Hamartia | Ben Hargreeves

𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚

"Ben, he loved her like he loved no one" - Velvet Ring, Big Thief

October 1st 2005
16 years old

Eventually, time had passed, the children had got it into their heads that their brother, Five, was most likely not coming back. It had been three years since them, they had adjusted, but not gotten over it.

It was the children's birthday, and they had just turned fifteen. This birthday, seemingly a special occasion, was not, in-fact it was a normal day for them. Their father had never made an effort to celebrate this day, nor say happy birthday at all. It was as if he didn't even know the day they were born.
Their day was the same as any other Friday, the same routine as always.

The day started to come to an end, and in hopes of getting at least a goodnight from their father, they had asked Grace to take them to their fathers study, which she did. She then went into his room by herself, to let him know that they wanted to say goodnight.

"Why are we doing this, we know he's just going to ignore us again" Bianca announced as they all waited outside the door.

"The very least he could do is say goodnight to us, especially on our birthday" Luther told the girl, who was stood beside Allison.

The door in-front of them opened, which Grace had done, and as soon as she did Klaus and Ben walked forward to lean against the doorframe, stood opposite each other with their arms crossed.
Each of the children were stood facing their father, waiting for him to say the simple word 'goodnight'.

They watched silently as Reginald didn't bat an eye at them, and instead continued to write in his notebook. Each of them had a disappointed and unhappy look on their faces.

After a moment, Grace had realised that he wasn't going to speak or acknowledge them, and decided to speak up.

"Okay, time for bed now, kids. Come along now" Was all she could say to them, in her usual cheerful tone, before urging them to leave. A few of them rolled their eyes before leaving, however Allison stayed to observe their cold-hearted father for a few more moments.

"Come along now Allison your fathers busy" Grace placed one of her hands on her shoulder, you would be able to tell that even though she was a robot, she felt sorry for the children, and somewhat recognised Reginalds behaviour.

"He's always busy" Allison emphasised, until she finally followed Graces instructions, and followed her siblings out to the hallway.

"Told you" Bianca shot Luther a glance, to which the boy rolled his eyes in response.

"Lets go to your rooms children, follow me" Grace said once more, and they all obliged.

As they began walking, Ben started to walk beside Bianca, so that he got a chance to speak to her.

"Come to my room after Grace goes." The teen whispered into the girls ear.

"Why?" Bianca questioned.

"Trust me." Ben raised his eyebrows and smiled at her, which instinctively made her smile back at him.

"Can I come too?" Klaus whispered to them, as he was stood behind the two, meaning he had been listening in on them.

"What, no dude, its past your bed time" Ben gave him a rejective look, as his eyes narrowed, and his nose scrunched, which only made Bianca let out a slight laugh.

Klaus put his hands up in defense. "Okay, jeez" He said while raising his eyebrows.

The children had reached the hallway to their rooms, and Grace had directed them all to lay in their beds, and as they did, their mom went into every one of them so that she could say goodnight. Something their father would never do.