Adicción Al Amor ~ Aarmau AU

~Scared~

*Play Song*

"Mama?"

"Yes, precious?" Aphmau answered with an irresistible smile, the light of her life in her arms in their iconic hammock out in the backyard, looking over the beautiful view of untouched land. 

"What does papa do?" Andre asked, looking up at her with wonderous hazel eyes, his lips parted as if in the midst of his next word when she answered.

Well, she answered to the best of her ability, as you couldn't tell your 5-year-old his father is a drug trafficker and that his whole life was just a product of an arranged to-be marriage and...pain. So much pain. 

"Papa...is a delivery man...sí, el es un repartidor."

"Mama?"

"Sí, mijo?"

"I'm scared." The little child squeaks out, his eyes finding the horizon as if his admission brought him deep shame.

"Why mijo? You have nothing to be scared of." Aphmau lied. She hated it, and in these moments, she hated herself.

"Just...scared...de todo (of everything)" 

Aphmau didn't respond, the refreshing wind tousling her hair as she just hugged her son tighter, as she was scared too. In Phoenix Drop, there was so much to be scared of. Too much.

*

"Zane."

"Mr. Ro'maeve." Zane greeted, his face stonecold and without emotion, the sight of his older brother triggering nothing. 

"Zane, please don't make this more difficult than it is." Garroth pleads in a small voice, looking at his polar opposite of a sibling. The only trait they shared being their baby blue eyes, which used to radiate the same innocence...no more. 

"You made this difficult the second you walked into this room."

Garroth holds his gaze, the room chilling with tension. The painful history of the two creating a conversation barrier between the once close brothers.

"Why this, Zane?" Garroth shook his head slowly. "Of all things in the fucking world--"

"My oh my, he can swear. What an out of character action."

"What?" Garroth basically whispers, pulling in his bottom lip. 

"You've always been the good boy....a coward....a willing puppet in father's show...." 

"......Is that what you think of me?" Garroth questions, a glint of unshed tears at his eyes. 

"It's the truth...." Zane says, with what seemed like sympathetic eyes. A crack in his hard shell. "....and the saddest part is you don't even know it's happening...."

"Oh yeah? Well, at least it's better than running around with drug traffickers and murderers because there are other things you can do with your time Zane....much better things...."

Zane doesn't respond, just holding his brother's gaze. The only sound in the room the clinging of his cuffs. 

"You are better than this Zane....I know it...you know it....."

"....."

"....."

"It's because of Mom....."

*

"You always do this!" 

"Stop being a bitch, Aphmau. I'm not leaving for Falconclaw, not now, nor ever. End of discussion." Ein said while walking into the bathroom to splash his face with water.

Infuriated, Aphmau rushes after him. "This discussion is not over. You don't get to just decide when a conversation is over."

"I just did, didn't I?" Ein hissed, his face inches from Aphmau's. He had a rag in one hand, a clenched fist in the other. 

Aphmau glances at it, the icy talons of fear gripping her insides, but she hid it well. "You are a drug trafficker. A murderer. A bad man—"

"And your fiance." Ein retorts, shaking the rag violently to rid it of water, and also to send a message. 

"Fine then. Consider one of those off your list."

"What..."

"The wedding is off, Ein." Aphmau states, standing her ground at only 5 feet and nothing, against Ein who was a good 8 inches taller. 

"You can't." Ein scowls, inching closer aggressively. But Aphmau just continued to stand her ground, her frown just inches from his.

"I just did...didn't I?"

"Why you—" Aphmau felt the strong impact of Ein's palm to her cheek, barely able to manage words out before Ein smacked it out from her lips. 

Though, she doesn't fall. Still standing as she was, her head just tilted to the side, a swollen welt at her cheekbone, pulsing with a migraine-creating pain. 

Ein then grasps both her shoulders, thrusting her against the wall. The back of her head ricocheting off the drywall as he pinned her fiercely, shadowing one of her ears to whisper with his musty breath. "You don't get off that easy, princess. You aren't going anywhere."

Happy new year my crystals!