Gaius and Clarke turned their heads simultaneously, staring at Hermes and Artemis, staring at their Dad, crushing their Mom's hand, and Mom was crying out of pain.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Mommy… Daddy…
Hermes and Artemis called their parents, and Clarke snapped out of his trance. He realized what made Gaius cried, and released Gaius' wrist instantly.
"Arrghh!" The sharp pain made Gaius wail in pain. He slumped, but Clarke caught his waist, so his butt wouldn't hit the floor.
"W—Wife! I'm so sorry!" Clarke was panicked, especially when he saw the wrist actually got dislocated due to his grip.
"Release me, Clarke! You're a fucking monster!" Gaius continued struggling and yelling. He didn't even care that his children were watching. "YOU'RE A UGLY CHEATING MONSTER!"
Clarke froze on the spot.
He didn't know what was wrong with that word. He thought it was just another curse from Gaius in his rage.
But that word… monster…
That word petrified him so hard that he just froze like a statue.
Gaius saw this as a chance. He immediately escaped from Clarke's clutch. He grabbed the suitcase with his other hand and sprinted to his children.
"Hermes! Teleport now!"
"M—Mom, what is this—"
"TELEPORT NOW!"
Clarke realized what was happening. He regained his focus and saw Gaius wanted to leave with the kids.
"NO!" Clarke rushed to grab his family, but Gaius used his power to make a protective shield out of wood, giving time for Hermes to finally teleport out of the house.
Blip.
"RARRGHHH!" Clarke destroyed the sturdy wood shield and found out that his family was gone, Gaius, Hermes, Artemis, all gone.
"No… this can't be—" Clarke started screaming and looked around the room, "WIFE, MY LITTLE PRINCESS, SON! COME OUT NOW! LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!"
He rushed out of the bedroom, thinking that Hermes had only teleported inside the house.
So he broke open all the doors, trying to find his family to no avail.
They were gone. His beloved wife, his little princess, and his little champ were gone!
Clarke's chest started feeling stuffy. He remembered how his life was good until it somehow spiraled down like this.
And he still remembered that word.
Monster…
Ugly monster…
Clarke looked at his palms. The trace of warmth from Gaius' wrist was still here. But he crushed his palm accidentally. If the kids hadn't interrupted, who knew what would happen to Gaius.
Clarke's hands trembled as he realized that he had hurt his wife severely.
He was sweating, realizing that he had fucked up real bad right now. Because he hurt his beloved, he was a monster.
"I am…. I am a monster…." Clarke's lips trembled as he continued to repeat it. "I am an ugly monster. I hurt my own wife…."
"Why did everything turn out like this?" Clarke saw a teardrop on his palm. Yet, he had no intention to stop crying.
He poured all his complicated emotion inside his heart and wailed as he called his wife's name over and over.
**
Hermes teleported them in a random empty building. They landed safely, but Gaius was too injured to function. He grimaced in pain as he couldn't find any plants nearby to make a healing fruit.
Hermes and Artemis were still trying to process what had just happened. Hermes was carrying Artemis and stared at his injured Mom.
"H—Hermes, go and find a plant. Mom needs to heal my wrist…." Gaius said as he forced a smile to calm the kids down.
Hermes obeyed. He teleported and returned with a potted plant.
Gaius used the plant to create a healing fruit to heal his wrist.
After he felt better, he sat on the floor smiled at his children, "It must've been a shock for you two. Mom is sorry for showing something like that."
"Mom, what happened?" Hermes asked in a low voice. Artemis was on the verge of crying. She was stressed out when she saw her parents fight, and even worse, her Dad hurt Mom.
Gaius gulped. He knew that he cursed at Clarke, lashing out crazily in front of the kids. It must've been traumatic.
"It's a misunderstanding, don't worry about it, Hermes, Artemis," Gaius said. Again, he forced a smile to make the situation look less severe. "But for now, let's have… uh… short vacation in a hotel, okay?"
"Hotel? But Arte wants to play at home… Arte wants lunch too…."
"Ahahah… Mommy will buy you dolls later. We can have lunch in a restaurant, okay?"
Gaius staggered as he got up from the dirty floor and then helped Hermes by carrying Artemis with one hand and his suitcase on another.
"Hermes, please teleport us to a cheap hotel."
Hermes had a lot in his mind. He was already eight. He wasn't as clueless as Artemis.
He knew that his Mom and Dad didn't just have a small misunderstanding. From what he saw, maybe Uncle Reed was right.
Uncle Reed told him a few days ago that his parents were on the verge of divorce because of his Dad's disloyalty.
Hermes felt stuffy in his heart. He didn't want to see his Mom crying. But Uncle Reed said that he would take care of Mom and Artemis if something bad happened.
'Uncle Reed is really reliable. I need to call him soon….' Hermes thought.
"I'm always by your side, Mom…." Hermes said as he held his Mom's hand.
Blip!
They teleported right in front of a cheap hotel… well, more like a motel, actually.
"Mom, is it okay here?" Hermes asked.
Gaius nodded weakly, "Mom will think of a way until we can meet Dad again. You guys would have a few days off."
"Mom, I miss Dad already… can we just hug Dad and return home?" Artemis begged. She still didn't know what was happening. All she heard was her parents screaming at each other.
"A—Ah, Dad is busy right now. Don't think much about it, Arte. Why do you guys want lunch? KFC?"
"Un… Arte wants the one with toys…."
"It's settled then. Just forget Dad, for now, okay?"
"Arte don't want to forget…."
Hermes stared at his Mom's burdened face. He was also hurting from having his wrist crushed. That healing fruit needed time to be effective.
'I really need to call Uncle Reed now….'
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