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At the age of 19, Nicky Hemmick knew he was too young to be a parent. He was nowhere near emotionally mature enough, nor was he in the right place financially.
He’d thought about it, maybe a bit too much. He knew he wanted to adopt one day, maybe in his late 20’s or early 30’s. It would only be after years of therapy and after he and Erik had good, stable jobs. He thought maybe he’d want a little girl. He’d be a great girl dad one day. But he’d love a boy too. Or whoever this theoretical child grew up to be. He’d love them no matter what.
This whole parenthood plan he’d had in his head came crumbling down around him with one phone call from his cousin.
It was rare for Aaron to call him. The kid hardly ever answered his texts. So Nicky was already on the edge of his seat when he hit accept.
And then Aaron started talking.
Tilda, Aaron's mother, was dead. Aaron was pretty sure Andrew had something to do with it. Luther was trying to get custody of Aaron and Andrew which would not go well considering Andrew had already threatened Luther multiple times and-
Wait a second.
“Aaron. Aaron, hold on a second. Who the fuck is Andrew?”
-
Four weeks later, Nicky found himself standing in a run down house with thrift store furniture and two 13 year old boys. Eriks’ family had helped him buy the house and the furniture, and Nicky got a serving job to cover the rest of the bills. He’d fought like hell to prove he’d be a good guardian for the boys, and here they were.
Nicky clapped his hands and turned to face the twins. “So I was thinking we could go grocery shopping in a little bit! We’ve got food stamps, and I’ve got some extra cash to cover anything else.” Aaron, at least, gave him a small smile. Andrew just stared at his boots. “Okay! Well. You two go upstairs and pick your rooms. They’ve each got a twin bed and a desk already. Anything else you’ll want we can get later.”
“Thanks Nicky.” Aaron said, then he was gone.
Which left Nicky with Andrew, who was still avoiding Nickys’ gaze. This was the part of parenting Nicky was in no way prepared for. Mentally ill children.
He took a breath and bent down a bit, putting himself at even height with Andrew.
“Hey Andrew. I know you don’t know me very well, but I hope to change that. If there’s anything at all you want for your room, just let me know, okay? Please don’t hesitate to ask for something.”
Despite his calm tone, Andrew flinched. He didn’t look up from his boots, but he did mumble a quiet, “I don’t like that word. The ‘P’ word.”
Okay then. Nicky would have to expunge the word ‘please’ from his vocabulary.
“Alright, that's fine.” He tried to give a reassuring smile, even if Andrew wasn’t looking. “Is there anything else, or do you wanna head upstairs?”
“I need a lock on my door, one that’s from the inside.”
Odd, but whatever. “Every door already has a lock on the knob. I do have a key, but I pinky promise I’ll only use it in emergencies and I’ll try and give plenty of notice before, okay?” As sort of a peace offering, he held out his pinky.
To Nicky's surprise, a small pinky lopped around his, shook once firmly, and then Andrew was gone.
Well. This was going to be interesting.
-
Things started off normal enough. Whatever could be considered normal for two teenage boys who hadn’t known the other existed for their entire lives. The twins avoided each other for the most part. Sometimes Aaron would shoot a mean comment at Andrew, and sometimes Andrew would throw him a glare in response. Or sometimes Nicky would make dinner and they’d come to the agreement that they both hated one specific ingredient.
Like the time Nicky made spaghetti for the first time, they’d both requested no sauce. Apparently a hatred of tomatoes was genetic.
Nicky had pointed that out with a laugh, hoping to get a smile from one of them. Instead, Aaron had gotten up and poured a giant spoon of tomato sauce over his pasta. And he’d choked the whole plate down while Andrew picked at his own.
He asked Aaron, later that night, why he seemed to hate Andrew.
“I thought you’d be happy to have a brother, Aaron. He’s family.”
Aaron had just scowled. “He’s not my brother. I told you Nicky. He killed mom. I know he did.”
Nicky sighed. “Aaron, he's a kid, just like you. I don’t think he’s capable-”
“When Luther found him, he was in juvie for setting a police car on fire, Nicky! He’s fucking crazy!” Aaron had tears in his eyes now, his lip wobbling.
“Okay. Okay, Aaron. I’m sorry.” He opened his arms, and Aaron stepped into them. “I’m sorry.”
Over Aaron's shoulder, Nicky saw black clothed feet turn and run away. Great.
Despite Aaron’s words, Nicky refused to believe Andrew was that bad. He hadn’t done anything bad since Nicky’s been around. He’d give Andrew the benefit of the doubt for now.
-
“Andrew Joseph Minyard!” Nicky shouted as he shut the front door. He kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his jacket, and turned to find Andrew sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a black eye and a trash bag. “Oh! Andrew. I thought you’d be in your room.”
Andrew shrugged, tightening his grip on his trash bag. “How long until the social worker is here?” He asked, his voice on edge.
Nicky frowned and stepped towards the boy. “Social worker? What are you talking about? If anything, we should be expecting the cops. I wouldn’t be surprised if that boy's family is pressing charges.”
“I know you’re sending me back, Nicky, don’t lie to me.” The edge to the boys’ voice had Nicky wanting to take a step back, but he stayed where he was. “They always send me back when I get in trouble.”
“No, Andrew.” Nicky took a deep breath and went to sit beside Andrew on the step. He left plenty of room between them, already knowing how much Andrew disliked being touched. “Okay, tell me why you started a fight with that boy.”
Andrew shrugged again. “He was being mean to Aaron. Talking about his mom. And Aaron just looked really sad, and I got angry. All I did was push him at first. Then he hit me. And I got more angry.”
Nicky nodded. “Okay. That makes sense. Thank you for telling me. You did a good job standing up for your brother, and I will be having a talk with the principal and the boy's parents. I’m not saying it’s okay to hit people, and you’ve been suspended for two months, but I’m proud of you for doing something, okay?”
“So, I’m staying?” Andrew asked quietly. His grip on his trash bag was slowly loosening.
“Yes, Andrew. You’re staying. I’d never send you back.” Honestly, Nicky wasn’t sure if he was even able to give Andrew back to the state. But either way, he never would. “Andrew, can I give you a hug?” To his surprise, Andrew nodded.
He’d just wrapped an arm around Andrew for a side hug when the door burst open. Aaron stood in the open door, his jaw dropped.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He said, anger clear in his voice. “Nicky, he beat the shit out of a kid today and you’re fucking hugging him?”
Nicky took his arm back and slowly stood up. “Aaron, you know that’s not the whole truth-”
“Not the whole truth?” Aaron yelled. He dropped his book bag and stepped forward, slamming the door behind himself. “So what, the kid was teasing me a bit and that gives him the excuse to go apeshit? He’s fucking violent, Nicky, can’t you see that?”
“Aaron, you need to calm the hell down and lower your voice.”
“Calm down?! You didn’t see him! He’s dangerous. No one at school would come anywhere near me for the rest of the day and he wasn’t even there anymore! Why is he being hugged instead of punished?”
Nicky tried to take a deep breath. “He’s been suspended, Aaron. There’s not much more punishment I can do.”
Aaron seemed to have reached a boiling point. “Oh that’s fucking bullshit! I want him gone, Nicky. Send him back to whatever orphanage he came from. Or better yet, send him back to juvie. I want him gone! I hate him!”
“Aaron!” Nicky yelled, and Aaron shut up real quick. “I’m not picking sides here. Andrew thought what he did was the best option. You disagree. Whatever, it’s over with. But you do not get to speak to me like that. And you don’t get to speak about him like that. He thought he was defending you. Apologize.” Nicky looked down at Andrew, only to see he was gone. At some point during Aaron's fit, Andrew had retreated to his bedroom.
Honestly, Nicky couldn’t blame him.
“Go upstairs and apologize right now.”
With a huff, Aaron grabbed his bookbag and stomped up the stairs. He stopped at Andrews' door and yelled. “Sorry if I hurt your feelings, asshole!”
Nicky sighed. Fucking teenagers.
-
It had been two weeks, and Nicky hadn’t seen Andrew.
He knew he was still in there, and he knew he was coming out to use the bathroom and occasionally eat. But besides that, the door remained shut and locked. He’d knocked plenty of times, contemplating using his key. But he knew Andrew valued his privacy. And Andrew had a valid reason to be upset.
Aaron was loudly voicing his happiness about Andrew staying locked away anytime he passed the door, which Nicky was sure wasn’t helping.
He just didn’t know what to do.
-
A month. Nicky hadn’t seen Andrew in a month.
He’d started staying up late, ear pressed against his own closed door, to listen for Andrew. Every night, like clockwork, he’d get up, go to the bathroom, go downstairs, then come right back up.
Nicky had started leaving tupperware containers with dinner leftovers in the microwave with a note. They were gone each morning when he woke up, but none of the containers had been returned. He’d had to buy a new pack.
He even started leaving Andrews’ favorite snacks on the dining table for him. Nutty bars and cosmic brownies and fruit snacks and white monsters. Anything to try and make him feel welcome a bit.
Even Aaron had started to get concerned. He slowed every time he walked past the door, as if listening for something.
Nicky promised himself he’d unlock the door soon.
-
It was the night before Andrew was supposed to go back to school, and he still hadn’t come out.
Aaron had come up to Nicky and asked him to unlock the door. He said he felt like something was off, and that he was a little scared, and that he felt they had let Andrew have his privacy for long enough. And Nicky agreed.
He didn’t know what he expected to find behind Andrews’ door, but it certainly wasn’t the smell that hit him as soon as it swung open. He stumbled back a bit, pulling the collar of his shirt up over his mouth and nose.
The room was a mess. Half-eaten containers of food and empty wrappers thrown about the place. There were flies everywhere. Hesitantly, Nicky stepped inside. He used his foot to carve out a path to the bed.
Somehow, the bed was worse.
Andrew was curled up in a ball on top of the covers wearing the same thing he’d worn two months ago. He still had his trash bag clutched to his chest. Containers were piled up on the bed as well. And were those.. No. That couldn’t be…
Maggots. There were maggots in the bed Andrew was sleeping in.
“Okay. Aaron,” He called. “Put your shirt over your face and come help me get him out of here.”
It didn’t take much effort to get the bag from Andrew and toss it somewhere in the room. Getting him up was easy too. He was light, too light. They practically carried him into the bathroom. The whole time, Nicky could hear Aaron whispering “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
They set him down on the toilet, made sure he’d remain upright, then went out to the hallway.
“Aaron, you shut the bedroom door, we’ll deal with that later. Go find some of your clothes he can wear. I’m gonna help him get cleaned up, okay?”
Aaron kept peeking behind Nicky into the bathroom. “Is he gonna be okay?”
Nicky paused. He didn’t know. He didn’t know what was wrong with Andrew, and he didn’t know if he’d be okay. But he couldn’t say that to Aaron. “Yeah, buddy. He’ll be alright. Just go get some clothes for him.”
Aaron nodded and ran off towards his bedroom, so Nicky went back into the bathroom and shut the door. He pulled the shirt down from his face and took a second to breathe. Guilt wracked his body. Why had he let Andrew stay in there for so long? He should have opened the door sooner. Should have actually checked on him.
No. This wasn’t about him right now. This was about Andrew and making sure Andrew got the help he needed. He’d have a meltdown about it later. Right now, he needed to get Andrew cleaned up.
He walked over and squatted beside the toilet. “Andrew, buddy? I’m gonna help you take a bath. Is that okay?” It took a minute, but eventually Andrew nodded. “Alright then.”
He went through the motions. Started filling the tub up with warm water. Got his fancy bath supplies out from the cabinet. Then he started helping Andrew undress. He tried not to look, really, but he caught a glimpse of the scars on Andrews’ arms and he couldn’t help but let a few tears slide down his cheeks. When he looked back up at Andrews’ face, he noticed Andrew was crying too.
It took more than one bath to get him clean. It took three. When he was finally done, and the water was draining for the last time, Nicky opened the door to grab whatever Aaron had picked for Andrew. Instead, he found Aaron standing there with his arms full.
“I grabbed all the black stuff I had in case he wanted to pick. And I found my fluffy towel. And I ran it all through the dryer for a few minutes so it would be warm and smell good.” Aaron said quickly.
Nicky smiled and took everything from him. “Thank you, Aaron. That was very kind. Why don't you go get a movie started downstairs.”
Back in the bathroom, Nicky helped Andrew stand up and wrapped him in the towel Aaron had picked out. He sorted through the clothes and found a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. He even found a pair of fluffy socks.
He got Andrew dried off and got him in underwear, then had an idea. Before he put the shirt on, he grabbed the tube of scar cream he used for his old acne scars.
“These will help them fade, okay? It works really well. You can have it, I don’t really need it anymore.”
Finally, Andrew turned his head to look at Nicky.
“Thank you.” He croaked, his eyes welling up again.
Nicky didn’t answer, just pulled Andrew in for the hug he should have gotten months ago.
-
After Andrew was settled on the couch with Aaron, Nicky went up to his own bedroom and called Erik. And he cried. He cried for a long time. When he was done, he let Erik talk him through cleaning Andrews’ bedroom. He kept Erik on the line as he put on a mask and gloves and started tossing everything. They’d get him all knew things, and he could sleep in Nicky's room in the meantime. Nicky would take the couch.
While Nicky cleaned the bedroom, Erik was looking up therapy services in the area.
When the bedroom was clean and Erik had hung up, Nicky went back downstairs. On the couch, closer than Nicky had ever seen them, Andrew and Aaron sat watching some nature documentary. Andrew was quietly speaking, it sounded like was explaining something that was happening on the TV, while Aaron nodded along and asked follow up questions.
They’d take care of him. Nicky would get them both therapy, and he’d redo Andrews’ bedroom. Andrew wasn’t fixed, he might not ever be. But they’d figure out how to help him, and Nicky wouldn’t let it get this bad again.