ELEMENT

Chapter Thirty-One: Talks and Terrors

Cole was five years old at this point in the past, where Sage, Ethan and Robin were outside playing with him. They all made very good playmates for children, especially considering they already knew him years in the future.

But Meadow wasn't out there with them. It seemed she didn't feel as excited. She was in the kitchen making something brand new for dinner with her mother, but she felt bad. Worse than normal.

"Meadow, sweetie?" Eileen was stirring a pot, looking tilted at Meadow. "You're not normally this quiet."

Déjà vu. Again. "Oh." Meadow was snapped out of her daydreams, something clicking in her mind. "Just lost in thought, I guess."

"What kind of thoughts?" Eileen looked back at the pot.

"Uh. Just, normal ones?"

"You can't hide anything from me!" Eileen giggled, ruffling Meadow's hair. "I'm a mother. It's my job."

Meadow nearly hesitated. Like she almost thought it would be damaging to talk to her about this. "Yeah," she laughed. "...Did you have any siblings growing up?"

"No," Eileen responded, setting the stirring spoon in the pot. "Where's this coming from?"

"...My brother and I had a fight. Before I came here."

"Oh." She brought a hand to her chest, stepping closer to Meadow.

"I feel like a really bad person." Meadow huffed. "I left anyway, and I probably should have stayed with him."

"I didn't know you had a brother. You two are close?"

"Extremely. I might have my friends now, but for the longest time, we were all each other had."

"Ah, okay."

"He didn't want me to leave. He kept telling me it was too dangerous, that I was going to get hurt. Words were exchanged, and we both got angry. And... and I hurt him. I hurt him."

Eileen's expression tensed, listening intently.

Meadow swallowed a lump in her throat, sort of rolling her eyes with the statement. "He said I was acting like my father."

"Eesh." Eileen sucked in through her teeth. "You don't have a good relationship with him?"

"That's a bit of an understatement, honestly." Meadow laughed. "He sucked. Bad."

"I hear ya."

"Well, uh, I guess it—" She thought about it harder. "It wasn't always like that. I don't think so, anyway."

"Everyone has their good moments." Eileen leaned on the counter. "But that doesn't really mean anything."

"He changed after, uh—" Meadow's eyes met Eileen, and she stuttered a bit. "A-after my mother died. He became really aggressive, and abusive."

Eileen sat up a bit, still listening. Probably harder than she'd ever listened in her life.

"And maybe I was being a bit apprehensive." She definitely was, and she knew it. "I have trouble owning up to myself. And I don't want to say I went as far as he would have, but I maybe did. Out of anger. I lashed out on my own brother."

"At least you know you did something wrong. And I know you're not a bad person."

"Mmm." Did she really?

"Meadow." Eileen took her shoulders. "You are not a bad person. I know this. When we're done here, you go make things right with your brother, okay? Don't spend the rest of your lives hung up on this. I trust you with everything, dear."