Chapter 4
Later that night...
Riker POV
I had a nightmare and fell out of bed, all tangled in my blankets. I don't remember what my nightmare was about, but I had a scary feeling in my chest and I was all sweaty and panicky. And I landed really hard on my hurt finger.
I saw the light go on in the hall which just made me start panicking even more because I think I just woke someone up. And at home, that would be a reason for punishment.
I saw Mark appear in my doorway. He seemed surprised to see me sprawled out on the floor.
"What happened?"
He came over and started untangling me from my blankets.
"Was it a nightmare?"
I nodded.
He spread my blankets back out on my bed. And then he sat down on the floor and pulled me onto his lap.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
I held out my hand with my hurt finger.
"Your finger hurts?"
I nodded.
"How's your head feeling?"
I gave him a thumbs up.
"Ok, good."
I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding onto him tight. I was so glad I wasn't in trouble for waking him up by accident.
"Do you think you can get back to sleep?"
I shook my head no and held onto him tighter. I just feel scared. I don't want to go back to sleep. I don't want to have another nightmare.
Mark picked me up in his arms and shut off my light. And he carried me downstairs to the living room. He set me down on the couch and then went into the kitchen. I was wondering what was going to happen.
I waited a few minutes and then he came back in with a plate of toast and a cup of chocolate milk. He sat down and let me climb back onto his lap again.
He put the plate on my lap and handed me the cup of chocolate milk.
"I want you to have something to eat and drink and then maybe you'll feel tired."
He put the tv on and I started eating my toast.
I think I can trust Mark. I feel like he's protecting me and keeping me safe.
I finished my toast and then drank my chocolate milk. When I was done, I wrapped my arms around his neck again, holding on tight. I rested my head on his shoulder and he started rubbing my back gently.
And I fell back asleep.
Morning...
Rocky POV
"You slept down here with him all night?" I asked.
Dad nodded. Riker was fast asleep in his arms.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because he had a nightmare and didn't want to go back to sleep. I gave him some toast and chocolate milk and he fell back asleep after."
"Why didn't you put him back in his bed then?"
"I didn't want to wake him up. I just wanted him to be able to get some sleep. And if the only place he could sleep was here, then that was ok for last night."
"Mom says breakfast is ready."
"Ok. Rocky?"
"What?"
"Your mother is going to be taking you and Riker to the mall today to get Riker some clothes. Since you're going to be rooming with him, I want you to try to start bonding with him, ok? He probably trusts me the most right now. I mean, he was comfortable enough to fall asleep in my arms. But I want him to get to know you, ok?"
"Ok, dad."
He gently shook Riker's shoulder, waking him up.
"It's time for breakfast. I want you to try eating a little, ok?" Dad asked.
Riker nodded and we all headed into the kitchen together.
Later...
Riker POV
Mark came upstairs with me to my room after breakfast.
"I want you to get ready for the day. You're going to be going to the mall with Stormie and Rocky to get some clothes. Does that sound ok?" Mark asked.
I nodded.
"Good. I'm going to get you some of Rocky's clothes that you can wear and I want you to take a shower."
I shook my head no, starting to get anxious.
"No?"
I shook my head no again.
"Why not?"
I shook my head no and sat down on my bed again. I took my journal out from under my pillow and started flipping through the pages. Finally I think I found the one I wanted.
I feel like my whole body has a sunburn. My math teacher called home tonight to let my parents know that I failed my math midterm. We have one of those showers with a glass door. And my teacher called while I was in the shower. My dad was drunk of course. So when he found out I failed my midterm, his anger got out of control. He came in the bathroom and started screaming at me. And then he turned the water all the way to hot and held the door shut so I couldn't get out. And now my whole body feels like it has a sunburn. I don't know what to do to make it feel better. I feel like the midterm wasn't even my fault. I miss so much school because dad hits me and doesn't want anyone to see the bruises, so I have to wait a few days before I can go back to school when the bruises are bad. So I miss a lot of math. And then it's hard to ever catch up again. It's not fair. I'm going to end up failing the whole class.
Mark sat down beside me and I handed him my journal. He was silent while he read it, and it was almost making me sort of nervous. I've never really let someone read my journal before. But I thought maybe I could trust Mark.
"So that's why you don't want to shower."
He handed my journal back to me.
"Riker, I promise, nothing like that would ever happen here. Ever. That's not ok and I can't believe you had to go through that."
He put his arm around me and I leaned into him.
"I don't want you to worry about taking a shower right now. We can talk about it again later. I'll just have you change out of your pjs for now. Does that sound good?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Ok. Let me go get some clothes for you."
He got up and left. He brought me some more of Rocky's clothes and I got changed. I was kind of nervous about going to the mall. But everything hasn't been too bad so far. So maybe it will be ok.