobbed as he spoke. "I couldn't reach either of them."

Freddy took another moment to get himself calmed down. Billy never let go.

"Then I woke up in the hospital. There was a nurse with me. It was only her. I expected my parents to be there, but...they weren't. It was just some stranger there. Everything came back to me and I just lost it. I couldn't move my leg, but it took a lot of people to hold me down. I was hysterical for who knows how long.

"You don't know how painful it is, to just be centimeters away and not being able to reach them for the last time. To just wake up in a hospital with a stranger, no one there to comfort you or hold you. I never...saw them again, not even at the funeral. I was too badly injured to go there. I don't...I don't even know where they're buried. I never...said...bye."

Billy was speechless. He didn't even know what to think. All he could do was hold his brother tightly and cry with him, be there for him. He continued to listen.

After several minutes, Freddy spoke again. "Billy, you don't how hard it is. They were my best friends, the ones who I shared everything with. They were my parents. You don't know how hard it was to have them stripped away from my life. The ones who were suppose to watch me grow up, the ones who were suppose to watch me proudly as I walk across the stage, who were suppose to support me, who were suppose to see me walk out with the love of my life, who were suppose catch me when I fall, hug me when I'm down, be happy with me when something good happens, the ones who were suppose to be there for me no matter what. Now none of that can happen. They're gone, Billy. They're never coming back."

Freddy let go of Billy and angrily pulled up the pajama pants that covered his left leg. There were so many scars it was hard to count. His leg looked a little disfigured. Most of his leg was light pink. "Now I have this to remind me every day that I'm never gonna see them again."

Billy still couldn't say anything. He never knew that all this has been locked up inside Freddy's head for years. He was glad that he had convinced him to let it all out. He wrapped his arms around Freddy again, not letting go until Freddy wanted him to.

But at that moment, Billy made a commitment in his heart, one that he knew would heal Freddy's wound for good. He told himself that he wasn't going to stop until Freddy was healed completely, and that's what he was going to do.
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It was midnight. About an hour ago, Freddy was exhausted from all the crying. Billy put the blanket on top of him when he fell asleep and put all the superhero stuff that Freddy put away back in their original places as best he could.

Now Billy was in the bathroom with the notebook that he had when he first got there. He looked at all the names that he had written down that had the name Batson. He remembered how dedicated he was to finding his mother. In a way, he was glad he did because finding out the truth made him a part of this family and it made him live for something other than himself.

Billy turned to the next clean page and started writing down two names that were given to him by Mary just a few minutes ago. He was on a new mission and he was dedicated to finding them as much as he did with his mother, maybe even more.

He looked down at the neatly written names.
Ryan and Abigail Freeman.