A Phantom and His Family

Chapter 14: Mother/Son Story Time

Erik's POV

I sat at our bedside as I took a pair of tweezers and cautiously took out each shard of glass one by one, stopping only to wipe away some of the blood from her weeping cuts. We both sat in silence (which was occasionally broken by the sound of her hissing from the stinging from both the glass and the medicine) until I was done and her hand was wrapped up nicely in some bandages. Then, with nothing else seeming amiss, I took her in my arms and held her. 

We didn't have to speak at that moment. What happened just a few moments ago were enough to understand how we were feeling. I haven't been more in love with her until that moment, but I also wanted to make sure that she wouldn't have to take these kind of actions again. Suddenly, the children came to our room, their faces casting looks of confusion and intense curiosity. 

"What happened to Mommy?" Octavia asked as she stared at the bandages. 

She sat down on the bed as Osmand came over to me, his eyes studying the small pile of rose-colored glass that was on an blank piece of paper that I began to pick up to throw away. I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. Everything about this place was making me feel uncomfortable and I needed to leave the room for a second.

"Children, I need you to stay in this room with your mother, alright?" I commanded, getting up to walk around the house a bit. 

"Where're you going?" My beloved wife asked, holding the children to her. 

"I'm just going to walk around the house for a bit, don't worry. I just need to take a breather."

With that, I gave a kiss to Evangeline and the twins as I left the room. Stepping out into the hallway, I slowly began to wander aimlessly as I felt a terrific headache come on from all the, stress that had accumulated within the full week we've been here.  First with getting my mother's letter that summoned us here, then with the threats and abuse from my former, closed-minded neighbors, and finally with my mother's sudden change of heart. 

My headache was getting worse and I wasn't paying attention on where I was going until I found myself back in the attic with my mother right where we left her, kneeling near the broken mirror and staring at her reflections.

"Mother?" I called, confused as to why she as just sitting there on the floor. 

She didn't seem to hear me until I called her again. This time, she looked up at me, her eyes filled with fatigue. 

"Yes, Erik?" She sighed.

"Are you alright?" 

She didn't say anything at first. Then, she picked herself up from off the floor and asked,

"Would you like to take some tea with me? We need to talk."

What's the worse that could happen? I thought to myself as I accepted her offer. 

With a small smile, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen with me following her. As I made my way downstairs, I could already hear the sound of clattering china as she quickly searched for two tea cups to place on the table as well as the small pitcher of cream and the sugar. In no time at all, the kettle was whistling and the boiling water was placed inside the already- prepared teapot and the tea was served. 

Neither of us spoke for a few moments as we sipped our tea in silence. Then, my mother spoke. 

"This might seem to be a rather personal question but I must ask. How did you and Evangeline meet?" 

I gave an airy chuckle as I reminisced on that chilly February morning a decade before. 

"It's a rather long story, actually. If you really want to listen, then I suggest that you make yourself another cup of tea and take out some tea biscuits while you're at it."