The Minor

Tuesday (early afternoon)

"How did you shake it?" His voice was groggy. I ignored how the sound made my face flush a little. I continued with my story.

"My aunt saved me. She took me camping. The new environment, being far away from everyone I knew, all the technology, all the memories... Everything faded away. Out there, I could sleep." They were fond memories; the only good ones in that time.

"My family went camping a couple of times. My mom hated it. We had to drag her everywhere."

Mine too, I almost said. I refrained.

"Tell me more about your mom," I said instead. He nodded.

"She was a character. Always laughing and smiling before-" he paused. "Before I screwed everything up."

I allowed the negativity to pass. "What about your dad?"

"I never really knew him," Jake said. There was only a twinge of bitterness there. I didn't press.

"So you lived with your mom growing up?" I glanced at my watch. Crap. I needed to get ready for dinner at Thomas' mom's.

"Not exactly." He got quiet. I couldn't help myself.

"Do you want to elaborate on that?" For the first time, I saw him contemplating.

"I grew up with a couple of different foster families," he admitted, somewhat uncomfortably. I nodded. It wasn't the first time I had heard that. It usually came accompanied with some sort of terrible childhood. This case was no different.

"I haven't been able to sleep recently. Everything keeps coming back up. When I was really young, I didn't understand that any of it was wrong," Jacob confused in me. I knew what he meant. A lot of the boys had told me similar stories. "I would be locked in a closet for the entire day because I looked at someone wrong. If I was disrespectful, I didn't eat. I hated the families I lived with."

I was running late, but I didn't want him to stop talking. I nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Every family was different. Some of them hit me, some burned me..." he trailed off, deep in thought. His eyes were glued to the ceiling. "When my mom could afford to have me again, I thought it was over. I was so excited. You wouldn't believe it. I practically threw myself a party."

"But it wasn't over," I finished for him. He shook his head.

"None of it was. He hit my mom, and when I tried to stand up for her, he came after me. I couldn't let that happen to my siblings."

I didn't push it. I had no idea what had become of his parents, but suddenly, I was beginning to understand why he had gotten so drunk that night. It must have been a habit that started early.

Jake was done talking. He wasn't crying, but I could tell he was drained. I considered my options between propping him up for a hug and trying to comfort him by playing with his hair. I settled for the hair. It seemed to relax him a lot.

A few minutes passed and I found that he was asleep again. I couldn't leave him like this.

I texted Thomas immediately.

Hey, I'll be a little late. I'm really sorry.

Nbd! Something come up?

Yeah, at the facility. I'll be there tonight, I promise.

LOL I believe you. I'll see you a little late. Make it in time for desert!!

I put my phone away and continued to scratch the boy's head. I let my hand trail down his back a little bit, attempting to soothe his injuries, both past and present. He slept on for a little more than an hour before I decided that he would be alright. I needed to be on my way.