FATED - CB

8. Ghosts

Reign:

Standing completely still, Reign furrowed her eyebrows as the words left Joyce's mouth. It sounded like after all these years, she had finally recognised her son. It was almost ironic that this had come at a time where he couldn't recognise her in return.

Reign looked over at Hilton; From his awkward mannerisms, she could tell he felt connected to the woman in front of him and it scared him. That was why he had rushed off; the sound of her voice had triggered something in him. Lashing out was something Hilton had always done when things were not going at his pace or going his way. She found it interesting how someone so strong had peculiar triggers that could instantly make him lose control. He wasn't triggered by death or by evil like normal people would be; these were things that he had always known and were now a part of him, the same way they would always be a part of her due to all she had experienced. It was the specs of happiness, true love and sincerity that he couldn't handle. It was almost as if he couldn't allow himself to feel true joy because it had been taken away from him so many times as a child.

"You haven't changed a bit since you last came here boy. You may be a little skinny on the sides but that face ain't added a wrinkle yet." The woman said while tilting her head to get a better look at him. "But where is my boy?" Joyce asked, this tome looking between the pair who stared at her helplessly. With that single question she made it clear that she by no means believed that this was her son.

Reign became uncomfortable in an instant and in the midst of her discomfort she could feel anger creeping in. She could see the oblivion in the woman's eyes but it felt forced. Her strong intuition told her that Joyce was burdened by the heavy guilt of not being there for her son and therefore convinced herself that he wasn't the young man standing right in front of her. She wouldn't have been able to handle it if he was.

After a while, Joyce looks away from the pair and begins to pull at her hair lightly. "My boy doesn't care about me. My boy doesn't care about his mama." She spoke in such a hushed tone that if the room hadn't been completely silent, they wouldn't have been able to hear her.

Hilton couldn't even blink for a while; he watched his mother. As he stared at her, dashes of memories from the last few years before the accident and his childhood began to flood his mind. Simply looking into her bleak and empty eyes had awakened memories long forgotten. He could almost hear the echo of those long ago hospital visits which jarred his mind. Suddenly swimming once more in the tide waters of the past, he remembered the dread he had once felt every time he had to drive all the way to this place to see his mother. He remembered how the smell of disinfectant would ride up his nose and wouldn't leave even hours after he'd left the place. He remembered how protective his mother had once been of him, how she catered to his every need as a young child, how safe he had felt in her arms as a toddler. He could see the warmth of her smile and of her embrace. Yet now as he looked down at her, there was none of that left.

He eyed the woman blankly. Taking a deep breath, his eyes trailed to Reign's. He doesn't say anything at first but she could see the exhaustion and anger in his eyes; his mother's apparent oblivion had taken a lot out of him. "I think this was a mistake. The only thing I've learned today is that I don't have a mother, only the remains of what once was." He spoke loud enough for every one in the room to hear his words yet Joyce didn't even flinch.

The girls eyes flickered with sadness as she looked at her companion, she couldn't help but agree with him. What Hilton needed at that point in time was stability and he wasn't going to get it here. She simply nodded as she watched his jaw tighten. "I get it."

"Alright. I'll let you finish you up in here. Meet me in the lot when you're done." He answers before walking out of the room without giving his mother a second glance.