#katknapper24

He hesitated to open the door fully aware of what was waiting for him behind it. The thought of turning around and bolting crossed his mind, as it did many times before, but he pushed it away. 

In one fluid motion he enters the house and pulls his bag off his shoulder. It’s not even completely off before he’s grabbed and pulled toward the couch. A welcoming sight as he was exhausted but the boy knew this wasn’t going to be a relaxing chit chat. 

“Care to explain the phone call we received from your school earlier?” A male, young thirties with hair already speckled with gray. The ‘father’ of the house. That wasn’t what Hotaru addressed him by. After eight months here he still called him by surname. This man wasn’t his father, he never would be. 

“He started it.” The blunt truth. It wasn’t a good enough answer and Hotaru can hear a groan coming from him and the woman behind him, leaning against a wall and holding her head as if in pain. “He started messing with me, I didn’t mean to-”

“You broke the kid’s fucking arm! How do you go that far without meaning to?!” The boy looks away with no answer. He had always been stronger than others his age but it seemed worse when he was angry. “Come on, speak! Don’t just give me that same damn excuse, every single time something goes wrong ‘I didn’t mean to’! You are 13 now, you should-”

“Honey, breathe.” The ‘mother’ of the house steps up, patting her husband’s back. Her voice was stern but not furious like the male. She sounded tired, like she had been crying for a long time. Switching her attention to Hotaru she gives a disapproving frown, “You left the school ground’s after that, nobody could find you. You had everyone worried, and running away doesn’t help the situation.”

“I know.” But no matter how physically tough he was Hotaru was still a kid. It had even scared him when it happened. He would always be haunted by that cracking sound, the quiet whispers of the gather crowd, it was all etched into his memories. 

“And it’s summer, it’s too hot to be wearing that scarf. Here,” The woman reaches out with delicate hands to unwrap the green material from around his neck. He holds onto it tightly, heart beat picking up. “No! I-I’m fine, don’t take it!”

It’s a short lived struggle, the boy too tired to put up a decent fight. The scarf slips from his neck and he can feel some of the anger dissipate. “What is that? Is that a rash?”

“It’s nothing! I mean, I don’t know, it just showed up..” He uses a hand to hide the red patch on his neck. There was silence and he pulls away when the mother want’s to expect it. He takes the moment to slide off the couch and down the hallway to the room he shared with the other foster child, an 8 year old boy. He was sleeping peacefully and Hotaru tries to keep quiet as he slips into his bed. 

—

“The ride is a little long so here’s something to snack on.” A small bag filled with handmade chocolate covered pretzels and a fruit juice are handed over. Hotaru gives a bow of thanks, eyes staying downcast. It was a kind gesture despite the last week within the household had been incredibly strained. 

It was a routine he was familiar with. He would no longer be living with this ‘mother’ and ‘father’. They couldn’t handle the constant fights, the constant misunderstandings. It was always the same. This time around he gets a pat and kiss on top of his head. She was the only one to send him off, but he preferred it that way. He didn’t want to say goodbye to the man.