[1]
"Push, Carrie! Push!" exclaimed a nurse as the sweat-drenched woman shrieked in pain. The woman gripped the sides of the hospital bed as if she was prepared to break the metal poles. From down the hallway, a man ran with a nurse at his side.
"Mr. Beckford, you can't just leave! You're not allowed in this part of the hospital! I-"
"My child is being born!" was his only joyous response as he struggled to untangle himself from his slightly undone hospital robes. "I must be there for my child! Please, I must see! I must-"
A syringe was stabbed into his side by one of the aides struggling to keep up with his pace, forcing him to fall to the ground in a helpless heap. Even then, the tired man attempted to worm his way down the hall with nothing more than his writhing broad shoulders and shapeless chin. No matter how hard he tried to deny the ever beckoning call of unconsciousness, his eyes fell closed.
When he opened his eyes, he was strapped to a hospital bed. He had been in this situation many times, but this was simply outrageous. He was no threat to his child or its mother. He attempted to wrestle free of the black straps, but only managed to jiggle the metal sides of the bed with shrill clanging. The noise alerted a nurse standing outside the door, who stepped in.
"Mr. Beckford, are you okay?" she cooed, holding a clipboard to her chest as though it were a shield. She knew to be wary. They all did.
"Where is Carrie?" he huffed, barely able to breathe. "Where is my baby?" The nurse looked to the floor then back up to him, not quite sure of what to say. "Please, just tell me! Do I have a son or a daughter!?"
"The maternity ward told me to tell you that Miss LN pulled through and gave birth to a healthy baby." He slumped back into the hospital bed, letting out a sigh of relief. "However, Ms. LN asked that you sign these papers." The nurse tapped on the clipboard. Mr. Beckford furrowed his eyebrows.
"What? What papers?" The young nurse looked over it quickly to try to summarise it for the patient. "Just read it, what does it say?" She hesitated, the words choking her.
"Oh, um... 'I, Charles Beckford, here swear to waive my parental rights over YN MN LN, born today on-"
"What!?" he shrieked, suddenly and aggressively grappling against the restraints. The nurse jolted in fear, calling out for other staff to come to her aid. "This bitch thinks she can steal my child for me!? I'll fucking kill her! I'll fucking kill her! I'll fucking-"
Another round of sedation hit his veins, finally. His body went limp, but he tried to fight the constraint. He whimpered and murmured, desperately trying to stay awake. There was no such luck, however.
Four days later, Carolyn LN stepped out of the hospital with her infant wrapped in her arms. Carrie had made plenty of mistakes in her lifetime, but going against her duties as a nurse and fucking a psych ward patient was probably her biggest regret. But now she had you from it. This was going to be okay.
Yeah, she got fired. Yeah, she was going to be evicted if she couldn't make rent this month. Yeah, her only vehicle was a sparkly red moped that couldn't hold a child's seat. Yeah, she was in debt from her ADN (associates degree in nursing). And yeah, she was kinda fucked now. But holding you tightly in her arms, Carrie LN felt like she might be okay.
As long as that psycho didn't try to contact either of you. Who knew what he was capable of?
You sat in a small plastic chair, kicking out your legs as your hands were folded under your thighs. Mrs. Lyle looked at you from her desk. You were a month away from your sixth birthday. Mrs. Lyle watched you carefully. All these toys were laid out in front of you, but you didn't touch any of them. You just looked at them.
"Aren't you gonna play with the toys, YN?" she asked. You shook your head. "Why not?" You shrugged. It was odd that you were almost six and you still didn't speak to anyone. It was clear you understood language, you could listen and understand, but you simply didn't speak. As if you simply didn't want to.
The door of the small office slammed open as your mother stormed in. She was gripping her purse tightly to her side, her sneakers slamming against the floor with every stomp.
"What is the meaning of this!?" she snapped. "Why the hell was my child taken out of school by fucking CPS!?" Mrs. Lyle folded her hands on the desk in front of her.
"Ms. LN," Mrs. Lyle started, "YN's teachers reported multiple bruises and small injuries similar to that of chronic child abuse. We have taken them into our custody until it can be proven that the household is not dangerous to a child's welfare."
"YN," your mother sighed. "Go sit in the hallway for Mommy." You stood up and obediently sat in the hall. From your spot leaning against the wall next to the door, you could hear your mother shrieking at the social worker.
How dare they take you out of school for bruises, when it was clear you were being bullied at school and not abused at home. This was bullshit. You could hear her say how this had to be a form of discrimination against single parent households. The door slammed open as she continued yelling.
"-And you think we can't see how those kids in YN's class cower when their dads' around? We all fucking see it! But no, you go after the only kid with a single mom. Fuck you, Sharon, and fuck all this bullshit. We're leaving, YN."
She took your hand and led you out the door aggressively. When you were safely buckled into your car seat, your mum sat in her seat. She slammed her hands down on the steering wheel, letting out an angry humph. You didn't react. She turned in her seat to look at you.
"Sweetie," she said in her soft voice. "Can you tell mommy which of the kids in your class have been bullying you?" You shook your head and looked down. "Please, baby." Her voice was pleading and her eyes were desperate. She let her head hang low as her hair fell over her face. "Just say anything..."
Carrie needed help, badly. Her whole life was falling apart. She was living with her sister and her family, working two jobs to try to get some semblance of independence again, and her child wouldn't talk.
You could talk. She knew you could talk. She heard you talk before. You could talk. You just didn't.
"Kayden!" called his mom's voice.
Kayden Roberts perked up from his spot in the playground sandpit and looked towards his mother, who sat at a bench several feet away. Just seconds ago, she looked lethargic, like she hadn't wanted to be there at all. But now, with her phone in her hand, her face screamed that she was ecstatic.
"Come on Kayden! We gotta get going!" She rushed towards him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him towards the car.
"Wait, mom! My toys, I-"
"We'll get you new ones! Get in the car, we have to go home right now!" A large grin was plastered across her usually saddened face. It almost made her five year old son uncomfortable to see his mother so elated.
When they arrived home, Kayden was rushed inside and told to put all of his clothes in a box that was set in the hallway. His mother pounced on his father, pulling him into an extremely tight hug.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" she repeated giddily. "We really got entrance!?" He nodded, just as excited as her. The adults jumped in their place, giggling like children as Kayden's father held up a letter.
"We got in!"
The man followed his five year old son upstairs to his room. Kayden was pulling things out of his small wardrobe. His father leaned over and began yanking out his clothes, tossing them into the box without care.
In under an hour, the family of three packed the bare essentials and forced it all into the dark blue minivan. After strapping him into his car seat, Kayden's mother stretched out her hand to him, offering a small red gummy. This was odd, especially because she rarely let him have candy, and this didn't look like a fruit snack.
"Eat it," his mother commanded. He jumped at her aggressive tone, something he only heard when in trouble, and took the gummy in his small hand. He chewed it up as the car started and pulled out of the driveway. It tasted like cherry, but left a film over his tongue that he didn't like at all.
Before they even reached the town limits, Kayden was asleep in his car seat. When he awoke, his mother simply offered him another gummy. He tried to refuse, but her suddenly shifting smile wasn't something he wanted to dissuade. It was rare that his parents were so happy. Kayden didn't want to be the reason it stopped. The trio travelled for days, stopping maybe once or twice every morning and night. Kayden was continually fed gummies by his mother, until time felt like nothing more than gap after gap after gap. But finally, they reached their spot.
The minivan pulled up to a large, rather rusted wrought iron fence guarding a gravel driveway in the middle of nowhere. Next to the gate stood a man in beige coloured robes. The minivan stopped, allowing the robed man to approach and tap on the passenger's window.
"Do you have your invitation?" he asked flatly as the window rolled down. Kayden's mother held out a cream coloured envelope to the man, who proceeded to open and inspect the letter. He then put the paper back inside safely and handed it back to Mrs. Roberts. He smiled a creepy grin that spread from ear to ear, like a crescent carved into his face. "Welcome, brother and sister."
The man pulled the wrought iron fence open, allowing them to drive through. Kayden opened his eyes, looking up at the thick canopy of trees over the driveway. He was so groggy, he could barely tell what was going on around him.
His mother pulled him from the car and carried him somewhere. He could feel the swaying of his legs as he sobered up from the last couple of days of constant melatonin use. Next thing he was aware of, Kayden's mother and father were speaking to a man just behind him. Kayden turned in his mother's arms to face the man.
"Welcome, brother and sister," the man said with a kind smile. He had thick hair and the features of a kind man. He stood tall, perhaps 6'2, 6'3? His dark brown robes hung from his body. He looked at the family. "What are your names?" Kayden's father put his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I'm Patrick," he giddily exclaimed. "And this is my wife, Gina." The man took a deep breath, letting his chest rise like he would suddenly grow in height.
"Beyond that gate," he motioned towards the wrought iron gate behind them, "you are now Helena and Peter." Kayden's father let out a shaky, happy sigh. The man's eyes turned to Kayden, who cowered into his mother's arms. "Please, set the child down."
Helena placed her son on the ground, giving him a moment to get his footing on the gravel. He rubbed his little eye tiredly and looked up at the man, who was now kneeling to be eye level to him.
"Child," he cooed in a softer voice than before. "Tell me, how old are you?" Kayden glanced up to his mother, who simply stared at him expectantly. Kayden held up his hand, showing five fingers. He didn't want to talk to strangers. "Five? Wow! You're getting to be a big man, aren't you?" Kayden smiled a bit and nodded. When he talked to him like his teachers did, Kayden felt slightly more comfortable.
"Father Carlisle," Peter started. Any thought he was gonna say was quickly squashed by the sudden hateful glare that Father Carlisle shot him from his kneeling position. He turned his attention back towards Kayden.
"You're just the age of my child," Father Carlisle cooed as he reached out and set his hand on Kayden's cheek. The gesture was odd and rather uncomfortable, but Kayden didn't know what to do. "Dear boy, I believe you have potential. You, my son, shall be the guardian of the Paragon."
Peter and Helena gasped together, looking at each other proudly. Kayden tilted his head to the side.
"What's the paragon?" he asked quietly. Father Carlisle laughed a hearty laugh, stood up, and picked up Kayden with him. As he held the boy, he turned around and showed him what appeared to be several buildings in different stages of being built.
"Well, I shall teach you all you must know. Welcome to your new home." Father Carlisle pressed his finger lightly against Kayden's small nose. "Do you have a name, my child?"
"Kayden," he responded, holding tightly to Father Carlisle's robes. Carlisle smiled paternally and motioned around to the buildings seeming to grow from the earth.
"Beyond that gate, you shall be called Ainsley."
Ainsley smiled as he was held tightly by Father Carlisle. This was something new. No more sitting at the playground, watching his mother from afar aimlessly stare into space. No more simply waiting for each day to end. No more waiting for something they would never explain to him.
"Now, let me teach you of the Paragon..."
*****
Let me know what you think of chapter one! As always, don't forget to vote and comment. Have a nice day.