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TW:! Mentions of suicidal thoughts and abusive parents235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS08oeTCnqX
The day had ended and I was on my way to my bus when Razmus ran up to me.
"Nyx! Wait up!" He yelled. I turned around and smiled when I seen him. When he reached me he caught his breath. "Hey- I'm headed to my job- wanna come with me?"
"What is it?" I asked. He smiled.
"I work at a daycare," He replied. I jumped up and down.
"I love kids! Just let me text my mom and let her know first," I replied as I took out my phone and texted my mom. Razmus nodded. After around a minute I spoke again,
"Alright- let's go," I said with a smile. We both then left to go to Razmus' job. On our way there we came across a pond. We sat down for a moment and played with the ducks.
"So what are the kids like?" I asked.
"Loud- very very.. Loud, but they're also sweet. And-and when it's nap time for them they look so peaceful and it's genuinely the cutest thing," Razmus replied. I smiled.
"They sound wonderful," I said. Razmus smiled back and turned back towards the pond.
"They are.." He said, "We're all kind of like one big family at this point,"
"I could see that," I said. I then stood up, "Ready to get going?" Razmus stood up as well.
"Sure am!" He replied. We both then walked all the way to the daycare. When we walked into the daycare we could hear children laughing. We went up to the front desk and Razmus began to speak.
"Hey, Cameron- I'm ready to take my shift," Razmus said.
"Sounds good- remember nap time is in an hour," Cameron reminded Razmus. Razmus nodded.
"I think we got it," He replied as he nudged me.
"Who's this?" Cameron asked.
"This is Onyx," Razmus answered.
"Hey-" I said and waved. Cameron nodded a bit and held out his hand.
"Hey Onyx; I'm Cameron- Raz's best friend,' He introduced himself.
"Just call me Nyx," I said as I took his hand and shook.
"Alright, Nyx- what business do you got with Raz?" Cameron questioned jokingly.
"We bumped into each other this morning and he sat next to me in lunch. He also helped me figure out my gender identity," I answered. Cameron's eyes widened a bit as a smile grew on his face.
"That's cool- so what are you?" He asked genuinely.
"Non-binary," I replied.
"Oh okay- cool. Well I've gotta get going so I'll see you guys around, hm?" He asked as he began to walk out the door.
"Sounds good," Razmus replied. Razmus grabbed a name tag that said his name on it and put it on his shirt. "Here- make your own," He handed me a sticky name tag and a permanent marker. I wrote my name and put the tag on my shirt. Razmus and I then walked into the daycare room.
"Hey kids!" Razmus said, "We have a friend staying with us today!"
The children screamed in excitement
"Guys- say hi to Onyx," Razmus told them.
"Hi Onyx!" The kids yelled.
"You're really pretty!" One of the kids said.
"I like your hat!" Another said.
"Can I braid your hair?" A little girl asked.
"Alright guys- calm down. Onyx can answer your questions in a bit and I'm sure they'll make sure they get to play with every one of you," Razmus said.
"Okayyy," The children said in unison.
"Now guys- Onyx goes by they/them pronouns; can you tell me what that means?" Razmus asked. One of the kids raised their hand, "Ebbie?"
"It means they aren't a girl or a boy?" Ebbie answered, question sounding.
"You are absolutely correct, Ebbie," Razmus said to her with a smile. She smiled excitedly and jumped up and down, "Now I want you guys to respect their pronouns, okay?"
The children nodded and agreed.
"Good," Razmus said. "Now go and play!" The children all scattered to their areas to play. Razmus motioned for me to find a kid to play with. I noticed a kid playing by themselves and walked over to them.
"What are you doing?" I asked. The child looked up.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkG2dAQbcdV
"Playing," The child responded.
"Okay.. What's your name?" I tried again.
"Max," The kid said. "My name is Max,"
"Okay, well Max- do you want me to play with you?" I asked politely. Max nodded, so I sat down and played with the toys they played with. "How old are you, Max?"235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxKpgE9mM9
"Seven," Max replied.
"Ooh- that's fun," I said. "So why are you in daycare?"235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWGrCJHfg0
They paused for a moment to think.
"I don't really know, but if I had to guess; I'd say it's because mommy and daddy fight all the time and they don't want me to see it," They answered. My heart stung a bit.
"Do you know if mommy and daddy hurt each other?" I was now curious as to whether or not Max was safe at home.
"They have before. That's why grandma put us in daycare," Max stated.
"'Us'?" I asked. Max looked up and pointed over to Ebbie.
"My sister Ebbie," Max said.
"You have to take care of Ebbie a lot don't you?" I continued to ask them. Max nodded.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEyqXUMnGC
"Mommy and daddy are always busy, so I have to watch her, get her to sleep, give her baths, make sure she does her homework and brushes her teeth, and sometimes I have to feed her too," Max answered. I winced a little bit and then motioned for Razmus to come over there. I pulled him over to the side to talk to him.
"Give me a minute, Max," I said and walked next to Raz. "Razmus I think Ebbie and Max are in danger at home," 235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYwc7mTFsA
"What do you mean- and who's Max?" Razmus asked.
"Ebbie sibling," I replied.
"Maxine?" Razmus asked confused.
"Max- they go by Max," I stated.
"Oh- okay I can have that arranged. Now what do you mean by they aren't safe at home?" Razmus continued to ask. I looked around to make sure nobody was listening and then started talking.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDT7HWwNxEu
"When I was talking to them they told me that their mom and dad fight all the time and sometimes hurt each other. Then they said that 'mommy and daddy are always busy' so they have to watch Ebbie, get her to sleep, bathe her, make sure her homework is done, brushes her teeth, and feeds her sometimes too," I answered.
Razmus processed this information for a moment
"So what do you want me to do? We can't contact the authorities- that could cause problems," Razmus said.
"Call CPS- ask if they can watch over the house for a bit and if anything bad happens during that time they have a grandma that can take care of them- then give them their grandma's contact information. Max told me that she signed them up for daycare so her information should be in the system," I replied. Razmus nodded.
"Alright I'll make sure it gets done," Razmus said.
"Thank you, Raz," I thanked him. Razmus nodded and walked over to the front desk. I went back over to Max. "So, Max- tell me about yourself-"
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The day at daycare was over and all the children had gone home.
"Thanks for having me here, Raz," I said.
"No problem, Nyx," Razmus replied. "D'you need a ride?"
I nodded. "I could just have my mom pick me up, though,"
"It's fine- I'm 15 and I have my permit; may as well put it to use," Razmus insisted. "My house is right next to the daycare- come on,"
Razmus and I walked out to his house and to his car. It was 6:30 PM already. Razmus opened the door to the passenger seat and motioned for me to get in. He then walked over to the other side and got in on the drivers seat and started the car.
"Thanks for doing this," I thanked him.
"No big deal- you did good at the daycare today- this is the least I could do," He replied. I nodded and Razmus drove out of the driveway. "So did you like them?"
"Hm?" I asked.
"The kids,"
"Oh yeah- they were great. They're really sweet and cute- one even braided my hair," I answered.
"That's good," Razmus said. "Why did you tell me about Max immediately?"
"Well I was worried. I went through a lot of the same thing as a kid and it led to a suicidal teenager," I stated. Razmus nodded.
"Are you alright?" He asked. I thought for a moment.
"Not yet.. But I will be. Soon enough," I replied. It went silent for a moment.
"You know, Nyx.. I do care about you a lot," Razmus said. I nodded. "I don't know what I'd do without you today- you saved my ass in lunch even though you didn't know it,"
"What do you mean?" I asked. Razmus paused a moment.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQXmRiabMS
"I was really suicidal during lunch period and was about to go to the bathroom to end everything before I saw you sitting alone," Razmus answered. I stared at him as my nose and heart stung a bit. I paused for a moment.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVMlO8eFSM
"Are you alright?" I asked. Razmus shook his head no.
"But I have you now, so I'll be fine," He said.
"Are you sure?" I asked again. Razmus shook his head no once again.235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vFW8v1WOY
"I'm still not sure that you'll stick around and the moments you're not with me are the ones that worry me," He answered. I nodded.
"Here. I'll make you a promise, but you have to promise me back, okay?" I said. Razmus nodded. "Okay- I promise you that I'll stick around by your side forever, until the day I die, alright?"
Razmus smiled and nodded. I held my pinkie out and Razmus locked his with mine.
"Now on the count of three- we both say forever- mkay?" I asked. Razmus nodded again. "Okay.. One..."
"Two..."
"Three"
"Forever," We both said. I smiled235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymHWXK6MbT
"Oh Razmus we're here," I said. "Thanks for the ride,"
"No problem, Nyx," He replied with a smile. I grabbed my bag and walked inside, waving goodbye as I stood at the front door.
"I'm home, mom!" I yelled as I walked up to my room. I laid in bed as I took my shoes and makeup off, when I got a notification on my phone.
Goodnight, Nyx - Sent at 7:54 from Raz
I smiled and texted him back.
Goodnight, Raz - Sent at 7:54 from Nyx
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I TOLD YOU IT'D BE HAPPY
235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuD12L6cn6
