The Machinations Of Greed

My dear child

"...Not. Nice."

Adam huffs, his eyes roaming around the area. Up the stairs, it's dark. Down the stairs, it's dark. The only light is the automatic bulb above their heads, activated by their movements. The damaged, patterned concrete floor, the metal railing to provide safety, the dirty walls... as well as the bottle of alcohol set right beside the door to their apartment.

"...Eve."

"...No."

The two fall silent, and Adam turns his head to look at her with furrowed eyebrows, a hint of amusement, but also one of disbelief within his expression.

"...You went out drinking."

"...Nope."

"...You did."

"...Not. At. All."

"...Mhm. Right. Well, you know what?"

Adam pushes himself off the wall, moving to pick it up, shaking it in his hand like a piece of meat being used as bait for a shark.

"What?"

"It's mine now."

Evelyn pockets her phone, removing the cigarette from between her lips, holding it between her fingers as she holds his gaze.

"...No. I need it to sleep. You know that."

"...Not if I drink it all."

Evelyn steps closer, smirking slightly, as if enjoying his banter. She puts out her cigarette against the metal railing, never taking her gaze off him.

"...If you want it, then you can have it. Don't pass out on the couch though, because that's where you'll be fucking sleeping."

She tilts her head to the side, slapping his chest once, before sneaking past him. She disappears beyond the door, and Adam realized he probably shouldn't have tried to tease her.

"...Eve, I'm sorry."

He sighs, lowering the bottle, before coming after her. Entering the apartment, he finds the door to the right having been left open. Peering in, he sees Evelyn undressing, her back turned to him as she removes her sweater, exposing her supple skin and beautiful back. She glances at him out of the corner of her eye, a sharp glare that tells him to look away.

"I'm changing, Adam."

"Alright, alright~"

He shuts the door, and after about a minute of waiting, looking straight ahead at the wooden surface and occasionally sloshing the bottle around whenever he'd get bored, it opens to reveal Evelyn dressed in a long, white dress reaching down to her ankles. The sleeves, too, are long, with transparent, flowery patterns along the hemlines. The neckline also has flowery patterns, depicting something along the lines of roses.

"What're you waiting for? Come on, you've got work tomorrow, right? Well..."

Evelyn steps back, dropping onto the bed with a slothfulness opposite to her graceful appearance. She shifts and rolls, before settling into place comfortably under the plush white blanket.

"...I've got work tomorrow too... "

She closes her eyes, sighing out, before resting her hand under between the pillow and her head. A smile creeps onto her lips, clearly happy to finally be in bed.

"...Guess we don't need this anymore."

Adam shrugs, staring at the bottle for a moment, before entering and resting it on the nightstand on Evelyn's side. He quickly removes his pants and and any article of clothing beside his T-shirt, before finding his place opposite of Evelyn, staring at her definitely-not-asleep face.

"...Don't stay like this forever, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"...Obviously."

"...If not for me, do it for Sarah."

"Shut up and get to sleeping, you idiot."

She barks out the order, though only as loud as a whisper. Even so, he could feel the venom lacing her tone.

"...Alright."

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.
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Evelyn's eyes open, yet no light graces them. Just darkness.

"...Still night, huh..."

She thinks to herself, groaning quietly as she turns away from her husband, locking her gaze on the bottle of alluring whiskey before her.

"...Knew I couldn't sleep without it..."

She reaches out for it, taking it in her hand as she sits up, before tilting her head back to gulp down two mouthfuls. She falls back down onto the bed, only to notice another presence nestled between her and her husband, her eyes only just now having adjusted to the veil of darkness surrounding her. Sarah. Sleeping just as soundly as Adam. And theres a smile on the little girl's face.

"...Hehe..."

She rolls around, back to facing Adam to gently cup Sarah's cheek, eliciting a invisible, high-pitched hum out of her and earning a gentle, tiny smile out of her mother in return.

"...My baby..."

She utters, and her mind falls back to thoughts about Gabriel. That woman could be her anyday. She could die tomorrow, and this child... this child, the cheek of whom she's holding right now... could be motherless. Deprived of something which is arguably a commodity, or a right of life. A necessity.

After all, what else could a mother be to a child? She's the first teacher that a child has. Her and the child's father. Two professors that teach that child how to crawl, how to walk, how to run, how to speak, how to call the name of the people around, how to feel the warmth of a loving touch...

...What would this child be without her mother, or without her father? She wouldn't have these things. This knowledge. The knowledge to recognize. The knowledge to feel, and to care, and to walk. One that is passed down only through family.

...And so, Evelyn closes her eyes once more, hoping that such a fate never befalls her dear child.

.
.
.

"...Mm... oh, sh-!"

"Language."

As Adam's eyelids raise to reveal his ocean-like eyes, he's met with the blaring sound of an alarm clock, and the faces of both his daughter and his wife looking at him. One with curiosity, while the other with disdain.

"...Sorry..."

He sees Evelyn holding Sarah in her arms, cradling her child like she herself is a child that's cradling a toy.

"You better be. Sarah and I were playing. Until now."

Adam shoots a faltering, weak smile, before reaching out behind himself and stopping that damn clock. He groans as he spins around and pulls the blanket off himself, his feet hitting the floor with a thud.

"...I'm gonna..."

He groans, standing up and stretching his back.

"...Mmph... go now..."

"Alright. Go on, then."