MAD MARY

💀 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE | WHO IS SHE?

"George? Are you okay? Why are you awake? It's two o'clock in the morning!" Alice asked her very suspicious son who sat up on his bed like a meerkat would at the sight of danger.

George gave a sigh of relief after he saw his mother stand at the door.

"Thank goodness. If it was dad, this would've been terrible." George's thoughts embraced the sudden comfort.

"Nothing...I was about to go downstairs for a drink." He lied.

"A drink? You're not after my margaritas are you?"

"No mom...I meant a glass of water...I was thirsty...so I..."

"Cut the crap kid." Alice snapped at her son, while she threw caution to the wind as she spoke. Fury had eaten through her patience. She had grown tired of George's lies.

"Mum?" George's eyes were widened by surprise. His always prim and proper mother seemed upset and he knew the madness that followed such ire. He had to prevent any scenes. He did not want to draw attention to his room. Not with the photograph he still sat on.

Alice walked towards her son's bed.
She stared at her son's eyes. The beautiful blue in them glowed fear.

Alice knew what George feared at that moment. She knew why his limbs trembled silently.

She closed her eyes, counted to ten, took in a deep breath and let it out calmly. If she wanted to get any information out of George she had to let go of the crazy and be the woman he loved. She had to be his mother.

Alice sat beside her son. She placed her hands over George's and gave a warm smile.

George did not understand the smile and this made his heart build up more thoughts of pandemonium and woe.

His eyes scanned his room and landed on a locked syringe on the window pane. George squinted, the syringe was empty.

"Shit!" He cursed in a whisper.

Alice lifted a hand and brushed George's left cheek. The smile on her face remained. Sweat poured out profusely from every part of George's skin. Fear ate him up by bits and large churns.

"Hey, hey, look at me." Alice told George.
He turned his neck slowly until his eyes met his mother's.

"Listen sweetie. I know I haven't been the perfect mom but I'm trying my best. I promise. So you don't have to panic every time I'm with you. I'm fine. I'm normal and I'd really like it if you remember that. So please act normal when you're around me, especially, when you're alone with me. Can you do that?"

George took in a deep breath which was not easy to let go. His chest seemed constricted and his lungs submitted to the pressure that enclosed them. He was not sure if his mother's question was a simple request or a command. However for the sake of avoiding the any perils in the future, he nodded.

"Thanks love. Now, I have a lot of questions for you. I saw you dash out of the master bedroom. What was that? You were like a spy." Alice chuckled.

"Wait so you..."

"Yes, I knew you were desperate to escape your father's eyes so I distracted him and therefore gave you enough time to run." Alice said with pride in every word.

George smiled.

"I...I don't..." He stuttered, completely baffled by his mother's actions.

"I guess 'thank you' are the words you're looking for. I would've let him catch you but I just couldn't. I'm not sure why but I choose to trust you George. Honestly your father's decisions have been really sceptical. I mean he just wakes up every now and then with some insane idea and actually ensures the family goes through with it. I chose to bear with his behaviour and have faith in whatever it was he was up to...but after seeing you and Mary like that...I just can't sit back and watch. Not anymore. You're my kid and Mary's like a daughter to me. So if Richard's crazy plans would pose any form of danger to my children, it's my job as a mother to bring it to an end."