☣ alien ☣ || h.s. au

xiii. truth be told

alright, this one is dedicated to @shiiinna bc she is great and is an active reader (: i hope you enjoy this chapter that i hurried to write, and enjoy the fantastically adorable gif of my baby boy at the top. much love to all of you and i will update when i have internet! i have the chapter written just need extra time to edit and post it. ok i'm done stalling... well, here it is.

- h a r r y -

I shifted on the couch that Annetta and I sat, trying my hardest to think of the words to begin with. There was a pressing alarm ringing inside my head, causing an extreme nuisance... quite a painful thing as well. The name Kitzowich was repeated in my head over and over again, trying to begin the recording of his message in my head. My bracelet was vibrating to no end, and I pulled down my sleeve consciously so that Annetta wouldn't see. I swallowed a long, hard, swallow, and felt the sticky saliva slide painfully down my throat before beginning. I ignored all the screaming alarms in my head.

"My family was one of a single mother, myself, and a sole other sister, Gemma. I was always what you would call a 'Momma's Boy'; wherever my mother went, I followed not far behind. I went to the Circle with her to fetch the small amount of fares that the Administration provided; that was our government, you see. They were the monarch, the all-powerful. I am not from this area, as you could probably predict.

"Anyhow, I did not derive from a family of excess fortune. Every other fortnight, we were distributed our Provision Passes, which was to be spent on our food, and we were to provide the remainder for ourselves. My mother worked two jobs, each that allowed her weekends off, so that she could spend them with us. The first job was one that paid well, so that she could provide the other necessities for us, such as clothing, schooling, shelter; the other was a small-paying, minimal-hour job which provided for the little luxuries we were allowed. Every weekend, we had a special day planned, such as going to the Cinema for a movie, the park for a picnic, or anything we could find. Sometimes, she designated the weekend just to one of us... she and Gemma would shop, and she and I would stay in for a movie day with candy and popcorn. It almost made us forget that my father was gone."

Annetta's face was pure awe when I finally looked at her. When she'd thought I'd finished, all she said was, "Your mom is a hero." There were no questions about the things I'd said about the government; there were no questions about why I never mentioned friends; there were no remarks of my father and where he went. Just that simple statement.

"How so?" I asked, "If your mother was the sole guardian present in your life for as long as you can remember, wouldn't she do the same?"

She sighed a short, steady sigh at the mention of her mother. I began to apologize, but she stopped me. "Please, let me explain," she said instead of asking me another question. Then she explained.

"My mother was a great one, yes. She was strong and elegant, and she was the only best friend I ever had until I was twelve, but my mother was dedicated to my father. I grew up with a sister and brother, one of which was heavily troubling, and took up the majority of her time. My mother was never interested, however, to devoting her whole weekend to all, or even one of us every single weekend. She was very reserved, you see, and her weekends were solely hers. I was only seen with my mother in public on weekends if it was a special occasion, or if she and my father had had an argument, and she needed to forget. I don't think I ever had a girl's day or a movie day, or any activity outside of our normal schedule with my mother just because we felt like it. It was always to forget, if not a special occasion."

My mind was boggled. Annetta had always made her mother seem as if she was the best woman to ever live, and I'm sure she was to Annetta, because she had never had any other as a mother.