"You are not my mom, Hannah. You don't get to decide what's right and wrong for me."
@baptiscd
— the silver chef’s knife was rhythmically hitting the teak cutting board as carrots were thickly sliced for the family’s dinner . once the cutting board was more orange than tan , hannah would use the flat edge of the knife to slide them into a waiting double broiled pot on the stove that was filled with butter and fresh dill . the kitchen smelled strongly of the spice , but paled in comparison to the roasted duck that was nearly ready in the oven . her husband favored the meal with plum sauce coating the meat , but it was not the season for that fruit , so instead , rosemary and oranges were used . her eyes kept wandering to the thin gap in the oven that allowed her to see inside as she contemplated the duck’s taste . she did not eat meat and therefore did not know how it would come out with this new addition . the woman at the market said it would be divine , and she knew her husband would still tell her it tasted great , but there was still a small worry that the rest of the family would not think the same .
her back had been to the kitchen door when it was thunderously thrown open , and her heart climbed into her throat as the pictures rattled on the wall when the door bounced loudly against the wood . quickly she turned with the knife still in her hand to see who , and why someone had decided to frighten her , but lowered the sharp object just as quickly when she spied little alaric with his shoulder bunched up around his ears , and a dark look in his eyes . often , she had seen that look directed at his father , or one of his siblings after they pushed him too far , but it had never been directed at her before , and she did not know what had caused it . his teeth were bared to her , and his fist shook at his side , but he did not speak as she crossed the kitchen to place her hands on his shoulders . she went to wrap him up into her arms to comfort him , but he pushed at her stomach until there was a good couple of feet between them . “ alaric ? ” she called , confused and slightly hurt .
“ you are not my mom , hannah . you don’t get to decide what’s right and wrong for me. ” he shouted as he lifted his arms again to shove at her . not wanting to hit the hot stove , she batted away each of his hands as they came near to her at first , before deciding on grabbing hold of his wrist tightly , and keeping him in one place . he then decided to use his feet to step on her toes , and he tugged , and he tugged , and he tugged . one hand broke free from her hold which caused him to lose his balance as he was already at an odd angle , and crash onto the floor with angry tears in his eyes . hannah dropped to the floor beside him at the same time to make sure he did not hit his head , but kept her distance as he behaved like a wounded animal trapped in a small cage . as the oven timer chimed , it clicked in her mind what he might be angry about . she had recently spoken to his father about not sending him away to a boarding school , not when there was war once again on the horizon , and john agreed with her that it might not be for the best . he must have told his son their decision .
“ you have every right to be upset , alaric , but you do not have any right to come in here , and try to take out your feelings on me . i am not trying to replace your mother , or be your new mother , but your father had asked for advice , and i freely shared my thoughts with him . do you really want to go so far away from us when there are so many dangers lurking on the horizon these days ? something could happen to you , and we could have no way of getting to you to help , and that’s a risk we aren’t willing to take , love . ”
