‘it’s a lullaby. would you like me to sing it to you? would that help you fall asleep?’
ways to say I love you / accepting / @botmum
Klaus Hargreeves is sixteen years old, and there are monsters under his bed. Dad found his stash-well the biggest one anyway and a couple of smaller bags he’s hidden in his room. Of course there was the usual lecture about his failures in life, his weakness, and a five hour stint in the mausoleum. It’s a familiar dance now between the two of them. Sometimes Klaus hopes that if he acts out enough his father will simply get board and leave him alone, but no such luck. So here he is, sixteen and sobbing into his pillow like a frightened child.
The door opens and for a moment Klaus thinks it’s his father come back for another round. He sits up, fists clenching in his bed sheets ready to kick and scream until his throat is raw. When Grace’s kind face smiles softly down at him he feels all of his breath leave him in one relieved sigh. “Hey mom,” his voice is still full of tears, but any desire to scream has gone. It wouldn’t make any difference after all. At least if he screamed at his father the old bastard would get angry, but with his mom…her face is too kind, too understanding sometimes. She’s never been angry with him, never can be angry with him despite how much he acts out. It makes his skin crawl and he’s taken to avoiding her more often than not. Is it stupid of him to feel guilty about letting down a robot that doesn’t know the difference between oxy withdrawal and the stomach flue? Is it weird to feel like he’s lying to her? Diego would say no and that he tell Grace the truth, but Klaus isn’t so sure. After all, it’s not like the truth will make any difference-she couldn’t disobey dad even if she wanted to.
A lullaby; it’s so innocent and out of touch with everything Klaus is feeling right now that he laughs, he can’t help it. It bubbles up from somewhere deep in his chest until his giggles mix with the tears still streaming down his face. He wants to tell her that a lullaby isn’t going to fix this, that he’s scared all the time, and that he’s worried the drugs have taken over in a way he doesn’t know how to fix. For a moment he almost does it, almost gets down on his knees and begs her to help him, but he doesn’t. Instead he shakes his head and gives her an approximation of a smile. “It’s okay mom, thanks though.”
Three days later Klaus packs a bag and runs away from home.