Title:Kindred Regrets
By: Kanya Barton
Pairings:TBxRP, slight hints of DMxHS and ZechsxNoin at the end.
Warnings: Probably some slight cursing...definitely a lot of angst, and a WAY, WAY OOC Relena.
Here I go!
P.S. This is going to be told from one of their kids point of view...they have two.
Standard Disclaimers apply...although I wish that they didn't. -_-;;; :x
"Jesus Christ, Trowa, talk to me!" Here they go again. Mom and Dad, Mom screaming her head off and Dad taking her shit again. Why can't they ever get along anymore? They've been married for 16 years and they just NOW started fighting?!
Dad just sits there...taking all of Mom's crap about the house not being perfect, about how bad her job is, about how bad her life is in general. She takes out everything on either my little sister, my dad, or me...the only people she really has in her life other than her brother.
"We're married with kids for God's sake! I have problems! I need to talk to someone about them, but you never say anything! You don't care about me! All you care about is your job! You never take me out anymore, you never plan time for just us! I have to do everything!"(A.N.-Geez, this is really sounding familiar for me...-_-; )
Come on, Dad! Just stand up to her for once! Just for once stop taking the beating and give her one! *SLAP* Oh God, Dad's on the ground. Mom just slapped him. Why is he taking this?
"Relena..." Dad tried, for once, to stand up, now I know why he doesn't fight her.
She cut him off, "Trowa, don't say anything," what a hypocrit...make up your mind Mom, "I'm sick and tired. I work all day and I provide for the family, and what do I get back? A dirty house and a husband that ignores me!"
I got up from my position on the ground outside our fence. The house had just been cleaned, we had family over the day before...how can she expect the house to be exactly like it was the day that the cleaners came? Well, I was going to try and help my dad, I was going to run back to the other side of the house and I was going to clean the kitchen. Anna was on the computer in the back, I wouldn't blame her. If I had called the computer earlier I would be back there too.
"Trowa, I'm just sick and tired of everything...I'm going to bed." Mom pranced in right after I had gotten in. Dad stayed outside. Mom had just gotten out of the pool so she was dragging water all over the house, she would be blaming that on Anna and me later on tonight. I looked outside as I unloaded the dishwasher. Poor Dad, he was doing what he was supposed to be doing: making all of our dinner. He really only knows how to cook things that can only be cooked on a grill. It's funny sometimes how illiterate he can be in the kitchen.
Soon Dad comes in with the meat and he put it in the oven to keep it hot, "I'm going to go check on your mother, Maria. Set the table okay?"
"Yes, Daddy." I say, giving him my best fake smile even though I'm breaking inside. Slowly the mask that I usually wear is falling down and I'm feeling the tears prickling at the corner of my eyes.
He nods his approval, ruffles my hair, gives me a kiss on the cheek, rises to his tall height of 6' 8", and goes to the back of the house where the room that he shares with Mom is located. I wash my hands quickly and then I set the table. I'm about to sit down at the couch and wait for Mom and Dad to come out when Mom bursts out into the room again. She goes right back outside to the backyard again, and Dad is right behind her. She has him trained like a dog.
I knew what was coming. I'm 15, I know how these things go. So I ran back to the very end of the house, where my room was located, and lay down on my bed. Slowly the tears began to fall as I hear my mom come back in and slam the door to their room shut.
A few seconds after I hear Dad going in as well. Some more harsh words are heard through the wall, "Trowa, what the fuck do you think that I am? What did you think that you were going to have to do when you married me? Answer me God damnit!"
I didn't want to hear anymore...I could find no refuge in this house. My room was right next to theirs, so I could hear every word they said, Anna was in the computer room, and if I went back to the kitchen I would just have to know exactly when they were running in and out of the house. I closed my eyes and just let the tears flow...I heard the door to my parents' room slam for the last time.
Anna came in after that, "Hey, there's a problem with the computer...why are you crying?" her 13-yr. old eyes and ears never missed a thing...geez.
"I'm crying because I can't stop. I'm scared...Mom and Dad have never fought like this before." I say in between small gasps of breath. My mask hadn't quite broken all the way. There was still time enough to repair it in time for dinner.
"They aren't going to get a divorce you know." She said in her usual valley girl voice.
Geez, I know that..."Yes, I know that. Have YOU ever seen them fight quite like this?" I asked her.
"Well, no, I haven't."
"That's what scares me."
"Whatever, look dinner's ready. And after dinner's over I need you to get me back onto the computer. It's been messing up and so I had to shut it down."
"Alright, whatever, I'll be there in a minute okay?" She walked out and I got out of my bed. I walked over to my dresser where my mirror hung over it. My heavy layers of mascara had miraculously not run, so all I did was wipe away the tear trails and I was ready to go.
I walked down the hall and passed the colsed door of my parents' room. In the kitchen my dad was making the final touches to the meat and the potatoes. You had to be a real fool not to know that Mom wasn't coming to dinner tonight.
Even so, the silence was killing me for once, "Where's Mom?" I asked to try and quench the maddening silence. That was not a good conversation starter.
"Mom isn't hungry." Dad was always a man of few words.
Then, my little sister did the most stupid thing I had ever seen, or heard, her do. She asked, "Don't get mad at me for asking, but why is everybody so mad at each other?"
We were all quiet for a little while, Dad's left hand was shaking, "Your mom and I are having some problems that we're sorting out." His voice was quaking...I could feel the dams breaking. If my dad were to cry...I don't know what I was going to do.
"Alright, let's pray." I could tell that he was trying to be strong for us...I couldn't look at him. Even with his one eye covered, his eyes had been giving away a lot of his emotions lately. If I were to look at his eyes, I knew it would be the end of that damn holding back my tears. "Give us this day...our daily b-bread, and forgive us, these trespassers. As we forgive those who t-trespass against u-us. And l-lead us not..." pause as Dad takes a deep breath, "into temptation, b-b-but deliver us from evil. Lord, help all th-those in our family who...are feeling ill." He was leaning his head on his hands, his elbows resting on the table. "Amen."
The tears were going down my nose. I had my face hidden from Dad and Anna, I did the sign of the cross, but I couldn't sit there and listen to my dad on the verge of crying. "Excuse me." I quickly walked to my room. "Fuck, why won't they stop coming??" The hot tears kept flowing down my cheeks as the phone rang. I composed my voice as best as I could and I answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey Maria, it's Elizabeth. Is Anna on?" My best friend asked.
"No, we're eating dinner right now," my voice cracked just a little.
"Well, when you're done tell her to get on. I have to tell her something."
"Alright," a sob came out unexpectedly, "I will."
"Oh God, Maria. What's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?"
I couldn't answer her right away so she just kept asking the same questions, "It's my parents. They're fighting worse than they ever have before. I don't know what to do, Elizabeth. They need help, but I can't help them. I feel so helpless."
Anna walked in, she was crying too, "Dad's crying, Maria." She lay down on my bed and cried into my pillow. Sometimes she could be such a kid.
"Elizabeth, my DAD'S actually crying...I've never seen him cry. What do I do Elizabeth?" I was sobbing and my legs collapsed underneath me.
"Maria, take a long, deep breath through your nose and hold it. Then let it out sloooooowly."
"I can't..." I said sniffing.
"Yes you can...just a deeeeeeeep breath throoooouuuuugh your nose. Come on Maria, you can do it."
"No, I can't. My nose is stuffed."
"Oh, well then...take a deep breath through your mouth and hold it. Then let it out slooooooowly, through your mouth again of course." She was trying to cheer me up. She was such a good friend.
Just then my dad opened the door to my room, "Elizabeth, I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I'll talk to you later." I hung up and looked down at my hands. Dad just kind of stood there, "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to upset you."
His eyes softened, even though I didn't look at them I could feel them soften. He loved us more than his own life, he loved Mom more than himself too; she was just too blind to see it. "It's alright Maria, it's refreshing to see you opening up like that. I thought you were turning into me for a while there." He ruffled the short hair on my head. "Mom and I are just going through some tough stuff. Don't you worry your little heads about it alright?"
I couldn't help but feel guilty. Earlier that day I had gone to see a movie, that I had already seen twice before, with Elizabeth. Mom had seemed to be in a good mood at that time, but when I got home she was a wreck. "Dad, is this my fault for seeing that movie for the third time?" I asked, my voice still trembling.
"No, of course not. Mom is upset with me. I'm not being a good husband to her. I just need to work things out with her and everything will be back to the way they used to be. I promise." He kneeled down next to me and gave me a hug. While he was getting up to go give Anna a hug I thought to myself, 'No, Daddy, you are the best husband in the world. Mom's just a blind woman who needs to be reminded of how good she's got it.'
Anna and Dad got up to go back and eat. I wasn't feeling very hungry, I never do after I cry, but I went anyways because Dad would've been sad if I didn't. We ate in silence and I immediately went back to cleaning the kitchen after I got Anna back on the computer. Dad went back to his position in Mom's room.
Shortly after that Mom once again busted trhough those doors and out into the backyard with Dad following. When he passed I gave him another smile...but again I couldn't give him a full smile. Again, for the second time that night, I heard my mom scream at Dad and slap him. I just wanted to go out there and scream at her to stop.
As I finished putting away all the leftovers I hear our dog, Charles, freaking out and barking a lot. He's normally a calm dog, except when he thinks that Dad is in trouble or danger. Charles is a West Highland Terrier that can't seem to stay clean, which really bugs my mom. What's weird is that they are a very stubborn type of dog, they don't like to do tricks or listen to anyone, but Dad trained him. So I began to worry. I thought of calling Mom's brother Zechs...or was he calling himself Milliardo now? Whichever one, I thought of calling him, but he lives so far away. What would he be able to do? Then I thought about "Uncle" Duo and "Aunt" Hilde. They were very close by, but I didn't want to involve them in this. They had kids of their own! I didn't know what to do...
So, I did the unthinkable. I went outside to see for myself. What I saw will haunt me for the rest of my life. There was my mother, standing on top of my submerged dad in the pool, with an unknown and scary fire in her eyes. I screamed at the top of my lungs...Dad wasn't fighting...he wasn't struggling to get air anymore. I ran back inside. My mom screaming after me, "Maria, don't worry, this is just a game your father and I play when we're alone!"
The lying bitch! I called the police and told them what was happening, I couldn't stand him being underwater like that so I hung up on them after they told me that they were on their way and ran back outside. My mom was still standing there, with a mad smile on her face while Dad just lay there on the bottom.
I was filled with such hatred for my mother at that time that I didn't have any control over what I was doing. I ran at her and tackled her...she was brought out of her maniacal state and she stood there once again. I knew she knew what she had done, and I knew that she was scared. I went down to get Dad...it was obvious that no one was going to help me.
I got him above water and checked for any signs of breathing or a pulse. There was none. So I started CPR, I had taken the class with my dad a few weeks earlier so I knew what I was doing for once. I couldn't cry...I felt like crying but I couldn't. I had to be strong for my dad, I had to fight them so I could fight for him. But all my attempts were in vain. My dad was proclaimed dead on site and my mom was sent to jail. Duo and Hilde came to our house to make sure that we were okay. they stayed the night with their kids. Anna had cried her eyes out, but I was dry.
After the funeral we discussed with my dad's lawyer who we would be staying with. We had two choices, either to stay here and live with "Uncle" Duo and "Aunt" Hilde and their kids, or go live with Uncle Milliardo and Aunt Lu up in the north. I was torn between the two. I loved both of them, but I had to choose. Anna chose to go up north and see if she could start over from the beginning. I gave that a thought, but I would be leaving Elizabeth, Kaite, Cory, and John behind...plus I had so much going for me here. I eventually opted to stay with Duo.
Relena was tried and convicted...she is now serving out her sentence; she tried to plead insanity, but I knew that was the first time that she had ever gone so crazy as to harm someone that she loved. The jury ignored her plea and sent her to jail for 50 years. I miss my mom...but I don't. I regret that she will not be allowed to come to my wedding...nor will she be invited, but I regret my father not being able to come, physically at least, to it.
The End.
Alrighty, I actually had a daydream of this happening between my own parents today...I guess that's what drove me to write this. I was thinking of writing it with Heero and Relena...but it just didn't fit! Besides...I'm sure everyone is sick of me killing Heero...reference to "My Tourniquet". Please review, it would make my day SO much better!
Peace out!
(sorry, I just had to put a little bit of green in here. It is my favorite color! Geez)P.S.-All you Trowa lovers out there! I hate myself now for killing Trowa...but he fit the part perfectly!! I'm so sorry!
Relena was like my mum, always carrying on about money problems, how the house is never clean, how lazy and stupid we all are (this is me my 3 younger brothers and my dad) And like Trowa, my dad just sits and takes all this crap from her, but my dad isn't the only one who gets these little sessions, my mum does this to me too. Since I'm the oldest and the only other female in the family I'M the one who SHOULD be 'responsible' and look after things while she's out working (even though I actually do try my best to keep things in place at home, but having 3 youngers brothers who don't listen, not to mention the youngest one has a disability it gets a bit hard 
). Geez, it gets really annoying hearing how worthless you are, your story is like my every day life 
Well, besides the slapping and killing of course, I know my parents have their moments, but I know they wont get a divorce or anything, they love each other too much to do such a thing (thank god - well hopefully anyway) 
I'm anxious to read the next bit to that, I bet it will be great! Anyway, my review has gotten a little long 
Sorry about that, I have a tendency to write more then what's really needed. Loved the story!!! Keep it up, can't wait to read more of your work!!! 
