[Music recommendation: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri]
Steven Ignored her, on his phone, and she just rolled her eyes.
"Why am I not surprised." Amanda murmured under her breath and he clearly heard her.
"What are you talking about?" Steven had an irritated tone to his voice as he said, glancing up to glare her, the light from his phone screen illuminating the dark frown on his face.
For a brief second, Amanda realized she had even forgotten how Steven looked like when he smiled. Like a genuine happy smile- the type he had on when they were out playing as kids or when they were on the bed involved in one of their tickle fights.
He had a cute deep dimple just at the side of his face and she missed seeing it. These days, his smile was either one plotting evil or a mocking one.
'I miss you Steven. Please come back.' Tears sprang into her eyes for a brief second before she finally blinked them away, glancing down like she found something interesting on her mum's hand, playing with her fingers.
"Didn't you hear what I said? or were you suddenly struck dumb in a couple of seconds?"
"It's nothing." Her cold voice with a tone of finality settled in the room like a heavy mist.
The silence that followed after was uncomfortable and awkward because Steven who was used to retorting and having the last word was speechless. Her voice was cold but he could still note the choking tears she was holding back.
He just rolled his eyes, sighed and sat down, straddling a chair while scrolling through his phone, backing her, but with each second no matter how much she was hiding it, he could hear her lips trembling, could hear her sniff silently.
"Okay why the fuck are you crying now?" He couldn't hold it as he turned to snap at her. "What the fuck is even your problem???"
"How is it any of your business?" The rims of her eyes were red now as she snapped back at him, not realizing she was squeezing her mum's hand as tight as she was holding back the pain in her heart.
"You're crazy... psychopathic shit crazy kind of crazy. You're insane." He snapped at her, approaching her.
"Are you going to hit me?" Amanda smiled bitterly as she sat there, her mother's hand still in her grip. Her whole frame was shielded by the shadow of her brother towering above her where she sat on the bed. "Come on then. Do It. It's not like you're any different from dad anyway. You're becoming just like him. So what's the difference If you hit me?"
"That man is not my father." It took all his willpower to reply her as he tried to stay calm, squeezing his fist.
"He was a whole lot better than the one who abandoned you and mum." Amanda snickered. She knew how sensitive the topic of his late father was, but she wanted to hurt him as much as he had done to her. She wanted him to be sad, angry and frustrated at the same time. She wanted him to know how It felt.
Steven's hands turned to fist, and before he could realize what he was doing, he had moved to the wall next to Amanda, and with all his might he began punching his right hand through the wall several times.
That certainly woke Samantha up and put some fright in both women as they watched Steven harm himself as he repeatedly punched the wall over and over again, his breathing ragged and raspy.
"Steven... " Samantha weakly crawled off the bed before she approached her son, scared to go close, yet frightened by what could happen If she let him keep at It.
"Steven stop!" Amanda's eyes was wide with unshed tears and fear as she got up, but he Ignored her.
Noah walked in at that moment, and the first aid box dropped from his grip to the floor the moment he took in the scene before him.
"Steven!" He approached him and tried grabbing his hand, horrified by the blood stain on the wall spot. "Steven what the fuck are you doing?" When he managed to pull the hand, all three were thrown back at the flesh on his knuckles which were missing, replaced by a raw flesh stained with blood.
"Are you crazy?" Noah snapped before Steven pulled his hand away from his grip, shoving Noah back roughly.
Noah was stunned at his unbecoming behavior as he slowly adjusted his glasses over his eyes.
As Steven stood there, trying to catch his breath, he watched the expressions of his loved ones. There was surprised, shock, horror, but there was also fear, and It got him angrier because he hated himself for making them feel this way, and yet he couldn't stop it- stop making them feel this way about him.
"Steven... " Samantha suddenly ran into his arms and hugged him, her small, thin arms going round his waist as she buried her head on his chest, hearing his frantic heartbeat.
Like he was in a trance, he just stood there as he felt some sort of warmth from her as she hugged him. Memories of his little feet running home into her same embrace when he was back from school flashed in his mind...
Suddenly, Steven slowly raised his hands, and for a few seconds he didn't know what to do with them, but rather than hug her back, he finally drew her away from him.
A part of him missed the motherly warmth that came with the embrace, but another part, the cold, dead part of him hated It. He didn't deserve it, he didn't want it- shouldn't want it.
Samantha's heart ached as she felt her son pull her away. It was the first time he had done It. But then again, the last time they had hugged... It had been long, years ago even. She had forgotten that this Steven hated body contact now - anything physical, emotional, he avoided It.
Nevertheless she had attempted to give him some love, seeing through him and seeing that some part of him- deep within, wanted comfort. She could almost feel him giving in as she had hugged his brick hard chest into hers, but she was pulled back like she was a hindrance, an annoying insect.
Steven's eyes met the door wide open from when Noah had walked in, and without glancing at the others who were still watching him, monitoring everyone of his moves like they were scared he would break apart or snap the next second again, he sprinted out of the room.
"Steven!" Samantha cried as she attempted to run after him, but suddenly, she felt a pain to her heart and stooped to her knees on the air, holding her chest with a grimace on her face before Amanda and Noah both grabbed her before she could hit the ground.