Heart Like Yours - Scarxiaoven

Chapter Twenty-Six

Scaramouche's POV

Saturday

Today is the day I stand up to my father. I will make sure he gets locked away and never has the chance to hurt anyone else I care about ever again.

I need to do this... for Venti... for my mother and little brothers... and myself.

I sat at the table in the hotel and ate my breakfast in silence, thinking about every possible scenario and things I could say to my father. This needed to be done properly, or else I will only make things worse for everyone.

"Scara, is everything okay? You're extra quiet this morning." Mom said as she took the seat next to me at the table.

"I'm just... worried I'll mess this up..." I flicked a piece of scrambled egg across my plate as I turned to look at her. "I failed to protect Venti last time... and if I can't get him arrested today, he may come back and do even worse."

She reached over and lightly rested her hand on my forearm. "What happened to Venti was not your fault. You have to stop blaming yourself for these things..."

I looked away and down at my plate. "But they were my fault... everything was my fault... if I had just stayed at home instead of living with Venti, maybe my father wouldn't have even known of Venti's existence..."

"Even so, your safety and happiness is far more important. If you stayed at home, who knows what could've happened, and without a doubt you would've been stuck receiving his brutal treatment. Deciding to live with Venti was the best thing you could've easily done back then. How were you supposed to know he would start attacking other people?"

I slowly turned back to her and met her eyes once more. "I... don't deserve to be happy... I'm just like him, mom... the one person I never wanted to become..."

She suddenly pulled me into her and held me in a loving embrace. "Oh sweetie, you're nothing like him. I know I missed almost your entire life, and I don't know the things you've done... but I can say for certain that you aren't like him anymore. That's enough to be deserving of happiness..."

"Oh mom..." I whispered as I shut my eyes. "Thank you... I really needed to hear that..."

She rested one hand on the back of my head. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed it... I will do whatever it takes to make it right."

We both have the same goals... somehow it made me feel closer to her than ever.

I smiled sadly. "In such a short time, you've already made up for it..." I reached forward, a little uncomfortably, and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Just... please don't leave me again..."

She remained silent for a moment, and at first I was worried that I overstepped, but soon she tightened her arms around me. "I won't ever leave you again."

Hearing those words from her filled me with a mixture of emotions, and it was enough to make me cry... my whole life I've resented her for leaving me... but deep down I just wished to have her back and to love me like a mother should... and finally, after so long... she came back.

"I need you to promise me you'll be careful today, okay? I just got you back... I can't lose you again." She said as she gently pulled away and looked at me with worry. "Promise me."

"I promise." I whispered, forcing a smile to hopefully reassure her. I didn't know whether or not I could actually uphold this promise... but I was willing to try my hardest.

She smiled with relief and softly caressed my cheek. "I'm very proud of you."

My chest tightened and tears quickly reached the surface of my eyes. "You are...?"