Never Judge

Cedric laughed at Dominic's reaction as Eric smiled at the boy. 

"It seems you've scared him." Cedric teased.

"No, no." Dominic said, shaking his head. "I'm not scared. I'm just. . ." Dominic said as he tried to find the right word for what he was feeling.

"In shock?" Cedirc asked. "In awe?" 

"Shocked, I'm just shocked." Dominic said with a nod.

"Aright Dom, as much as I am enjoying your reaction to Eric being here, we need to talk about some things." Cedric said in a much more serious tone.

The kid nodded and composed himself. Cedric was surprised as to how well the child adapted to the situation. He was much stronger that Cedric had first expected.

"Okay, Dominic, what is your full name?" Cedric asked.

"Dominic Casius Fuller." Dominic told Cedric.

"Your father was a foreigner?" Cedric asked the boy, surprised to hear his last name was not one native to the country. The boy didn't look like he was of mixed blood.

"No, my dad was half and half." Dominic explained.

"Do you remember your parents?" Cedric asked the child.

"No." Dominic said, shaking his head making Cedric frown. If Dominic didn't know his parents then he must have been with the school for quite some time.

"Do you know what happened to them?" Cedric asked.

"According to the man that takes care of me at the school, they died when I was a baby." Dominic explained with a frown.

"Do you know how you ended up in the school?" Cedric asked.

Dominic nodded.

"My grandma was an old janitress in the school, when she was dying she begged the owners of the school to take care of me." Dominic explained. "I've been there since I was two. I don't even remember my grandmother. I've only seen photos of her." Dominic said with a sad expression.

"Okay Dominic, my questions will be a little bit harder to answer now." Cedric explained as he placed a hand on Dominic's.

Dominic nodded, understanding what Cedric meant. 

"How long have they been abusing you at that school?" Cedric asked, he struggled to get the words out. The thought of a child being abused was too painful for him, he could only imagine what Dominic had to go through.

"Since I can remember." Dominic said with a frown as he looked at Cedric directly in the eyes.

"What do they do to you?" Cedric asked.

Dominic frowned and closed his eyes. Cedric thought the boy wouldn't be able to tell them, it was understandable if he refused to relive memories of his abuse. Camilla, who as a child went through so much pain with her parents had chosen to completely forget.

Cedric was surprised when Dominic opened his eyes and recounted to them what he had to go through in the school.

"I was a slave." Dominic started. "I learned what the word slave meant when one teacher called me that and I read it in the library. They made me mop floors and sweep the school."

Cedric could see as Veronica wiped away some tears from her eyes, Dominic was way too young to be able to manage any of that. 

"When I did something wrong, they would hit me and kick me." Dominic said as he continued to recount his life at the school. "I never slept on a bed, even the stray cats and dogs had it better than me. The kids at the school would feed them and I would need to steal food from the strays, somedays I would fish it out of the dumpster."

Cedric frowned as he listened to Dominic's story, not only was he physically abused, he was also starved by those that had promised to take care of him.

"Did you ever ask why they didn't just send you somewhere else?" Cedric asked, to which Dominic nodded. 

"One time I tried to run away, I just didn't want to be there anymore." Dominic said with a frown. "Then when I was captured I was beaten and whipped by one of the staff. The owner and the school administrator then told me that I could never leave, that if anyone found me I would be an embarrassment to the school."

"Who did this to you?" Eric couldn't resist but ask when he heard of what happened to the kid.

"At first it was just the janitor that was taking care of me and assigning my tasks, later on other staff members joined in." Dominic explained as tears began to fall from his eyes. "Then one day the school administrator walked in on the beating, I thought I would be saved, but I was wrong. He joined in and so did most of the other teachers."

"And the students?" Cedric asked.

"I wasn't allowed to study till later on." Dominic said with a frown as Cedric handed him a handkerchief to wipe the tears away. "When I was introduced, they said I was a scholar to the school, and kids there are trained from a young age that we are beneath them. When some students walked in on the teachers beating me, they guessed that it was fine."

"Dominic, how old are you?" Cedric asked. The boy looked small like a seven or eight year old, but he spoke like he was older than that.

"Please don't send me away." Dominic began to cry. "I know I'm not a small child, but I don't want to go back, please don't send me back."

Cedric moved and pulled Dominic into a hug, comforting the child.

"We won't send you back Dominic, we just need to know your age so that we can plan." Cedric informed the sobbing child.

"I'm twelve." Dominic confessed, much to the surprise of Cedric and the others.

"Cedric, a word." Miguel said as he gestured towards the door. He wanted to have a private word with his friend. "You too Eric."

Miguel and Eric walked out as Cedric placed Dominic back on the bed.

"I'll speak with Dr. Miguel and Dr. Eric for a bit." Cedric explained to the child. "Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble. Veronica and Dave will keep you company."

Dominic nodded as Cedric left.

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