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Talon stared outside his window, his arms wrapped his legs and his knees pressed his chest. The raven haired boy’s amber eyes tracked the droplets that landed on the window and continued to pour down. It was raining.
Why couldn’t the rain go away?
Rain meant bad things.
Rain, rain go away.
Come again another day…
Talon remembered rain, it was cold, it made his clothes wet, it made puddles.
Puddles. His parents always told him not to go in the puddles. He didn't get it. He didn't get why their faces morphed into something worse that made shivers crawl down his spine. He had jumped in a puddle once.
The circus had stayed in New Orleans, his mother dragged him along to the docks and the mall, the mall produced such loud noises that drummed in his eardrums for minutes, he absolutely hated that. It was near dinner time when he and his mother had left. Rain landed on his face and obscured his vision and he accidentally stumbled into a puddle. Curiosity clouded his mind as droplets splattered on the ground and dampened his clothes. He remembered how he turned to his mother, a smile etched his face as the pellets of rainwater rolled down his chubby cheeks. His body burst with energy. Excitement. He jumped again and again, his squealing transformed to giggles as those beautiful sparkling droplets plopped around him.
He glanced at his mother again.. He wanted a sign … He wanted a sign to show she was enjoying herself like he was. He expected to her to join and enveloped him in a gentle hug. What did he receive?
A harsh clap to the face.
The smile disappeared and his hands balled into fists, the burning tingling sensation on his cheek differed from the vibrating coldness in his fingers. The boy placed a hand to his cheek and felt a bubble pop from his chest. Then she scolded him, words stung way more than the bee sting that he received back in the summer. Like the bee… She was being mean. He hiccupped and whimpered as his mother grabbed his other hand and they walked back.
The droplets running down his cheeks were not only rainwater.
It occurred to him that rain only brought sadness.
Rain, Rain go away.
Come again another day.
It makes Talon think he’s bad.
Rain, Rain go away.
Talon sighed as he rocked back and forth on his bed, he then chewed on his nails, his sharp teeth sank into the corners the outgrown bone and he heard a soft crack. The boy kept chewing until the texture between his teeth was soft, a metallic taste aroused on his tongue, he pulled his finger back from his mouth.
The finger was covered in a coat of saliva and raw pink flesh was exposed, he watched as the droplets of blood splattered on to his bedsheets... Mr Wayne and that Leslie Doctor told him to stop doing that... Why did he do that? His mother and father didn’t seem to care when he bashed his fists to his skull when something was too loud for his sensitive ears. His mother and father didn’t care when he slammed his head against the wall when he was put in timeout. No they didn’t care. They let him hurt himself.
But his older brothers would be by his side before he can lift his hand. Then they would stay with him for god knows how long.
He didn’t understand…
Were his parents wrong for letting him hurt himself?
His mother and father hit him when he was bad. So he should do the same when he’s identified that what he did was wrong… Yet his brothers, Mr Wayne and Leslie didn’t want him to do that.
People were confusing.
The raven haired rocked back and forth once more, Jay was supposed to be playing a Baseball game right now. But it was called off.
It was the rain's fault.
Rain, Rain go away.
Come again another day.
Jay-Jay needs to play
Rain, Rain go away.
He hated when the routine was disturbed. It felt too out of place. It made itchy vibrations that travel down his arms. Jason gave him the same look his parents would give him. Eyebrows screwed downwards, lips down, the gaze in their eyes seemed like they wanted to burn Talon down. Every day Jason would scream at him, it was his fault that the older boy was outcasted to his own family. Then the raven haired would be pushed to the floor and slapped with the truthful insults before Jason would storm up the staircase leading to his room. Talon had just been saved, he hadn’t even officially adopted yet. He was a burden and a distraction… He didn’t deserve any of the attention or kindness. Jason did. He took that away from Jason.
CRASH!
Talon jumped at least five feet in the air as lightning flashed, illuminating the dark gray clouds with a slight blue tint. He tumbled to cold wooden floor, the grainy texture registered strongly under the palms of his hands. The boy collapsed to his side and his hands flew to his ears as another bolt struck down from the skies.
He forgot that rain has a friend called thunder.
Rain, Rain go away.
Come again another day.
The Court will take Talon back again-
Rain, Rain go away.
He whimpered as sparks of phantom pain coursed through his body as he involuntarily flinched.
The Court had him again.
They were hurting him again.
They didn't stop.
The buzzing and crackling went on and on and on and on.
The electricity in his veins was too much.
Another crash echoed above him, he screwed his eyes shut and felt a bubble of sound erupt from his throat but to him it was inaudible. All he could was the crackling of that stupid machine, he hated that. He wanted peace. It was hurting his head. It was hurting him. Let the pain end once and for all.
The boy whimpered and continued to cover his ears as he rolled on the ground, the phantom restraints were holding him down, he couldn't move his body, as more grumbled and crashing sounds emitted from outside, the more he believed that he was in the court. They never saved him. He couldn’t escape. No one could escape the Labyrinth.
Talon banged his head, shock waves of addition pan pulsed from the back of his skull that radiated to the rest of his skull, another screamed ripped through his raw throat but the static within his ears were much much louder.
He didn't know how long it was until somebody burst through his bedroom door and held his close and away from the floor where he was hurting himself.
The boy struggled and flailed as the arms around him secured him one place, he broke down in more tears, the words of the person behind him slipped through the processing of his mind.... His vision was slipping too.
"D-Di.. urt him.... rake!.. mian!... flred! ...awake. n't go... leep!" Was that Jason? He was supposed to be at a baseball match... Oh wait....
It was the rain's fault.
Rain, Rain go away.
Come again another day.
Talon no longer wants pain.
Rain, Rain go away.