What Exactly Happened: Part 10

"I'm sorry," he muttered in between breaths. "I.."

"Shut up!" Ryan shouted, taking several steps towards him, ignoring the pain from hitting the wall. He raised one foot and then the other, bringing them both crashing down on the man, pinning him to the wall, his hands clutching frantically at Ryan's legs as he tried in vain to escape the force holding him immobile.

"Please... please let me go! Please…" the man pleaded as he clawed and scratched at Ryan's legs, desperate to get any sort of freedom.

"Not today," Ryan replied coldly. "But I will. Someday. Don't worry..." He grinned, his eyes flashing dangerously as he leaned close to the man's face. "After I kill you."

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, startling them both. Without pause Ryan stepped away from the man and hurried over to the door, opening it quickly. An old woman was standing on the other side, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes as she waited anxiously for him to allow her entry. She pushed past him, stepping inside the apartment and looking around nervously.

Ryan stood watching her curiously. She looked familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite place her face.

"Hello?" the woman called out, turning her head slowly around to take in the apartment. "Is anybody home?"

There was no answer, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, she turned once again to face Ryan, biting nervously at the skin around her thumb. Her eyes darted anxiously from side to side as she searched the room, her mouth hanging open in obvious alarm. The expression on her face suddenly morphed into one of pure confusion and surprise when she caught sight of the tall, gangly boy who stood next to Ryan at the kitchen table. "Michael?" she asked hesitantly, her voice trembling slightly. "Michael, is that…?"

For a moment it appeared as though the words were stuck in her throat and it was only when Ryan glanced at Michael that he saw the emotion flickering across his face, something he never thought he'd see in his younger brother. Shock. Confusion. Sadness.

And fear. Fear and concern. Concern directed at his mother. At her appearance. Everything in the room looked completely wrong.

"Mom," Michael managed to speak up, his voice weak and broken, like he was still in shock, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

His mom. That's who she was. That's who the woman in front of them was. It made sense now. The hair, the clothes, the voice that wasn't quite right. All of it was exactly how Michael remembered her. Exactly how he expected her to look. And he could see why. Because this was exactly how Michael himself would look in his mother's exact shoes. Exactly how he had felt all those years ago when he'd first seen her.

She looked…

She looked exactly like they did.

Ryan felt frozen to the spot where he stood. Unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to do anything other than watch as his mother approached them, her footsteps unsteady, her face pale, her breathing laboured. Every instinct inside Ryan urged him to run away. Runaway from her and her husband. Runaway from the situation as fast as possible. But his feet were planted firmly against the ground, refusing to give in. His legs wouldn't let him leave. The moment that his mother stopped moving he moved forward towards her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and letting out a choked sob, burying his face against her chest as he hugged her tightly. She returned his embrace, returning the hug just as fiercely. She was crying too, tears running down her cheeks as she tightened her grip on Ryan and buried her head in the crook of his neck. It seemed as though their lives had been torn apart by one of those terrible accidents that happen in real life. One of those accidents which they had never anticipated. But somehow they had both survived. Somehow they were still alive despite it all. Maybe this time things would turn out differently.

To be continued...