Throughout her Mother's screams for help, Rhiannon kept her gaze fixed on a strip of wood on the floor. The old dingbat wouldn't shut up even in her death! No wonder Daddy wanted her gone. He'd explained it to her the night before. Ianto and Mother would have to be killed so that Rhiannon could have Daddy all to herself. Daddy only wanted Rhiannon to be happy, so why did she feel guilty now? Nobody was doing anything wrong. Ianto and Mother were only receiving their final punishment. If anything, they were coming out lucky.
In her unmoving gaze, she could see Ianto's right foot- Socked. The toe of the sock was light blue with six droplets of his own blood across about two inches of it, though the blood was not from his leg that had been broken earlier in the week. The stillness on Ianto's face, fixated on her Father's moonlight-tinted knife, was nothing like the innocence he normally basked in. He was no good, he only put on the mask so that Daddy would love him more than her.
Mother's screams became bloody, as though the deep liquid was bubbling in the back of her throat. Served her right, anyways. At least now she'd be quiet. Something in Rhiannon's brain told her it might be too quiet. She shook her head as to get rid of the naughty thought. If Daddy could only hear her, he'd have such a laugh!
She focused again on Ianto, who's vivid blue pools were now looking straight into Mother's. He had her devil eyes. He always had. Daddy had told them not to watch. Ianto was such a naughty child, always disobeying. She wanted him gone just as much as Daddy did, she reassured herself again. The strip of wood suddenly became more interesting as she heard the boot-clad footsteps smugly stumble towards her younger brother. Daddy wouldn't hurt her, oh no. Daddy loved her, he'd said. She just knew he was walking towards Ianto. She watched him again, trying to look him in the eyes like he had Mother, but couldn't. There must be something wrong with him, she thought, then corrected herself, must have been something wrong with him. The sock went from blue to red and then from red to rust brown. Rhiannon studied the tan wood. It had fifty cracks and two eyes. From as far as she could tell, it was two and a half centimeters thick. Ianto hadn't screamed once, perhaps Daddy had been merciful and granted him a swift death, for it wasn't his fault Mother had corrupted him so. Although, Ianto was never much of a talker. The pale, worn out wood suddenly began to change color. She looked away and caught Ianto's eyes. At first, she thought he was dead they looked so lifeless. She saw him crack a reassuring smile in her direction. Rhiannon vomited on Daddy's shoe with disgust in herself that she had played along at all. Daddy twitched. "Fuck."
Everything happened at once. Ianto dropped from his chokehold and landed with a resonating thump. Daddy hightailed and grinned at her, blood splatters freckling his once jolly cheeks. She peered at Ianto out of the corner of her eye to make sure he was alive as Daddy made a mark with his nail across her chest. Her four-year-old brother silently made a grab for the knife in his mothers stomach and struggled to pull it out, eyes widening when a low grumble emerging from Mother's pale mouth. Blood spurted from her plump, pregnant stomach and further splashed Ianto's fluttering eyelids and stuck to his lashes. Her father made a vengeful grab for her neck and she darted away, begging him,
"No, Daddy! NO! I've been such a good girl and I won't tell on you for hurting Mommy and Ianto! I promise!" Her father was suddenly not talking straight, not smiling straight, not looking... right. The knife he had plunged into their Mother's stomach was now in his back, with Ianto at its handle. Rhiannon screamed for his death and cursed her brother for tricking her into disobeying.
The sirens were outside their house, now. Her baby brother sat behind his Mother's near lifeless figure stroking her hair without any emotion on his face. How dare he grieve for that witch? He should feel sorry for killing Daddy. He was never a very good boy, not as good as her at all. She situated herself behind Daddy, sobbing. An alarmingly young woman with tight, blonde curls and a perfect smile approached them. She didn't seem human, not at all.
"Hello, honey. What's happened here?" Rhiannon was too in shock to make her mouth form any sound but the deep, mourning sobs that wracked her entire body.
"Father hurt Mother with a knife. He hurt Rhi, too. Then I hurt Father with the knife, Ma'am." Ianto's angelic voice informed the Officer politely as blood ran out of his own mouth. Even the weathered woman looked away when she saw it.
"I'm Yvonne. I'll help you two, I promise. He will never do anything bad to you again."
"He's never done a bad thing to us in his life! He's such a good Daddy! Ianto and Mother were the bad ones, they had to be punished, Miss!" Rhiannon bawled, and then turned to face the blood splattered boy, still in his pajamas. "And don't you ever call me Rhi, you little devil!"
Ianto's eyes glazed over again as he fixed another tight mask on his face. He wouldn't let her see him cry. He'd done so well. He'd saved her and himself and he'd do it all again if he had to. Just because Rhiannon was such an easily manipulated teenager did not mean that he would let her be killed as well. Father had loved Rhiannon most, and Ianto knew that he would much rather have died than ever hurt his angel.
Yvonne poked around the corner as the clean-up crew came in and told them to leave the boy in the van as she pulled out her cellphone. "Hello, Lieutenant Greene. I've found one for you."
