Take my Pain

Three

Harry's POV

I wake up half an hour earlier than my alarm clock to the sound of my parents shouting.

I am confused as I open my eyes sleepily and rub them, while trying to listen intently.

I cannot make out any words that my parents are throwing at each other, however I do realize why this is so wrong. My parents never yell- especially not at each other. Never.

This thought makes me jump up out of my bed and literally throw on a nearby shirt on top of my head while simultaneously pulling pants up my legs.

I ruffle my hair as I tread lightly down the stairs, towards the kitchen where the noise seems to be coming from.

As I peek through the darkness- only lightened by a small amount of brightness from the lamp- I make out my mom sitting on the stool at the far end of the corner, and my father standing in front of the kitchen counter. His face is furiously red. Her eyes are rimmed with red. She is crying.

"Honey, this- this is not something we... We cannot do this." My mother whispers loud enough for both my dad and I to hear.

"This is only right, Anne. This is the right thing to do." My fathers' voice is not angry- but it seems to be on the verge of breaking.

"We are too late Des. We are much too late." My mom goes on whispering.

"Yes we are. We should have done it before your mother died. It would have been much easier for them and for us."

"She is not my mother. But yes, we should have done it before. It is too late now. They will just have to never know."

"No Anne! This is the reason why we must tell them! Both of them! Can't you see? Since we held it from them, the problem has gotten worse! They have met, sweetheart. They have already met. It is done."

"No! Des please! You must understand! She is dead and they are already here. It will only complicate matters if they know. They cannot know. They will not know. I will not tell them. And neither will you."

"We might not have to. They could easily relay the information to them as so can we." My father fires back and I cannot stand to eavesdrop on them anymore. I am so sure that they are talking about grandma's death. But what does mom mean that she isn't her mom? Maybe they are talking about someone else?

"They would never..." My mom starts before my dad turns abruptly around and glares at her.

"I will tell him. We both will. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow. But by the day he turns eighteen, he will have noticed something is up. And we will tell him. We must."

My mother looks at him hesitantly before nodding, just as I enter the kitchen.

"Is everything okay?" I ask hesitantly. Four startled eyes stare up at me.

My mom bursts up out of her chair- nearly knocking it down. My dad just shakes his head- as if he's given up. On what? Or whom?

"Harry. You're up early." Mom gives me a warm smile and sniffs inaudibly. Except I did hear her.

"Yea. Um.. Is everything alright?" I ask again. "Yes, Harry. Since you're up already and I don't suppose you'll go back to sleep, would you water the garden?" It seems like mom is trying to change the subject. Dad stays quiet.

"I already watered it yesterday after school and it rained last night." I remind her and it looks like she blushes but it's hard to tell from her sorrowful expression.

"Oh yes, I know. I guess we wouldn't need to water it today." she says waving her hand in the air as if dismissing the subject.

"I think I'm gonna make some toast for breakfast. How about you Harry? Would you like some toast, yeah?" Mom busily distracts herself by starting to get the bread and plugging in the toaster.