I led him to the front door, closing it behind him. As soon as the wind hit his face, he made a satisfied noise, closing his eyes. He stretched his arm out, the wind ruffling the tattered jumper that clung to his body. He opened his mouth as the breeze washed over him again, flashing his teeth to everybody. I chuckled, happy that he was being greeted by nature for the first time in a while. Birds sang in the trees; he opened his eyes, looking around him, still holding onto the picture. He staggered towards the little steps, his bottom lip trembling, his mouth ajar. "B-Bir-rd." He said, his voice gruff, using the bannister to help himself down the stairs. I followed after him, as he toddled into the courtyard, mumbling the word 'bird' as he went. His free arm hung limply as he went, stooping in the middle. I linked his arm, leading him towards the gate.

He held onto me tighter than ever when we reached the road. He flinched as a car drove past, pressing the picture that he had in his hand against his chest. I opened the passenger seat door for him, he sank down into the seat, waiting for me to close the door so that he could press his forehead against the glass. I took a minute to myself, knowing that as soon as my mother found out about him, the police would be called. I shivered, looking at him through the driver's window, his legs shaking. I didn't know whether it was down to fear, or pain, or habit, but I sensed that his shaking was down to something. I wanted to do nothing but comfort him. He looked vulnerable, sitting there next to me with his picture frame; I still didn't know who it was. I twisted the key in the ignition, he jumped, his eyes wide as his hands gripped onto the edge of his seat. "It's okay. It won't take long, I promise." I said softly, as he sank in the seat, bringing the picture closer to his face.

I reached over to him, patting his shoulder as I drove along the road. He was muttering words to the picture, words that I couldn't really understand. We stopped at a traffic light, fog surrounding us as we sat there alone in front of the red light. I looked down at him, noticing similar marks around his wrists as the one around his neck. I frowned, reaching down to touch it. He pulled his hand away with a grunt, hiding it from me. "Sorry." I said quickly, putting my hand back on the steering-wheel.

"It-it-t" he began, before he balled up his fists and started to hit the seat. He started screaming again, louder than before, throwing the picture down to his feet. I stopped the car immediately, turning to face him. He kicked his feet, smashing the glass of the frame, just as I grabbed hold of his wrists. He barred his teeth at me, tears rolling down his cheeks as I stopped him from flailing his arms.

"Stop. It." I said firmly, he frowned at me, breathing heavily. "What did I tell you before? Slowly." I added, he looked down at my hands. I let go of him, returning my attention to driving the car. He remained quiet for the rest of the journey, refusing to look at me, his head pressed against the window. His breathing was still heavy, asthmatic almost. I found myself chewing the insides of my mouth. What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing? I asked myself, over and over again for the entire journey home.

When we pulled up into the driveway, relief washed over me as the house was cast in darkness. My sister had gone out, my mother was still with her friends, and my father was God knows where. After turning the car off, I held onto the wheel for a few moments, staring straight ahead of me. I lost myself for a moment, before I heard his shoe scrape through the pile of glass at his feet. I shook my head, reminding myself of where I was, getting out. The cool summer air held me tightly as I made my way round to his door. His head was still pressed against the glass, making his pale face look even more translucent. I opened the door, catching him as he almost fell from the car. Hoisting him up, I sat him down on the grass next to the driveway, propping him up against one of my mother's blossom trees. He sat there with no expression on his face, as though he had totally forgotten about his second emotional meltdown. I knelt down, picking up each little piece of glass from the broken frame. Tossing it out of the car, I picked up the photograph, turning it over in my hands.

It was of a family. The man and woman from the wall were stood in the centre, the woman smiling, the man attempting to. There was a very old woman, sat on a chair between them, her hair neatly pinned up on her head. She was wearing a knitted cardigan, it looked old and worn, completely out of place next to the man and woman. Then there was Oscar, who was sat on the floor, grinning a huge smile. He looked so happy, so innocent. I felt a pang of sadness was over me, I sniffled, squeezing my eyes shut. The last person in the photo, was a little girl. She had the same blonde hair as Oscar, but her eyes were blue. She was wearing a pink cardigan, a pink dress, and pink shoes. She looked like the definition of a little girl.

I couldn't look at the picture anymore, it upset me. I slammed the car door, slipping the picture into my back pocket. I looked down, he was rocking violently. I knelt down in front of him, picking up his hands to get his attention. I smiled, earning nothing but vacancy from him in return. I mouthed 'come on', before pulling him to his feet. He sniffled as we walked towards my home, our bodies surrounded by the summer darkness. I gently pushed him inside, locking the front door, switching on the light. He hugged his body, standing in the middle of the hallway. "Are you thirsty Oscar?" I asked, standing in front of him. I lifted his chin up with my index finger, staring into his mismatched eyes. He cocked his head to the side, before nodding slowly. I smiled, taking his balled fist, coaxing it into relaxing itself before I took hold of it.

I sat him at the kitchen table, standing next to him. He slumped in the chair, shaking, his whole body this time. I let out a sigh, looking at the circle around his neck. It was still bright red, with dark blood surrounding the wound. I pulled the neck of his jumper so that I could get a better look. He stared straight ahead, his hands on his lap, tapping his foot. I pulled the collar so that I could see his shoulder, noticing a similar mark. I stood in front of him, pulling his jumper over his head. I stepped backwards, my hands in front of my mouth. He twitched, looking at the ground, his arms hanging down by his side. I stared at him for a moment, before I went closer to him to inspect all of the lines. My fingers traced the lines on his shoulder, wandering down to his wrists. I picked up his hand, staring at the ring around his wrist. I held his hand, holding back tears that were trying to form in my eyes. He held up his head, looking into my eyes as I held onto his hand. His head wobbled like an infant's, his breathing increasing as his lips parted. "S-sorry." He mumbled, gripping onto my hand.

"What for?" I asked as my lips trembled. I couldn't imagine the pain that he was in, the sores on every inch of his body would've been enough to send me into hysterics.

"M-mad... car... S-sorry." He said slowly, closing his mismatched eyes, opening them with a flutter of his eyelashes. I smiled, wiping my eyes with the bottom of my t-shirt. He grumbled, looking down.

"It's okay. It's okay. You don't need to apologise." I said with a smile, earning an eye twitch from him.

There was something aboutthis boy, other than the markings all over his body. There was somethingdifferent about him. He was quiet. A lot quieter a boy than in had everencountered. The boys from my school were idiots, screaming and shouting aboutone thing or the other. But he, Oscar, barely said a word. Unless it was abird, or a car; then he said next to nothing. I looked at him as he shook,wanting nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and tell him thateverything was okay.
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Song Of The Chapter - Sitting On The First Rock From The Sun by Boy Azooga

A.N
No idea if anybody cares about this story or the characters in it but I quite like it. Not quite sure if it works but I'm still going to write it <3

Thanks for sticking around if you have, I really appreciate it my loves.