When Worlds Collide

Chapter 8

"Well, well, Ivan has come home to join us for breakfast," Mrs. Clarissa beamed, taking my bag from me and pulling out my chair at the kitchen table. I watched her lithe figure climb up the stairs and round the corner, before staring down at my toast. Vera had just dropped me off minutes ago, and I was already being swooped back into my routine.

"Mary missed you Ivan, right Mary?" Benji chided, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Yes! I picked daisies for you!" the little girl squealed, kicking her legs excitedly.

"Oh really? Thanks, Mary," I smirked, digging into my toast.

"So is that girl your friend now?" Benji questioned, staring at me with his youthful brown eyes.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I'm trying my best. Socializing is important."

Benji snorted. "You sound like mom."

I gave him a knowing look, to which Benji rolled his eyes and huffed. "Sorry. It just came out. Mary always calls Mrs. Clarissa mom. Don't you want someone with a label like that?"

I stayed quiet, chewing my toast numbly. Mrs. Clarissa simply felt like a caregiver to me, and I always thought of her as my legal guardian. Calling Mrs. Clarissa 'mom' simply terrified me, and maybe it's because I'm scared she would abandon me like my own mother, but she never had a problem with me calling her Mrs. Clarissa so the name stuck.

"No! No no no!" Mary began screaming, digging the prongs of her fork into the table, making splinters erupt from the wood.

"Mary, stop. Violence is not acceptable," I say sternly, gripping the edge of the table with nerves. I could hear Mrs. Clarissa hurriedly coming down the stairs, alerted by Mary's tantrum. For Mary, tantrums can often become violent. I could see Benji slowly getting up from his chair and backing away from the table in my peripheral vision, and I nodded at him, making sure he was well out of the room.

I grabbed the fork in Mary's fist as tightly as I could, attempting to pry it away from her grasp, as I was more concerned about her hurting herself at this rate. Gritting my teeth, I took the scratches and kicks she delivered to my arms and stomach, managing to rip the fork away from her grasp as Mrs. Clarissa restrained her as best she could and hauled her away to another room where she closed and locked the door.

Benji nervously peeked around the corner from the hallway, and I settled back in my chair, giving him the all clear. He came back over, resuming his breakfast, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Wow. She really did a number on you," he commented with a full mouth, gesturing to the red welts going down my arm.

I shook my head. "It's not that bad."

"You say that a lot. It's kinda sad."

I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well, I think we all have a right to feel our emotions. In fact, I think it's quite alright to say 'you know what? This sucks ass'," he sighed, thoughtfully looking through the kitchen window before taking a large bite of his toast, the crunch loud in the quiet kitchen.

"Language Benji, oh my God," I rolled my eyes, but laughed nonetheless, and we continued eating breakfast trying to ignore Mary's muffled screams.

Ethan had messaged me later that morning, as I was sitting on my bed. It was a simple text, just asking how I was doing today, but it made me smile. I typed out a quick reply, simply stating that I was doing better, and thanking him for taking Vera and I back to her house last night. A steady rap resounded through my bedroom door; and after telling the person to come in, the door to my bedroom creaked open soon after, Mrs. Clarissa emerging from the hallway.