wild and free

Challenge Six || New Haven, CT

Scotty lived a fairly comfortable life, growing up on the nicer side of New Haven with his parents and three sisters. However, Scotty was always in some kind of trouble with either his parents or his teachers. It wasn't Scotty meant to cause trouble, he just wanted something else beyond the perfect houses and the nice neighbors that his world was made up of. He was also constantly being compared to his sisters with their mild manners and spotless reputations. 

It was after too many times being grounded and lectured about acting more like his sisters that he decided to run away, storming out of their house with only a bag of clothes. It was a few hours later that he met Angel and, still angry at his parents, decided to tag along with her and her gang. He hung around with the gang for a few weeks, eventually managing to join after proving himself to the leader, Buster. Scotty grew to love the rougher side of New Haven, the graffiti-coated alleys and the freedom to do anything he wanted without the burden of expectations to look up to.

*5 Years Old*

“Scott Roger Bart.” Scotty stopped playing with the mud instantly at the angry tone in his dad’s voice. “What did I tell you about getting your clothes dirty again?” Tears welled up in his eyes, a sob rising up in his throat as he felt the shame of getting in trouble again. He’d just wanted to play with the mud a little, because it was fun. He didn’t get why Mom and Dad always got mad when he got it all over him, it was just clothes.

“Oh, no, mister, crying isn’t going to get you out of trouble this time.” He tried to stop his tears from coming out, but he still hiccupped as Trey pulled him out of the mud by his arm. “Come on, we’re going to need to give you another bath.” He continued to cry even as he was dragged into the bathtub, eventually quieting to sniffles as his dad soaped up his hair and washed it out gently, careful to not get any in his eyes.

“Oh, c’mon, little man, don’t do that to me.” Wiping his nose with his arm, he looked down at the water, his desire to play long gone. “You know I don’t like to get short with you, scamp. I just wish you’d listen better.” He felt his dad’s hand on his forehead for a moment before he pulled the drain, letting the water escape. “Let’s get you dressed. And then we’ll go somewhere special. Okay?” Finally looking up, he nodded quietly at his dad before getting out of the tub.

He held his arms out for his dad to push a shirt over his head, fitting his arms through the holes as usual. Taking him into the next room, his dad pulled out a pair of socks and shoes for him to put on before heading into the hallway. While he concentrated on his shoes, Scotty could hear his Dad talking to his Mom quietly but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Finishing the Velcro straps, he ran out into the hallway, instantly smacking into his Dad’s leg, causing him to smile fondly.

“C’mon, Lyds. He can’t just have me yelling at him all the time. He’s a kid!” His mom frowned for a second before glancing at Scotty, her face softening at the redness around his eyes.

“Oh, alright. But just this once. He might be a kid, but he needs to learn-” Trey cut her off from speaking by kissing her on the mouth, Scotty letting out a loud “Ew!” at the display.

“C’mon, scamp. We’re taking a ride.”

“A ride?” Scotty repeated, more than a little hesitant. He had the thought that his dad was going to take him to an adoption center like Calleigh and Annie had always told him he was from and leave him there. He followed his Dad out to the car unwillingly, looking back at his mom for reassurances.

A half hour later saw them parked at the local Dairy Queen, both with ice cream in hand, Scotty eating his happily until his Dad cleared his throat.

“Scamp… We need to talk, man to man.” Scotty drew himself up slightly, feeling this was important. “So, I know I’m hard on you. And I don’t like to be. But when you don’t listen to what I say, I have to punish you. You get that, right? That I don’t like to punish you?” Trey asked, turning to look at him. Scotty thought it over, remembering how sad Dad looked when he was giving him a bath.

“Why do you punish me, then?” He asked, lowering his ice cream so he could stare at the floor of the car. He heard a sigh before a hand dropped onto his shoulders.

“Because when you don’t listen to something I tell you to do, or not to do, you disrespect me and your Mom. We tell you to do things because we want you and your sisters to learn what to do and what not to do. When we tell you to not get your clothes dirty, we want you to grow up and know that you can’t play in the mud and get dirty whenever you want.”

“But why not? It’s just clothes.” Scotty whined. His dad started to say something until he closed his mouth again, his mouth turning down at the sides.

“Ask me again when you’re older, if you still don’t know.” With that, they continued to eat their ice cream, Scotty a little confused by his dad’s answer.

**

*13 Years Old*

“Your son is starting to become a serious issue, Mr. Bart. If he doesn’t shape up soon, we’ll have no choice to but blah blah blahblahblah.” Tuning out the principle’s rant, Scotty rolled his eyes skyward discreetly until a sharp look from his dad had him straightening up in the chair. Ducking his head to avoid that look, he stared at the carpet until the principle stopped speaking.

“I’m very sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Bennett. Scotty won’t have any more problems paying attention in class, will he?” Biting his tongue at the retort that welled up in his mouth, he forced himself to mumble an apology that nobody questioned, the principle dismissing them soon after. Hunching his shoulders at the tense silence hanging between them, he stayed quiet until they reached the car, knowing he was in for a long lecture.

“You want ice cream? I’m kinda feeling up for an ice cream cone.” Looking over at his dad in confusion, he took in the sincere expression before replying with a suspicious “Okay.” Going through the drive-thru, they parked in the front to eat their ice cream, Trey turning off the radio soon after.

“I think it’s time for another man to man talk.” Groaning, Scotty tilted his head back against the headrest, his dad giving him a disapproving look.

“Alright, alright.” He gave in, shrugging uncomfortably. “What do you want to talk about?” His dad stared him down for a few minutes, Scotty quickly looking away guiltily.

“Why weren’t you paying attention in class, scamp?” Breathing a sigh of relief, he shrugged nonchalantly, eating his ice cream to avoid answering. “Scott. Please. Just tell me why you were disrupting the class, and I’ll let it go.” He stayed silent for a few seconds, swallowing hard before shrugging again.

“I just don’t get it.” His dad raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

“Don’t get what? Scotty, you’re one of the best students in the class. If you’re going to lie, make it a good one at least.” Scotty fidgeted some more, clearly uncomfortable. “Please, Scotty, I just want you to be honest with me. You can talk to me about anything.” Scotty turned to look at his dad for the first time, eyes wide and a little scared.

“Anything? And you won’t get mad or upset?” His eyebrow went up again, more in shock than disbelief this time.

“Anything. I can’t promise I won’t get mad, but I promise I won’t until I hear the whole story.” Seemingly assured, Scotty took a breath before blurting out what sounded like “IlikemyfriendandIdon’tknowwhattodo”. Confused, his dad gestured for him to repeat it, causing Scotty’s face to turn red with embarrassment.

“IlikemyfriendandIdon’tknowwhattodo.”

“One more time, scamp.”

“Oh my god, I like my friend and I don’t know what to do, okay!” Scotty burst out, face nearly glowing with the force of his flush. His dad nearly slapped a hand over his face before managing to control the impulse.

“Okay… Now, I understand. So, you like a girl, huh? Is it that Angel girl?” Scotty tensed, his whole body stiffening. “…what? Is it somebody else?” Licking his lips, Scotty mumbled something his dad didn’t quite catch.

“It’saboy.”  

“Seriously, we just went over this.”

“It’s a boy, okay!” Scotty gestured helplessly at his outburst, looking as though he was about to cry. Trey blinked slowly, leaning back against the seat cautiously.

“Huh. Okay, wasn’t expecting that.” He replied absently, still processing the information.

“But I like girls too, so I’m not gay. Angel thinks I’m bi.” Scotty said quickly, almost as if trying to appease Trey, which, no. Leaning over, he barely noticed Scotty’s flinch before wrapping his son into a tight hug, which he initially resisted before sinking into it.

“Scamp, I’m actually disappointed if you thought I would be upset with you over something this small. As long as you’re happy, I don’t care who you like. I love you, Scotty. Never doubt that.” He felt Scotty’s shoulders begin to shake, a choked sniffle making its way out. “Shh, shh, there, there, you’re fine. I know I give you a hard time, but it’s because I love you and I want great things for you. I could never hate you or whatever you thought I was going to do.” He held on tightly as Scotty seemed to be having a small breakdown, eventually pulling back to wipe at his eyes with a small smile.

“You okay?” Scotty nodded, his smile brightening as he managed to dry his eyes. “Good. I think your cone fell by the way.” Scotty laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot, before clearing his throat.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, scamp.”

**

*18 years old*

“Uh, Dad?”

“Yeah, Scotty?”

“I don’t think this is the way to my graduation.”

“Relax, we’re taking a detour. I know what I’m doing.” Pulling into the Dairy Queen drive-thru, he ordered two ice cream cones, handing one over to Scotty with a smile.

“We’re not having another man to man talk, are we?” He asked nervously.

“Why? Are you having another sexuality crisis?” Flushing red, Scotty narrowed his eyes before thumping his dad on the shoulder.

“I was thirteen.” His dad laughed before ruffling Scotty’s hair fondly.

“Don’t worry, scamp, we’re not having another talk. Unless there’s something you want to talk about?” He raised an eyebrow invitingly, his smile giving him away.

“No.” Scotty stated firmly, eating his cone to settle the matter. Trey  considered his son carefully as he ate his cone happily, smiling as he thought about the man he had become. True, he had gotten into some trouble earlier on in the year when he and that girl Angel had gotten mixed up with that gang, but Scotty had seemed to grow from that experience, actually focusing on school and seeming to be more responsible.

“Do you remember when you were five and-” He starts to say until he’s cut off by Scotty.

“And you brought me here to get ice cream and have a man to man talk about why I shouldn’t play in the mud? Yes.” Trey laughed as the tips of Scott’s ears go red at the memory.

“I’m surprised you remember.”

“Of course I remember. I thought you were going to drop me off at an adoption center for ruining my clothes.” Trey laughed louder, Scotty punching his shoulder but unable to keep a smile off his face.

“So do you remember the other time we-”

“You swore you would never bring it up.” Eventually, he and Scotty were holding onto each other as they laughed, tears falling from the force of their laughter. Wiping his eye, Trey tried to hold in his chuckles before growing serious.

“I’m gonna miss this.” Scotty’s smile faded, a sad frown taking its place. “No, no, before you say anything, let me just say this one thing. Give your old man a few minutes to be sappy. I’m gonna miss this. I’m gonna miss you. And I know, I know, you’re going to college like I wanted you to, because you need to get an education and make something of yourself… but. But. I’m still gonna miss you. Every day I’ve seen you grow up more and more, and every day I still wish I could go back and spend a little more time with you when you were little.” Scotty’s eyes were beginning to mist, a bad sign.

“Now, now, don’t go crying on me, you’re supposed to be happy today. Finally getting out of high school and moving onto bigger and better things.” Scotty laughed, a watery sound, before wiping at his eyes. “Okay, I’m done. Let’s go get you graduated.” Scotty suddenly threw himself at his dad, his arms wrapping him in a tight embrace that both were reluctant to leave.

“Love you, Dad.”

Mother: Lydia Bart 

Father: Trey Bart

Siblings: Annie, Danielle and Calleigh (in order)

Full name: Scott “Scotty” Roger Bart

Age: 18

Height: 5’10”

Parents: Trey and Lydia Bart

Siblings: Anna, Danielle and Calleigh

Major: Criminal Justice

Minor: Criminology

Favorite color: Blue