Dreams of a Broken Boy

Still, Baby Doll wasn’t fully alone. Her eyes could wander. They saw things beyond that white room. What else could she do? He had her trapped here. Might as well.

She stared off into space. The white began to hurt her eyes. Baby Doll pushed herself to focus through the pain. A low white noise filled her ears. The angel slowed down her breathing.

Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out…

Breathe in…

Lines began swimming before her eyes. Sound faded from her ears. Baby Doll felt like she was shrinking and then floating.

Wait a minute.

Two people were shouting at each other. A man and a woman to be exact. He shouted at her while she was crying.

“You never pay any attention to me!” the woman shouted. “You’ve been seeing that floozy, haven’t you? Haven’t you?!” He did say something but the sound went out. The man held a beer in his hand. Baby Doll couldn’t see their eyes. The woman had her back turned to the angel. She appeared to be pulling something off of her hand or finger.

Baby Doll didn’t get to stay long. She felt herself being yanked upwards and dragged down the hall. Darkness. The shouting came back more muffled than before.

Hang on.

She saw a door opened a crack at the end of the hall. Her body gravitated towards the weakened light. How could she not look inside?

A small boy sat in the back corner with his knees to his chest. He wore little light blue sailboat pajamas. This child couldn’t have been about eight or nine years old. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry. She could still hear him sobbing. Something about that boy looked familiar. Why couldn’t she turn away?

Baby Doll’s eyes widened.

Ben?

Suddenly, she felt her body being jerked backwards. She didn’t even get time to think.

When Baby Doll opened her eyes, she was back in the white room. Her body collapsed in those restrains.