Steven Hyde sat in the basement of the Foreman house staring at a blank T.V. set. It seemed as though every one of his senses was sharper; clearer, as though he had just gotten over a bad cold. He could smell the musky basement smell mixing with the smell of old, burnt out weed. He could feel the heat of the sun radiate through the window of the closed basement door. This is how he normally felt after he'd replaced his glasses on his face. This is how he felt after he'd been crying.
The chair Hyde normally sat in was abandoned, as was the now empty couch his friends normally filled. Instead he sat on the floor, knees pulled tight to his chest. He wasn't done yet or he would have stood up. He knew he wasn't done, but had replaced his glasses to try and convince himself he was. It hadn't worked. It never did. He removed the glasses once more and rubbed his red eyes with fisted hands. He breathed deeply to try and calm himself.
He knew it wasn't good to repress anger.
He let out a choked cry of rage which swiftly turned into several of desperation. He buried his face into his curled up knees and sobbed for what seemed like an eternity. But he was safe; no one was home. He heaved a huge sigh and replaced his glasses for the final time that day. He knew he was done. Just in time too. He heard the familiar sounds of his friends running down the stairs and stood up. He flicked on the T.V. and plopped into his normal chair. Away from the couch so he wouldn't have to get too close to anyone.
Hyde never really participated in conversation with his friends. He listened to a few sentences once in a while to comprehend the subject. Then he would give a short comment and drift back into his own world. A world where he remembered everything.
"Maybe we wouldn't be having these fucking problems if you would just pay the fucking bills!" screamed Mom.
"I'm not the only adult in this house you know." Dad retorted. "Maybe you should get a fucking job, bitch! And what about that piece of shit kid huh? Time he starts pulling his weight around here."
"He's only ten you asshole."
Hyde was the only ten year old on the playground who knew all the naughty words. Even Eric didn't, and he had an older sister.
"What'd you just call me?!"
"I'm sorry."
"What'd you call me bitch?!"
"I said I'm sorry okay? Baby?"
SLAP
"And you…" Hyde's father pointed at him from across the room. "C'mere." Hyde shook his head fearfully.
"I said COME HERE!" his father roared, undoing his belt.
"Bathroom," said Hyde. No one even looked up. Why should they? He was a piece of shit. Hyde plopped down at the kitchen table and removed his glasses. He buried his face in his arms. He was pissed at himself for doing this again today and questioned his own sense of stopping in the kitchen, but he couldn't make it to the bathroom. He sobbed silently, letting hot tears spill onto the Foreman's table.
He could feel his father on him. He knew it would never go away.
And then he felt a real, gentle hand on his back. Still, the sudden contact frightened him and he jumped, raising his head, eyes wide and wet. It was only Mrs. Foreman. Hyde wiped his eyes. Mrs. Foreman gently rubbed him on the back up and down. It was soothing, but Hyde didn't like that touchy feely sort of thing.
But he wasn't Hyde right now. The glasses were off. He was Steven, and Steven did like that sort of thing. Not only that but Mrs. Foreman was the mother he never had, and although Eric seemed annoyed at her babying, Hyde didn't mind it. That's why he'd helped Red heckle Eric into a Mom/Son night out thing the other day. He meant it when he said "If I had a mom, I'd go shopping with her every day." He would have.
Mrs. Foreman looked worried. Scared even. This was mainly because Hyde never cried in front of anybody. In fact, in everyone else's eyes, Hyde never cried. Ever. And he knew that she deserved an explanation. He thought of lying to her, but she was like a real mother to him, and the only one he'd ever known. So he told her a story he'd never told anyone before. She held him and cried with him and that night, long after everyone was gone and Eric was in bed, she came down to the basement to tuck him in.
He slept the best he ever had that night. The next morning she made no hint or gesture to show that they'd discussed the darkness of his past or that she'd paid him a visit that night, and for that he was grateful. She wasn't one to go blabbing to Red either, and for that he was relieved. And he understood how it felt to have a mother that actually loved him.
End