Guns and Roses

Twenty Two ~ Rya

Matthew's already asleep and the documentary hasn't even started yet. I cuddle in under his arm and settle myself in the warmth of his body. His arm wraps tighter around my waist and he grumbles in his sleep.

Mum grins at us from across the room. She's curled up with Karma but her wooly sock covered feet are on Dad's lap. "You guys are cute" she coos and then kicks Dad gently "Why don't we do that?"

He frowns at her "Because I always end up inhaling your hair and you get too warm" He says.

Mum shrugs "Fair enough"

I laugh at the two of them and Matthew wakes with a start. "Is it starting?" He says with a sleepy voice. I nod as Dad changes the channel. "Sorry, I didn't get in until around three"

I shake my head and then lay it on his chest. "It's okay. You know what happens anyway"

The show starts with a man talking with a low monotone voice. The ten kidnapped kids' school photos from before everything flash across the screen.

"Ten ordinary kids from ordinary backgrounds. To this day, no one knows why they were targeted and we will probably never find out. After the release of Bella Eden, now Bella Guerreiro, a new investigation was launched into what happened in the house they were trapped in. Beneath the floorboards of their bedroom, a camera was found. This is what was on it"

The screen fades to black and I look over to see Mum's eye wide and unblinking.

"Elliott!" A voice from the TV shouts and I turn to see a fuzzy shot of a little boy sitting on the floor of a bedroom. He stands at the shout and then waves to someone off camera.

"I'm in here!" He shouts.

Whoever is holding the camera laughs "I've got him!"

Matthew tenses. "That's my dad" he says quietly.

A small girl with curly black hair runs in. She sighs and clasps her hand by her chest when she sees the little boy. She crouches down to his level and reaches for his hands "Get under the bed. Bella's trying to hold him back"

The video cuts out and Karma starts to whimper. She cuddles closer to Mum as she shakes, fighting the tears.

"That little boy was Elliott Bennett. This is the last known footage of him alive" The voiceover says.

It's only been on ten minutes but I know that this might not have been a great idea.

The next shot is of a girl with fading pink hair. She smiles at the camera and it seems to be genuine. "Rob" she whines. "Why do you have to film everything?"

This must be Matthew's mum.

"Because when we get out of here, I want everyone to know how strong you were" His voice is quiet and she laughs, covering her mouth as she does so.

"If we get out of here" she corrects him. Her smile fades and she drops her gaze. "I don't know how much longer I can be strong. We've lost Elliott and we're losing Bella"

A gunshot rings out and Angelica covers her head. The camera falls to the ground and I hear frantic movements. Suddenly the camera is scooped up and just before the shot cuts. We see a very young Mum getting dragged into the room with blood splattered on the front of her shirt.

"I remember that day" Mum says quietly. "It was the first time I ever killed someone"

The rest of the documentary isn't so bad. There are pictures found from other places: mum with gang leaders, Gus in alleyways with dealers etc. Then it goes on to the court trials and explains in detail what the people that were arrested were in for.

It then goes on to document the fake funeral and then the clip I was dreading. The clip from when they were arrested. The one with three year old me standing in the middle of the street with my hair soaking wet and blood on my face with Oliver's dead body at my feet.

The entire time watching is spent in silence and when the credits finally roll, mum excuses herself and leaves the room. Dad follows after her.

"There's no pictures of Mum at the house" Matthew says sadly. "Aunt Rosalind pretends she didn't exist. I have to go to Dad's side of the family if I ever want to talk about them"

I don't know what to say to him. I knew the things that my mum did but seeing them displayed to me one after the other for two hours has hit me in a way I didn't expect.

Dad and I were born into this life. We knew how our lives were going to play out and that when we reach the end, it probably isn't going to be pleasant. But mum didn't have a clue.

For the first fourteen years of her life, she only had to worry about exams and friends. For the next two years, she didn't know if she was going to survive the day or if tomorrow was worth surviving for. And after that, she had to adapt to a world she'd been thrown into. She'd had to evolve into the monster that the media paints her to be.

Matthew and I sit there for a while longer until he decides that he's going to go home and have a sleep. I let him out and then go to find Mum and Dad upstairs.

They're in their bedroom and I can hear Mum's sobs from the hallway. "Mum. Dad" I call through the door.

Mum sniffs "Come in" she says.

I open the door and see her lying next to Dad with the duvet pulled up over her head. Dad's facing her and stroking her cheeks as she cries it out. As I walk in, she pulls the blanket from her head and holds her arms out to me.

I sit down and cuddle in between them. "I'm sorry Rya" she says to me. "I left you all alone for so long"

I shake my head at her "You didn't have a choice, mum. And we're all together now. Isn't that what matters?"

Dad pulls both of us in for a hug. "Look at my girls. I'm so proud to call you family. We're staying together from now on though. Yes?"

I nod "Are you kidding me? I just got you guys back, nothing can separate us again"