Flaremount Vol 1

Chapter 1, Pt 3

The door creaked open and I tiptoed my way through the door, taking in my surroundings. Nothing much more than my father sitting on the couch getting lost in television and my mom slaving away at dinner. Dammit dad, you always do this! Leave it to the women to do all your dirty work and chores, why don't you...

I walked over to where my mom stood wrapped in an apron and checked up on what she was making. Oh, tonight might not be too bad! Barbecued boar goat!

"Hi babe! How was your day at school?" Mom put her utensils down, embracing me in a warm hug as the smell of vanilla swarmed my senses. I hugged her back with a short response, "It was better, I guess."

She pulled back from the hug a bit, "Well, it's better than bad, right?" Her eyes shined the way they always have when she was joyful. The warmth in the room was disturbed by a growly voice coming from the direction of the couch.

"Leave it to your mom to praise the mistake of a child." Mom's head snapped to the side, almost hitting me.

"Gunther!"

"Oh but dad, I'm not just anyone's mistake, I'm YOUR mistake!" I retorted with a giant grin pasted on my face paired with slitted eyes.

"Make another smart-ass remark and you'll be sent to the nine hells to burn with your grandfather."

"Will you be there to make sure I arrive?"

My father's eyes darted in my direction and a sigh escaped from between his teeth. He grabbed a shoe from nearby and chucked it aimed at my head, missing and hitting the fridge.

"Gunther you can't keep throwing shit and expecting this house to stay in shape!"

My father stood up, "Throwing stuff wouldn't be an issue if you would clean the house quicker, you kitchen wench!"

I backed away as my father stalked in my moms direction just to stop inches from her face. His fists balled up and his expression tightened.

"Dad, stop, I made you mad, not mom!"

At that, he grabbed a plate and turned around quickly, scooping up some of the freshly made barbecued boar goat and side pasta. My mother took a couple steps forward and grabbed a plate as well before getting stopped by my dad.

"No no, wait for me to get my food. You can wait." My mother was on the verge of tears, putting the plate down and backing away. She motioned for me to grab my food, then her eyes flicked to the hallway next to the TV. I understood as I grabbed a plate and set some food on it, getting twice as much as I usually eat. My father gave me a disgraceful look.

"Are you planning on eating all that, kid?"

My voice shook a bit, though it completely bypassed his knowledge. "Oh, uh, yeah! I'm feeling starved today!"

"Keep it up and you'll experience what it's actually like to starve."

I laughed it off and headed down the hall before he had a chance to give me more unneeded input. Keeping my footsteps noticeable, I opened the door with a plateful of food. After I shut the door, I stood for a second, waiting for the sounds of crashing glass or a thud or yelling, some sign of fighting to burst. None did, and to that I relaxed a bit more. I turned my head to find Milo looking out the window in awe. I sat next to her, but she didn't even acknowledge me sitting there. I set the food between us on my bed, and gazed out to look for whatever she saw.

Nothing new was there. There were the same old hills, same old trees, same old clouds. The same sunset I saw everyday out this window. Nothing had changed from any other sunset. It is as it always has been.