((!! ART ISN'T MINE !! Lol, it's actually my home screen though ))
Thank God P.E. is at the end of the day, just so then I'm not sweaty all day long. I walked out of the locker room after changing and walked to the drop-off and pick-up area. I saw Michael sitting on a bench over there. I walked over and said, "Hey." He looked up.
"Oh, hey [Y/N]," he said, patting the spot next to him. I sat down. "So, uh, it looks like we have all of our classes together except for 4th and 6th period, huh?" I nodded. I was about to say something else, when a car pulled up. I could tell immediately that it was someone in Michael's family because the license plate said, "Aftnfam". Afton Family, I'm assuming.
"Oh, there's my dad," Michael said. Michael and I grabbed our bags and stood up. We both got into the car and were greeted by a, "Hey Michael, who's this?"
"This is [Y/N]. We got assigned to work on some stupid Science project together," Michael said. I gave his dad a small wave. Instead of driving away, Mr. Afton turned around and gave me a questioning look.
"You look really familiar... does your last name happen to be 'Emily'?" he asked. I nodded. "Huh, interesting..." Now, I know that he said that like a genuine statement, but there was something off about the way that his tone changed slightly. I shrugged it off though. It was probably just because he knew my dad.
"So, I'm gonna have to drop you guys off at home cause I still have to pick up Elizabeth and Chris. Are you guys gonna be fine?" he asked. Michael and I nodded.
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We were dropped off at the Afton household and went inside. "Alright... Science project... yay," I said sarcastically.
"Get used to working with me. Mr. Johnson only changes the seating chart if he needs to and he makes us work with whoever is next to us whenever we do partner work, which is like every week," Michael explained.
"Oh joy," I said, once again sarcastically.
We worked on the project for a few hours ((It was boring as heck)) and I must've been over there for quite a while, because when we took a break, it was already dark outside. But before I could even think about saying "Ugh, I should probably get going,", Mrs. Afton walked out and asked, "[Y/N], do you want to stay for dinner? You know, you're always welcome here." I was hesitant, but replied with a "Sure".
To make a long story short, I stayed over for dinner. Note to self: Mrs. Afton is a really good cook. I looked over at the clock though and it said that it was already 8. "Oh, I should probably get going," I said.
"Do you want me to drive you?" Mrs. Afton asked.
"I'm ok, thanks for the offer though," I responded. I grabbed my bag and said goodbye, quickly leaving. Maybe I can slip through the door when I get home? I sure hope so. My foster mom is scary whenever she's mad.
I was barely even 20 yards from the Afton's home, when I saw a familiar car driving down the street. Oh crud. It's my foster parent's car! I tried to hide my face and keep on walking, but the car started speeding up. No, no, no, no, no! I thought. I ended in a full on run, but ended up tripping and falling onto the concrete. I tried to scramble up to my feet, but instead, my foster mother got out, grabbed me by the hair and yelled, "Young lady, why were you over here for 5 hours?!" I squeezed my eyes shut. Somebody please help me.
{Michael's POV}
Ugh. I still have homework in 3 different classes. I hate high school so much. I sighed and pulled out my math worksheet. I took one look at it and groaned. "Why are there letters in math? We don't have numbers in English!" I stated.
"Michael, dear, this is just preparing you for life," my mom said.
"When do we even actually use this in real life?" I asked. "It's not like I'm gonna go 'Oh, so this person needs surgery? Let's grab the algebra'." She stopped and thought.
"You know, good point..." she replied.
I put the paper back into my bag and saw that [Y/N]'s jacket was still on the back of one chair. "Oh, [Y/N] left her jacket," I said.
"Why don't you go and return it to her? She can't be that far away already, she only left about two minutes ago," mom said. I nodded and got up. I walked outside and looked around. That's when I saw something kinda... well, indescribable. [Y/N] was being dragged by a woman.
"Woah, woah, woah!" I yelled, running over. The woman stopped and looked over, quickly helping [Y/N] up. [Y/N] had this terrified look on her face. "What the hell was that?!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just driving by and saw her walking by herself. Who knows, it might not be safe here," the woman replied. Wow, this one is a for sure liar.
{William's POV}
[Y/N] Emily? Henry's first daughter? How the heck is she still alive? I thought that she died along with the rest of her family! I thought. My thoughts were interrupted by the person I was talking to on the phone saying, "Will? You there?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," I said.
"Anyways," they started off. "The company needs-"
"Hey, honey? There's something going on outside, can you go and check on that?" Clara called. I then heard some sorta yelling coming from outside.
"Oh, yeah, right away Sweetheart!" I replied. "Oh, one second Charles." I kept him on the call and went outside and saw Michael talking to some woman that was with [Y/N].
"Ok, first of all," Michael started off. "This neighborhood has a dead end, so how could you be driving through here? And second of all, you were legit dragging [Y/N] by the hair-"
"What happened?" I asked. "We heard yelling. Also, who is this?"
"I'm [Y/N]'s foster mom," the woman said. I looked over at [Y/N]. She looked horrified. And I noticed that she had a bunch of bruises on her face and arms.
"Alright, um, would you mind if we talked to [Y/N] privately?" I asked. Her foster mother looked like she was about to say something, but then stopped and nodded. [Y/N] quickly went over to us and we went over to the side somewhere.
"Alright, what's actually going on?" I asked. "Are you ok?"
"Y-y-yeah! I'm wonderful!" [Y/N] replied. I raised an eyebrow.
"The truth, please," I said. She looked hesitant, but then sighed.
"Fine, I'll tell you what's actually going on," she finally said. "That is my actual foster mom, but she and my foster dad are abusive towards me. They act all nice in front of everyone else, but as soon as we're alone, they'll find something that I did wrong and start beating me up." This explains why she seemed slightly skittish at times.
"Alright, how about this; you're going to stay with us for tonight," I said.
"That would be wonderful, but my foster family will never let that slide," she replied. "And plus, if we do actually say anything about this, we won't have proof."
"Uh, so the bruises and cuts all over your face and arms aren't proof enough?" Michael asked. "You can see them easily."
"It's alright, I have a plan," I said.
{[Y/N]'s POV}
What was he doing? Mr. Afton went over to my foster mother and started talking to her normally. I then heard her say something that sounded like she was threatening him. "You know that I can easily call Child Protective Services and get you arrested for child abuse, right?" I heard Mr. Afton say.
"Well, there's no way that they'll believe you," she replied. I heard what sounded like someone talking on the other end of a phone and then saw Mr. Afton's face go into realization.
"Hey, Charles? Did you happen to hear all of that?" he asked.
They quieted down while they talked, so I couldn't hear much, but after the conversation ended, Mr. Afton called someone. All that I could hear of that conversation were a few words. "Mmhmm... no... yes... [Y/N] Emily... foster home.... Abuse... stay with us... a few months..." The rest was muffled to me. Mr. Afton smiled as he hung up and walked over to me. "Alright, I called Child Services and they said that you'll be able to stay with us for a few months while we find a suitable home for you," he said. My face lit up.
"Really?" I asked.
"Well, first we have to go through a few court things, but we're hoping for the best," he explained. "But you will be able to stay with us for tonight. We have a guest bedroom all set up, so you can sleep there." I smiled.
"Thank you so much," I said.