The Child

23

Cain

My eyes open and I sit up. I yell out, my hands coming to my throbbing head.

The pain was nearly unbearable, making me stand up out of bed.

I put pressure on my forehead to relieve the pain, but it was enough.

I begin hitting myself in the head, screaming as I did.

Then, I look up, seeing the wall before me.

I run straight at it, headfirst.

...

I groan as I wake up on the floor, my head no longer throbbing.

I slowly sit up, noticing it was now in the morning.

I hiss as I stand up slowly, making my way over to the bathroom. 

I sigh as I look into the mirror, seeing the tips of my horns leaking through the flesh of my forehead.

"Shit."I huff, leaning on the sink.

.....

Ace cooks in the kitchen as he hears commotion coming from upstairs. He looks back, seeing Cain coming down the stairs in a hoodie and a beanie.

"Good morning."Ace says.

"Morning."Cain says nonchalantly.

It was almost a month after his mother's death. The house had been quiet, Cain's old bedroom taped off.

"Not good?"Ace says, walking over and scraping some scrambled eggs onto the plate before Cain.

Cain simply shakes his head and Ace huffs.

"How bad is it?"

Cain huffs, pulling his beanie off.

Ace sees the tips of his horn peaking out and frowns.

"Do they hurt?"Ace asks.

"Not anymore."Cain says, running his fingers through his hair.

He had accepted the fact he would never be a little boy again. But, it was taking him a long time to get used to being a man.

"Hey."Ace says, placing a peanut butter sandwich before Cain.

Cain smiles as he sees the sandwich.

"Breakfast of champions."Ace winks before walking away, letting Cain chuckle.

"Want to stay home from school today?"Ace says.

"Nah. They'll be gone by second period."he says, pulling the had back over his head, standing.

"Okay then, gimmie 10"Ace says.

Cain gives him a double high five before scooping a spoonful of eggs onto his mouth and picking up half of his sandwich.

Then he runs out of the house just as a school bus pulls up.

High school was a new and exciting experience for Cain. He was smart, peaking in all of his classes.

He didn't have many friends. He seemed disconnected from the other teenagers. Although, one girl, April. She has taken a liking to Cain.

She likes bugs, and peanut butter, and she loves unicorns. She was sweet, and smart, and Cain wasn't sure what he felt when he was with her.

It was new. Everything was new, new clothes, new voice, new height new hair.

Everything was so new. He hated having to fight his horns every day. He hated being hungry when he looked at people for too long.

He misses his mother.

....

Cain

I look out, sitting in April's car.

"What's wrong Cain?"April asks from inside the car.

I look down from the sunroof.

"I don't know if I can talk about it."I say softly.

"Why not?"April asks, looking up.

"Well. I'm...I don't think I like this anymore."I say, my hand coming to my forehead.

"You only have this year left your going to get through highschool."She chuckles.

"Not highschool, I like highschool but I..I miss being a kid."I say.

"But being grown up is so much better."She chuckles.

"How? I-i'm enormous I barely fit anywhere. I've got all this unnecessary body hair, if I don't wear chemicals under my arms I'll smell like garbage, I am so hungry, all the time no matter how much I eat, and why are there so many teeth in my mouth?"I say, tearing up as I speak.

"Hey, hey calm down."she says, standing up through the sun roof.

"Cain, I think you have a very fresh wound, and I also think that that wound is making you think too deeply into things."She says.

"Like, the wound being my mom dying."I ask, sniffling.

"Yes. Maybe if you talk about her you-"

"I can't. I-i don't want to."I say, looking away from her.

"Okay, okay you don't have to, just breathe."she says with a comforting smile.

I chuckle a bit as I wipe my face.

"I shouldn't cry. I'm not a little kid anymore, now it's just embarrassing."I say.

"Well, it takes strength to cry in the presence of others and not care what they think."April says.

I take a deep breath, nodding.

"That was very wise of you to say."I smile, making her chuckle.

"Should we go in now?"she asks with a smile before fucking back down into the car.

"Yeah, I guess."

..