Safe And Sound ♡JohnnyBoy♡ // REWRITING \\

Chapter 8

Narrator's POV

~Dream~

"You worthless, no good, deceitful little boy!" Johnny's mother screamed at him, pointing her finger in his face. She was overreacting about something incredibly stupid. Johnny was just trying feed himself, he had lost a few pounds in the past month and a half. Every day he would never eat much, at most an actual meal he was able to prepare for himself. And everytime Johnny would make himself food, he would do it quietly and carefully, not making any horribly loud sounds. Unfortunately his mother had caught him this time, she began to accuse him for stealing food from her and her husband. She thought him a thief for trying to keep himself alive.

He was only three.

"M-momma, I'm sorry..." He said softly. His parents had been ignoring him completely for that month and a half. Before that, all three of them had been perfectly fine. There hadn't been any arguing between his two parents, no drinking, no beatings to the young and innocent boy. It all had happened so quickly and in one day. His father came home from a well-paying job reeling drunk. He had gotten fired and wouldn't be able to find a new one anytime soon. That night the two adults got in a screaming match, you could hear them all the way down the street. Johnny locked himself in his room until he couldn't hear any more yells or cursing.

"You stupid, stupid child!" Mrs. Cade screeched and slapped her three year old son across the face. Never before had Johnny been hit until that night prior. He had carefully left his room and went to the living room, peeking around the wall to see his parents sitting on the couch with bottles of liquor strewn across the floor and coffee table.

"Momma, papa?" He quietly asked. His parents looked at him with such hatred in their eyes that if looks could kill, poor Johnny would be dead. They stood quickly and walked menacingly towards the boy. His father grabbed his arms roughly, and pulled him towards him. He raised his hand and slapped him. That was when everything started, the abuse. Johnny cried out in pain, resulting in more hits to his soft and tan skin. After many more hits to the small child, Johnny had finally gotten the memo to keep quiet and maybe the beating would lessen in pain. Maybe his parents would come to their sense and realize they were beating on the light of their lives. The son that they had loved so dearly only hours before.

"M-momma..." Johnny whimpered out quietly, tears streaming down his face. He hoped his mother would soon realize what she was doing to her only child. He wanted the pain to stop, to end, to never happen again. What did he do to deserve it. He was just trying to feed himself. He didn't understand why any of this was happening, he's just a baby.

"You shut up!" Mrs. Cade yelled and hit her son upside the head and shoved him away from her. Johnny banged into the hot stovetop, setting his small hand on the hot burner. He cried out in pain and hurriedly pulled it away, holding it close to his chest. He looks up at his mother, more tears threatening to spill. His bottom lip poked out, a pout blooming on his lips.

"Serves you right." Mrs. Cade mumbles under her breath. She goes to the fridge and takes out a beer bottle. She pops the cap off and takes a large swig. She looks at the bottle in thought before turning quickly and throwing the three quarters full bottle at Johnny. The young boy jumps back again, as close as he could get to the stove without burning himself again. He sniffled and watched as his mother walked off and out of the house. He looked down and wiped his eyes. Carefully, he picked up the broken pieces of glass, being wary of his badly burned hand.

~End Dream~

Johnny's POV

Ponyboy woke me up, gently patting my cheek. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. I whimper slightly. He carried me to a car seat and let me cuddle into his side. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer. My stomach feels like it's doing backflips. I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling. All I know is that, it feels right to be in his arms. We've only just met, but I feel like something could happen. If only we had more time.

"Pony...?" I said softly and slowly. I shifted a bit to look at him. I raised my head and looked at him best I could. He looked down at me as well.

"Yes, Johnny?" His eyes were soft, they were warm. I could feel his finger gently rub my shoulder, assuring me that I was safe with him and that I'm able to say whatever I need to say. I smiled softly at him.

"Thank you." He smiles at me and reaches a hand up to play with my hair. These gentle actions were more than kind gestures to me. It's more love than I've ever been given, truly. He curls my hair around his finger and carefully pulls it away. He does it repeatedly, and I like it. I never realized how nice it would be for someone to play with my hair. It's nice and comforting.

"You're welcome, Johnny." He wraps his other arm around me and pulls me into a gently hug. His arms feel like an oven, he's so warm. He smells like coconuts. I hug back and cherish that moment for as long as I possibly could.

This moment is perfect.

**********************************

Word Count: 964

Hey guys, I'm so sorry for this update being so late. I've wanted to update but, I never had the motivation to actually do it.

But, since it's been a long wait, why not give you a long chapter. I hope you enjoy. :)

Much love♡
Ash