InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Much Too Young ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Ten

 

I remember back when my mother was still alive; before she ever met HIM. I remember the good old times of when we were the best of friends, and all we needed to get through the day was each other. When I would fall and scrap my knee she was there in an instant, picking me up and kissing the pain away. Her lullabies were made for me, only to me, as she tucked me under the safety of my blankets. But then, HE came. He was my mother's new boyfriend. And by the constant smile that always formed on her lips, I knew she was happy.

 

Time went by, but it felt like an eternity. As the days, hours, minutes, passed, my mother and I began to grow apart. But I was happy. I was happy because she was happy. She deserved to be happy. So, I put on a smile for mama and did my best to cope with it. Then one night it happened.

 

Mother was gone that night, working late and unable to make it home before it got dark. Mother's boyfriend was my caretaker that night, that dark and dreary night, when I lost my mother, my best friend, for the first time.

 

I was too scared to move, to even breathe. When HE touched me with his cold, calloused fingers I froze. Was this how a daddy shows how much he loves his daughter? I remember thinking. And though this man, this monster, was not my father, at the time, before my life became someone else's, I did wish he would be. My biggest dream was to be daddy's little girl. Perhaps my wish, my simple wish of having a real family, is where I went wrong. Wishing is for fools.

 

His touches became more aggressive, his kisses more bruising. And all I could do was cry. That was the first time I ever saw myself as a weak little girl. That was when I realized that God didn't exist. If God was real, why didn't he help? Why did I feel so alone in that room, even as that man rolled on top of me?

 

I heard the door open, and then shut. The rooms dim light landed on mama, her face scrunched up in confusion. I remember closing my eyes as tightly as I could. I COULDN'T look at her! I couldn't look upon the face of my own mother.

 

My shirt was hiked up, my skin exposed. The jeans that my mother bought me just two days before were down to my knees, my cartoon panties showing in the faint light. I could feel mothers piercing stare on her boyfriend, even as my eyes remained shut.

 

“What were you doing to my daughter?”

 

Her boyfriend sat back on his haunches, his clothes still intact.

 

“She wouldn't go to bed when I asked her to. She wouldn't even obey me. I tried to spank her”, as I opened my eyes, I saw his gaze sifting from my mother towards me, “but she fought me.”

 

Mother blinked and tilted her head in my direction. Her eyes became cloudy. “Is this true, Kagome?”

 

I stayed silent. I didn't answer her nor look at her boyfriend. My silence was another mistake. A part of me already knew who she was going to believe. She was happy. She wanted to remain happy. She didn't want to know the truth; she didn't want to believe in the truth.

 

Mother turned her head, breaking the thin thread that had previously bounded us together. My mother was gone.

 

Small tears welled up in my eyes, and flowed down my already tear-stained face. I didn't have a voice. I didn't have the courage, the strength, to say that it was all a lie. My eyelids closed, as I slowly breathed in and out.

 

“Kagome… Go to your room, Kagome. Don't come out until I tell you otherwise.”

 

That night was when my mother, my sweet, loving, happy mother, became something less of a hero in my eyes.

 

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Shigure blew out a breath of air. He scratched at his head lightly out of nervousness, while his other hand was placed at his hip. Scanning the room, he made his way over to Aya.

 

“I just talked with Akito over the phone…”

 

Aya brought his gaze from the table in front of him to the young woman sitting across the room, her back leaning against the wall.

 

“And… What did he say?”

 

Shigure grasped his tea cup in his hand, bringing it up to his lips. His gaze, too, landed on the young woman. “He wishes to visit tonight. He knows that you're here, Gome-chan.”

 

Kagome tensed, her back going ridged against the wall she was leaning on. Sapphire blue locked with those of dark brown orbs and light green ones. “Is he visiting because of me? Should I go home now?”

 

“I'm not certain as to why he wants to visit, Gome-chan. Perhaps he wants to see Tohru again…”

 

Kagome's eyes hardened. Her fists clenched at her sides, as her head dropped a bit, her bangs covering her eyes. What Shigure said was a lie. If Akito knew that she was here he wouldn't come to see Tohru.

 

“Kagome, was there something else that happened to you last week?”

 

Kagome brought her head up and looked into Aya's worried eyes. “Why would you say that?” her hands slowly unclenching, “I'd tell you if there was something else that happened.”

 

God, she was always a horrible liar. Slowly standing from her sitting position, Kagome walked closer to her two friends. The look on their faces proved that they knew she was lying.

 

“Gome-chan…”

 

“Just forget about it! I can handle my life on my own. I don't need help from you or anybody else! I-I don't deserve help!”

 

Ayame and Shigure blinked owlishly at their young friend's outburst. A part of them felt like they were being stabbed in the back with a dull blade. But then, another part of them was flashing warning signals. How could she believe that she didn't deserve any help?

 

“Look,” she began in a softer voice, “I am not who I used to be. People change over time, whether by choice or not.”

 

“Kagome, just tell us what else happened. Please… all we want is to help you,” Shigure begged. His eyes filled with tears. He leaned over the table, his hands in front of him.

 

“Please… please don't make me to tell you! Please.”

 

Neither man knew what to do, as they watched Kagome collapsed next to them on the floor, crying hysterically. Ayame's reached his hand out, and placed it lightly on Kagome's shuddering shoulder. “Its okay, Kagome. It'll be all right. You don't have to tell us yet. You can tell us when you're ready.”

 

Kagome's sobs began to weaken, as she coughed slightly and sniffled. Then suddenly, the room's door slid open with such force that it almost broke the wooden frame. There he stood. His cruel smile creeping up on his face, as he looked straight at Kagome. Ignoring the other two people in the room, he stepped in, closing the nearly broken door behind him.

 

“Hello, step-sister.”

 

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