Detective

Chapter 8

As Jason slowly opened his slightly blurry eyes, he noticed that Tim still hasn't woken up, which was really weird. Normally Tim's the first one to wake up, not Jason.

He slowly slipped out of bed, being extra cautious of his sleeping brother and opened one of the water bottles. He drank a quarter of it before taking it away from his chapped lips. He then put it back next to the side of the bed, on the floor.

He then crept out of the room, to see his mother standing in the hallway with a ripped suitcase. She was crying, and her shoulders were shaking. Jason cautiously approached her and hesitated before he reached his hand out.

"Mum?" he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

She looked up at her son with red eyes. "I'm leaving." She said.

Jason wasn't too much surprised. "Your leaving? But what about Tim? What about me?" he said in slight desperation. "You are the only one that stops dad from killing us every night."

She dropped the suitcase heavily on the floor, not caring about the light thud it made and raised a shaking hand to her son's cheek. "I can't control him anymore, please forgive me."

Jason felt like slapping her hand away from him in anger, but he knew that she was telling the truth when she said she was sorry. Now wasn't the right time for his aggression to overcome all his other emotions. "What are you going to do?"

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, wincing from a dull ache in her bones. "Find another place, and get out. You and Timmy should get out too."

Timmy.

He hasn't heard his mother say that nickname for a very long time. And because she did, he knew deep down that he still loved him. She's never done anything to hurt him, but she always tried to warn him. Right from the very start, she was warning him to stay away. she was trying to protect him from something bigger than herself, something almost unstoppable.

But Jason couldn't leave now, not with Tim's mission. "I c-cant." He managed before looking at the ground, his eyes lingering on her brown suitcase.

His broken mother hugged him and patted his head. "It's ok, I understand," she whispered into his ear. She pulled away and held Jason's hands in hers. "You've grown up so fast. I'm proud of you, Jason," Jason felt tears coming to his eyes, threatening to fall. "Look after your brother. You might not realise it, but he would be lost without you."

She pulled her hands away and picked up her suitcase. She walked towards the old door and opened it, a cool breeze rushing inside.

"Mum..." Jason said softly, breaking.

She looked at him with teary eyes. "I'm sorry. I love you."

Then she was gone, the faint clicking of her old black high heels drowned out by the strong winds.

Jason stood there. He didn't exactly know how to react to this. "Don't go." He whispered to no one in particular.

He slowly walked back towards his room and pulled his hand through his messy bed-hair. When he opened the door, he saw his brother there. His oversized shirt was half off his shoulder, and his face was red and his eyes were filled with tears.

He quickly tried to wipe them away as Jason opened the door, but Jason got a clear enough view and knew that Tim heard every single word that he and his mother shared.

Tim sniffed. "I..." Tim couldn't speak, and he burst into tears, his small frame shaking with every breath he took.

Jason rushed over to his brother and took him in his arms. His tears soaked his shirt as Tim pressed his face into his chest. Jason knew that this would be hard on Tim. He always knew that Tim was his mother's favourite, so he understood the way he was feeling.