Squad 6 | COMPLETED

Chapter 18- Andrew

He switched off the reading light above his bed and turned to his side, facing the wall. "Good night, Cassandra."

"We leave in the morning," she said. There was a pause. "Goodnight, Jackson."

#

Andrew was at the park, reading a Spiderman comic book. He was sprawled on the grass in Parc de Buttes-Chaumont, the late afternoon sun reflecting off the water of the lake. It was a pretty park, had a lake, a waterfall and really cool bridges, but he had always preferred going to Le Jardin du Tuilleres. Mom always took him there when she was home. But, recently, she had been spending more and more time in the hospital or at home.

He flipped the comic to the next page, rubbing his nose. It was getting cold, but he had only a few more pages left.

Andrew had spent about a week convincing his sister and brother to talk to dad about going to the park. He pleaded, offered his toys to them, gave them his cookies after dinner, but they didn't want to. Finally, after they'd both become bored of sitting in the house all day after school, Nicole stepped up to ask their dad.

He closed the comic book, not very satisfied with the ending and looked around. The park still had a few people walking around. Nicole was laughing at something a few feet away. Andrew rose to his feet and walked over to the lake, smiling at his reflection in the water. He could see small fish swim just below the surface and he crouched down to try and catch them. "Venez à moi," he said, laughing. "Come here."

He chased the fish who moved as soon as the sun cast his shadow over the water. "You can't swim more quickly than I can catch you!"

He tripped over a stone, falling. He groaned, hopping to his feet and wiping his hands on his pants. He turned to see what had tripped him. It was a twig.

He can catch fish with the twig, he thought, lifting it off the ground.

"You can't escape me now! The great huntsman Andrew is coming for you, you creatures of the depths!"

He played in the field, running around the lake, until he could no longer see his face in the water and his shadow had disappeared along with the fish. He dropped the stick, running onto the path from where his sister's laughter was coming from. She wasn't there. He looked at the strangers around him, hoping for a familiar face. Any face. "Papa, ou es-tu? Papa!"

Tears began to sting his eyes as he ran down the path, his too-big shoes making him trip. Nicole and Felix wouldn't leave him, even if dad would. Where were they?

Andrew tripped, landing on his knees. He got up, ignoring the ache and sprinted down the path, toward the exit fence of the park. His vision was blurry from tears. That's where they usually went when they left home. Maybe he can find his way back.

He slammed into something, falling again.

Someone grabbed his arm. Andrew closed his eyes as he was hauled to his feet. He stiffened when a hand dusted his pants off. He opened his eye.

It wasn't his dad that had gotten a hang of him. It was a woman. A young woman with brown hair like the cream he put on his crepes. She had a pretty face.

"You look like Mary-Jane. From the comics, not the cartoon."

The woman laughed. "Vraiment? Really? Nobody guy has ever said that before."

Andrew wiped his tears away. The woman took his hand in hers, her expression hardening. Andrew looked at the ground. "Désolé, madame. I'm sorry, ma'am. My hands are dirty." She looked angry just like his dad. He got very angry when Andrew would get dirty. His dad was scary when he was angry.

The woman said nothing, trailing over the bruises on Andrew's arms. He had gotten them after he came home with grass stains on his pants the last time they went to Le Jardin du Tuilleres. Dad wasn't happy Andrew had laid on the grass in his new pants. Andrew had said mom told him it was okay. He didn't see her for a few days after that.

"Comment t'appelles-tu?" she asked. "What's your name?"

"I'm Andrew, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you, Andrew," she smiled. "I'm Maya." She paused. "Let me ask you something, Andrew."

He nodded.

"Aimes-tu, ton mère? Do you love your mom?" the woman asked.

Andrew nodded.

"Et ton père?"

His dad was good. Andrew did bad things all the time so he got punished. If he was better, his dad would never be mad and his mom would come home and stay there for a long time. The woman frowned again when he answered and Andrew apologized. She obviously wasn't happy with his answer and he didn't want to make her unhappy.

"Regarde ici. Look here."

She put a hand inside her coat, pulling out a book. Andrew's eyes glinted in curiosity. She handed it to him. "It's yours."

"Mais,"

"No but's."

"But, it's yours. I can't take it."

The woman smiled. "You'll give it back to me once you read it. Do you think you could come here next week too? I'd like it back then."

Andrew nodded. He'll have to be really good until then.

"When you give it back, you can tell me more about your dad. I can talk to him then if he's still not nice to you."

Just then, he hard Nicole calling for him. He thanked the woman and ran to his sister.

"Don't run off like that. Dad was about to leave you here."

"Sorry, Nikki."

She ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Andy." She glanced at the direction he had just come from."Who was that?"

Andrew hugged the book closer to his chest. "Her name's Maya."

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Hey there! 

I'm hoping this chapter clears some stuff up regarding Andrew and what he's been up to. What do you think? Do you still blame him for what he did or do you feel his pain now? 

Whose side to you think he'll end up on and why?

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I have already started working on the next week's update, so hopefully I won't be late. 

As always, vote and comment and have a great Saturday. 

Happy writing, 

Sara