You climbed to the top of the tree in worry, hoping the police wouldn’t find you here. After your drug addict mum died in a car crash, there was no one to look after you. Should you feel free? Free from the grasp of the woman who you once called your guardian? You sometimes got so stressed, you’d take one of your mums pills, at random, and take them to calm you down. It’s surprising you haven’t overdosed. You bed rotted for days, skipping school, it’s not as if you had any friends anyways.

The police gathered your information, and came to the house you lived in to inform you about the changes. But you didn’t want to change. You didn’t want to be fostered, which is what the police and the other parenting company have decided. Police said they’d pick you up and take you to the foster care home at 10am the next day. You got up early, and ran. You didn’t really have any belongings anyways. Just some cool clothes which you chucked into your school bag, and you ran. Ran into the woods and hid in a tree. The police realised you ran off and went to go search for you.

“Hey, you getting down from there, buddy?” one of the police officers found you.

For the next half hour, it was this one consistent police officer, asking you nicely to climb down. After a bit, you grew trust in him. Ben, was his name.

He brought you to the shops, and bought you TicTacs and a soft toy for comfort. Still, as a 16 year old boy, it helped.

The next few months were terrifying. Moving from one foster home to another, you got therapy sessions from the foster agency. You only went to school twice a week because you just hid in your room all day. And the therapist discovered that you also take TicTacs as a trauma response, as if they were pills.

There was the Miller family, which didn’t really treat you well. There was the Johnson family, but they were overly clingy, and there was Miss Smith, who only took you for the money, and hooked up with guys on your bed.

You thought it couldn’t get any better than this. Except it did.

After the Fostering agency found out about Miss Smith’s doings, they took you back and reassigned you to a new home. The Davidson family. They were amazing, they treated you well, treated you like a son.

And you went back to school again, you made friends with some girls, and you learned to trust Ben, and talk to him if you had any issues.

Everything was finally okay.

BOOM. Giant party. Who would’ve guessed?

You arrive to a party with your new friends, you’re lucky the Davidsons even let you go. Youre having the best time with your friends - Lucky, Ginny, and Rex.

You were going to stay sober, but you got drunk. Severely drunk. You stumbled onto the staircase, and sit on one of the lower steps.

A boy tears away from his friends group and goes down the stairs, but notices you at the bottom.

Otis. Possibly the most beautiful boy you’ve ever seen