Enemy Beloved

35 | a song

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V A U G H N

"Right foot forward and block with your forearm," Rose instructs Claire as the latter lifts herself from the floor after being thrown back hard twice. She gathers her strength, positioning herself just like Rose.

Rose chose to teach Claire the basics of preventing an attack today. So far, Claire has only learned to block a blow to her face. Not a surprise considering she got scared after seeing her face in the mirror this morning and spent an hour crying in the bathroom. I tried to tell her that it didn't matter because she looks gorgeous but she didn't listen to a word.

"I'm tired," Claire grunts when she misses stopping a punch on her arm.

Rose narrows her eyes, glaring at Claire. My sister takes her job very seriously and looks clearly in no mood for excuses.

Scary monster

"You can never be tired when defending yourself, Claire. Now, fight back!"

She holds Claire's arms, positioning them to reduce the gap between her hands so the enemy doesn't use the space between them to his advantage. Just like I taught her.

"They are good." I hear Mom comment from beside me as we both watch the girls train from the entrance.

"They are." I take a sip of my coffee, loving the bitter taste as it drowns down my throat. "But Claire needs to concentrate on her blocks. She is more focused on attacking."

"You can't blame her. That man took a part of her." Mom takes the now-empty cup of coffee from my hand and holds my arm, nudging me to walk with her.

I shove my hands into the pockets of my trousers, casually striding along. Mom has been pretty concerned about the attacks, scared even that the man might dare to come to the house.

She stops and spins around to face me. "Vaughn, darling, if you don't mind, you aren't taking too much stress, right?"

I touch the nape of my neck, avoiding looking at her as I stare at the floor. "No, Mom. I'm fine. It's just the usual amount of stress."

A look of worry crosses her face, her lips tilting downward. "And what about the nosebleeds? You don't get them anymore, right? You haven't got them in years."

"No, I don't."

Guilt squeezes my chest at my lie to her. I can't help it. My nosebleeds have gotten more frequent ever since the night Claire and I fought on our honeymoon. There has been a constant worry in my head since then concerning one thing or the other. If I tell Mom the truth, she will start worrying about me and hiding stuff from reaching my ears one way or another. She might even get upset with Claire if she overthinks it. As much as my Mom is a sweet and kind lady, her anger is outrageous.

She puts a hand over my cheek, stepping close and craning her neck as she caresses my chin softly with her thumb.

"I hope you're not lying to me, sweetie. Never lie to Mom, okay? I have already lost your father once due to this and I won't lose you too. Take care of yourself while you take care of Claire. That's all I want."

I touch her hand on my cheek, curling my fingers around it, and bring her palm to my lips, kissing it softly.

"I know, Mom." I pull her slowly towards me and hold her as she hugs me while I soothe her hair, kissing the crown of her head.

My Mom is protective that way and ever since Dad's death, her emotional sensitivity has triggered. If I am not allowed to take stress, she isn't either and my heart can't bear the thought of losing her too. I am still young but she is nearing sixty.