Freefall | Eren x OC

Chapter 02: Ghosts of the Past

You open your eyes to find yourself in your mother's room. The open window lets in a cool breeze and the glow of the golden hour. The breeze makes the curtains sway to a silent tune you wish you could hear. 

It's been a long time, maybe an hour, since he stormed out, but the room still feels like it's vibrating from his, no THEIR energy. You can still hear your heart beating in your ears, although you feel a sense of relief as it's dissipated from the rapid pounding it held onto earlier. 

The room is quiet other than the sound of your heart and the quiet crying you can hear coming from your mother's closet. She's been in there since he left, and you already know she'll be there for the remainder of the day, if not well into the night. Sitting on your mother's bed, you look down at a bright pink plastic box containing a brand-new Barbie, a gift from your father before he left. You know it means you won't see him again for several weeks. Shutting your eyes, you pick up the box, holding it tightly against your chest as if it could absorb the feelings of loneliness seeping from you. You don't cry, you've gotten used to these feelings and you know they'll make her feel worse.

Your small frame slinks off the bed and slowly walks to the closed panels of your mother's closet. You knock, though you're sure she knows you've been here this whole time.

"Mummy..." you say timidly, "please come out Mummy. I'm sorry you're sad. I miss Daddy too." The sound of sobbing stops and you brace yourself for the doors to open, but they never do. 

"Leave me alone Rose darling, I'm not coming out," your mother's voice comes out in a funny way, long and drawn as if she's slowly remembering how to talk after a long sleep. You wonder if this means she'll be sick again later, or if she'll be in bed for a long time.

"Please Mummy, I'm hungry..." you plead as you slowly reach for the doorknob. You turn it and ever so slightly open the door, hoping to see your mother's face, see her smile as she gets off the floor and comes out, laughing at herself. Instead, a loud bang hits the other side of the panel so hard, you jump back as if you've been scalded. 

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS ROOM ROSE, GO MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN FOOD!" your mother shouts as she grabs at the knob and slams the door shut.

You stand there for what feels like minutes, stunned and scared, your heartbeat thumping in your ears all over again. The sobs come back but this time they're louder and huskier, as if your mother is nursing an old wound. She sobs for several moments before her voice drifts off and goes silent. She's nodded off.

You look down at the plastic Barbie box that fell to the floor when you jumped. You pick it up and bring it back to your chest and walk out of the room and down the short hallway to the living room. There are still some open bottles of wine from last night when Daddy was over. It's hard to believe it was just yesterday when there was laughter and dancing and music as the three of you played family. You had danced with him to the liveliest music on the radio station, his radio station. You listened to it all the time, especially when your mother missed him. 

Last night, your mother had giggled and sipped on her wine from the couch before your father playfully swayed her way, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up for a  slow dance while you looked at them both with the deepest devotion. 

"I missed you," he had murmured into her ear as she nodded. 

"I missed you too..." she said, visibly holding back her tears. "I wish we could stay like this forever..."

The small house had been light and filled with warmth until this morning when they had argued about him leaving her all over again. And now in the light of day, the room felt abandoned of all that love. It felt like it had all been a fever dream.