~

It was almost time for Brian’s meeting with his mother. Jennifer and Laura were minutes away from arriving, and everybody was feeling anxious. Allison was pacing in the living room, wondering if she had made a mistake in talking Brian into it. Elizabeth was sitting on the couch, resting her head on her fist with a dark expression. She was not only incredibly anxious on Brian’s behalf, she was also quite angry that he had been talked into a meeting in the first place. As such, she was giving Allison a very mild case of the cold shoulder while she focused her attention on Brian. He was currently sitting on the armrest of the couch, with a surprisingly peaceful look on his face. Whereas one might expect him to be the most anxious of them all, considering what his mother had done to him, his head was relatively clear. Elizabeth, seeing this, decided that she needed to check in with him.

“Brian, can I talk to you in private for a moment?” she asked. Allison stopped her pacing to shoot her a surprised glance, but she was ignored. Brian snapped out of his mild haze and turned to Elizabeth. After taking a second to process her request, he nodded. Elizabeth adopted a small smile as she held her hand out and beckoned him into her palm. Once he was secure, she made her way upstairs and into her bedroom. It was time for a chat.

“What’s up?” Brian asked quietly, as Elizabeth sat down on the bed. She was holding him close to her stomach, as if afraid to put him down. Her motherly instincts were screaming in concern, and it was taking all her willpower not to just cuddle him to her chest and run far away, to where that awful woman could never hurt him again. However, that not being a realistic option, she had to settle for this instead.

“I just want to check in, sweetie, and make sure you still want to go through with this,” she said, while lovingly stroking his back. Brian’s eyes softened in appreciation, and he leaned into the comforting sensation.

“I want to go through with this. It’ll make Jen happy, Allie thinks it’s a good idea, and it’ll hopefully make Mom easier to deal with,” he replied. Elizabeth furrowed her brow.

“Honey, I’m not asking what they think, or what they want. I’m asking if you want to go through with this, because your opinion is the only one that matters here. This is your decision, and there’s nothing wrong with backing out now. I’m of the firm position that you were unfairly pressured into this meeting, so I just need you to know that you do not have to go through with this if you don’t want to,” she earnestly continued. Brian nodded firmly.

“Thank you, Elizabeth. I do know that, but I’m fine with hearing her out,” he said, placing one hand on her nearby thumb. “I’m actually feeling pretty calm about it, all things considered. I was more nervous to see Jennifer yesterday, so I’m taking that as a good sign.”

Elizabeth smiled in response, although she herself took his calmness as a horrible sign. She was worried that he was simply bottling up his true feelings, but she decided not to press him on it. With that being said, she still needed to make something clear.

“Okay. If that’s your decision, I support that. Let me just say this, then,” she said, leaning in a little closer. “You go in there, say what you need to say, and hear what you need to hear. But if at any point you decide that talking to her is too difficult, or you change your mind about wanting to see her, just let me know and I’ll get you out of there. Even if it’s in the middle of a sentence - you shoot me one glance, and I’ll take you away, no questions asked. Although I wish this meeting wasn’t happening, I need you to know that I’ve got your back. As long as I’m around, that woman is never going to get away with hurting you ever again. Okay?”

Brian smiled widely, feeling unbelievably grateful that he had Elizabeth in his life.

“Okay. If it gets too hard, I’ll let you know. Thank you, Elizabeth,” he softly replied. Elizabeth nodded, before lifting her hand up to her face so she could look him in the eyes.

“You don’t owe her a thing, Brian,” she whispered. “She wasn’t there when you needed her the most, and you don’t owe her a single thing. I hope you know that.”

Despite himself, Brian got a little emotional at her sincere words. Quickly wiping his eyes, he turned back to her with a soft smile.

“Why are you so nice to me?” he asked quietly. Elizabeth smiled warmly, before leaning in to give him a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

“Because I love you,” she replied. “What other reason do I need?”

Trying not to tear up again, all Brian could do was gratefully nod. After a moment, he closed his eyes and let out a determined huff.

“Alright. I’m ready,” he declared. With that, Elizabeth rose from the bed and moved towards the door. Just before she reached the handle, though, Brian spoke up again.

“One quick thing, though,” he said, to which Elizabeth made a questioning noise.

“Even though you probably really want to, please try not to punch her. My sister will be right there.”

Elizabeth made an exaggerated noise of disapproval.

“Oh, come on,” she jokingly whined. “Not even a little slap? I could ask Allie to distract Jennifer, she won’t even notice it.”

Brian firmly shook his head.

“Sorry, can’t take the risk. Please refrain from any assaulting, counselor,” he replied, to which Elizabeth huffed in annoyance.

“Whatever you say, mister,” she grumbled, before they both broke out in big smiles. Just like that, it was time for the meeting.

~

The doorbell rang. Allison instantly stiffened in fear, and Elizabeth turned in the direction of the door with a stern expression. They had decided to conduct the meeting in the dining room, and Allison was seated at the dining table with her hands neatly folded in front of her. Sitting directly in front of them was Brian, who was staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face. Taking a moment to push down her nerves, Elizabeth rose and made her way out the room and towards the door, ready to greet their visitors. In the distance, the sound of the door opening was accompanied by a few voices. Although they couldn’t quite make out the words, Allison and Brian could recognize the tones. They heard a relatively warm and welcoming tone for a few moments, before it changed into a much colder and more formal one. After that, they could make out the rhythmic thumping of approaching footsteps, and Allison felt like she was going to throw up. However, in part due to her Chevalier training, she was able to keep up a relatively neutral outwards appearance. Brian, on the other hand, had no idea how to even describe what he was feeling, and his face remained completely blank.

Elizabeth reappeared in the doorway, looking to Brian with concerned eyes. Sensing her gaze, Brian turned towards her and gave a small nod. With that, she entered the room before beckoning their visitors inside. Jennifer practically flew into the room, scanning the table until she spotted her brother. Her face lit up in excitement and relief, and she adopted a huge smile as she waved at him excitedly. Brian was able to muster a small smile in response, and he waved back. However, his smile vanished as the remaining person slowly made their way inside the room. It was a middle-aged woman with jet-black hair and striking green eyes. Her expression was one of unbearable anxiety and concern, and she was practically trembling as she turned her eyes in the same direction as her daughter. She first noticed Allison, who was looking at her with a small, nervous smile. However, her gaze quickly drifted down to her neatly folded hands, as well as what was sitting in front of them. Their eyes met. Just like that, for the first time in over three years, Brian was faced with his mother.

~

Laura’s heart was being continuously obliterated, over and over and over. She didn’t even know how to describe, let alone process, what was going on inside her as she locked eyes with her one-inch tall son. He was sitting down, with one knee drawn up. His arm was resting over the crest of his knee, which left only the top half of his face visible. However, that’s all she needed to see. He inherited the color of his hair from her, and the messiness from his father. Her side of the family was known for the exceptionally green hue of their eyes, and Brian’s were now staring at her with the intensity of a thousand suns. However, aside from that, she could tell that his expression was eerily neutral. Despite telling herself beforehand that she wasn’t going to make him uncomfortable by reacting too strongly to his size, she couldn’t help but bring one hand to her chest as her bottom lip began to tremble. Seeing this, Jennifer decided to act.

“Mom, why don’t we go sit down,” she softly suggested, grabbing her mother’s arm and moving in the direction of the dining table. Laura followed her lead, feeling like she was walking through mud. She soon found herself on the opposite side of the table, shakily pulling the chair out before sitting down. It was a good thing, too, as she genuinely wasn’t sure how much longer she would have been able to stay on her feet. Jennifer sat a couple chairs down, so both of her relatives were in clear view. Elizabeth, fighting back wave after wave of destructive emotions, silently moved closer to Allison and Brian, until she was standing at the corner of the table with her arms crossed. Laura was scared to even look at her after her fierce warning from the day prior, only able to shoot her the occasional nervous glance. As such, she primarily kept her attention on Brian, whose face was still completely unreadable. Eventually, once it seemed like everybody was settled, she decided to speak.

“Um…” she started, unable to suppress the shakiness in her voice. “T-Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Brian. I can’t… I can’t tell you how…”

Suddenly, she teared up, holding one hand to her mouth. Even though she had practiced her words dozens of times, she simply couldn’t get them out.

“I don’t even know what to say…” she whispered, as a tear raced down her cheek. Jennifer reached over and rubbed her mom’s arm for a moment, which allowed her to get her emotions in check.

“I know I don’t deserve to say this, but… I’m so happy you’re alive, Brian…” she said, still keeping her tone low. Elizabeth felt a fresh wave of anger, while Allison’s eyes slightly softened. Brian, on the other hand, was completely unchanged. An extremely uncomfortable silence overtook the room while they waited to see if he would respond. Eventually, Jennifer spoke up.

“U-Um, Mom, this is Allison Starr,” she stammered, motioning to Allison. She figured that Brian simply needed time to get his thoughts together, so she decided to direct the conversation elsewhere for a bit. Allison was briefly stunned by this unexpected shift, but she quickly suspected what Jennifer was trying to do. Finally breaking away from her son, Laura turned her teary eyes towards the woman sitting behind him.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Allison,” she said quietly, with a soft smile. 

“Uh, yeah, you too,” Allison awkwardly replied. She was hoping for a positive ending to this meeting, and as such tried to adopt a moderately friendly exterior. 

“I hope it’s okay, but my daughter already told me a bit about you,” Laura continued.

“She did?” Allison asked. She shot Jennifer a questioning glance, who shrugged in response.

“She did. She told me that you were Brian’s Chevalier, and that you saved his life,” Laura answered.

“Y-Yep, that was me,” Allison replied, turning a little red. Laura widened her smile, and her eyes softened in overwhelming gratitude.

“I don’t know how to begin thanking you,” she whispered, trying not to tear up again. “I can’t… it would be impossible for me to list all the ways in which I’ve failed my children.”

She turned her eyes downwards as her unbearable guilt began to drown her heart all over again.

“I’ve been given more chances than I deserve, and I’ve squandered every last one of them. When I learned the truth about what happened… I realized just how precious those chances were. I realized that I would never get another chance, and that I would never be able to try and fix the greatest mistake of my life. But, because of you, I feel like I’ve been given another chance. I know it isn’t one that I deserve, but… thank you, Allison. Thank you for saving my son.”

“I’m not your son.”

A cold, emotionless voice stopped Laura in her tracks. All four women turned their eyes towards the source, and saw that Brian was now standing. Although his expression was still blank, his eyes were absolutely enraged. It was as if they were on fire, and what once was green might as well have been crimson.

“What…?” Laura whispered, a creeping sense of dread overtaking her consciousness.

“I’m not your son,” Brian repeated, his low voice carrying an ocean of darkness. His entire world was fuzzy, and all he could perceive through his clouded perception was the face of his mother. The face of the woman who broke his soul. Brian forgot where he was, what he was doing, and who he was with. Without thinking, he continued.

“You told me I wasn’t your son. Not just on TV… you told me that I was no longer your son. You told me that I was no longer your son because I decided to murder a child. I didn’t murder a child, but you didn’t believe me. I asked you to help me… you said I was disgusting. You said I murdered a child. A defenseless child. I begged you to stop saying those words. I was crying. I begged you to believe me. You said…”

By this point, his voice was reduced to an angry strained whisper.

“You said I deserved the Shrink Penalty…” he whispered, now slightly trembling. “You said I deserved to be squished like a bug for what I did… you said that you would do it yourself… you said that to me, and then you just left…”

Jennifer was looking back between Brian and Laura, an expression of complete confusion on her face. She had no clue what he was talking about, but she could tell by the look on her mother’s face that he wasn’t lying. Before anybody could speak, Brian kept going.

“Do you know how many nightmares I’ve had in the last three years…?” he muttered, turning his eyes downwards. “Do you know how many times I’ve woken up screaming, begging for somebody to help me? Do you know how many times I’ve dreamt of you doing exactly what you said you were willing to do to me? So many fucking times… so many… fucking… times…”

He looked back up at her. There were now tears in his eyes.

“You didn’t have to come that day,” he said. “You didn’t have to visit me in prison. You didn’t have to say those things. You really didn’t have to. You could have just stayed home. That way… even a tiny, infinitesimal part of my soul could have believed that you hadn’t given up on me. That maybe someone was forcing you not to talk. That maybe something was preventing you from being able to help me. It could have given me just the smallest ember of comfort while I was locked away forever. But no… that wasn’t… that wasn’t good enough for you, was it? You just had to make sure that I knew… t-that I was completely alone…”

He stopped, and took a shaky breath. He was obviously barely keeping it together. Just when it seemed like he was about to collapse, though, he exploded.

“Why did you have to say those things?!” he screamed. “Why couldn’t you have just left me alone?! Why wasn’t it good enough that I was being thrown in jail for the rest of my life with the entire fucking world hating me?! Why did you have to come and personally rip my heart out, too?! Why did you have to leave me with the knowledge that my own mother hated me so much that she was willing to kill me?! Why did you have to tell me that Jen didn’t even want to see me?! Why was it so important to you that my soul was so completely and thoroughly broken?! WHY?!”

He finally paused, holding his head in his hands as he hyperventilated. Angry tears were racing down his flushed cheeks, and his teeth were clenched so tight it looked like they were about to shatter. Everybody in the room was completely stunned by his unexpected anger, except for Elizabeth. Elizabeth was simply staring at Brian with a soft, sad expression, her eyes carrying an entire universe of concerned sympathy. Her earlier suspicion that he had been bottling up his feelings was now confirmed, and it was shattering her heart. She knew that his anger needed to run its course before she could act, but now that he was seemingly done she began to move closer so she could take him somewhere else. However, Brian was not done, and his next statement stunned even Elizabeth into dormancy.

“I tried to kill myself.”

He looked back at his mother. His eyes were more enraged than she had ever seen them, and his quiet, soft words were dripping with hatred.

“That night, after you came to visit me, I realized how hopeless everything was. Nobody believed me. Nobody was ever going to see the evidence. I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison as the most hated man in the country. My mother wanted to kill me, and my sister didn’t even want to see me. I was going to be completely alone, forever. So I tried to kill myself. But I didn’t know how. I tried to hang myself using my bedsheets, but I didn’t know how to tie a noose. I tried to slam my head into the wall and fracture my skull, but I kept chickening out. I tried to slit my wrists, but I couldn’t find anything sharp. I eventually managed to bite down on my tongue hard enough, but a guard noticed what was going on before I could bleed for very long. You have no idea how badly everybody reacted to me trying to take the ‘easy way out.’ You have no idea what they did to me. Do you… do you fucking understand?! Do you understand what you did to me?! Do you understand how you made me feel?! You made me want to kill myself!!!”

The floodgates having been opened, three years of unbearable rage continued to explode out of him like a nuclear bomb. Despite his size, the weight of his words made everyone feel like he was the tallest one in the room.

“You were supposed to be my mother! You were supposed to tell me that everything was going to be alright! You were supposed to make me feel better! I needed you! I was alone and scared, and I needed my mother!! I fucking needed you!! Why couldn’t you just get it right for once in your fucking life?! I was fucking beaten, I was fucking tortured, I was fucking raped, and I was COMPLETELY alone!! I had NOTHING!! NOBODY!! Not a single day went by where I didn’t want to die, and to just stop feeling! Not ONE day! And now I’m here, one inch tall, and you come in and have the audacity to call me your son?! You’re a fucking MONSTER!! Everything bad in my life is because of you, don’t you realize that?! I never want to see you again!! I fucking hate you!! Fuck you! Fuck you!! FUCK YOU!!!”

Suddenly, a soft touch from behind stopped Brian’s frantic screaming. He instantly turned towards the source with frenzied eyes. He looked completely wild, as if every wall of inhibition had been obliterated by his overwhelming rage. He saw that an enormous finger was resting on his miniscule shoulder, and he turned his crazed eyes upwards to see who it belonged to. There, standing over him like a guardian angel, was Elizabeth. Despite the borderline-feral behavior of the one-inch man in front of her, her face was completely serene. She was gazing at him with tender eyes and a gentle smile, exuding an aura of overwhelmingly soft comfort.

“That’s enough, Brian,” she said quietly, keeping her tone as soft and light as a feather. 

“That’s enough.”

Her soothing words miraculously reached Brian’s consciousness, and his anger dissipated. It was as if everything that had just happened suddenly crashed down on him at once, and he fell to his knees. His tears of frantic rage transformed into tears of quiet sorrow, and his shoulders began to lightly shake as he looked down at the table in shame.

Elizabeth reached forward, and gently took Brian in her palms. Once he sensed that he was concealed behind her upturned fingers, he collapsed onto his side. Elizabeth curled her fingers around him and protectively held him closer to her chest. She knew that she simply needed to get him away from that room, so she began to turn away. Before leaving, though, she glanced at Allison while conveying with her eyes what she was going to do. Allison was completely pale, and she looked like she herself was one second away from breaking down. However, she sensed Elizabeth’s intent and managed to weakly nod. With that, Elizabeth finally exited the room, carefully and lovingly cradling the crying man within her grasp.

“B-Bean…” Jennifer weakly called out, standing up and extending her arm towards him. However, he was gone before she could say another word. Her voice was the last thing Brian heard as he was carried away, along with the sound of Laura collapsing into violent and hysterical tears.