Third Person POV
A four year old August sat cross legged on his disheveled living room carpet as he rolled an old, plastic toy dumpster truck across the floor. Voices and loud music swarmed through the room and surrounded him, far louder than a toddler should ever be hearing.
All August could see was legs and sneaker clad feet as he put his toy down and began looking around the room for a familiar face; his mother.
She had set him down in the living room when people first started arriving at the house, she'd said she'd be right back, it's been three hours.
August was fine for a little while but now he really had to use the potty and he was getting hungry as his mother had forgotten to feed him breakfast and it was nearing dinnertime.
Due to his mother being absent from most of his years growing up, he wasn't very well developed.
August had trouble walking and he couldn't form sentences very well so attempting to stand up on his own in the crowded room was a struggle. With some difficulty, August stood from his previously seated position and took a second look around the room, the only difference from his slightly higher vantage point was the smoke hovering throughout the air.
He let out a string of small coughs as he tried to walk towards the kitchen but no one seemed to notice he was even there. August's mother wasn't in the kitchen when he entered so he went to the next place he imagined she would be; her room.
If he thought walking on level ground was hard, climbing the steep stairs of his home up to the second floor was one of the most difficult challenges of his life. If it weren't for the unstable hand rail connected to the wall, he wouldn't have made it.
When August finally got to his mothers' door it was closed and he could hear weird noises coming from it. He usually would have knocked before entering her room but he was worried about his mother, so he immediately opened the door. He was met with the sight of his mother on her bed in only a bra and underwear with a naked man on top of her.
August didn't know what to do, he had no clue what was going on or why his mommy was so close to the man he didn't recognize. He was left standing in the doorway as he watched his mother silently.
"August, what are you doing up here? Mommy told you to stay downstairs!" His mother screeched out as soon as she realized he was there, pulling away from the disgusting man that reeked of cigarette smoke and vodka.
"M-Mommy?" He asked, cowering away from her high pitched tone that hurt his delicate ears more than the music had.
"You've been a very bad boy, August. When Mommy tells you to go away, you stay away." The man sat back and watched with a cruel smirk on his face as August was berated.
"S-Sowwy, M-Mommy." August mumbled as tears began rolling down his face. He didn't have a very good feeling about what would happen, knowing he was in big trouble for interrupting.
"You should be. God damnit, I do so much for you and how do you repay me?" She chuckled dryly as she got off of her bed and moved closer to August's shaking frame. "By being an ungrateful fucking brat." August whimpered when his mother wrapped her bony hand around his upper arm and gripped him tightly, pulling him out of the room and down the hallway. He went limp as her nails dug into his weak, pale skin and drew blood, leaving scars for years to come.
"Bad boys get punished, August. Stay in here until I come and get you." August's mother yelled out in frustration as she threw him into his room, slamming the door shut as she walked away.
August sat defeatedly on his tiny, bedroom floor as fresh tears rolled down his puffy cheeks. He didn't know what he did that was so wrong or why his mother seemed to hate him so much.
His room was small and he always felt claustrophobic inside when the door was shut, it was even worse now that the lights were off and he was too short to flip the switch and turn them on.
He stood up after a few heart wrenching moments and slowly approached his door, however, after he tried twisting the knob it wouldn't move. He was locked in and he couldn't seem to do anything about it.
August curled up on his hard floor and wrapped himself into a tight ball, rocking back and forth to sooth his bad thoughts. He was left attempting to fall asleep, dreaming of a world where he was loved instead of thrown around but knowing that that would never happen.
August's POV
"August? Honey, it's time to wake up." I jolted awake when I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. When I opened my eyes I expected to be back in my tiny room, in captivity by the locked door, but was surprised to see I wasn't there at all. I was in Mr. Brooks classroom sitting at my desk.
It was just a dream.
More like a memory, actually.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" I recognized the familiar, sweet voice as Mr. Brooks. It sounded close to me and upon further inspection I saw that he was crouched in front of my desk.
"I-I'm fine, M-Mr. B-Brooks. I-I'm r-really s-sorry, I p-promise i-it w-wont happen a-again." I told him quickly as I looked into his eyes with a pleading expression, silently asking him not to get mad.
I can't believe I fell asleep, Mr. Brooks probably thinks I'm pathetic now.
You've been a very bad boy, August.
My mothers' words ring through my mind, reminding me of the unlimited possibilities of punishments I could get for falling asleep in his class.
"It's okay, love. I'm not upset with you, it's not your fault." He said, soothing my upcoming panic but my thoughts were still running wild.
"I-I r-really d-d-didn't mean to, s-sir. I-I'm s-so, s-s-so s-sorry." I could feel tears trying to break free as I mumbled the words.
"I know you are, August. I promise, it's alright. You only missed one class, we'll get you caught up right away, hun." He reassured me as he slowly reached his hand up to wipe the moisture from under my eyes. I leaned into his comforting touch, allowing it to calm me down. "I do need to know why you were so tired, though. Are you getting enough sleep at home, sweetheart?" He asked and I didn't know what to tell him.
On one hand, I don't want Mr. Brooks to have to deal with my problems but on the other side of things, I'm not sure why I'm keeping everything a secret. If I told Mr. Brooks what was going on, he might be able to help me.
I know that realistically my situation isn't ideal and no matter how badly I want to prove that I can take care of myself, I'm not sure I can manage for much longer. I'm barely making ends meet with my two jobs and if Mark stays around things will only get worse.
If Mr. Brooks knows he could maybe get me into the foster care system. No one would ever want to adopt me but, who knows? A group home might be better than what I have going for me right now.
"Ummmmm..." I looked around the room unsurely. If I tell him, everything changes, but if I don't I might never have the chance to get help again. "I ummmm... N-No, n-not r-r-really." I said the words so quietly that I'm not sure he even heard me.
"What was that, honey?" He was looking at me with a comforting smile, it made me feel safer than I had in a long time.
"N-No." I said the words a little more clear this time.
"Are you safe at home?" He asked me after a few minutes. I debated my answer but all I could get out was a small shake of my head before Mr. Brooks' door was suddenly pushed open and a man that I'd never seen before walked inside of the room.
He was tall, probably around a foot and a half taller than me, and he was huge. The man was wearing a black suit that hugged his large muscles and his hair was a dark shade of brown. It was shaved close to the sides and just a little bit longer on top.
I should have been terrified of him considering the fact that he could probably crush me with just his bicep but for some reason I felt oddly comfortable around him.
"I'm sorry, Nik, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." The man's voice was deep and it almost sounded like he had an accent but I loved it, it was almost as comforting as Mr. Brooks' voice.
"That's okay, babe, we were just having a little chat." Mr. Brooks responded to the stranger as I looked on curiously, our previous conversation almost forgotten. Now I'm just trying to figure out why the man is here and why Mr. Brooks was calling him 'babe'.
"Baby, this is my student I've told you about, August. August, this is my husband, Davide." Oh, I guess that's why...
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a/n - hey guys! sooo... we get to see a little more of august's life in this chapter.. what did you think?? i'm trying to introduce his backstory through current things and flashbacks so we'll see how that goes...
anyways, this chapter literally took me like a full day to write because i swear, the writers block was real today. but instead of just not writing, i forced myself to finish it and get it edited soooo... i hope you liked it :)
thank you all so much for reading and commenting on the chapters so far, it really means a lot! don't forget to vote and feel free to comment letting me know what you think of the book so far! i hope you all have a lovely day/night!
p.s. happy pride month to everybody who is a part of the community and to everyone who supports the community!! i assume if you're reading this book that's one of you sooo... i appreciate you all so much and i'm proud of everyone for being who they are <3 thank you so much for supporting this book!