those hands pulled me from the earth || ethan winters x donna beneviento

vii: family talk.

february 10th, 2021.
11:20am.
bsaa facility, usa.
———

donna was sitting across from ethan, her head hung low as she poked at the food on her plate. she had seen this food before, but it looked so different than it was in the village. it was like it was compressed and dripping with grease.

she went to open the cereal and then lifted the carton of milk, struggling a bit with it. before she could ask, ethan took it from her hands and effortlessly opened it, setting it back on her tray.

"all of our milk came from bottles," donna explained as she poured the milk into the bowl. "and our cereal came in bags."

ethan nodded along, offering the woman a gentle smile. "stuff's pretty different out here, but i'm sure you'll get used to it." he assured her, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs.

donna smiled back, beginning to eat the cereal. she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before, and her stomach was growling for more.

she saw the woman from the village approach ethan from behind, the baby still in her arms as she sat down next to him.

"i was looking for you," she said, looking over to him. "where were you last night?"

ethan looked over to the woman, a little startled, but then his shoulders relaxed back down. "donna was having trouble with the doctor. i had to help her out a for a bit. i ended up falling asleep in one of the chairs... that medicine must've knocked me out."

donna looked between the two before she met mia's caramel brown eyes. she then stared down at her plate, poking around at the now mushy cereal.

"oh, mia," ethan said. "this is donna. she helped me escape the village. i don't know if i could have gotten out without her."

mia looked back over at donna with a cold gaze. "i see." she said plainly. she then turned to ethan, her lips pursed. "ethan, we need to talk."

donna saw ethan gulp and she raised an eyebrow.

"then let's talk," he said quietly.

mia huffed in annoyance. "right now?"

ethan nodded. "yeah, i don't see why not."

"okay then," mia started. "i've done some talking with the doctor... after everything that's happened, i think it's best if we take some time apart."

this was donna's cue to stare back down at her plate and act like she couldn't hear them. she had plenty of practice with this, her siblings were always arguing whenever they'd meet up for dinner parties.

ethan dropped his fork, turning to look at his wife with furrowed brows. "what do you mean..?" he asked, his voice weak.

"i mean what i said." mia stated. "we aren't right for each other and we haven't been for a long, long time."

"what about rosemary?" ethan asked quickly.

"we'll have joint custody. i've already talked with some people and we'll have it sorted out soon." she said a little sadly. "i'm sorry, ethan, but i can't keep doing this."

when donna decided to look back up, ethan looked utterly heartbroken. he opened his mouth, as if to yell, but met donna's eyes for a swift moment and then closed his mouth. "okay, i understand."

"i'm glad that you do." mia nodded, standing up. "i'll be with rose in our room. if you want to talk any more, that's where i'll be." with that being said, she walked away.

ethan sat with his head in his hands for a few minutes, not saying anything. there must have been a million thoughts rushing behind his eyes, and donna wasn't all too sure how to comfort him.

after a bit, the two went back to eating in an awkward silence. every once in a while, donna would sneak a look at him to make sure that he was okay, other than that, she modestly stared down at angie, just happy that she was still alive.