~ Part 11 ~
Shane and Chloe were on the bus home from school one Friday in October. Shane really didn’t know what to do, everyday he would ask Chloe to come over to play after school. Everyday she would tell him no, because she had chores to do. So when the bus let them off in his driveway, Shane grabbed Chloe’s arm before she could walk away.
“Chloe can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Let’s go into the backyard.” Shane suggested.
They walked hand in hand to the back yard stopping when they reached a picnic table where they sat down.
“Chloe, how come you don’t like to play with me anymore?”
“Shane, I do like playing with you, if I could I would do it everyday.”
“Well then how come every time I ask you over after school you say no?”
Chloe sat in silence of a minute. Shane already knew about Tess, but if she told him the truth, he might tell his Dad. She had to tell him something though. “Shane do you remember when I told you that Tess was the one that hit me in the eye?”
“Yeah.”
“Well if I don’t go home right after school and get the house spotless and dinner cooked before Tess comes home, that’s when she gets mad. So if I don’t want her to get mad and punish me I have to get those things done before she gets home.”
“So if you didn’t have to take so much time doing those things, you would be over here playing with me?” Shane asked.
“Yeah.”
“I got an idea, why don’t I ask my mom if I can go play at your house and I’ll help you get done extra fast.”
“I don’t know Shane, if she comes home and you are there she would kill me!”
“Oh…well can you at least meet me at your window tonight and we can talk.”
Chloe smiled at the idea. “Okay, I’ll be there at 7:30”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Max and Liz sat in the family room with their son watching TV. Liz watched her son as he would look at the TV screen and then turn back and glance at her and Max every minute or so. Liz turned to Max and leaned in close to his ear to whisper something.
“Max, watch Shane, I think he wants to ask us something.”
Max turned his head to the other couch where his son was siting. He watched as Shane would glance at him and Liz every minute or so.
“Shane?” Max said, getting his son’s attention.
Shane jumped at the sound of his name. “Yeah Dad.”
“Is there something bothering you?” Max asked.
“No”
“Well why do you keep looking at us?” Liz asked.
“Well I guess I had a question I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?” Max asked.
“How come you only make me clean my room?”
Liz laughed. “Would you like for me to make you clean the house?”
“No, I was just trying to figure out why Chloe has to do so many chores.”
“Well son, when kids only live with one parent, they usually have to help out more than with kids that live with both of their parents.” Max told him.
“Oh”
“Being that I stay at home, rather than work, I have the time to keep up the house while you are at school and your Dad is at work.” Liz said.
“Okay, I understand now.” Shane said. “I think I’m going to go up stairs and play on my computer for a little while before bed.”
“Okay sweetheart, come over here and give us a kiss goodnight.” Liz said.
Shane walked over to his parents and gave them both a hug and a kiss, then ran upstairs to wait for Chloe to come to her window.
Liz watched he son run up the stairs, then she turned back to Max. “He such a good boy, just like his Daddy.” Liz said as she leaned in for a kiss.
“We sure did a good job raising him so far.” Max replied pulling his wife into his lap and kissing her again. They sat there in each other’s arms content, while Shane was upstairs worrying about what to do for Chloe.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chloe finally came to her window at 7:45. “Hey Shane, sorry I’m late.”
“That’s okay.”
“So what did you do this afternoon?” she asked.
“I finished that art project Mrs. Flynn gave us in class today.”
“What did you use to decorate you pumpkin with?” Chloe asked
“My mom gave me a bag of beans and some pasta and I used that.” He replied.
“I’m going to get some orange glitter to decorate mine.”
“What are you going to be for Halloween?” Shane asked.
“Um… I don’t know if I’m going to be anything.”
“You have to be something!”
“Well you see, Tess doesn’t like to have to answer the door so she makes me to it each year.”
“So you can’t go trick or treating!” Shane exclaimed.
“It’s okay, it’s no big deal.”
“But, I wanted you to go with me.” Shane said disappointed. “What if I got my Mom to call and invite you to go with us, do you think she would let you go then?”
“She might.” Chloe replied.
“Okay I’ll get her to call tomorrow.” Shane told her. Well I have to get to bed or my Mom might come up. I’ll see you tomorrow Chloe.”
“Okay, Goodnight Shane.”
“Goodnight Chloe.” Shane said closing his window.
TBC…
Concrete Angel (AU,M/L- TEEN) [COMPLETE]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Erina, Hunter, Forum Moderators
Part 12
Shane sat in class not really paying attention to what Mrs. Flynn was teaching the class. All he could do was worry about where Chloe was. She didn’t show up to catch the bus that morning, and it was already two hours into the school day and she hadn’t shown up. Just as Mrs. Flynn started to hand out the worksheets, the classroom door opened and Chloe came in. Shane watched as she walked very slowly over to Mrs. Flynn to hand her the tardy slip. Then she slowly walked to her desk and sat down. Shane kept an eye on her, trying to get her to look at him. When she finally met his gaze, he whispered, “Where were you?” She mouthed back to him, “later.”
Chloe sat in her desk trying to do the worksheet that Mrs. Flynn had handed the class. She felt like the whole class was starring at her, although no one was. The heat in the school was turned up so much that she finally had to remove her sweater, revealing one of her secretes.
Mrs. Flynn was walking around the room looking at each child’s work. When she stopped at Chloe’s desk she couldn’t help but notice the bruises on the small girl’s arms. She had seen bruises like those before, but learned that it was easier to look over the bruises, than to confront the child and their family. So she kept walking, continuing to check the work of the other children.
<center> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* </center>
That afternoon, during recess, Chloe sat on one of the picnic tables on the side of the playground. She was too sore to play so she decided to watch. She sat there by herself for about five minutes, when Shane came over to sit with her.
“Why are you sitting all the way over here?” he asked her.
“I just didn’t feel like playing.”
“Oh. My Mom is going to call Tess tonight and invite you to go Trick or Treating with us on Friday.”
“Okay.” She said looking at the ground.
“Chloe, why were you late for school today?”
“It was Tess’ fault.”
“Did she make you do more chore this morning?”
“No, she forgot to let me out.”
“Let you out?” Shane asked, not know what she was talking about.
Chloe cringed realizing she revealed yet another secrete to Shane. “ Sometimes when I don’t get done with my chores in time, Tess gets mad and locks me in the coat closet for the night. This morning she overslept because of her hang over, and didn’t let me out in time.”
“Chloe, you have to tell someone!”
“No, I have no where else to go.”
“Fine.” Shane decided to change the subject before she got even more upset. “So did you decide what you are going to be for Halloween?”
“I think I’m going to wear a old ballet costume that I have from when I use to do ballet.”
“That sounds cool, I’m going to be a vampire.”
“Cool.”
Shane tried to make a scary face that turned to Chloe. “I vant to suck your blood.” He said in his best vampire voice.
Chloe laughed. It was the first real laugh Shane ever got out of her. Shane just grinned at her please that he made her happy, if only for a few seconds.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
On the bus home that afternoon, Shane and Chloe sat together as usual. With all of the children crowded on the bus, it made the ride home a hot one. Chloe slowly slid the sweater off her shoulders.
“What happened to your arms?” Shane asked.
“Oh, it’s just from Tess when she shakes me. She just grabs too hard sometimes.” Chloe replied, like it was no big deal. “I just can’t wait to get out of this dress, she wouldn’t let me change before school, so I had to wear it again. I’m just glad no one seemed to notice.”
Shane just looked at her, not knowing what to say.
<center> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* </center>
Liz nervously dialed the number next to Chloe’s name on Shane’s class phone list. She really didn’t want to have to talk to Tess, but Shane had practically gotten down on his knees and ask her to call and invite Chloe to go trick or treating with them. She waited as the phone rang a few times then someone picked up.
“Hello?” the voice slurred.
“Is this Tess?”
“Yes, who’s this.”
“It’s Liz, from next door.”
“Oh, what do you want?”
“Well I wanted to invite Chloe to come trick or treating with Shane on Friday.”
“Oh” Tess replied. “She can go I guess.”
“That’s great” Liz replied. “Shane will be thrilled.”
“Well if that’s all you wanted I gotta go”
“Yeah, that was it.” Liz answered.
Click. The phone went dead as Tess hung up. Liz hung up the phone as well, then she went into the living room to find Max. He was sitting on the couch watching TV. She walked over to where he was sitting and climbed into his lap.
“Hey baby” he said as she climbed into his lap. “You okay? You look kinda pale.”
“Yeah, I just had to face one of my biggest fears.”
“Which was?”
“Calling Tess on the phone.”
“Why did you have to call her?” Max asked.
“Because Shane told me that Chloe couldn’t go trick or treating unless she came with us, and she couldn’t come with us unless I called and invited her.”
“Oh, well can she come?”
“Yeah” Liz replied.
“Well Then it was probably worth the call.”
“Now that I have faced one of my greatest fears, I should be rewarded.” Liz said leaning in to kiss his neck.
“Yes, you should.” Max said as he leaned down and took her lips with his.
TBC…
Shane sat in class not really paying attention to what Mrs. Flynn was teaching the class. All he could do was worry about where Chloe was. She didn’t show up to catch the bus that morning, and it was already two hours into the school day and she hadn’t shown up. Just as Mrs. Flynn started to hand out the worksheets, the classroom door opened and Chloe came in. Shane watched as she walked very slowly over to Mrs. Flynn to hand her the tardy slip. Then she slowly walked to her desk and sat down. Shane kept an eye on her, trying to get her to look at him. When she finally met his gaze, he whispered, “Where were you?” She mouthed back to him, “later.”
Chloe sat in her desk trying to do the worksheet that Mrs. Flynn had handed the class. She felt like the whole class was starring at her, although no one was. The heat in the school was turned up so much that she finally had to remove her sweater, revealing one of her secretes.
Mrs. Flynn was walking around the room looking at each child’s work. When she stopped at Chloe’s desk she couldn’t help but notice the bruises on the small girl’s arms. She had seen bruises like those before, but learned that it was easier to look over the bruises, than to confront the child and their family. So she kept walking, continuing to check the work of the other children.
<center> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* </center>
That afternoon, during recess, Chloe sat on one of the picnic tables on the side of the playground. She was too sore to play so she decided to watch. She sat there by herself for about five minutes, when Shane came over to sit with her.
“Why are you sitting all the way over here?” he asked her.
“I just didn’t feel like playing.”
“Oh. My Mom is going to call Tess tonight and invite you to go Trick or Treating with us on Friday.”
“Okay.” She said looking at the ground.
“Chloe, why were you late for school today?”
“It was Tess’ fault.”
“Did she make you do more chore this morning?”
“No, she forgot to let me out.”
“Let you out?” Shane asked, not know what she was talking about.
Chloe cringed realizing she revealed yet another secrete to Shane. “ Sometimes when I don’t get done with my chores in time, Tess gets mad and locks me in the coat closet for the night. This morning she overslept because of her hang over, and didn’t let me out in time.”
“Chloe, you have to tell someone!”
“No, I have no where else to go.”
“Fine.” Shane decided to change the subject before she got even more upset. “So did you decide what you are going to be for Halloween?”
“I think I’m going to wear a old ballet costume that I have from when I use to do ballet.”
“That sounds cool, I’m going to be a vampire.”
“Cool.”
Shane tried to make a scary face that turned to Chloe. “I vant to suck your blood.” He said in his best vampire voice.
Chloe laughed. It was the first real laugh Shane ever got out of her. Shane just grinned at her please that he made her happy, if only for a few seconds.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
On the bus home that afternoon, Shane and Chloe sat together as usual. With all of the children crowded on the bus, it made the ride home a hot one. Chloe slowly slid the sweater off her shoulders.
“What happened to your arms?” Shane asked.
“Oh, it’s just from Tess when she shakes me. She just grabs too hard sometimes.” Chloe replied, like it was no big deal. “I just can’t wait to get out of this dress, she wouldn’t let me change before school, so I had to wear it again. I’m just glad no one seemed to notice.”
Shane just looked at her, not knowing what to say.
<center> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* </center>
Liz nervously dialed the number next to Chloe’s name on Shane’s class phone list. She really didn’t want to have to talk to Tess, but Shane had practically gotten down on his knees and ask her to call and invite Chloe to go trick or treating with them. She waited as the phone rang a few times then someone picked up.
“Hello?” the voice slurred.
“Is this Tess?”
“Yes, who’s this.”
“It’s Liz, from next door.”
“Oh, what do you want?”
“Well I wanted to invite Chloe to come trick or treating with Shane on Friday.”
“Oh” Tess replied. “She can go I guess.”
“That’s great” Liz replied. “Shane will be thrilled.”
“Well if that’s all you wanted I gotta go”
“Yeah, that was it.” Liz answered.
Click. The phone went dead as Tess hung up. Liz hung up the phone as well, then she went into the living room to find Max. He was sitting on the couch watching TV. She walked over to where he was sitting and climbed into his lap.
“Hey baby” he said as she climbed into his lap. “You okay? You look kinda pale.”
“Yeah, I just had to face one of my biggest fears.”
“Which was?”
“Calling Tess on the phone.”
“Why did you have to call her?” Max asked.
“Because Shane told me that Chloe couldn’t go trick or treating unless she came with us, and she couldn’t come with us unless I called and invited her.”
“Oh, well can she come?”
“Yeah” Liz replied.
“Well Then it was probably worth the call.”
“Now that I have faced one of my greatest fears, I should be rewarded.” Liz said leaning in to kiss his neck.
“Yes, you should.” Max said as he leaned down and took her lips with his.
TBC…
Parts 13-16
Part 13
Liz helped Shane put on his make-up, to complete his vampire costume. Once she finished putting on the fake blood, she turned him around to face the mirror.
“Wow Mom, you made me look like the ones in the movies!”
“When have you seen any vampire movies?”
“Uh…Dad let me watch one when you went away with Maria during the summer.”
“Oh he did.”
“Where is Dad? I wanna scare him before we leave.”
“He is on the couch watching TV.” Liz informed him.
Shane waked very quietly into the living room, where his Dad was sitting on the couch. When he got right behind him he whispered, “I vant to suck your blood!” Then ducked down behind the couch so Max couldn’t see him. When Max turned back around to the TV, Shane jumped up over the couch landing on his Dad’s lap. “Did I scare you Dad?”
“You terrified me!” Max replied winking at Liz who just smiled at him.
Just then the doorbell rang and Shane went running to the door. “Chloe?” he said opening the door. “Oh it’s only you.” He said letting his Dad’s friend Michael in.
“It’s nice to see you too Shane.” Michael said.
“When is Josh going to be here?” Shane asked.
“When I left Maria was still doing his make-up. Where’s your Dad?”
“In the living room watching TV.”
Michael left Shane in the hallway and headed to the living room. He walked in to find Liz straddling Max’s lap kissing him fiercely.
“Man will you guys ever grow up?” Michael said shaking his head.
Liz rolled off Max’s lap laughing. “Sorry Michael.”
“You guys never change. You would think after ten years of marriage you guys would at least keep it in the bedroom!”
“Where is Maria?” Liz asked changing the subject.
“She’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
Just then, the doorbell rang again.
“I’ll get it” Liz told Max and Michael. She walked into the hallway to find Shane opening the door.
“Wow, you look beautiful!” Shane said to Chloe as he opened the door.
“Thank you.” Chloe replied.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Once Maria and Josh arrived, they left leaving Max and Michael to give out candy. Liz and Maria walked behind the kids, as they ran from house to house collecting goodies.
“You know Josh still thinks that Shane is insane for liking Chloe so much.” Maria told Liz at one house. “But I think it is too cute!”
“He sure reminds me of Max when he talks about her.”
They stopped talking when the kids ran back to them.
“Mom how much longer do we have until we have to go home?” Shane asked when they were half way through the neighborhood.
Liz checked her watch. “My I didn’t realize it was this late, we should start walking back now.
“I told you not to ask!” Josh yelled at Shane.
“Josh! You just won yourself a trip straight to your room when we get home!” Maria scolded.
“But Mom!”
“No buts about it!”
When they arrive home, Shane walked Chloe next door. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“I sure did.” She said smiling.
“So do you think you can come over and play sometime tomorrow?”
“Um…I think so.”
“Okay well goodnight then.” He said giving her a quick hug and running home.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Shane was lying in bed when her heard a banging noise. He sat up in bed and tried to listen to hear where it was coming from. He got out of bed and walked toward his window. He noticed that Chloe’s light was on in her room, and then he saw what was happening. Tess had Chloe by both arms shaking her as hard as she could. Then she let go only to backhand the little girl across the face.
“No!” Shane yelled as he ran out of his room all the way downstairs into his parents room. “Dad Mom wake up! You have to help her!” he yelled as tears fell down his face.
“Shane what’s wrong?” Max asked.
“It’s Chloe. Dad Tess is beating her up right now! I saw through my window. Please go help her!”
Max jumped out of the bed and ran all the way next door as fast as he could.
TBC…
Part 14
As Max ran across the yard a piercing scream cut through the night air. When he reached the door, he found that it had been left unlocked. He quickly entered the house and started to head for the stairs, but before he got to the first step, he heard a loud thud in the upstairs bedroom. He run up the stairs as fast as he could, and opened the first door he came to finding himself in the bathroom. Quickly exiting the room he opened the next door which happened to be Chloe’s room. He nearly threw up at the sight before his eyes. Tess was standing over the little girls beaten body holding a baseball bat.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Liz sat on her bed with her son in her arms, rocking him back and forth. She rubbed his back trying to soothe away his fears. After taking several shaky breaths Shane sat up and looked his mom in the eyes.
“How can she hurt Chloe like that?”
“I don’t know baby, I really don’t know. Some people just always have to take their anger out on other people. I just don’t know why they have to take it out on children.” She pulled Shane into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head. “You do know that Daddy and I would never let anyone hurt you?”
“I know Mom. I love you.” Shane said as he lay down on the bed and rested his head on his Mom’s lap. “Mom? Dad will save her, wont he?”
“I hope so Shane. I hope so.”
Just then, the phone rang making them both jump.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
“What in the hell did you do to her?” Max screamed at the top of his lungs.
Tess just stood there for what seemed like forever. Then she finally looked up looking Max directly in the eyes. “She got what she deserved. She was such an evil little child, never listening to what I told her.”
“How could you talk about a little girl like that? What did she ever do to you?”
“I met Harry about two years ago. He always took me out and bought me things. Well after I dated him for about two months he tells me he wants me to met someone. He takes me to his house after dinner one night and introduces me to his daughter, Chloe. He loved her so much, more than he would ever love me. But he still treated me well so I stayed with him although I had to be nice to the little brat. Well married about a year later and he had to go and get himself killed about eight months into our marriage. To make things worse he never updated his will after we got married, so everything he owned went into a trust fund for his precious Chloe! Nothing for poor little Tess! Being Chloe had no other family I was nice enough to let her stay with me as long as she worked to earn her keep.”
Max had inched his was up to where he was only a foot away from her. “Tess she is only an eight year old little girl!”
“Well I never asked to have to take care of someone else’s child!” she yelled.
Max noticed that she had loosened up her grip on the bat and grabbed it from her before she realized it was gone. He looked around the room, found a belt hanging on a doorknob, and grabbed it.
“Oh Max, I always knew you liked it rough!” She slurred as she threw herself down on the bed.
Max nearly gagged at the thought. He quickly walked over to the bed and turned Tess over on her stomach. Taking both of her arms to tie them behind her back with the belt. Once her was sure that she could cause any more harm he ran over to Chloe. He put his fingers on the side of her neck to check her pulse. He let out a sigh of relieve to find she was still breathing. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911. He told them that Chloe needed to get to the hospital, and that they had better send the cops to pick up Tess. Once he hung up the phone, he dialed his home number.
“Hello?”
“Liz it’s me. I need you to stand out side and wait for the ambulance to come.”
“Oh God. Is she all right?”
“I don’t know baby she is in pretty bad shape, but she is still breathing.”
“Thank God!”
“You can let Shane stand outside with you, but don’t let him come in the house. He doesn’t need to see her like this.”
“Okay, bye.”
Liz hung up the phone and Shane and her went outside to wait.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Max, Liz, and Shane sat in the ER waiting room for hours that night. Finally, around four in the morning the doctor came out.
“Mr. Evans?”
Max stood up and walked over to the doctor.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Nelson. Chloe is out of surgery and should be fine in a couple of weeks. She had some internal bleeding and some broken bones. The rest is just scrapes and bruises. She is in the Children’s ICU for tonight, and if she is doing well in the morning we will move her into a room in the children’s ward.”
“Thank you so much.” Max said shaking the doctor’s hand. “Can she have visitors tomorrow?”
“If she is up to it, it’s fine with me.”
Max walked over to his family and gave them the good news. Then he sent them home to get some rest, while he stayed to be there when Chloe woke up.
TBC…
Part 15
Max sat in the dark room watching the young girl sleep. Her skin had taken a blackish blue color to it that was horrible to look at. The doctor said that she didn’t expect Chloe to wake for a few hours with the medicine they put in the IV. So Max just sat and waited. He thought back to high school as he stared into the dark of the room.
He had dated Tess in his ninth and tenth grade years. He never loved her he just said okay when she begged him to take her out. Early in his eleventh grade year, Liz Parker transferred into the school. The second he laid eyes on her he knew, he had to have her. The day he dumped Tess was when all hell broke loose. He slowly worked up his courage to ask Liz out, and from then on they were inseparable. So, Tess made it her mission to make Liz’s life a living hell. She started out small, by spreading rumors and tripping her in the halls. However, she did the worst of her tricks on prom night.
Max had wanted to make the night so special for Liz. They started out with a lovely dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town. At the dance, they were crowned King and Queen of the prom. When Tess realized that she wasn’t the one wearing the crown, she decided to do her worst. She ran past Liz as fast as she could grabbing a section of Liz’s dress tearing it and exposing Liz’s body to the student body. When Liz ran for the cover of the bathroom, Tess had rigged the door with a huge bucket of chocolate syrup, which dumped all over Liz. The next year Tess had transferred schools, which made the lives of the people at the school a lot better.
Max snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a piercing scream. Chloe was sitting up in the bed crying so hard that she was shaking. “Chloe, it’s okay you are safe here. Do you remember me, Max, Shane’s Dad.”
“Where…where am I?” she asked once she caught her breath.
“You are in the hospital. Tess hurt you pretty badly last night.”
“Shane told you didn’t he.”
“Don’t be mad at him Chloe, if he didn’t tell me you may not have made it through the night.”
Just then, the doctor came in to check on Chloe. Max stood up to leave the room, but stopped at the sound of her voice.
“Please don’t leave me alone Max. Please.”
“Just while the doctor is checking you over, I’m going to make a phone call. I’ll be back in just a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.” She said turning her attention back to the doctor’s questions.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Max went out to the waiting room to use the phone. He quickly dialed Liz hoping that she wasn’t asleep. The phone rang twice before a groggy Liz answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby, did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. How’s Chloe?”
“She just woke up. She is very alert and the doctor is checking her over right now.”
“Oh, I’m so glad she’s awake.”
“I was thinking that in a couple hours you and Shane could come out her to stay with her a little while, while I run some errands.”
“Sure, that sounds good. I’ll see you in a while.”
“I love you Liz.”
“I love you to.”
“Tell Shane I love him and am thinking of him.”
“I will.”
“Bye Liz.”
“Bye.”
Max hung up the phone, and headed back over to Chloe’s room.
TBC…
Part 16
Max and Liz watched as Shane stood at the door to Chloe’s room. Slowly he took the doorknob in his hand and peaked his head inside.
Shane looked at Chloe in the bed. She didn’t look like the girl he played with everyday. Her face was swollen and bruised, with stitches in one eyebrow.
Chloe opened her less swollen eye when she heard the door to the room open. She watched Shane’s face as he saw her for the first time.
Shane walked over to the bed and kneeled on the chair that was by the bed. Then he reached down and took her hand in his. Then he asked her the question that had kept him awake all night. “Chloe, do you hate me for telling my Dad?”
She turned her head toward Shane and studied him for a moment. “No Shane, I don’t hate you. The doctor told me if your Dad hadn’t gotten to me when he did, I might have gone to heaven. You saved my life Shane.”
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Liz walked back into the waiting room with two cups of coffee in her hands. She handed one cup to Max then sat down next to him. “So what are you thinking about?”
“You know me too well.” Only Liz knew when he was really thinking about something. “Well I spoke to the doctor and social services lady before you got here, and she said that Chloe has no family left to take her in. So she is now a ward of the state, unless someone adopts her.”
“Hasn’t that child been through enough?”
“Well I was thinking that if they will let us, we could let her live with us until she gets adopted.”
Liz thought for a minute, then got a huge grin on her face. “Max? Did you think about mentioning Chloe’s situation to Isabel and Jesse?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before!” His sister Isabel and her husband Jesse had just started looking into adoption after they found out they couldn’t have children. Isabel being Isabel didn’t want a baby, but a child over the age of five.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
*One Month Later*
Chloe had stayed with the Evans family for a month while the paper work went through for her adoption. That afternoon, she was going to move into her new house with new family. She was really excited because she didn’t have to change schools, being Isabel and Jesse lived in the same district as Shane’s family. She jumped when Shane tapped her on the shoulder.
“Chloe, will you come out to the tree house with me?” he asked.
“Okay Shane.”
Once in the tree house, Shane sat down and she sat in front of him. “So did you want to play, talk, or stare at each other.”
“I wanted to tell you that I will miss you when you leave.”
“I’ll miss you too Shane, but I will see you at school on Monday morning.”
“I know, but I have gotten used to you living with me.”
“Well I only live one neighborhood over, maybe you can ride the bus home from school with me some days and play.” She suggested.
“I’d like that.” Shane said. Then he leaned over and gave Chloe a big hug and a kiss right on the lips. Chloe blushed and told him bye and left the tree house to wait for her new life.
THE END
Liz helped Shane put on his make-up, to complete his vampire costume. Once she finished putting on the fake blood, she turned him around to face the mirror.
“Wow Mom, you made me look like the ones in the movies!”
“When have you seen any vampire movies?”
“Uh…Dad let me watch one when you went away with Maria during the summer.”
“Oh he did.”
“Where is Dad? I wanna scare him before we leave.”
“He is on the couch watching TV.” Liz informed him.
Shane waked very quietly into the living room, where his Dad was sitting on the couch. When he got right behind him he whispered, “I vant to suck your blood!” Then ducked down behind the couch so Max couldn’t see him. When Max turned back around to the TV, Shane jumped up over the couch landing on his Dad’s lap. “Did I scare you Dad?”
“You terrified me!” Max replied winking at Liz who just smiled at him.
Just then the doorbell rang and Shane went running to the door. “Chloe?” he said opening the door. “Oh it’s only you.” He said letting his Dad’s friend Michael in.
“It’s nice to see you too Shane.” Michael said.
“When is Josh going to be here?” Shane asked.
“When I left Maria was still doing his make-up. Where’s your Dad?”
“In the living room watching TV.”
Michael left Shane in the hallway and headed to the living room. He walked in to find Liz straddling Max’s lap kissing him fiercely.
“Man will you guys ever grow up?” Michael said shaking his head.
Liz rolled off Max’s lap laughing. “Sorry Michael.”
“You guys never change. You would think after ten years of marriage you guys would at least keep it in the bedroom!”
“Where is Maria?” Liz asked changing the subject.
“She’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
Just then, the doorbell rang again.
“I’ll get it” Liz told Max and Michael. She walked into the hallway to find Shane opening the door.
“Wow, you look beautiful!” Shane said to Chloe as he opened the door.
“Thank you.” Chloe replied.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Once Maria and Josh arrived, they left leaving Max and Michael to give out candy. Liz and Maria walked behind the kids, as they ran from house to house collecting goodies.
“You know Josh still thinks that Shane is insane for liking Chloe so much.” Maria told Liz at one house. “But I think it is too cute!”
“He sure reminds me of Max when he talks about her.”
They stopped talking when the kids ran back to them.
“Mom how much longer do we have until we have to go home?” Shane asked when they were half way through the neighborhood.
Liz checked her watch. “My I didn’t realize it was this late, we should start walking back now.
“I told you not to ask!” Josh yelled at Shane.
“Josh! You just won yourself a trip straight to your room when we get home!” Maria scolded.
“But Mom!”
“No buts about it!”
When they arrive home, Shane walked Chloe next door. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“I sure did.” She said smiling.
“So do you think you can come over and play sometime tomorrow?”
“Um…I think so.”
“Okay well goodnight then.” He said giving her a quick hug and running home.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Shane was lying in bed when her heard a banging noise. He sat up in bed and tried to listen to hear where it was coming from. He got out of bed and walked toward his window. He noticed that Chloe’s light was on in her room, and then he saw what was happening. Tess had Chloe by both arms shaking her as hard as she could. Then she let go only to backhand the little girl across the face.
“No!” Shane yelled as he ran out of his room all the way downstairs into his parents room. “Dad Mom wake up! You have to help her!” he yelled as tears fell down his face.
“Shane what’s wrong?” Max asked.
“It’s Chloe. Dad Tess is beating her up right now! I saw through my window. Please go help her!”
Max jumped out of the bed and ran all the way next door as fast as he could.
TBC…
Part 14
As Max ran across the yard a piercing scream cut through the night air. When he reached the door, he found that it had been left unlocked. He quickly entered the house and started to head for the stairs, but before he got to the first step, he heard a loud thud in the upstairs bedroom. He run up the stairs as fast as he could, and opened the first door he came to finding himself in the bathroom. Quickly exiting the room he opened the next door which happened to be Chloe’s room. He nearly threw up at the sight before his eyes. Tess was standing over the little girls beaten body holding a baseball bat.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Liz sat on her bed with her son in her arms, rocking him back and forth. She rubbed his back trying to soothe away his fears. After taking several shaky breaths Shane sat up and looked his mom in the eyes.
“How can she hurt Chloe like that?”
“I don’t know baby, I really don’t know. Some people just always have to take their anger out on other people. I just don’t know why they have to take it out on children.” She pulled Shane into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head. “You do know that Daddy and I would never let anyone hurt you?”
“I know Mom. I love you.” Shane said as he lay down on the bed and rested his head on his Mom’s lap. “Mom? Dad will save her, wont he?”
“I hope so Shane. I hope so.”
Just then, the phone rang making them both jump.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
“What in the hell did you do to her?” Max screamed at the top of his lungs.
Tess just stood there for what seemed like forever. Then she finally looked up looking Max directly in the eyes. “She got what she deserved. She was such an evil little child, never listening to what I told her.”
“How could you talk about a little girl like that? What did she ever do to you?”
“I met Harry about two years ago. He always took me out and bought me things. Well after I dated him for about two months he tells me he wants me to met someone. He takes me to his house after dinner one night and introduces me to his daughter, Chloe. He loved her so much, more than he would ever love me. But he still treated me well so I stayed with him although I had to be nice to the little brat. Well married about a year later and he had to go and get himself killed about eight months into our marriage. To make things worse he never updated his will after we got married, so everything he owned went into a trust fund for his precious Chloe! Nothing for poor little Tess! Being Chloe had no other family I was nice enough to let her stay with me as long as she worked to earn her keep.”
Max had inched his was up to where he was only a foot away from her. “Tess she is only an eight year old little girl!”
“Well I never asked to have to take care of someone else’s child!” she yelled.
Max noticed that she had loosened up her grip on the bat and grabbed it from her before she realized it was gone. He looked around the room, found a belt hanging on a doorknob, and grabbed it.
“Oh Max, I always knew you liked it rough!” She slurred as she threw herself down on the bed.
Max nearly gagged at the thought. He quickly walked over to the bed and turned Tess over on her stomach. Taking both of her arms to tie them behind her back with the belt. Once her was sure that she could cause any more harm he ran over to Chloe. He put his fingers on the side of her neck to check her pulse. He let out a sigh of relieve to find she was still breathing. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911. He told them that Chloe needed to get to the hospital, and that they had better send the cops to pick up Tess. Once he hung up the phone, he dialed his home number.
“Hello?”
“Liz it’s me. I need you to stand out side and wait for the ambulance to come.”
“Oh God. Is she all right?”
“I don’t know baby she is in pretty bad shape, but she is still breathing.”
“Thank God!”
“You can let Shane stand outside with you, but don’t let him come in the house. He doesn’t need to see her like this.”
“Okay, bye.”
Liz hung up the phone and Shane and her went outside to wait.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Max, Liz, and Shane sat in the ER waiting room for hours that night. Finally, around four in the morning the doctor came out.
“Mr. Evans?”
Max stood up and walked over to the doctor.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Nelson. Chloe is out of surgery and should be fine in a couple of weeks. She had some internal bleeding and some broken bones. The rest is just scrapes and bruises. She is in the Children’s ICU for tonight, and if she is doing well in the morning we will move her into a room in the children’s ward.”
“Thank you so much.” Max said shaking the doctor’s hand. “Can she have visitors tomorrow?”
“If she is up to it, it’s fine with me.”
Max walked over to his family and gave them the good news. Then he sent them home to get some rest, while he stayed to be there when Chloe woke up.
TBC…
Part 15
Max sat in the dark room watching the young girl sleep. Her skin had taken a blackish blue color to it that was horrible to look at. The doctor said that she didn’t expect Chloe to wake for a few hours with the medicine they put in the IV. So Max just sat and waited. He thought back to high school as he stared into the dark of the room.
He had dated Tess in his ninth and tenth grade years. He never loved her he just said okay when she begged him to take her out. Early in his eleventh grade year, Liz Parker transferred into the school. The second he laid eyes on her he knew, he had to have her. The day he dumped Tess was when all hell broke loose. He slowly worked up his courage to ask Liz out, and from then on they were inseparable. So, Tess made it her mission to make Liz’s life a living hell. She started out small, by spreading rumors and tripping her in the halls. However, she did the worst of her tricks on prom night.
Max had wanted to make the night so special for Liz. They started out with a lovely dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town. At the dance, they were crowned King and Queen of the prom. When Tess realized that she wasn’t the one wearing the crown, she decided to do her worst. She ran past Liz as fast as she could grabbing a section of Liz’s dress tearing it and exposing Liz’s body to the student body. When Liz ran for the cover of the bathroom, Tess had rigged the door with a huge bucket of chocolate syrup, which dumped all over Liz. The next year Tess had transferred schools, which made the lives of the people at the school a lot better.
Max snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a piercing scream. Chloe was sitting up in the bed crying so hard that she was shaking. “Chloe, it’s okay you are safe here. Do you remember me, Max, Shane’s Dad.”
“Where…where am I?” she asked once she caught her breath.
“You are in the hospital. Tess hurt you pretty badly last night.”
“Shane told you didn’t he.”
“Don’t be mad at him Chloe, if he didn’t tell me you may not have made it through the night.”
Just then, the doctor came in to check on Chloe. Max stood up to leave the room, but stopped at the sound of her voice.
“Please don’t leave me alone Max. Please.”
“Just while the doctor is checking you over, I’m going to make a phone call. I’ll be back in just a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.” She said turning her attention back to the doctor’s questions.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Max went out to the waiting room to use the phone. He quickly dialed Liz hoping that she wasn’t asleep. The phone rang twice before a groggy Liz answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby, did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. How’s Chloe?”
“She just woke up. She is very alert and the doctor is checking her over right now.”
“Oh, I’m so glad she’s awake.”
“I was thinking that in a couple hours you and Shane could come out her to stay with her a little while, while I run some errands.”
“Sure, that sounds good. I’ll see you in a while.”
“I love you Liz.”
“I love you to.”
“Tell Shane I love him and am thinking of him.”
“I will.”
“Bye Liz.”
“Bye.”
Max hung up the phone, and headed back over to Chloe’s room.
TBC…
Part 16
Max and Liz watched as Shane stood at the door to Chloe’s room. Slowly he took the doorknob in his hand and peaked his head inside.
Shane looked at Chloe in the bed. She didn’t look like the girl he played with everyday. Her face was swollen and bruised, with stitches in one eyebrow.
Chloe opened her less swollen eye when she heard the door to the room open. She watched Shane’s face as he saw her for the first time.
Shane walked over to the bed and kneeled on the chair that was by the bed. Then he reached down and took her hand in his. Then he asked her the question that had kept him awake all night. “Chloe, do you hate me for telling my Dad?”
She turned her head toward Shane and studied him for a moment. “No Shane, I don’t hate you. The doctor told me if your Dad hadn’t gotten to me when he did, I might have gone to heaven. You saved my life Shane.”
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
Liz walked back into the waiting room with two cups of coffee in her hands. She handed one cup to Max then sat down next to him. “So what are you thinking about?”
“You know me too well.” Only Liz knew when he was really thinking about something. “Well I spoke to the doctor and social services lady before you got here, and she said that Chloe has no family left to take her in. So she is now a ward of the state, unless someone adopts her.”
“Hasn’t that child been through enough?”
“Well I was thinking that if they will let us, we could let her live with us until she gets adopted.”
Liz thought for a minute, then got a huge grin on her face. “Max? Did you think about mentioning Chloe’s situation to Isabel and Jesse?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before!” His sister Isabel and her husband Jesse had just started looking into adoption after they found out they couldn’t have children. Isabel being Isabel didn’t want a baby, but a child over the age of five.
<center> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </center>
*One Month Later*
Chloe had stayed with the Evans family for a month while the paper work went through for her adoption. That afternoon, she was going to move into her new house with new family. She was really excited because she didn’t have to change schools, being Isabel and Jesse lived in the same district as Shane’s family. She jumped when Shane tapped her on the shoulder.
“Chloe, will you come out to the tree house with me?” he asked.
“Okay Shane.”
Once in the tree house, Shane sat down and she sat in front of him. “So did you want to play, talk, or stare at each other.”
“I wanted to tell you that I will miss you when you leave.”
“I’ll miss you too Shane, but I will see you at school on Monday morning.”
“I know, but I have gotten used to you living with me.”
“Well I only live one neighborhood over, maybe you can ride the bus home from school with me some days and play.” She suggested.
“I’d like that.” Shane said. Then he leaned over and gave Chloe a big hug and a kiss right on the lips. Chloe blushed and told him bye and left the tree house to wait for her new life.
THE END
I originally wanted to post this at the end of the fic but forgot. So here are the lyrics to "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride.
Concrete Angel
She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
I plan on writing a sequel but it may be a while.
~Sara
Concrete Angel
She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
I plan on writing a sequel but it may be a while.
~Sara