~Leo P.o.V (Point of View)
I was awoken by loud cries and screams. I peer over to Josh to see him talking in his sleep.
"Mommy please don't hit me. Please don't put me in there again. It's cold in there", he begs.
Was he having a bad dream? I look over to the clock. It was 1:57 AM. It was raining heavily.
"Mommy I'm scared! Please let me out", he cries.
"Josh, wake up", I say trying to get him up.
"No. No. Please! Someone help me. God, please help me", he begs as his cries grew even louder.
"Josh!", I yell to the top of my lungs as thunder roared.
"Leo. What's wrong? Why are you crying?", I ask.
"You... You were having a bad dream. You were crying", I respond as he wipes his eyes.
And just like that tears started flowing out his eyes as he leaped into my arms and sobbed.
"You had abusive parents Josh?", I ask.
"Just my mom", he responds.
"Wanna talk about it?", I ask.
"No I'll be fine", he assures.
"Nope. I'll make you some hot chocolate and we'll talk about it", I say kissing him on the forehead.
I return with two cups of hot chocolate in hand.
"Whenever you're ready.", I say to him.
"Why do you want to know about my past?", he asked me.
"Cause I care about you Josh", I say to him.
"I never liked my parents. To them, I was just a waste of space on this earth. I've always lived to die. My mom was highly abusive but my dad was calm, she would often hit me, taking her rage out on me and my dad wouldn't stop her, he was afraid of her. I guess I was a calamity to the war she was fighting. My mother would often lock me in the closet as 'penance' as she would call it. I did nothing wrong. The only person that showed me affection was my aunt Amy, cause of her I was able to wake up with a smile every day. She promised me it would get better and she told me one day I'll rise and become an important person in this world. Amy would always come over to check up on me, my dad would sometimes show affection but only on rare occasions. He drank a lot, Amy was my father's sister. She'd come and sneak me in books and tell me to write about what I thought about them. I didn't have any friends and my life was secluded. One day at school when I was 11, an older boy came up to me and started touching me inappropriately. At the time I thought behavior like that was normal, a week later he asked me to meet him in the locker room at lunch so I went. I went to the locker room, he and his friend ganged up on me and stripped me naked, and started touching me everywhere. I let out a scream which made a teacher come running, she called my mom and my mom took me home. When we got home, she called me fag and told me I liked it. I tried explaining to her that it wasn't my fault but she wouldn't listen, she beat me until I bled", Josh explains crying.
"Baby. I'm so sorry", I cringe as I held him tight.
"When I was 14, I was caught master-baiting, my mom stripped me down to nothing and started beating me senseless. After a few hours, my body was swollen and my eyes were black. Hours passed and I laid there in the closet begging god to take me away. Everything was going black. All I could remember was Amy's voice and glass shattering. Apparently, a neighbor called her after hearing my screams. I woke up in the hospital and stayed there for two days. Amy was by my side the entire time. Amy told me I'd be staying with her for a couple of days. I went along with her to her house, my parents would often come and try to take me away but Amy wouldn't let them. A week past and Amy was fighting for custody of me, she eventually won the battle and I was in her care, she never gave up. I switched schools and my life was kick-started, there I met Christian who showed me what true friendship was, I learned what kindness and compassion truly were like, Amy and Christian showed me so much.", he says.
"Your parents should be locked up.", I say.
"My dad knew someone at the station.", he replies.
I held Josh so tight in my arms. I was afraid to let go of him, this boy really has been through a lot, even at such a young age. All I wanted to do was protect him. He fell asleep in my arms as I listen to him breathing. Staying awake and monitoring in case he stops. With him safe in my arms, I fall asleep with one thought in my mind 'I must protect this boy. I won't let anything or anyone harm him.