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The sound of Mozart's 'Requiem' echoed through the long halls and first floor of the Midford household, making Edward hesitate near the entrance to the living room. Interrupting his sister's daily piano session never went without repercussions. But then again, it's not like it would matter anymore after today.
So with that in mind, he walked in, gut churning with a terrifyingly strong anxiety he hadn't felt since he confessed his feelings to Herman all those years ago. This was a slightly similar situation, after all. Confessing something that was kept hidden inside yourself from others for a long time, and all that. This time, though, he knew there wouldn't be much of a happy ending; regarding his mother, that is.
Elizabeth was sat at the black piano, fingers gracefully flying across the keys. Francis stood beside her, arms crossed over her chest as she observed the girl's performance intently.
With a quiet, deep breath, Edward called out, "Mother, Lizzy, may I have a word with you both?" He really hoped his voice didn't sound as shaky as his hands sure felt.
The music immediately stopped, Elizabeth turning in her seat to look at Edward with a confused and frightened expression. She obviously was no stranger to their mother's anger when something she considered important was "rudely" interrupted, and knew Edward would be in deep trouble if what he had to say wasn't important in her eyes.
Francis narrowed her gaze at Edward, frowning deeply. "Edward, this better be important. You know I don't tolerate interruptions."
Edward gulped. He could very clearly hear the underlined threat in her voice, but he refused to continue letting her scare him into submission. This all ended, now.
With as much confidence as he could muster, Edward stated, "Mother, Lizzy... I'm gay and moving out tonight with my boyfriend and the love of my life, Herman Greenhill."
"You're moving out?!" Elizabeth exclaimed–shock and horror written all over her face–before the room fell into a tense, icy silence.
Francis continued to stare at him, an unreadable expression on her face.
Elizabeth looked back and forth between the two of them, looking like she was either about to bolt out of the room or start crying (possibly both).
Before either sibling could see it coming, Francis was across the room and in front of Edward, hand raised in the air before coming down hard across Edward's cheek.
His cheek stung and burned fiercely, but he resisted the urge to reach up and rub it, only allowing himself a small wince. He refused to give her the full satisfaction of seeing him in pain. Instead, he stood still and silent, face blank of any emotion as he stared her straight in the eye.
"You filthy, filthy boy! How dare you." She got in his face, each word she spoke dripping with venom. "After everything I've done for you and have given you, how dare you commit such a despicable, scandalous act! And in our very home, no less! Tell me now, Edward, how long has this-this 'relationship' of yours been going on for."
"Six years. It'll be seven this December," he answered monotonously.
"Six... I can't believe this. First my niece, and now my own son, corrupted by homosexuality. I really thought I'd never see the day." She sighed deeply, looking away from Edward for a moment. When she did meet his gaze again, her eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "From this moment on, you are no longer my son. Go upstairs and pack your things, I want you out of this house, this instant. I never want to see you or that other little homo in this house, ever again."
Edward's breath caught in his throat, and he heard Elizabeth let out a small gasp in the background. A swirl of emotions went through the young man all at once.
Hot, red anger.
Deep hurt through his heart, down to his very soul.
He wanted to scream at Francis, to tell her off for misgendering his cousin and for what she called his boyfriend, and especially to tell her how terrible and cruel of a mother she was. But then another part of him just wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the floor and give in to the pain in his heart. He decided against both of those options. He just didn't have it in him to do either, at the moment. Edward may have known that this would be the outcome of Francis knowing the truth about his sexuality and relationship with Herman, but it still didn't make it any less disheartening to witness her reaction.
"Then I guess this also means you're no longer my mother. Well, fine by me. I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you," Edward choked out, head down as he turned around and began making his way back to his room.
"Sit back down, this instant, Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford," he heard Francis state coldly once he made it out of the room. His sister must have tried to follow after him.
"Bu-but, mother–"
"Do not back talk me, young lady. Sit. Down. Now!"
Edward flinched and stopped in the middle of the hallway when he heard his little sister squeal in pain, followed by the sound of a body hitting the piano seat hard, making the seat squeak harshly against the wood flooring.
"You will play until your session time is up, is that understood?" Francis hissed.
"Y-y-ye-es, ma'am," the young girl managed to reply through a small sob, before resuming the earlier Mozart song.
Edward clenched his fists against his sides and bit his tongue until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Every fiber of his being wanted to go back in there, but he resisted. He knew if he went back in, things would quickly spiral out of control, and he wasn't about to have his little sister witness a brutal murder take place in her own home.
He took a deep, shaky breath, blinking back tears as he listened to his sister sniffle and choke back sobs through the music. How a person could play an instrument so perfectly while trying not to breakdown in tears, was a heartbreaking mystery Edward hoped he or anyone else would never solve.
Edward ran the rest of the way back to his room.
••
After placing the last of his clothing from his dresser into another box, Edward sent a text to Herman.
[Edward] – 'Hey Herm. Things went as awful as i expected... maybe worse actually. i need you to come get me as soon as possible, please.'
Thankfully, Edward didn't need to wait long for the other man to reply.
[Herman] – 'Aw love. im sorry, i wish things could have went different for you. ill do my best to be there soon, just waiting for my sis to finish lecturing my parents on their ignorance . i have to make sure they don't kill each other.'
[Edward] – 'i see your coming out went as well as mine did then. God this day really sucks . '
[Herman] – 'i know love, it does. But soon itll be just the two of us together in our flat, away from our arsehole family members for good. '
Edward slightly smiled down at the screen.
[Edward] – 'Yeah youre right. im definitely looking forward to that. See you soon Herm. i love you.'
[Herman] – 'i love you too Eddie. See you soon.'
Edward shoved the phone back into his pocket, before flopping down onto his bed. He still didn't feel a hundred percent better about the events that took place earlier, but with just the little bit of conversation he got to have with Herman, Edward felt his spirits lifted knowing soon he would be in his new home with his wonderful boyfriend; where they would always wake up and fall asleep together from now on, where they wouldn't have to worry about their family catching them kissing or simply holding each other's hand, where they would be able to just be themselves and love each other like anybody else.
Just as Edward was about to fall into a light sleep (he knew Herman would call if he didn't receive a response from a text), he was roused back to wakefulness when a few gentle knocks resounded against his bedroom door. Edward quickly pulled himself up and off the bed, already knowing who was on the other side of the door just by the sound of the knocking. He opened it, revealing his little sister.
She gave him a tiny smile. "Can I come in, please?"
"Of course," he replied, stepping aside to let the girl in.
Edward closed the door behind her. He walked back over to his bed and sat down, patting the bedspread beside him in indication for Elizabeth to take a seat, as well.
Once Elizabeth was seated, they fell into a silence that wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but also not exactly peaceful either. Edward could've asked if she was okay, but it would have been a stupid question, and one he already knew the answer to.
A few more moments of silence passed, but eventually, Elizabeth was the first to break it.
"I just want you to know, I still love you, Edward. Regardless of who you love." She turned her head and looked at him with a warm smile. "I completely support you and Herman's relationship, and I'm so very happy for you both. It's honestly pretty amazing how the two of you have been together since you were kids, you don't hear something like that happening very often."
Edward smiled brightly at his sister's kind words. "Thank you, Lizzy. I'm really happy to know I at least have your support," he said, pulling the girl into a big hug.
"Of course. You're my big brother, I'll always love and support you, no matter what," she murmured against his shoulder as she hugged him back. "And you know you'll have the rest of our family's support, too. Ciel's especially going to be excited and happy for you," Elizabeth added, letting out a short giggle.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right," Edward said, breathing a laugh, smile growing wider.
Until he came to a slightly startlingly realization, and his smile abruptly fell away.
"Hey–" Edward pulled away from the hug, a confused frown curling his lips downward–"How did you manage to get away from your piano session an hour early?"
Considering how livid Francis had been not that long ago, Edward found it very hard to believe that she just all of a sudden had a change of heart. Since, you know, you sorta need to actually have a heart to do that (and Francis most certainly did not have one, if his and Elizabeth's childhood was anything to go by).
"Mo-um, she went on another one of her drinking binges and ended up passing out on the sofa, so I was able to sneak away once I knew for certain she was asleep," Elizabeth explained, a frown marrying her own face now. It seemed she was beginning to have a difficult time referring to Francis as 'mother' now, too.
It probably shouldn't, but that made Edward feel just the tiniest bit smug to know. It would serve Francis right to have both her children not see her as their mother anymore.
It was also no surprise to Edward that Francis lost herself in alcohol, once more. She's done it in (obviously not-so-similar) times like these ever since they were little, and it's only grown worse and far more frequent as they've gotten older. Edward could barely remember a time when he didn't see Francis (awake or passed out) surrounded by one or two empty bottles of whiskey almost every night (or sometimes, like today, when it's still daylight out). From what he could remember, though, the binge drinking didn't start till after the death of their father thirteen years ago. In the beginning, Edward truly did feel horrible for Francis when she had those kind of nights, and would try to do whatever he could to help make her feel a little less sad. He only stopped when one too many glasses were thrown at him in a drunken fury. As much as he knew and understood that alcoholism was a disease that could be treated with the proper help (given the person was willing to accept it, of course), when it came to Francis, he just couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for her or care about her well being anymore; now, all he felt was anger and resentment.
Sometimes Edward wondered what their lives would have been like if Alexis was still alive. Would Francis have stood the loving and (non-abusive) strict mother he vaguely remembered her being so long ago? Could Elizabeth have gotten a happy childhood, instead of the short and cruel one she received? Would he not be disowned and getting thrown out of his own home just for being gay? These were both old and new questions that ran rampant through his head.
"Edward?"
Edward's eyes blinked in confusion a few times, before he finally registered his little sister's concerned voice beside him.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright, Lizzy. I just got lost in thought, for a minute there." He smiled reassuringly at her, before sighing deeply and turning his head to stare at the wall in front of them. "I'm not surprised that's what she did. That's what she always does when something's upset her in some way, after all. But at least for today, it gave you the chance to get out of playing through your full session."
Elizabeth let out a sigh of her own. "I still don't understand why she insists I continue playing every single day. I've already learned everything there is to learn about playing the piano, my teachers have said so themselves! And let's not forget that I've also learned to play every famous composers' music pieces. It's not like I'm just all of a sudden going to forget how to play Mozart or Beethoven if I don't play the piano for a few days or weeks!"
"I know, sis. It's not fair how she treats you. It's downright cruel, in all honesty."
"Yeah, it is..."
The siblings fell into another silence.
As the seconds ticked by in their renewed silence, Edward could feel Elizabeth begin to fidget beside him.
"Um, Lizzy, are you okay?" Edward asked when the girl's fidgeting only grew more obvious.
Elizabeth hesitated in answering, for a moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she seemed to fight with herself on whether or not she should say whatever was on her mind.
"Well, um... h-how did you know that-that you only liked guys?" She finally asked in a small, timid voice.
Edward took a moment to ponder the question. He'd obviously never been asked something like that before (and really didn't expect his sister to be the first person to ask), and wanted to make sure his answer made sense.
"Well, in all honesty, it wasn't until after I developed feelings for Herman back in primary school, that I finally realized I only felt attraction toward guys. Before that, I guess I just never really took notice of anyone in that way. At first, I did my best to ignore my feelings for him, then tried to vanquish them away by 'prayer', but obviously neither of those things were ever going to work. Another thing I remember doing, was constantly forcing myself to imagine being in a relationship with a girl; kissing, holding hands, being married, stuff like that. But as much as I wanted those things to be what I wanted, they just weren't. It didn't feel right when I thought about doing those things with a girl. But when I thought about doing them with Herman, well, it felt perfect and made sense to me. Like, a jigsaw piece being placed in its proper spot. As cheesy as that may sound." He quietly chuckled.
"I see, that makes a lot of sense." Elizabeth paused, biting her lip as she seemed to debate with herself on what to say. Seeming to make up her mind, the young girl turned her body sideways, so she was fully facing Edward, expression looking only nervous now.
"I... I think I might be gay too, Edward."
Okay, he definitely wasn't expecting her to say that.
"I've done some of those same things, too. In the beginning, I tried praying it all away, then when that got me nowhere, I kept trying to imagine myself being married to a guy one day. But my God, does it only makes me feel so uncomfortable and terrified just thinking about that being my future. I don't want that, at all. I don't want to have a boyfriend, and I sure as hell don't want to have a husband either! And... now that I've actually admitted all that out loud, I think I'm pretty positive when I say I'm one thousandth percent gay."
Edward couldn't help letting out a boisterous laugh, grinning as he pulled the young girl into another hug. "Thank you for telling me, sis. I'm so proud of you."
Elizabeth returned the hug tightly, grinning just as wide against Edward's shoulder. "Thank you for being an amazing brother."
"Well, looks like our cousin's in for two exciting announcements the next time we see him." Edward chuckled.
"He certainly is. I just hope we don't end up giving the poor boy a heart attack out of excitement," she replied, giggling humorously.
All of a sudden, there was a sharp, muffled 'ting' that came from Edward's jeans–followed by a vibration against his thigh that made the young man slightly jump in surprise–halting the siblings laughter. Edward pulled out of the hug and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and reading the text message that sat at the top of the bright screen.
[Herman] – 'Hey love im outside, you need some help carrying your things out?'
Edward quickly wrote back a reply.
[Edward] – 'Yeah but I'll just ask Lizzy to help, i don't want to chance you running into the horrible woman i once called mother.'
[Herman] – 'i completely understand Eddie. ill be waiting out in the car then love.'
[Edward] – 'Be out in a bit Herm.'
"Is that Herman?"
Edward looked back at his sister, who was doing her best to keep a neutral expression, but only managing to make herself look sorrowful.
"Yeah, he's waiting for me outside. Will you help me take my things out to his car, please? I'd rather he not come in, just in case she wakes up."
"Sure, no problem," she replied, smiling sadly at him.
"You know, you can always come live with me and Herman until you save up enough for a flat of your own. Since you're sixteen now, she wouldn't be able to stop you from leaving," he told her after they both stood up from the bed.
"Really? I wouldn't be in the way or anything?"
"Of course not, Lizzy. You'd be welcome to stay as long as you need to. I mean, I'd have to talk with Herm about it first, but our flat has a spare room and I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all."
"You're... you're actually serious?"
"I've never been more serious in my entire life, Lizzy," he assured the young girl, smiling softly at her.
A beaming smile broke out over Elizabeth's face. "Yes, yes! A million times, yes!" She exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around his neck.
Edward laughed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I'll talk with Herman tonight. Once the room is cleaned and set up, we'll come get you. It shouldn't take us long either, I'd say in another day or two you'll be resting comfortably in your new room, safe and sound. And far, far away from her."
The young girl sniffled, and Edward could feel tears begin falling onto the collar of his shirt. Though, regardless of the girl's tears, her smile still stood firmly across her face.
"Thank you, Edward. I was so scared and sad when you said you were leaving, I didn't want to be alone in this house with only her. But now, now I'm so happy. I won't ever have to come back here ever again. I'll never have to see her ever again. I'll finally be free...!" She laughed around a sob, hands gripping Edward's shirt like a lifeline.
Edward tighten his hold on her, one hand combing through her long hair, and the other still around her shoulders. "That's right, Lizzy, you'll be free. Soon she won't be able hurt you anymore. I'll make sure of it, I promise," he whispered against her temple, allowing a few tears of his own to silently fall. "I'll always protect you and make sure you're safe, little sister."