Chapter Text
His mother chose drugs over him. He was left in the hands of his stepfather, a man who never wanted kids to begin with. He never thought there would be an out...not until today.
Earlier That Day
By the time Zachary wakes up again, it’s 8:30 a.m. He carefully eases himself out of bed; his head is pounding, his body protesting. He pauses to catch his breath. “One step at a time,” he whispers. “One step.”
He just had to get his valuables from under his bed and make a call.
He gets on the floor and carefully reaches under the bed to where he keeps his valuables hidden. He grabs the notebook and his phone before getting out from under his bed.
He breathes heavily as he sits up against his bed. He was getting out today, no matter what it took.
He grabs the business card from inside his pillowcase and dials the number written. After a few rings, he hears a voice.
“Sergeant Bradford. How can I help you?”
*****
As soon as Zachary hangs up, he hears the front door open and angry footsteps stomping around the kitchen. He tenses and quickly throws his backpack under his bed before laying down with his back to his bedroom door. He hears the fridge open and the sound of a beer cap hitting the floor.
Zachary had hoped he could avoid any issues until Avery’s dad got to him, however, based on the stomping he hears on the stairs, he knew that wouldn’t be the case.
His bedroom door flies open. “Why the hell aren’t you at school?” Michael Bell yells at his stepson.
Zachary sits up slowly, suppressing any signs of pain, knowing it only angers his stepfather more. “It’s winter break. I’m off until January.”
Michael sets his beer bottle on the dresser before stomping over to the bed. He grabs Zachary by the front of his shirt and throws him against the wall. A crack echoes in the room, and Zachary screams in pain.
“Don’t talk back to me, boy. You can’t be off school; you still need to earn your keep.”
“I’m sorry,” Zachary whispers, sitting up against his bed, cradling his arm to his chest.
“Shut up,” Michael snaps. “Last night was all your fault. You lost me that bet, and now you’re telling me I have to see you around my house for the next two weeks?” He grabs his beer and takes a swig.
Despite how much his body hurts and his head spins, Zachary presses himself against his bed, trying to reach for his phone from under it.
“Don’t just sit there being all worthless, get up,” Michael snaps.
“Wh…what do you want me to do?” Zachary asks as he tries to get up, trying to not provoke the man in front of him.
“I said shut up!” Michael screams, throwing his beer bottle at the wall beside Zachary’s head.
Caught by surprise, Zachary loses his balance and falls to the ground as the glass shatters around him. He manages to close his eyes but feels a few shards slicing him.
“I don’t know why I kept you around. I shoulda gotten rid of you when your mom left,” Michael mutters, a gleam forming in his eyes. “I need to teach you another lesson.”
Zachary opens his eyes and sees Michael leaving his room, heading towards the stairs. Zachary takes a deep breath. His stepdad’s eyes have never done that before in all the years Zachary has spent with him, and he was terrified. Zachary knew help was coming but he wasn’t sure he’d make it.
Using the last of his strength, despite his body aching, despite his head spinning, Zachary gets up and quietly walks down the steps. He is two steps away from the front door when his stepdad blocks his way.
Without hesitation, Zachary pushes him away, ignoring his yells, as he throws open the front door and runs, without looking back.
“Control, this is 7-Metro-100, show us going to 6145 West 6th Street for a welfare check on a minor.”
“Copy that, 7-Metro-100.”
Lucy puts the radio back in its spot and looks over at Tim, who Lucy could tell was very tense. “We’re going to help him, Tim,” she says, brushing his arm with her hand.
“I know,” Tim replies, glancing over at Lucy. “Avery was very smart to give him my business card. I just hate that we had to leave her.”
Lucy nods in agreement as a silence fell over them.
At the restaurant, Tim quickly explained to Lucy and Tamara what the call was about. Avery had begged to go with them to check on Zachary but ultimately agreed that it would be best for her to go home with Tamara. Tim and Lucy promised to update her when they could.
They drive in silence for another minute before the radio crackles to life.
“7-Metro-100, we received a call from a neighbor of the address you’re heading to, with reports of loud voices and glass breaking.”
Lucy reaches for the radio as Tim guns the engine. “Copy that, Control. Start us another unit; we are two minutes out.”
*****
“Control, 7-Metro-100, we are on scene at 6145 West 6th Street.” Tim and Lucy radio their location, get out of the car, and quickly walk towards the house.
“NYPD,” Tim says, rapping on the door.
A moment passes before the door swings open, and a man holding a beer glares at Tim and Lucy. “What?”
“Are you Michael Bell?” Lucy asks. The man nods. “We received a call from a neighbor about a domestic disturbance. Can we come in?”
Michael rolls his eyes. “Nosy shits. What if I say no?”
“We have reports of a minor in the house. We cannot leave without talking to him,” Lucy replies. She can see Tim tensing out of the corner of her eye.
“Buncha bullshit,” Michael mutters. “Ain’t nobody here but me. See for yourself.” He steps aside and lets Tim and Lucy in.
They communicate without words as each person takes a part of the house. Lucy follows Michael to the kitchen, and Tim heads upstairs as he hears Lucy start to ask Michael some basic questions.
Tim stops at the landing and looks around the floor. He sees a door slightly ajar with cracks and dents and decides to head there first.
“Zachary…” Tim says quietly as he pushes the door open. He stops in his tracks as he takes in the room in front of him. Aside from the way the room looked like it did not belong to a teenager, there was a shattered bottle on the floor. Glass shards are everywhere, with drops of what Tim knows is blood.
He turns around and rushes back downstairs to where Lucy is standing in the living room, watching as Michael sips his beer, lounging on the couch.
“Where is your stepson?” Tim asks sharply.
“Oh, that worthless child? He assaulted me and ran out the door.” Michael sits up. “You know what, maybe I should press charges against him. That oughta teach him a lesson.”
“What was he wearing when he ran out?” Lucy asks, pulling out her notebook.
As she takes down Michael’s guess, Tim gestures for Aaron and Celina, who have been waiting outside, to come in. He explains the situation to them and tells them to take Michael to the station for questioning.
As Lucy relays the information to dispatch, Tim looks around the living room, noting the lack of pictures, and no indication of a teenager in the house.
Tim and Lucy go to the shop in silence. Tim turns on the ignition as he feels Lucy’s eyes on him.
“He told me Michael wasn’t in the house,” Tim says quietly as he reverses off the driveway. “He must’ve scared Zachary enough to run even though he knew we were coming.”
“We’re going to find him, Tim,” Lucy replies.
He doesn’t respond as the radio crackles to life.
“7-Metro-100, we received a call from the convenience store down the street from your location. Owner reports a boy matching your description stealing something before running out.”
“Control, show us responding.”
*****
“Hello ma’am, were you the one who called 911?” Tim asks the older woman behind the register.
“Yes, I was. My name is Rita, and I own the store,” the woman replies.
“My name is Detective Chen, and this is Sergeant Bradford,” Lucy says. “Can you describe the boy, please?”
“He has dirty blonde hair, and he was wearing a grey sweater…” Rita trails off. “He… I… I don’t want to press charges. It looked like someone beat him badly. He grabbed a bottle of water and napkins before running out.”
Tim and Lucy exchange a solemn look.
“Did you happen to see where he ran off to?” Lucy asks.
“The alley behind the store near the dumpsters. I heard rustling when I opened the back door, and I didn’t know if he was running from someone, so I figured I’d call to be on the safe side,” Rita says.
“Thank you, ma’am, we appreciate your help,” Lucy replies.
“Can we go through your back door?” Tim asks.
Rita nods and points them in the direction. Tim radios for an ambulance before nodding at Lucy. She opens the door slowly and walks out with Tim behind her.
Lucy points out a trail of blood to Tim as they continue walking towards the dumpster.
“Zachary,” Tim calls out softly. “It’s Tim, Avery’s dad. I’m here with Lucy, Avery’s mom.”
They hear some rustling as they walk towards the dumpster. “I didn’t listen. I’m sorry,” they hear a voice say quietly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Tim says. “We just want to help you.”
“I ran. And I stole from the store,” Zachary whispers back.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Lucy says softly. “No one is mad, and you’re not in trouble.”
Tim and Lucy hear more rustling before a small figure emerges from behind the dumpster. They hold back their gasps as they look over the boy in front of them. There are blood stains on his sweater, his face is badly bruised, and he’s pressing a napkin to his forehead.
Zachary takes a step forward. “I…I made it out…”
His eyes roll back just as Tim rushes forward to grab him before he falls. Tim carefully lowers himself and Zachary to the ground, grabbing the napkin and taking over applying pressure to the cut above his eye.
Tim locks eyes with Lucy. “Yeah, buddy, you made it out,” Tim whispers.