Denials

He took off.

Marcus ran until he felt that his feet were extremely sore. The anger and pain caused him to run until the cliff overlooking Lake Boswell, which was well in the outskirts of Middlewood, neighbouring Wall Woods. He could feel his leg muscles aching, but that didn't matter. No amount of pain could replace the loss he had just experienced. For the first time since he heard the news, he felt the sting of pain hit his chest, and tears clouded his vision as he tried to make out what he had just heard. Why her mother? What did she ever do wrong? In a fit of rage, he began kicking random stones on the cliff, flying them into the lake below. He held his hands over his heads in desperation, his eyes gone completely red. He slowly began hyperventilating, the weight of the pen too unbearable for him. Soon his vision began going dark and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, blacked out.

***

Marcus woke up to the heavy stench of medicine in the room. The whitewashed walls confirmed to him that he was that the hospital. He immediately noticed his father next to him. Stewart looked miserable, his face a lot different from all his other days. It was obvious that he had been crying. Marcus suddenly remembered what had happened and the tears came flooding back, his father extending his arms to his.

"Please tell me it was a dream, please tell me it was a dream," Marcus broke into a sob as his father embraced him, both crying their hearts out. They stayed in that position for a while, comforting themselves in the arms of each other. They finally separated, each sniffing back their tears.

"She's gone Marcus," Stewart was in tears too. He was heartbroken. He had already started to get back into Jane and his son's hearts and yet fate seemed to find a way to separate him from them. He wasn't ready to believe Jane was dead yet. The woman who always got away with her escapades from the orphanage. The woman who always outsmarted everyone around her. Silently he began blaming himself for her death. Maybe... maybe if he hadn't abandoned her he wouldn't be where he was right then. He pulled Marcus in for another hug.

"Can I see her body?" Marcus asked, trying to wipe away the stream of tears on his face.

"They said that the car was burnt beyond recognition. They were only able to pull out a speck of DNA from the rubble. I'm sorry Marcus, she was burnt to ashes," Stewart began crying again.

"No, it can't be. No car fire can burn a whole body to ashes," Marcus broke down again, still in denial about his mother's death.

"I can't believe she's gone too," his father remarked. A nurse appeared to check in on Marcus but she stepped out on seeing the emotional moment between the father and son.

"I've already planned for a memorial for your mother tomorrow," Stewart spoke, his voice breaking. Marcus slowly nodded, his mind distant. Stewart paused to give a chance for his son to reply but he remained silent, much like he wasn't paying attention. He took it as a sign that his son wanted some privacy and decided to leave him alone.

"Excuse me, son. I guess I'll leave you alone now. The doctor asked me to keep you here until tomorrow so that he could keep tabs on you. Good night," Stewart excused himself and stood up, leaving his son all alone in the ward. He thought that maybe all Marcus needed was a little bit of alone time and he would be fine.

Little did he know that Marcus was longing for a shoulder to lean on.