mute [r. tozier]

two

⚠️TW— non-consensual touching ⚠️

may sat in front of her mirror. her face was painted lightly with blush and a bit of mascara, and her dirty blonde hair was curled slightly as it cascaded down last her shoulder blades. may was dressed in baby pink skirt, a white button up tucked into it with a creme colored sweater over that. she had her legs tucked into her chest while she gazed at her reflection for a few minutes, sighing as she analyzed her features.

"i wish you'd stop doin' that," a voice from her bedroom door called. may looked above her head in the mirror to see henry, he was dressed in a red muscle shirt and jeans. he had his arms folded over his chest as he looked at her. "you look fine, okay?" he tone was a little harsh, and he took notice to it right away. he shuffled his way into her dimly lit bedroom and squatted next to her. henry looked into the mirror before gently nudging the girl's shoulder. "you don't need to look at yourself like that."

may looked at him through the mirror, an acute confusion falling over her eyes. henry clicked his tongue. 

"dont act like you dont know what im talkin' about," he sighed softly. "you sit her every mornin' and stare at yourself until you feel disappointed or somethin' like that," may looked away from him. "you are always going to be you, and thats a good thing, alright?" may nodded, pulling her hair to the front to frame her face. henry entered her room and picked up the pink backpack she had sitting on her perfectly made bed. "now come on, belch is almost here."

may stood up from her vanity and shuffled over to henry. he helped her slip the backpack on and guided her to the living room. henry gazed out of the front window before twisting on his heels.

"ill be right back okay? watch out for belch," may quickly grabbed onto his arm as he tried to exit the room. he soften his eyes at the way may was standing. she was still fully facing the window, but with her fingertips tightly wrapped around his forearm. she was standing tall, but henry knew she was scared. "i'll be right back, m-- I promise," he whispered, and felt her hand slowly slip away from his arm. henry stared to quickly walk back toward his bedroom. may exhaled slowly, keeping her eyes outside of the window. she was hoping for any sign of the blue five seater.

"may, princess," a scratchy voice from behind her asked as she felt a hand press up against her lower back. mays throat ran dry. she knew by the musty undertone of cigarette smoke and the jiggling of a belt buckle who it was. her father. "where are you going?"

may felt her heart thump against her rip cage as his fingertips traced the waistband of her skirt. her breathing became caught in the back of her throat as she felt her skirt being pulled down toward her hip bones. may's vision blurred as she began to place herself anywhere but int eh current situation she was in. 

"aren't you staying home?" he murmured against her ear, forcing the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "stay here with me, because you're still my little girl, aren't you?"

"we're going to school," henry bellowed from behind the two. his voice had gotten unbelievably low, and it ruptured from his chest. the moment he saw his father's hands on his baby sister, all henry saw was red. he stomped over toward his sister and grabbed her hand. the two flew out of the front door before their father could respond.

henry felt the way that may's hand was trembling in his, and he heard the struggling gasps for air. "I'm sorry," he shook his head and paused for a moment before they crossed the street. henry pulled may into a hug and he protectively wrapped his arms around her. "I should have never fucking left you."

the two pulled away, and may stared up at him. he could see the forgiveness in her eyes, though he didn't feel any better for running back to his room. he knew he was only gone for a minute max, but he found it hard to forgive himself. that was the difference between the bower siblings. one forgave too easily, and the other found comfort within his grudges. 

they crossed the street to belches car and they saw patrick standing outside of the car with the backseat door open. he knew something was wrong by the way the two were carrying themselves. henry was walking with much heavier steps, and may's shoulders were concaved more than normal. henry made his way over to the front seat. "fuckin' prick," he sneered under his breath. "he fucking did it again," henry hit the dashboard with his fist. "fuck!"

patrick softly smiled at the girl but he noticed the smudged black makeup leaking from her blue eyes. he sighed, climbing into the car after her. "are you okay, babes?" he inquired softly into her ear. may kept her head down and tried her best to keep her sniffing to a minimum. patrick brushed her hair out of her face, making the girl look up at him. "may?"

she looked up at him and gave a slight nod, though he didn't believe it. her eyes were still glossy, and tears still stained her cheeks. no amount of reassurance would make patrick believe in this moment. she was hurting, and he began to feel his anger build up.

 patrick ran his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away all of the smudged mascara. he clicked his tongue and guided may to lay her head on his shoulder. "you'll be okay today?" he murmured. "you know," he paused ran his fingers through her hair. "i worry about you."

may nodded as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder. she pulled at the ends of her skirt, trying her best to make it longer. the older boy grabbed onto her hand to stop her from fidgeting as belch pulled off of the curb and headed to school. they intertwined hands as may tried to forget about her morning.