Phantom copyright ALW and Leroux
IALBFTF
"Where are you rat?" Melinda's slurred voice rang through the entirety of the tiny apartment, reaching Erik where he hid furtively under his blankets.
"Get out here now!" Knowing he could not avoid her, it would only make her anger worse, he slunk from his room to face his fuming mother. Her bleached hair hung limply around her face, which was reddened from anger and drinking. "You left the lights on again. What have I told you! I'm not rich you know!"
"I'm sorry mama, I was scared." Her eyes sparkled with cruelty as she reached out a hand a ripped the mask off of the little boy's deformed face.
"Ha! Something as ugly as you afraid of the dark." She stared at the little death's head before her, thinking she might be sick from looking at the curse God had put upon her. Softly, so at first she didn't notice, Erik began to cry, wanting nothing more than his mask and the protection it afforded back and to be allowed to return to bed.
"Shut up or I'll give you something to cry about." In the face of her threats he still found himself unable to silence his quaking sobs. In a flash Melinda's hand flew through the air and cracked him across the side of his face, hard enough to bring blood to his mouth. Erik dropped to his knees as his mother continued to ran blows down on him, striking him anywhere she could reach. His back and head grew sore, bruising, his face he shielded by his hands. He continued to sob throughout the beating.
"You should learn to be more grateful. Here I am raising you all on my own after your father left us. You know why he left Erik? He saw your face, that why he left. I could have just dumped you on the state and been out of here." Her fury finally subsided, Melinda ceased beating him. Erik continued to huddle on the floor, no longer crying, but still covering his face.
"Get out of my sight rat." Erik rose from the floor, hurrying to vanish from her sight and back into his rooms. He huddled under the covers and began to sob once more as the pain in his body finally reached his mind. Moments later the door was open and his mask was flung onto the bed beside him.
That night Erik prayed the same thing he prayed every night. "God, let her love me and I'll never be bad again."