Past Hidden by a Broken Smile (Being Edited)

Chapter Nine: Recollections

"There's no point in fighting me, no one will know to look for you here~ That is, if anyone is looking at all. Wasn't that why I found you crying? Your dear big brother rejected you, chose a girl over you! I bet he doesn't even notice you gone."

"Y-You're wrong! T-That's... That's not true..."

"You know what, you're right. He probably noticed immediately and just didn't care. After all, why would he want a nuisance like you around?
You're just the annoying little brother that followed him around like a puppy dog. He's probably relieved you're gone now."

The words were ones any other time Meliodas would've immediately ignored, his faith in his relationship with his brother too high to be put down by silly little pointless mindgames. But... this time any moment the blond tried to fight back against the heartless, cruel, words, all his mind could do was repeat the only thing bringing doubt into his mind.

"Just shut up Meli! I hate you for doing this! Stop being a baby just because we aren't spending as much time together! God, this wouldn't even be a problem if you weren't in the picture at all!"

Zeldris had said it himself. He said he wanted the child gone.. so would that make her right? Did that really mean, this whole time... he'd just been an annoyance to his big brother? Was Zeldy.... Was he better off without Meliodas there?

"Now, don't move number four, this will be the first time I've used this equipment on a child!"

"NO PLEASE! DON'T! IT HURTS! AAAAAAAHHHH-"

Meliodas woke up with eyes wide and his body shaking. It wasn't a new dream, a pretty frequent one actually, but every time he had it, his body would still shaky and tremble with adrenaline.

Damn.. I must have fell asleep when I took a seat at the bar.

The blond sighed before rubbing his eyes of the slight sting of exhaustion still there after his little nap.

I actually managed to sleep for about four hours today. Wow, that's the longest in awhile.

He hopped up from the stool before taking a look around at the little tavern.
The place was spotless, due to his and his brother's efforts the previous night, however Meliodas didn't see that as much of a good thing. He liked cleaning, having something to do, it kept him from thinking about things he didn't want to think about, and it kept him from sleeping which was an activity he avoided very frequently.

Hmm, it's about five thirty right now. I guess I can grab a bottle of ale and watch the sunrise. That would be a nice way to spend the morning.

He did as planned as he grabbed one of the strongest ale's he had- purgatory ale- and went outside to drink it. He kept that one in the cabinet for days like this and he didn't sell it for... safety reasons.

Opening the creaky door to the outside carefully, he went through it and did the same gentle motion to close it behind him. It was early for a lot of the others, and he didn't want to wake any of them.

He plopped down in the grass that was prickly in the cool air before leaning back on his arms and opening the bottle.

The smell alone could get just about anyone drunk, and just a few sips could make someone black out, the very reason he didn't sell it, however this wasn't his first time drinking it, and he could probably down the bottle without much affects. It was mainly just for his nerves and to keep his brain preoccupied so he wouldn't think about... things.