Chapter Three

It was 12 o clock at night and Clark was having trouble falling asleep. He felt so sorry for Megan. That day at the park was the most open he'd ever seen her be.

He tried to close his eyes, but all that he could see was the tear stained face of Megan and the terrible bruises on her arm. He continuously heard the words that she cried and couldn't get them out of his head. The way she had said them broke his heart.

"I hate her! So much! I would rather live in Heaven right now than this place; if she does anything else I think I might just chose to go to there! The only thing she ever does is yell and today she hit me. I just want to leave! I want to leave and never come back!" Never in his life had Clark heard someone say those kind of words. Especially a second grader.

'I feel terrible. I want Megan to know that me and Brittany will always be there for her! What she wants to do is so wrong! But how could her mother do that! I can't even imagine Ma doing anything like that! Poor Megan. I should do something.' But he didn't know what to do.

He got out of bed and pulled out a piece of paper, an envelope and a black pen.

'Megan won't listen to me, but maybe if she reads a letter I write it will help' Clark decided as her uncapped his pen.

He began writing his letter. 30 minutes went by until he sealed the envelope and wrote Megan's name on the front.

He silently said a prayer asking that Megan be watched over. Then he fell asleep.

It was Saturday before Clark knew it. He walked into the kitchen where his mother and father were waiting for him.

"Clarkster, guess what? Ma and I have some good news." George Reynolds said with a grin on his face.

Sarah was smiling as she looked at Clark and told him the good news.

"Well, the news is, you are going to be a big brother!"

Clark wasn't in the best mood, he still felt uneasy about the whole Megan issue. But, being the sweet little boy that he was, he managed to wear a grin ear to ear and exclaim,

"Really? I'm so happy! I can't wait! When did you find out?"

Clark's arms were now draped around his parents.

"Thanks, honey. I'm so happy too. I know that you are going to be the best big brother ever,"

Sarah still was holding Clark next to her.

Clark loved moments like this. It was times like this when he felt so safe, and so loved. He brought in every second of this moment.

George then swooped up his son and put him on top of his shoulders. Clark held on tight as his father ran around the house. Clark was feeling better and so glad that he had such a wonderful family.

Just then, as his father gently lifted Clark down, he began to feel guilty. Here he was, laughing with his dad and hugging his mother, when Megan was probably at home being yelled at. The happy feeling that he had just had disappeared and left him feeling like he needed to go visit Megan.

' I don't know why, but something keeps telling me that I need to go over there.'

Clark walked over to his bedroom and grabbed his sneakers.

"Ma, I'm going to go over to the park with Megan and Brittany, okay?"

Clark told more than asked.

"Alright, sure honey but make sure to be back by lunch time, remember that you've got practice today," Sarah called from the kitchen where she and George were having another one of their talks.

Standing on Megan's porch, Clark waited anxiously for her to answer the door.

It had been a couple minutes since he knocked. He pushed the doorbell and waited a little while longer.

Suddenly, Megan's mother threw open the door.

The woman was rather short and wore an over-sized T-shirt with jeans. Her hair was either light gray, or so blond, that it was loosing color. Her hair looked very much like a broom, and was thrown up in a pony tail. Clark also noticed that she smelt of smoke, and was standing quite slumped over. She didn't look all that old, but the bags under her eyes where so drooped and purple, it made her look like she was aging by the minute.

"What do you want!" snapped the woman.

She had a pretty raspy voice, but at the same time it was very loud and crisp.

Behind her, Clark could see a very cluttered room. There was an old brown sofa that was so faded, you'd have thought it was orange or tan. Then he saw Megan. She was huddled next to the couch sitting with her back against the wall and hugging her knees. Even from the front door, Clark could tell she had been crying.

"Well?" The woman was growing very impatient.

"Uh, hi…Mrs. Robinson, right?" Clark came back to his senses and looked up at the woman's grayish blue eyes.

"Alright kid what do you want? You come over to get your ball back or somethin'? Cus' I aint gonna go get it. So juss' leave now before I personally make ya. I won't have ya suckin up to me or what not either."

"Oh, no, I haven't lost any thing. I was just coming over to ask if Megan and I could go to the park." Clark looked up at the woman. She looked like she was going to spit on him any second.

"Gosh, is that it, boy?! You bug me to ask if that kid can play with you? First that kid is bugging me, now here you are joining her fun, huh," Mrs. Robinson said referring to Megan.

"Man, I hate kids. Take her off my hands, see if I care. Heck, I don't care if she ever comes home,"

Mrs. Robinson turned and went inside, leaving the door wide open. Clark watched as the woman grabbed Megan by the arm and dragged her to the front door.

"Here! Is this what you want? Fine, go. Both of ya,"

The woman threw Megan out the door towards Clark and slammed it behind her. Clark was now holding Megan and listened to the sound of a chain locking the door from inside.

Megan was in tears, and Clark didn't know what to do. He draped his arm around Megan's shoulder and told her it would be okay, though he didn't think that it would. They walked across the street to Brittany's and sat on the curb.

Clark just listened to Megan cry and sat there with his arm around her.

Minutes later, Brittany stepped out of her house.
"Oh, hey guys. I was just gonna go over to get ya…" Brittany froze in her tracks as she realized her best friend crying.

She ran over and sat on the other side of Megan. But before Brittany said anything, Megan slipped out from under Clark's arm and was starting to walk away.

Clark watched as Brittany ran over to her best friend and held her for several minutes. Clark could tell Megan was getting uncomfortable and motioned for Brittany to let her be. Megan had stopped crying and now was just plain angry at her mother.

"Boy I hate her so much, I could… I could just" Megan was gritting her teeth and her hands were clenched.

"It's not even a home to me… It's a prison. A living…"

Brittany's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Her jaw seriously dropped to the ground. She put her hands to her face and gasped.

Clark was quite surprised too. He didn't think that Megan would ever use bad language. He glanced back at Brittany whose face said "I can't believe she said that!!"

Then, somehow the three friends ended up at the park, forgetting that Megan said H. E. double hockey sticks, forgetting Megan's family problem. Forgetting what each other thought, forgetting everything, and just hung out laughing, having a good time, and going on with their lives. They ran around the field forgetting everything until their legs wouldn't carry them any more….