Can You Save Me?

The Night It Started

                                 Monty's POV

It was bad at the house again, apparently i didnt clean up the broken whiskey bottles in the living room fast enough or some dumb shit like that. And now my dad was on me for it, yelling and cursing and hitting. As my dad screamed curses in spanish and stumbled and tripped to try and get to me, i ran as fast as i could to my room and pushed whatever was left of my destroyed "dresser" in front of it. I knew it wouldn't do any good but maybe i'd get lucky and he'd trip on it. I quickly grabbed 2 jackets from my floor and opened my window as quickly as the broken thing would allow me.

Shoving myself out of the window, i fell on my already bruised leg. Earlier on in his rant, my father had repeatedly kicked me in the leg till he got bored and began to kick me in the head. My head was the spot he loved the most, kicking me, punching me, or hitting me with the baseball bat i stole from a kid at the playground once. My leg hurt and my head was pounding but i ran, as fast as i could possibly run with an injured leg until i found and ally and hid in it to catch my breath.

Walking further into the ally i almost tripped on something, when i looked down i saw a boy, he looked real young, younger than me. He was covered in bruises and had hand marks around his wrists, he was wearing worn out sweat pants and no shirt. The boy was shaking so badly and i wondered how he was even alive without a shirt on, it was freezing outside. Based on the bruses on his body he was either jumped and he passed out here, or he was in the same boat as i was.

One thing you learn when on the streets is trust no one and dont help people. But the boy was young, like me, and if he was in the same boat as i was i would feel really bad leaving him here to freeze. So i gently picked up the little boy and sat him against the wall, and judging by how light he was, he definitely didnt eat 3 meals a day like a normal child. I took off one of the 2 thin jackets i was wearing and slid it over his bare skin, it wasnt all that warm but if i kept the boy close to me i could ensure that at least he wasnt freezing. When the boy shifted against the wall, i jumped back.

   "Who're you?" The boy asked, getting up cautiously and holding out a broken peice of a beer bottle that i hadn't even noticed he had. "And why should i tell you that?" I said defensively, "Who are you?" The boy just looked at me and stated matter-of-factly, "because you were the one messing with me, i aint got no cash if thats what you want." I looked curiously at the boy before saying "Montgomery, im 7, now whats you name? And how old are you?"

The boy looked confused before attempting to pronounce my name, "Mon- montomery?" I only rolled my eyes, "Montgomery," i corrected. He still looked confused "im just gunna call you Monty," he said, "its easier to pronounce and remember".

"Dude, absolutely not!" I said, "just tell me your name." The boy looked at me for a moment, hesitent to say anything before he spoke. "Its Justin, im 6" he said, "and thanks for the jacket." I just nodded at him before holding out my hand, he just stared at me, clearly confused by the jesture. "Take my hand," i said "im gunna take you with me to my spot." His eyebrows knitted together with even more confusion, and something that looked like genuine fear, "your spot?"

"Yes, its a place i go when things get too bad at home, its so i dont have to sleep in allys with the creeps," i tell him, "now you gunna take my hand or are you staying here with scary Darry over there?" I jerk my head towards a man sitting in the back of the allyway staring at the both of us. "For gods sake kid my names Darrel!" He yelled at me, i turned my head from him back to Justin and just raised an eyebrow, a silent question. Justin seemed to understand what i was asking and i was answered with the younger boy gripping my hand as if his life depended on it.

We began walking up roads, taking lefts and rights, and going down a dirt path that i knew all too well. "Monty," Justin said, i was about to tell him not to call me that, when i realized that he didnt speak after that, he was wating for me to ask him what he wanted. I looked over to him and saw him looking at me, his blue eyes wide and a smile spread across his face, i decided against telling him off. He was far too cute for even me to ruin his mood. "Yes?" I said, "do you think i can stay with you every time you come up here? Things get bad at my home too."

The smile never left his face, but i could tell there was some fakeness behind it. He was adorable ill give him that, but did i want him around all the time? "Sure kid," i said, "wouldnt hurt to have some company." At that, his smile widened into one of pure happiness. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" He yelled, he was jumping up and down and his tiny hand still gripped mine tightly. "Okay Justin, calm down," i said laughing a little at the boys excited screams.

As we arrive to my spot, a place i come to often, an abandoned building with no roof, graffiti all over the walls, and a singular bag that sat at the far end under a small patch of shaded area where tin covered it just in case it would be raining or something that required somewhat of a roof. "Its not the best," i tell him, "but right now its all we got."

"It seems better than the allyway with that guy anyways," Justin said, but there was something about the way he said it. It was almost as if his mind were somewhere else, like he was remembering something unpleasent. "What're ya thinkin' about?" I ask. "Nothing, its- its nothing." I was concerned but decided to leave the boy alone for now, i could ask questions tommorow.

"Over here is where i keep my stuff, its not a lot just a few clothes and i think 2 blankets for when it gets really cold," i tell him, unzipping my bag and taking out 2 blankets and 2 tee-shirts so i could fold them and make pillows. "But we can share them so we can keep warm, you cool with that." Justin just nodded, his mind seemingly still somewhere else. I tugged on his hand a little and he seemed to come back to me, "sit down, im tired," i tell him and he does, he lays down on the floor and i lay next to him. I wrap the blankets over the top of us and throw my arm over him to keep him close. It was cold, and body heat could keep us warm, what can i say, survival is everything when your on your own. But now i wasnt, i wasnt just looking out for myself, i had another person to look after.

But maybe it isnt all that bad, because the boy seems to know how to take care of hinself, i mean, if him still being alive right now is anything to go by. And, well, if having someone as cute as justin to persuade people into giving him cash would work, i could use the kid for bank too. But he seems to be a lot like me, abused, alone, the kids that no one wants. And maybe, just maybe, i could have one person in the world who i could care for and not expect to be hurt by, because if he knows what im going through, why would he hurt me?

As i listen to the sounds of Justins breathing evening out, indicating he is asleep, i begin to allow myself to slowly drift into a uncomfortable, but peaceful sleep. Allowing myself to block out the thoughts of what to do with the kid when im not around, of what will happen if i let him get too close, because those were tommorows problems, right now, i was sleeping next to a kid who, just like me, needs someone to care, and needs someone to just be there, not talking, not watching, but just be there. And right now, we were there, with eachother, and maybe, just maybe, we could be freinds.