Chapter Text
The smoke in the distance turns the sky a deep scarlet as the young boy makes his way from the frying pan. The colours make the journey only a little bit easier, but it is one that while the destination has changed, he has made many times before in his life.
Tommy's head was pressed against the window. The cool damp glass helped the eternal headache better than paracetamol ever did. It was not like many families actually tried to help him out with this ailment, still he remembered the faint buzz of pain relief, and the overwhelming drowsiness, brought by medication.
The car hit a bump as it raced through the rain, knocking his head against the glass. Unfortunately for Tommy, the rain had a minor impact on the burn he was leaving behind, but it was enough of a stink to get him out of that house, that was all that mattered.
“I know that house was rough, but there is no space for a cool down at the group home, so I have found you an emergency placement until we can find another family for you. I know the father, he’s fostered a bunch and is used to cases like yours.”
As kind as his social worker, Kate, was, she was also blunt as a prop knife. Tommy knew what she meant by ‘case like his’ and it fucking hurt to be called out like that, but his head was finally cooling down, and he did not want the headache to return. So, he nodded, rubbing the condensation clean from the window, and dampening his curly blonde hair in the process.
The car was in no way silent. The radio was playing some fuzzy station that was cutting in and out of some top 40s song he had never heard. The rain on the windows was like white noise to him by now, and the wipers cleaning the windshield played a rhythmic beat for him to breathe with. Nothing in his life had ever been silent, why start now?
–
When there did not seem to be an end in sight to this drive, Kate turned the car into a paved driveway and pulled up to a door that was connected to walls, which connected to a roof and a foundation. A house, not in simplest terms, stood towering over them.
Towering was a bit of an exaggeration. It was a nice two-story, made of beautiful red brick and tan siding. It was a house. Tommy sighed, and tried to melt further into the seat of Kate's car. The window was just beginning to warm from his head against the glass, and he knew that he was coming to the end of his journey.
“I promise this family is good, Tommy, I just need you to not cause any trouble for just a few weeks until we find a more permanent place for you.” He had heard this spiel before, and was beginning to get tired of all the false promises he had been fed by social workers throwing him into random families with no care in the world besides the cheque they got every month.
Through the corner of his eye he saw his social worker turn to him.
“You could say something, even just hum so I know you haven’t died from smoke inhalation and I haven’t driven all this way for nothing.”
He wasn’t sure if social workers were allowed to say things like that, but he had proven multiple times he was not all that fragile.
“ I am unfortunately still alive.”
“Tommy please, keep it together for just a few weeks.”
“Ill keep myself together if they can keep themselves together.”
“Fair enough. Let’s get this over with then? Phil should be waiting.”
Tommy nodded, with less of an enthusiasm for wanting to do this, but more of a pitiful resentment to the life he was prisoner to.
Before he knew it he was standing before the door he had been watching from the car, as Kate rang the doorbell, which rang out in the wet air. If he wasn’t pretty sure this house was in the middle of the woods, he would be concerned about waking the neighbours, but he did not think any random strangers would be making a domestic disturbance complaint anytime soon, and unfortunately not because there wouldn’t be one.
The door looked like your average door. The longer Tommy stared at it, the more he dreaded the fact that in a moment it would be open and there would be a whole cluster of new strangers to live with.
His fears were realized when a shuffle inside alerted that someone was about to appear, and before he could hold his breath he was staring into a mirror.
Well, if that mirror showed you what you looked like when you are old.
The man held striking resemblance to Tommy. Blond hair, striking blue eyes, the smile also would have looked similar if Tommy had been inclined to smile at all the last 10 years.
“Hi mate! I'm Phil, come on in!” He seemed to stare directly into Tommy's soul when he spoke to him, which was crazy in itself. People usually spoke over him, only really looking at Kate. Phil had looked at him, and had spoken to him. What the fuck was happening?
Kate followed him closely as they were led into the house. Straight ahead of them was a staircase up to presumably the second floor, to their left was a hallway, but they turned right, which opened up into an open concept living room, dining room and kitchen.
“You have got paperwork for me then, Kate?” She nodded, “Alright then lets set up in the dining room.”
They sat around a large table. One side had a bench instead of chairs. Phil sat at one end, Tommy, worried by the choices, sat on the bench, while Kate sat next to them.
Honestly? Tommy zoned out while the two talked, and Phil signed up for the problem of a lifetime. He had been through this many times in the past anyway, and knew pretty much exactly what they were talking about. How he was a flight risk, prone to mental breakdowns and not afraid of a physical fight. Kate would be completely blunt and brutally honest with that glint in her eye, while Phil got more and more anxious about what he was signing up for.
Yet, when Tommy glanced up to see what part of the speech they were at (discussing why he left his last home), Phil's face showed no sign of regret or remorse. He looked… oddly calm? Relaxed? Tommy was sure that did not bode well for his future here.
What worried him even more was the laugh that this Phil guy gave when a huge crash rattled the house from the top of his stairs. Like it did not bother him at all.
“That’d be Wil,” he said with a grin, “I don’t think he realizes we have company.”
There was a stiff laugh from Kate, before she showed him the last dotted line to sign, and he was officially Tommy’s guardian for the foreseeable future. Phil seemed pleased by this and thanked her as he helped her back to the door they entered in.
She knelt down to sit face to face with Tommy in the open doorway, and he realized that she was actually leaving him here.
“You will be okay,” she said, “call me if you need anything.”
Tommy didn’t have the heart to correct her ‘if’ to ‘when’. Even if he had, she was gone before his heart would catch up. She was gone, and he was in this house of strangers.
“So, what would you like to do first?”