Again, that sickly sweet voice called out from behind the door. She's smiling a beautiful smile. I can tell, even if I can't see her. But, she's not calling for me. She knocks gently on the door, asking to be let in. And then she crossed the line.

"What are you hiding, Irial? You shouldn't hide things from your mother!"

She giggles a bit at the end, sweet and innocent. However. It's all fake.

"You're not my mother. You'll never be."

Came the reply on our side. Almost instantly, the knocking stops. All is quite. Except for the slight sound of grinding teeth. She's angry. Almost instantly, he reacted to the change in tension. Pointing over to the cupboard, he bade me climb in and hide. I obeyed. What else could I do? I was no match for her. And then hell began.

"How dare you! You're nothing but a brat! Why do I have to stoop down to the level of your whore of a mother and be nice to you! God knows I've tried to be nice, but no! After everything I've done for you! Don't you recognise that I'm doing this all for you?!"

She's pounding pretty hard on the door. Between each pound, when the door opens slightly, exposing her ugly face. Anger and hate tears through her face, as she spits insults to him and occasionally, his mother. It pains me to see him wince every time she mentions his mother.

Footsteps. Then a loud bang and the door is wide open, with a large man outside, one foot still in mid-air. Where did Irial go? Ah, there he is. Knocked back into the room. Out of my sight. The man turns to comfort the sobbing woman, now seemingly tamed by the mere presence of her lover. He seems angry. But, then again, he always is.

"Irial. Why don't you realise that Megan is trying her best. I know it's hard for you to accept, but she is your new mother. You need a mother, Irial."

He tries to sound caring, but his voice still has that sense of falseness. No response on our side. With one hand on the door, the man shouts out his punishment.

"You unruly child! Until you've decided to accept this arrangement, you will not be leaving this room! Why can't you just grow up and see that this is all for you?!"

Again with that line. The door slams shut and I hear the key turn in the lock. We'll be here a while. As their footsteps faded away and I began to relax, I felt a pain in my chest. It had begun since that woman's outburst, and grew with every second to become excruciating. I began to panic. The pain was becoming unbearable. The cupboard door opened. He looked down at me, semi-amused.

"You can stop holding your breath, Lillian."

He smiled as if nothing had happened. Like it was any other normal day. I relaxed and took a breath. The pain subsided. There's sadness in his eyes. From the cold words of his father or the reminder of his mother's death, I would not know.

"Why do you protect me?"

The question just escaped my lips, before I could reel it in and keep it in check. He looked taken aback for a moment, then thoughtful. He smiled again.

"Why do you stay with me?"

A question met with a question. I smiled then. Simultaneously, we whispered:

"All for you."

::Written byEve at 6:16 PM::
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