Don't Call Me Babe |:| Little Monsters Maurice

Chapter Six: Underworld

I got home, throwing down the groceries and sighing as I put them away and made dinner for my parents before grabbing a tub of ice cream and beginning to walk upstairs.

"Amour." I heard behind me and stopped, turning to face my mom, putting on a fake smile.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Where do you think you're going with that?" she asked, pointing at the ice cream. I looked at it before back up to her.

"My room." I said with a questioning tone and she held out her hand.

"Not in this house." she said and I rolled my eyes, putting the ice cream in her hand. She tucked it under her arm before looking back at me, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, though." she said and I rolled my eyes, of course not.

"Well, what do you want to talk about then?" I asked, checking the time. It was ten, I wanted to make sure I was there if Maurice decided to show tonight.

"Your father and I have come to a compromise, and we're getting a divorce." she said and I nodded.

"Okay, and?" I asked and she crossed her arms, still holding the ice cream.

"And you'll need to come up with a schedule on visiting days, I've already got a house on the other side of town, but for the majority you'll stay here with your dad." she said and I nodded.

"Alright." I said and began to turn around before she stopped me.

"You aren't even going to argue?" she asked and I let out a dark chuckle.

"What's the point? I don't care whether your bitch ass moves out or if his fat ass moves out, either way I'm still going to have to deal with both of you and either way I'm still moving out in less than a year so I won't have to deal with either of you." I said after turning back to her. I didn't mean for my words to be so harsh, but I was speaking from my mind. Her face became red with anger and she lashed out at me, slapping me hard. I felt her nails slice into the skin on my cheek and I winced, touching it as I felt blood drip down. 

"You will never ever speak to me like that again, you understand?" she asked, grabbing my hair to pull me closer to her. I nodded, wincing in pain. She let go of me, pushing me back. I lost my balance and tried not to fall, already being clumsy enough as it is. I quickly stumbled up to my room, shutting the door as I looked for something to stop my cheek from bleeding. I heard shuffling come from behind me as I grabbed an old shirt and pressed it to my cheek.

"What happened there?" Maurice asked as I looked in the mirror to make sure the bleeding had stopped.

"Have you met my mother?" I asked with a small sad smile.

"Sorry about ditching you last night." he said after a short smile and I looked down.

"Yeah, it's fine. JD's out of my life now." I said quietly, remembering the events of last night, "He's probably a date rapist or something." I muttered and sat on my bed. He jumped on it next to me, "Anyways, you're now my only friend here, and probably anywhere else too." I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're the only real friend I have." he said and I gasped.

"I doubt that." I said with a grin and he rolled his eyes.

"Here, come on, I know something that'll cheer you up." he said and lifted the bed. I rolled my eyes.

"Going to the underworld?" I asked and he looked at me before nodding.

"Exactly." he said and I stood up, crossing my arms.

"What makes you think I'll even be able to cross through? I mean, for me that's just a floor." I said and he stood up, towering over me.

"Easy, you gotta be handsome and gorgeous like me, or have someone handsome and gorgeous like me to show you how." he said and winked, "Now come on, I've waited a week to show you this amazing place. No teachers, no homework, no parents." he made a good argument and I crossed my arms, looking him up and down.

"Do all monsters look like you?" I asked and he grinned.

"Only the good looking ones." he answered and I smiled, rolling my eyes.

"Fine, I'll go." I said and he grinned, jumping up and down before jumping on my bed.

"Ooh, I'm so excited, come on!" he said and jumped off, kneeling by the bed and lifting it again. I knelt next to him and took his hand, not trusting him. Knowing him, he'd probably just push me and wait for me to land and break my arm or something. He grinned and rolled over, going through the floor and pulling me down with him. I squealed as I fell into his arms and we landed. I quickly jumped out of his arms and looked around. There were some kind of lights but they were all dim and red. Everything looked like it had been there for thousands of years or was stolen from some poor guy. I walked around and touched some things in awe.

"So this is the Underworld, huh?" I asked and smiled, turning back to him. He held out his arms and bowed as if it was all him that made it and I rolled my eyes, "So what'd you want to show me?" I asked and he grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with him.

He dragged me to an arcade and I was looking around. Monsters were everywhere and I couldn't help but feel a slight fear. It wasn't that they were scary monsters, half of them looked like they belonged on Sesame Street, but my social anxiety had been hitting me, and I'd lost Maurice. That scared me to most. I walked around, making my way through monsters. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest until I spotted him. I was about to walk up to him, then I watched as he walked up to some monster chick and ask to dance. I felt a weird pang on emotion in my heart as I watched. I backed up, turning and making my way back through the crowd before I could have an actual panic attack. 

I finally made it back to where we had entered and looked up, wondering how I would get back up to my room without Maurice's help. I sighed, feeling my breathing become heavy as I began to wonder why I came down here in the first place. I sat down, hugging my knees to my chest as I took deep breaths, hoping I could leave soon.