Her eyes

Chapter 2

A/N (Forgot to say all rights to Disney whoops! Also, there will be plenty of dissing on Prince Eric being drunk and such. Don't like, don't read. Here we go!)

My face grew red hot with anger. My hands shook as they held onto my mother's with a weak grip. "He left. You're lying." I spat the words through my teeth. I'd been waiting all of my life to hear my father was back, but not like this.

"I wish it wasn't true-" Her words were cut off by a coughing fit. My anger melted away as I began to console my mother. The coughing soon subsided and she smiled weakly up at me.

I looked at her with loving eyes, "Rest now. We can talk later." I said softly and took her hand again. We sat in silence. Usually silence was something I cherished but now it was hell. No talking meant no answers, it meant I was left alone with my thoughts. Had my father actually tried to kill my mother? The memories of him were so hazy that I couldn't recall if he had been a kind person or not. But I suppose you could be kind and still attempt murder. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder.

I looked up to see a bright faced nurse with rouged cheeks and glossy lips. "Mrs. Hawkins needs her rest. Visiting hours for her are over." She kindly explained. I looked back at my mother again to see she had already closed her eyes. I slowly backed out of the room as the nurse closed the door.

"Fuck." I sighed and let my forehead crash against the plaster wall. My father attempted to kill my mother. Why? If I had been there could I have saved her? Would he have killed me too? My thoughts built off of each other as I began to leave for the night.

As I began to open the double doors a voice from the first room captured my attention, "Jim?" I backtracked a few steps to see the beaten woman again. What had her name been? She had remained sitting up, her blankets wrapped around her torso. This uncovered her purple and yellow arms, covered in bruises. "Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked politely.

I didn't answer."Well, it was nice seeing you again." She filled the silence after a few moments.

My eyes darted to her name tag at the end of her bed. 'Ariel' in cute letters with a few bubbles dotting the 'i'.

"You too, Ariel." I nodded at her and slowly walked out of the hospital.

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The next day I went back to visit my mother. Once again, Ariel stopped me. "Jim!" She said excitedly, standing by the window. Standing. Her body looked a different shade from her natural skin tone and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened to her. "Are those flowers for your mother?" She asked and gestured at the bouquet in my hands. I couldn't help but keep staring at her body. She was thin, almost to the point where every bone in her body was revealed. Her blood red hair curled down her back, still uncombed. But the thing that captured my attention the most was her deep blue eyes. Eyes that swallowed my soul, eyes that took my breath away. Ariel caught my looks but decided to keep to her cheerful attitude, "Are you staring at me standing? Great, huh?" Ariel beamed happily at her own accomplishment.

I couldn't help but give a tiny smile at the overly enthusiastic girl. "It's great, Ari." I made up the nickname quickly. The girl only giggled and turned back to the window. Our fleeting conversation was over. I couldn't help but wonder if she did this to every visitor that passed by.

I neared my mother's room, knocking on the door politely. "Come in." Her voice sounded stronger than yesterday. I opened the wooden door and peeked my head inside. She was sitting up, her cuts and scars bandaged tightly. "Jim!" Her smile brightened the room.

"I brought you these." I said with a small smile back, slightly bigger than the one I had given Ariel. I presented the flowers before putting them in a vase by her window."How are you doing today, mom?" I asked and sat by her bedside. "Where's the guard?"

"Left." She said simply. "You just missed your father too." I bit hard on my tongue from saying anything vulgar. How dare he see my mother! See what he had done to her. "He left the envelope on that desk for you." Sarah pointed toward the desk near the door of the room. My gaze went to the small white parcel sitting there. I walked to it. In what seemed like an eternity I finally opened the envelope. The letter had been folded carefully, no edges sticking out from one side or another. Word from my father. After all of the years I finally got to read what he had to say.

"Jim.

We have unfinished business, son. Did your mother ever tell you why I left? Does she ever talk about me? I would hope both questions are answered yes. If so then you know what I want. If not then your mother is even more of a fool than I imagined. I hope this letter gets to you. I wish I could be there to see the look on your face when you read this but due to the circumstances you probably would rather rip my heart out than hear anything I have to say. Your mother isn't who you think, Jim. I'm not who you think either. Believe me when I say I'll come for you. Not in a wicked way... we just have things to talk about. Happy things.

I'm not the enemy here.

-Leland"

I read the letter three times before I vomited. The trash can held my breakfast as I wretched. My mother wasn't who I thought she was? What did half of that letter even mean? I coughed a few times before standing straight again, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. "Jim?" My mother's voice brought me back to reality. "Are you okay?" I nodded and turned to her.

"Mom I got to go." I whispered, getting upset all over again. She nodded knowingly.

"Wait... Jim." My mother slowly reached and picked a daisy from the flower bouquet. "Here, dear. I love you." She smiled sadly, knowing whatever I had just read had shaken me.

"I love you too." I whispered and kissed her forehead softly, taking the flower. I walked from the room, spinning the daisy between my two fingers, thinking.

As I passed Ariel's room I expected another conversation. But when I looked in I saw her sleeping soundly. Her small walk must have tired her. A smile danced across her lips, her long eyelashes downcast in sleep. In her sleeping innocence her beauty found her again. I bit my lip softly, forgetting about my troubles when I looked at her. I slowly walked into the room, placing the daisy on her nightstand. I left the hospital.