The Broken Shadow of You~||KazuScara||

Chapter 37

"Will you be fine all by yourself?" Diluc asked Venti as he parked the car in front of the park gate.

"I'm sure I will be! What's the worst she can do in a public space?" Venti responded, with a laugh.

Diluc didn't seem much convinced but if he was worried, he didn't show it. "Alright." He nodded. "Just.. Just be careful, OK?"

"Don't worry~, I'll be OK!" Venti said, with a wave of his hand. He got out of the car and walked past the iron gates and into the park. 

After looking around, he finally noticed her. She was sitting on the bench, alone. Her dark hair was shorter and she looked slightly skinner but more healthy than she did during Venti's childhood. Venti could feel his hands trembling and curled them into tight fists to control them. His heart was thumping loudly and he could feel the urge to run back to the car. But he came this far so what's the point in turning back, right? Who knew what could happen in this one interaction? Venti took a deep breath and plastered a small smile on his face as he walks to the bench.

"Hello, mom." He said, as he stood next to the bench.

His mother looked up at him. Her green eyes were absent of their usual anger and resentment when she always looked at Venti. They were more calmer this time which brought Venti some reassurance but he still felt terrified. 

"Hello, Venti." She said. 

There was so much difference between the current her and the one Venti remembers from his childhood. The mother he remembers was always so angry and her voice was like a harsh whip striking him but this time she just seemed more calm and her voice was softer. Is this what she would have been like if Venti hadn't ruined her relationship with his father?

"Why don't you take a seat?" She asked, with a small smile. A smile on his mother's face. While she's looking at the son she used to beat up with a frown all the time. This was the first time Venti was seeing his mother smile. It felt unreal.

"Oh, sure..." Venti muttered, tentatively sitting down at the corner of the bench.

They both sat in silence for some time. Venti just fidgeted with his fingers, staring down at the dirt path. The tension was so thick, even a knife couldn't cut through it. After a while of some more silence, Venti decided to speak up.

"So how have things been...?" Venti asked. Perfect thing to ask your mother who just got released from prison.

"Things have been going a lot better now for me. I've been receiving some professional help now and I've also stopped drinking and living on a more healthier diet." His mom said, smiling at Venti once more. He'd never get used to her smiling at him.

"That's really good. I'm glad you're doing better now." Venti said, smiling back at her. 

"You've grown so much since I last saw you. You've been keeping a lot better too." His mom said. 

"Yeah..." Venti said, awkwardly. 

"How is Jean?" His mom asked.

"Aunt Jean is doing well." Venti said.

"That's good." She said with a small nod. "How about Albedo and Klee?"

"They're both doing well too." Venti responded.

"I see..." The two of them fell into silence once more. Having a normal face-to-face conversation with his mother was hard for him. They never talked during his entire childhood and Venti was still feeling scared of his mother.  He just kept having the dreaded feeling that something bad might happen. Maybe he should have asked Diluc or Jean to come with.