You're Beautiful To Me

After I step in and close the door behind me I cross the room and sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at Anna as she stares back up at me. "Dad already yelled at me" she tells me, her bottom lip quivering slightly and I reach down and gently stroke her hair back off her face as I say "I'm not here to yell at you baby." "Really?" She asks, looking shocked and I shake my head as I keep stroking her hair before saying "No baby I'm proud of you for sticking up for your brother like that." "She kept calling him a fag and a freak" she tells me and I sigh before asking "Is that why he doesn't want to go to school? Is that what the other kids are saying to him?" She nods her head before saying "What's wrong with him dad?" "I don't know baby, he's just a little confused right now but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with him." Anna nods before sitting up and I pull her into a hug, her face burying in my neck as she cuddles back and when we pull apart I say "Even though I'm not mad at you, you know violence is not the right way to solve anything right?" "Yes but she made me so mad" Anna tells me and I nod before saying "I know baby but sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and turn around and walk away and ignore their words otherwise you will end up in big big trouble and I won't always be able to help you." Anna nods and I lean in and press a soft kiss to her forehead before standing back up and offering her my hand, pulling her up too once she takes it and we make our way out into the living room where Frank, Mikey and Miles have started a movie.

Just as the movie is ending I glance at the clock and see we have forty five minutes until our family therapy session and I tell Anna and Miles to get ready to go and they leave the room to get their shoes on. While they're gone I turn to Mikey and ask if he wants to come with us. He starts to protest, saying he doesn't think he should but I tell him he's a part of the family and his support would mean a lot and he agrees, standing to put his jacket on as the kids come back into the room and we all leave the house, getting in Franks car and heading to the therapists office. The whole ride to the office is tense and silent, my attempts at starting a conversation not going anywhere. When we finally pull up I get out of the car, Frank, Anna and Mikey following and when I turn back to look at Miles I see him still sitting in his seat, his belt still done up looking around with his bottom lip quivering. "Allie" I say softly as I lean back into the car and he turns his head to look at me and the first tear starts rolling down his cheek. "Come on, it's going to be ok" I tell him softly as I lean in further and help him undo his belt, his body sliding across and into my arms and I scoop him up, his legs wrapping around my waist as I back out of the car and straighten up, my arms secured around his body. "Baby it's alright" I whisper in his ear and he lets out a low choked off whine before burying his face in my neck and I feel my skin getting wet as his arms tighten around my shoulders.

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