Starting World War 3! (A Hetalia Fanfic)

Chapter 45 - Chaos and Discord

Chapter 45

I woke up to the sound of sobbing. It wasn't Al. She was sleeping soundly beside me. Her blankets were a scrunched mess at her feet so it seemed she had had a restless night. Right now, she looked totally chilled though; her arms and legs outstretched across her mattress. She was sleeping like a starfish.

I crept out of the room, glancing at the window for a few seconds to try and work out how early in the morning it was. It was light outside but there was no sign of the sun so it must have been around four of five at the latest.

The crying was coming from downstairs I realized, as I stood at the top of the staircase. I tiptoed down the stairs in hope of not waking anybody up but it was a bad mistake. The house was dark and the wood of the staircase was hardly visible so I had to feel each step to know where to put my foot down. I tripped down the last few steps and ended up in heap at the bottom of the staircase, twisting my ankle in the process.

"Euh." I groaned as I picked myself up. I had hit my head on a banister and I was sure I had gotten a scrape from it.

I looked up from unsteadily dusting my knees off to see Mum standing over me. A worried look had fallen across her face as she looked down and wiped the tears which rolled down her cheeks. So, it had be her who had been crying! My bet had been on Selena.

"Are you alright, Matilda?" she whispered to as she looked me over and clasped the sides of my head with her hands. "You're bleeding. Come into the dining room, I'll get you a band-aid."

Mum wrapped an arm around my shoulders and lead me into the dining room despite me insisting that I was okay. She pulled out a chair for me and sat me down before she wiped her thumb over the scrape on my forehead and frowned.

"It's only small." She noted, "But it will become an egg, no doubt."

"Greeeeeaaaaat." I laughed half-heartedly. "I will be an egg head."

"It could be worse." Mum smiled. She turned around and walked into the kitchen to wash her hands before she grabbed a couple of tissues, some anti-bac and a few Band-Aids from the overhead cupboard and put them down on the table top.

I watched as Mum dipped a tissue in the antibacterial liquid and gently dabbed it on my forehead. Once she was satisfied with mopping my head up, Mum placed a Band-Aid firmly on there and then proceeded to do the same to my banged-up knees.

"Ha." Mum admired her handy-work, "You look like your father."

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes and tentatively placed a hand on the Band-Aid stuck to my forehead, "We match too." I pointed up at the pale scar above her left temple, it was barely visible behind the lock of hair which hung in front of her face but it was there.

"I haven't put any foundation on!" Mum realized and launched into a panic, "S***, I look fugly. Oh, my God, hold on. I'll be back, okay? Stay here."

"No, Mum." I sighed as I grabbed her hand to stop her leaving the dining room, "You look fine. I can't even see it okay? It doesn't even matter."

Except it did. I could see how uncomfortable my mum was as she pressed her free hand to her temple. The way Mum winced when she ran her fingers over her scar made it seem like it still hurt. Maybe it did? How was I to know?

"It matters to me." Mum muttered but she took a step back and pulled out a chair to sit with me. "I'm tired Matilda, I should go back to bed and so should you."

"I woke up because you were crying." I explained, "Then I tripped and fell but that doesn't really matter. Are you okay?"

Mum was silent for a moment before she attentively shook her head and looked down at her hands. "No, Matilda." She murmured, "I'm far from okay."