Happy New Year everyone!
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There is a flashback in this chapter in Neuvillette's POV.
The Neuvillette whose POV this is is not the present one, but rather the young one from back then.
Also:
TW for non-consensual drug use, mentions of abuse, and just an insane amount of trauma that I can't really put into words.
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Wriothesley's POV
I woke up early.
Way too early for someone who was only able to fall asleep way after 3 am.
I slept for like what? Five hours?
Ugh...
I need some tea. Or coffee. Preferably tea. Whatever Neuvillette has at this point.
I carefully climbed out of bed, paying attention not to wake Sigewinne.
She fell asleep late as well. Not as late as I, but way past her bedtime.
She had been worried about Neuvillette and I didn't manage to make up an excuse for his absence that she believed.
Luckily, I was able to slip out of the room without waking her up.
I'll just get some tea and come back.
As I asked towards the stairs, I couldn't help but look behind me towards the door of Neuvillette's room.
Should I check up on him?
He said his doctor would be arriving around nine or ten.
If there's no movement till then I'll go check.
...
Apparently, there would be no need for that.
I found Neuvillette sitting by the kitchen table downstairs drinking...
Water?
Probably not.
Not with the way he grimaced when he took a sip.
"Those little brats. They switched out the jars again." He mumbled, pushing the cup away from himself.
I gently knocked on the door to alert him of my presence.
"Good morning."
"Could be better." He grumbled, sending a very uncharacteristic glare at his cup.
"Something wrong with your drink?"
Instead of answering, he grabbed the wooden container at the other end of the table and turned it towards me.
Sugar, the label said.
"I tend to drink water with a bit of sugar when I need a bit more energy." He explained.
"And...?"
What's wrong then?
"Please. Feel free to taste the contents of this container." He sighed.
I took a small pinch of the crystal-like substance and put it in my mouth.
It didn't take long for me to figure out why he was so grumpy.
Salt.
It was salt.
Yeah. That definitely explains the grumpiness.
Anyone would be grumpy drinking a mouthful of salt water first thing in the morning.
"Lyney most likely switched them around last time they were here. I should have suspected it. It wasn't even the first time."
If it wasn't the first time you really should try it before mixing it into water.
On a different note...
He definitely looked better than last night.
Should I bring it up?
Should I just keep quiet and wait for his doctor?
But this isn't really a physical problem.
So should I bring it up first?
"I can hear you thinking." Neuvillette spoke up suddenly.
"Huh?"
"If you want to say something, just say it. If you frown any harder thinking about it, that frown might become permanent?"
Was that an attempt at a joke?
But fine.
"Last night... Do you want to talk about it?"
He fell silent.
"If you don't, we can-"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I understand if you want to leave-"
"Hey, hey! Wait just a second! Slow down a bit, will you?!"
For one, that apology is completely unwarranted.
This only happened because I tried to tackle him in the first place.
I feel like he's trying to hide in his bubble right now.
Not gonna happen.
I sat down on the chair next to him and turned to face in his direction, holding out my hand.
"Can I hold your hand?"
"Why?"
"Just because. No special reason."
While he still looked at me incredibly confused, he slowly placed his hand on top of mine.
Cautiously, I shifted my hand, interlocking our fingers and holding his hand.
"Wanna tell me what happened? Did I scare you?"
"Scare... is not exactly accurate. Alarm, more like it. I tend to react defensively to sudden violent movements."
Yeah. I got that much.
"But that does not justify me hurting you. I apologize. How is your neck?" He asked.
I wanted to say that it was fine, but the dark bruise around my neck did not allow for that lie.
"It doesn't hurt much." I said instead.
He cast me a doubtful glance before looking away in silence.
His other hand reached across the table, pulling a file from the other corner in front of me.
"This is?"
"The file I told you to ask for last night."
Ah... Right.
I completely forgot about that about it.
"What is in this file explains why I reacted so strongly to your actions yesterday."
-
Neuvillette's POV
My hand couldn't help but tighten around his when he tried to pull it away.
Oh...
I overstepped again.
He probably just wanted to open the file. I was holding his dominant hand after all.
"Ah... My apologies... That was rude of me."
I wanted to let go when suddenly his hand tightened around mine in return.
"I can turn a page with my other hand too." He smiled.
With his other hand, he reached to open the file only to stop at the last second.
"Do you want to tell me about it or should I just read it?"
To tell him about it myself...
"There are things I do not remember well."
It was over two decades ago, after all.
"How about we go through it together then? When you feel like you don't remember." Wriothesley offered.
What does he want to achieve by this?
I don't see anything that would come from having me tell him instead of just reading it.
But oh well.
I suppose I owe him at least this much after nearly strangling him to death.
So I reached for the file, opening it to the first page.
It was the written record of the first call I placed to the emergency number when I was eight.
That time...
28 years ago
Finally, after months of trying, I got my hand on a phone.
It was old, it was broken, but it was a phone nonetheless and that was all I needed.
I felt dizzy and the pain shooting through me from time to time was almost unbearable.
Still, I swallowed down the pain and dialed the emergency number.
"Hello. What is your emergency?" A voice sounded after a few rings.
A voice.
One that wasn't followed by more pain.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out again.
I shook my head to snap out of my daze.
"H-hello." I answered shakily.
It had been a while since I last spoke properly and even now, I was fighting to stay coherent against the waves of dizziness that kept hitting me.
"I- I would like to report- I would like to report a case of child abuse." I managed to say eventually.
"Child abuse? Are you alright, little one? Are you injured?" The voice asked worriedly.
Someone...
Someone asked if I was okay?
I couldn't keep it together anymore. I broke down crying.
"It- It hurts. It hurts everywhere. I'm dizzy and it's so cold."
"Kid, what-"
"Mom. It's mom. She gives me something. It's in a big needle. It hurts. It makes it so much worse. I-"
Suddenly I felt the phone get yanked out of my grasp, followed by an ice-cold voice.
"That is quite enough of that nonsense, Neuvillette."
I froze in place in an instant as complete and utter horror filled me.
"M-Mom-"
"What kind of trouble are you stirring up now? Who did you call to whine to- Oh."
Shock flashed passed her face as she saw the number and her mask of kindness appeared right away.
"Oh dear! I apologize terribly for my son!"
"Are you his mother, miss?"
"Yes, yes. That I am. What did he call about? Did he call to whine about taking his medicine?"
No!
No, it's not!
"Medicine?" The voice sounded from the other end of the line.
"He has a horrible cold. The doctor prescribed some medicine that had to be administered via injections. He has been whining about that daily."
That's not it!
Please don't believe her!
It's not medicine!
"His father passed away from one such bad cold as well so I'm extra careful with him. I didn't expect him to think of my care as something bad." She feigned sadness.
That's not true!
Dad didn't die from a cold!
You killed him just like this!
You're doing the same thing to me as you did to him!
Sadly...
"Is that so? Are you sure there is no need for any assistance, miss?" The voice from the other end asked.
No!
Please don't!
Please don't believe her!
You can't believe her!
"Please-"
Pain shot through me as I staggered and fell on the floor from the slap I had just received.
"Right. We're fine. My apologies for the trouble me son cause." Mom smiled.
"No, no, no. Please don't worry miss. It happens more often than you would think. Please have a nice day further and good luck with the little one."
I felt something inside me break as I heard the call end.
But that wasn't the end of it for me.
"Now, now, Neuvillette. Look at what you've done. Now we will be forced to move once more."
"Mom-"
"Punishment is in order for children who misbehave."
I saw a twisted grin spread across her face as she reached into her pocket, taking out a familiar syringe.
No.
No, no, no, no, no!
Please!
Don't!
Not again!
I can't take another!
"Mom-"
"If you didn't want for it to end this way, perhaps you should have behaved yourself, brat."