Bound by Honour

49

The Beast walked Belle down the hallway. "Well, there's something I want to show you," he said and made sure the door stayed closed, "but first you have to promise to close your eyes. It's a surprise."

"Royce, please - the children,"

I stared at the screen, biting my thumb nail. Belle closed her eyes. I giggled as the Beast waved his massive paw in front of her face.

"Shut the fuck up," my father snarled, his loud, mean voice echoing off the walls. I hated when they argued. "Why can't you do anything right, Rosalie?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Royce," my mom said, but she sounded meek.

My father laughed a cruel laugh. "You are my wife, I will speak to you however I want."

Belle danced around the library, happy. "Mom, why are you crying?" I whispered, peeking into the kitchen. He had left minutes ago, slamming the door shut. I watched her with sadness in my heart. She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes bloodshot.

"I'm not crying, baby girl. Go watch your movie," she said, grabbing a cloth from the drawer next to the kitchen sink.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked, stepping forward.

"I'm okay, Maisie. Go watch your movie."

"Mom ..." I whispered but a someone grabbed my arm. I glanced up, Jaime and Cameron standing on either side of me. Cameron bent down and picked me up, his arms securely around me.

"Mom, what happened?" Jaime asked, striding towards her, worry in his voice. I didn't hear the answer because Cameron whisked me away into the next room.

"Cam, put me down," I snapped. He did, forcing me to sit on the couch.

"Hey, let Jaime talk to mom. Why don't we go outside? I'll teach you how to build a sword like the one I made." I glanced behind me, worried about our mom. She seemed hurt. "Don't worry, mom will be okay. We can pick her some flowers while we're out there."

I smiled up at my big brother. "We can pick her some daisies, from Ms. Ghana's garden?"

Cameron smirked. "Absolutely. Come on, let's go."

I glanced over at my oldest brother. Jaime had his arm wrapped around Eden, both watching the television screen intently. I swallowed, rubbing the back of my neck, the flashback giving me chills. Jaime had always been the one to comfort mom after our father had yelled or hit her. He had been the one to be there for her.

***

My body jostled and my eyes flicked open.

"It's just me," Cameron whispered, crouching down beside the sofa. He smiled. "Have a good nap?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Sebastian and I are leaving for the night with Jaime and Eden."

"What?" I asked, covering a yawn with my hand. "Why?"

"We will be back tomorrow morning, before you wake up," he said, ignoring my question.

I narrowed my eyes. "That's not what I asked. Why are you leave and where are you going?" I demanded, trying to sit up.