[COMPLETED] where she sat and ate her strawberries, while he smoked his cigarettes.
-harry styles au
-set in summer of 1998
-mentions rape, sexual assault, abuse, fighting, and suicide
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~Marley~
She was woken up to the sound of an old pan smacking against the floor, followed by a small shriek that jerked her out of bed instantly.
Her heart began beating quicker than ever before, her mind running a thousand thoughts as she kicked the covers off of her body. She didn't even have time to catch her breath, rushing out of the door to her room with the fear rushing through her veins that the day had finally come when Cole would be taken away.
Tears started to form in the bottom of her eyes as she reached the stairs, not even remembering making it down until she found herself at the bottom, panting slightly as she rushed to the kitchen. Her feet smacked against the old hardwood as she finally saw a small, blonde head of hair staring up at her, a small grimace on his face with a pan attached to his left hand.
"Jesus Cole," she said quickly, placing her hand on her heart while trying to catch her breath. "You scared the hell out of me."
"I'm sorry," he said, rushing over to her with the pan still in his hand. "I was trying to surprise you."
She looked across the small kitchen as she tried to understand what he meant, only to have her heart swell at the sight. There was a small carton of milk sat on top of the counter next to the fridge, one egg placed gently on top of a paper towel next to the stove, with a small stool in front of it. She smiled slightly at her brother, before laughing softly to herself as she ruffled his hair.
"That's really sweet of you buddy," she said as she grabbed the pan from his hand. "But we can't afford the house burning down today, how about I make you this instead, yeah?"
He rolled his eyes at her, patting his hair back down onto his head as he groaned, "You know I hate it when you do that."
"I can't help it," she shrugged happily, placing the pan onto the stove as she turned to look at him. "It's the-"
"Blonde," he groaned, cutting her off with a sigh as he jumped onto the seat across from her. "I know, I know."
She hummed happily at the boy, never being able to get over how much she loved him. Yet as she looked at him, she couldn't help the ping in her chest at the thought of how quickly he truly had to grow up.
"Hey, Marley?" The boy asked out of the blue, looking down at his hands that were folded onto the table. She could tell by the tone in his voice that whatever was about to be asked was important, like he had been trying to find the right time to ask her.
"Yeah," she answered, turning all of her attention to him as she leaned onto the counter across from him.
"Is the reason why mummy isn't coming home because of me?"
Her jaw dropped slightly at the words, praying with everything inside of her that she had misheard what he had asked. Her voice cracking at the words as she responded, "What?"
