My Sweet Freedom

Eighteen

^^So fancy my guy!

**Mentions of abuse and murder, proceed with caution.
~~~

I sat next to Elizabeth, a plate of pancakes in front of us. Mama Quinn seemed to be tired, along with Miguel. They probably had a long night, taking that the whole third class was partying.

I picked and prodded at the pancakes I had, my appetite lost.

"Meliodas, do you want to talk about it now?" I heard Elizabeth squeak. I inhaled deeply, gulping hard.

"Y-yeah..about that.." I muttered, setting my fork down. I placed my hands on the edge of the table, examining them. Should I really tell her what happened with Zeldris and Estarossa? What if it scares her off? After all that work of getting to know her and falling in love with the woman, would I really want her to go away?

"Hey.." I felt a hand caressing my knee. I peered over at Elizabeth. She was looking into my eyes with pity and honesty. "You can tell me anything. Just...let it all spill.."

I nodded, looking back down at my hands. Taking in a deep breath, I began my 'magical tale'.

(These next few paragraphs are just Meliodas talking, just a heads up)

"It all started when my mother left my father. He was an abusive man, never polite to anyone. Beat me and my mother because I was an accident from a one-night-stand. My little brother, Zeldris, was his biological child, and I was not. That's all there is to it. But that was just another excuse for him to use.

"Me and Zeldris were like peanut butter and jelly, always together and all. We were really close, told each other everything. I remember this one time when he caught caught a crawdad at the little creek we lived by. He was so excited and thought he could keep it. I told him to set the little lady back out where he had caught her. We spent most of our days by the creek, me sunbathing and dipping my feet in the water while he went out and played. We had a lot of fun there.

"I was always the big brother. I always watched over Zeldris, teaching him manners and how to treat a lady. So, when we moved into the new, bigger house with my mother's new boyfriend, and he had an older son, I felt like my role was being trampled on. Crushed by someone who thought they were better than everyone. From then on, I saw Estarossa as my step-brother. But not all that sappy shit, no. It held this sort of resentment towards him, because he reminded me of Zeldris's father.

"I had a million other reasons to hold resentment against him. One, he tormented Zeldris with his actual name, Zeldoris. Zeldris hated the name, it was his father's name. Any chance that he got, he would call Zeldris 'Zeldoris' instead of being respectful. It pissed me off, especially when he made us do his chores. Anytime Zeldris would tell him to do it himself, he would always reply with, 'Remember Zeldoris, I'm your older brother, you have to listen to me, not him.' It made my blood boil. And I couldn't do anything about it either. His father was just like Zeldris's, resented others who weren't his own.

"I can't seem to remember what lead up to it, but I had walked in on my mother and her boyfriend. I didn't see anything nice, not that I expected to. And it wasn't that they were in the middle of the dirty, it was the fact that it looked forced. I got out of the room as soon as I could, but the image and thought never left my mind. After that, the lessons about how to treat a woman became more frequent and harder than most.

"Not a lot of stuff happened, besides verbal abuse and sometimes physical, but it was always from Estarossa and his father. I hated it, but at least it was better than Zeldris's dad.

"I don't know why, but Estarossa was always getting Zeldris hurt in some shape, way, or form. I found it odd when Zeldris would come up to me with a broken finger, toe, bruises, or even cuts. He would tell me that 'Step-brother said it was an accident.' As if that made anything right.

"Then, the day came. Me and Zeldris were walking down the large staircase in the parlor. I was going to mother, seeing what she needed. Me and Zeldris were casually talking about the lesson when he brought up something Estarossa had told him. He told me that Estarossa told him that there was a treehouse in the middle of the forest. I found it odd, because that's the farthest place from the house and I had already been around the whole property. There wasn't a single treehouse out there. But, Zeldris brushed it off, implying that it was a new piece of land.

"The day went by and Zeldris and Estarossa had been gone for about four hours. I told mother that I was going out after them, regardless of the danger. The main reason behind me going was Zeldris. I didn't really allow him to be out this late, even if it was for a treehouse. I planned to take a path that lead straight to where they were supposed to be. And, it ended up leading me right to my destination.

"It wasn't a sight I was expecting at all. For one, Estarossa had a bloddy pipe in his hand and Zeldris was laying on the ground. After getting the pipe and hitting Estarossa with it, I went to Zeldris. I held him until his final breath. Heh, do you want to know what his last words were? It was a question and a statement. 'Hey Mel, did I tell you how much I love you? Well, I don't think I said it very often.'

"While I was busy crying my heart out and screaming, Estarossa managed to wake up. He knocked me over, not giving two fucking squats about the disrepect he was showing to Zeldris. He basically tackled me, trying beat the literal shit out of me. He succeeded, getting me good. All the while, he was shouting that he'll kill me next. 'I'll do you like I did that coward, that little shit. He was such a pain in the ass, he just wouldn't die.'

"I lost it, picking up a rock and hitting him with it. I got up, brushed myself off, and dragged Estarossa back home. It always terrified me, the thought that he would actually go through with his little 'plan'. With all the stuff he did to Zeldris and I, how couldn't I be?" I laughed, resting my forehead on my palm. I hadn't realized it, but I had started crying. Elizabeth was holding onto my hand, squeezing. I looked down at her, a blank expression on my face.

"That's why I'm afraid of him. I'm scared that he'll kill me." Elizabeth hugged me, catching me off guard. She didn't let go, even as she began speaking.

"Thank you for telling me that." Her muffled voice choked. I nodded, rubbing her back.

"I'm surprised that you aren't running away from me. Usually people are scared and hear it the wrong way." I stated, a smile playing at the edge of my lips.

"Well," Elizabeth started. "Usually when you absolutely rail someone the night before and they loved it they don't run away. Unless you were some crazy serial killer about to kill me, then maybe. And, it doesn't help that I'm inlove with you so, it's a win-win."

I cleared my suddenly dry throat, my face hot.

"You loved it, huh?" Elizabeth nodded, cutting a piece of my pancake and eating it. I held back  laugh, placing a hand on her thigh.

"I hope you know that I was holding back." I whispred into her ear, blowing a puff of hot air. I felt her shiver, eating another piece. "Next time, I'll go all out. I didn't want to hurt you our first time my dear."

"Oh you will?" Elizabeth questioned with a smirk. I did so myself, chuckling in the process. I ran my hand further up her thigh.

"I will sexy." I declared, kissing right behind her ear. Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, sighing. Oh she's gonna regret this later.