Unlocked (a Mormor Fanfic)

Part the eighth

"It was Dee?" This was not a question despite Sebastian's questioning tone. The past couple of years had been especially difficult for all of them. Their Father had become worse, more free with His punishments, more controlling in what they did with their time since David. Having adjacent rooms because of the incident, he would hear her wake up retching in her en suite. Sometimes after that he would go and comfort her, sometimes she would seek comfort from him. Sometimes, he would have such terrible nightmares of everything that he woke up with her trying to stop him waking up the rest of the house from his screams. They weren't the only ones that suffered frequent night terrors, they all did, they just had the worst reactions to their terrors.
David felt horrified, he could see that this wasn't something new to them. He knew that, by the age of 10, you shouldn't know perfectly how to heal torture wounds, yet this was different. He had nightmares sometimes, this though, seemed worse.
She looked up to David, "I tried to help Dee as much as possible but he needed you, someone who he knew, someone who he felt understood. He slipped up badly and father found him." Her voice was dead, devoid of emotion much like when she'd spoken to their father when he'd found out about David. David's stomach tightened and he felt he might be sick. She was visibly shaking as she spoke.
"I was too late. There was nothing I could...say or do." Her voice shook as she started crying, even so, her voice remained , for the most part empty. "When we got down there... I just, we all could see that this was nearly as bad as..." She all but ran from the room.

Sebastian stared at the floor. Tommy felt like he was going to be sick. He'd known that their father had been bad but from all their reactions, the scars, the blood...it didn't even bear thinking about. David was staring into nothing. Even if he could've described what he was feeling, he wouldn't have wanted to. She came back into the room with a face like thunder.

"YOU SEE? You see what he has done to me? You see what our darling father has done?" She gave a short maddened laugh, "I can't even think properly about my twin sister without vomiting blood and yak everywhere. I daren't think about my brother, Dee. HE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT! A whole week. David, I VOMITTED when I saw him there. They hadn't even really begun. Our father has STOLEN FROM ME. HE HAS TAKEN WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE AND I...I just. I tried." Sebastian wrapped her in a suffocating hug, muffling her sobs. She had never been like this in front of Sebastian before. He sometimes woke up to her muffled sobs and wails but he knew he had to protect her, here, now.
"5 and a half years ago. That was when father got to Dee. He. Made. Him. Vanish." At this, David looked up at her. He was crying and clutching Tommy as though both of their lives depended on it. At those last words, he buried his head in Tommy's shoulder and let out a muffled wail.
"I think it's all time we went to sleep. It's 3 in the morning and before anything gets worse, we should sleep." Tommy decided they needed to get some more rest
"I agree." She was the last person Tommy thought would agree with her.
"No," David's voice was strong and resolute,"what happened to you tonight? And, what did you mean he stole from you? I need to know if you're going to stay under my roof tonight."
She smiled slightly, "he found out where I got all of my money from, and he didn't like it." Her smile was quite dangerous, then it slipped as she looked at the floor and walked over to them. She pointed to just below her stomach at 2 deeply cut scars.
"This is what I meant when I said that he stole from me. He did. When I vomitted, the brothers held me down as he cut out...my...well as he stripped me of any worth I had in his eyes. I can't have children and he stole that from me." She bought her eyes to meet the pair of them, "I will return the favour. Where can we sleep?"
Tommy felt that if she changed mood any faster, they'd all get whip lash.
"It's a sofa bed, here." The three of them walked over to the sofa.
"Are you able to get up?" Her voice was soft and motherly. Sebastian tried but winced in pain and stayed put. Tommy walked over to the sofa and put out a hand for Sebastian. A low growl came from the other end of the sofa accompanied by a death glare.
"Jesus Christ! I'm not going to do anything to him"
"An" Sebastian gave her a look and she resigned to helping David pull out the sofa bed instead. Sebastian immediately flopped down on the pull-out.
"Wait, there's proper sheets upstairs I'll...just..." All three of them were giving Tommy looks of incredulity, "what? Fine, I'll just get a spare duvet then?" He trundled up the stairs, worried and weary.

An turned to David as soon as Tommy had disappeared upstairs, "You've got yourself a good catch." Despite himself and everything, David smiled. Her approval wasn't everything but to have someone from the family not only tolerate but like his partner, meant the world to him-even if it wasn't the one person he wanted it to be.
Tommy returned with armfuls of duvet and unceremoniously dumped them on the bed with a huge yawn.
"Right then, night. Vid, you gonna be up soon?"
"Yeah, coming now. Night." Sebastian and An said their good nights. Then they laid down on the sofa bed and fell asleep.