The breaking of dishes and vases grew louder in nineteen year old Dade’s ears. Dade had short brown hair, beautiful blue eyes and was around five foot nine inches. His ears began to ring and echo every sound he heard approached his door. He had been accustomed to this lifestyle for five years now. Ever since his little sister died they were constantly arguing about everything they could find. One night it would be about him another it would be the money and then it would be about how they don’t pull their part of the weight in the family. He was getting to the point where he could only predict what they were going to say. He reads his bible in the candle light due to his parents not paying bills. He flips to his favorite chapter of Genesis and read about the final plague it is the one he always wishes would happen. ‘The first born to be killed; that would be me. ’ he thought in what to him seemed a damp hell hole so called home. The way they were constantly screaming had caused Child Protection Services and the police to show up multiple times in the past. So many times he could have been taken away from there but, chose to just stay with it all and go through it. He turned his Bible to Ephesians 6:2, and read aloud "Honor thy father and mother." He thought intensely ‘well if I have to honor them then why cant they honor each other.’ He closed his Bible and laid it on his chest, and held it tight. He was hoping for a simple answer, but he got the worst kind. His parents entered his room, followed by the Child Protection Service officers. This time it was different they didn’t ask him they just grabbed him. The way his parents looked he knew something was wrong. The neighbors were on their patio decks watching the scene.
He glanced around the sirens were deafening the stares were burning into his skull. He turns around he finally figured out what was happening. His wanting to escape from their lives had become a reality. ‘The neighbors must have seen the abuse he was put through on a nightly basis and finally felt sorry for him. Dade thought with a hint of dismay and disgust. ‘How could they take so long and only do it out of pity for me?’ He turned to the officer that stood beside him and asked if he could go get h is Bible and notebook. The officer nodded approvingly and said "Make it fast though. I was instructed to get you to Child Services as quickly as I can." He walked toward up the steps with a disgruntled expression on his face and sighed and said "Why is this happening to me?" He trudged to his room with his head hung low and deep in thought with the question of ‘What else had they seen?’ repeating through his head as a song skips when the CD is scratched. He entered his room and with a quiet grunt fell to his knees and crawled and scavenger through the mess on the floor for his Bible he had moments ago. He found his Bible along with his notebook on the side of his bed from when he guessed the officer pulled him out of bed to his feet. He took advantage and took one last look around and started toward the door. He took his coat of his coat rack and treaded outside next to the officer and stood silently and waited. The man turned toward Dade and signaled to the car for him to get in the back. Dade did as instructed and took out his phone and texted his friend Willis. He filled him in with only two full text messages. Willis said he would talk to his foster parents about coming to see him.
That was the end of their conversation for the officer assumed he would text his parents and confiscated it. He simply took it and did a little bit of dismantling. Dade knew that this day was coming he just didn’t expect it to come as soon as it did. The ride to the Child Service office was shorter than Dade would have imagined it to be. It was a gruelingly short and silent ride. Not one word was said until they came to the office where a young woman emerged from the doors wearing what appeared something similar to a nurses outfit. She approached the car with swift steps making it seem like she was gently gliding with her arms across her chest a gentle smile appeared on her face. The young woman’s name tag read Joanne and Dade remembered that is who Willis said he remembered most about the office. He said she appeared nice but once she was in charge she was as mean as a mother protecting her cubs from men. He started to panic slightly but then settled down once she stared at him intensely studying him. He took a deep breath once out of the car and looked around to see that his parents in the squad car had been behind them all the time. He felt uneasy like he was being mentally killed slowly by his parents actions and words. His vision became blurred and the scene flashed through his head, the way the sirens sounded his parents disappointed look. He started to fall but startled by the officers deep voice he was able to catch himself. Bewildered by his actions Joanne led him to his room and introduced him slightly to his roommates. She took his suitcase and set it next to a stained damp cot. She simply said "This is where you will sleep till we find you a foster family."
Dade looked at her dryly he didn’t dare say anything to make her mad She turned on her heel which made a squeal on the unwaxed floor which made all of the kids cringe. She went outside to talk to the officer about his situation and meanwhile the kids in his room pulled out their deck of cards and started playing poker. Willis must have convinced his foster family to let him go and see Dade because an old Chevy was parked up front. Willis must have shuttered when he saw Joanne again for when he came to the room he was covered in goose bumps. The fright in his eyes showed a hint of sorrow for Dade for he knew what it was like to be in foster care. He only hoped Dade would find a good family and that he would be protected from all evil. He to was a Christian but he had disobeyed the rule of no sex before marriage and had ended up with the wrong girl and got AIDS. However, when Dade found out he and Willis prayed together for three hours straight about what had happened. He had been crying and Dade could easily tell. He decided not to say anything and just asked him what he should do. The unappealing answer he responded with a shrug of the shoulder and a response of "Stay out of Joanne’s hair." Dade looked at Willis with a glint of disappointment appearing in the corner of his eye. Willis was quieted with a somewhat of a glare from Joanne and the nudge of his foster parents hand, signaling that it was time to go. Willis gave a silent nod and gave a gentle hug to Dade and trudged down the hall looking over his back several times. He exited and Dade heard a loud car door slam. It made him kind of wish he was with his parents again. He would overcome any pain than be here in a damp room filled with the smell of dirty clothes.
He was silenced in thought when Joanne entered with two sheets and a small pillow. She set them on his bed and rudely asked if Dade was a big boy or should she do it for him. Dade help back the urge to use sarcasm as a response and simply dismissed her with a simple nod. She rolled her eyes and returned to her desk with a phone that never seemed to ring. Her cell phone went off, she walked to the room and said "Last call for bathroom." When no one moved from their sheets she simply flicked off the light and walked away with her phone out she dialed a number which Dade guessed was her boyfriends number. Dade lay silently listening to heavy breathing, obnoxious snoring, and Joanne’s annoying laugh. He sat with some silence ant then Dade heard what seemed like a sniffle of trying to hold back tears. He was motioned by the others to go check on her but he responded with a wide eye look and a nod of disagreement. The way he did it he followed them single file out to the desk and peered behind the desk from what they had predicted she had been silently crying and when she saw them she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and gave them a stern look. The way she looked made Dade somewhat feel bad for her. She saw the pity and compassion and ordered them to bed immediately. Once she saw all were in their room she locked the door and went to her own. The next morning the court called and she looked at Dade with amazement and said with disbelief "They found a foster family for you. You meet them at noon so get ready." She turned around and shuffled for his papers and muttered under her breath. Dade turned around to see the disappointed faces of the others and avoided eye contact.
He went and got his shower supplies and headed toward the bathroom only to be cut off by Charlie a boy not much younger than Dade. He turned and smiled a sly grin. He seemed to have done it out of spite toward Dade but Dade just looked at him like it didn’t bug him knowing that would annoy the young boy. Once Charlie was finished in the bathroom Dade squeezed through the door which was only slightly cracked for the big pile of clothes and towels. He looked into the mirror and ran over his scar on his forehead lightly with his index finger and sighed. He was relieved to be away from his dad who gave him that scar when he was only ten. He remembered the exact moment, his dad walking in with a knife with the smell of whiskey on his breath he looked at Dade with a remorseful look and said "Do you dare disobey me after this?" He through the knife which gently grazed his face over his left eye. His mom walked in with a small pistol and pointed it at his father and Dade pleaded she wouldn’t do it.