My view on Mathieu's childhood. Might write more, might not. Either way, enjoy.
Mathieu shut his eyes tightly, his small hands clamped over his ears as he hid underneath the bed, his small body shaking in fear. Why did Mommy and Daddy have to be so mean to each other? He didn't understand why they were mean and always yelling at each other. He couldn't understand what they were saying. He didn't want too. He could tell the words were harsh by the tones of their voices.
Tears silently made their way down the boy's round cheeks as he heard the muffled screams become louder, flinching as he felt the wooden floor shake, even the walls. Seconds passed by before any noise was made, Mathieu's heart freezing at the thought that something was wrong. He couldn't hear anything, even when he took his hands away from his ears.
"Mommy?" Mathieu asked softly, his tiny form slowly, hesitantly leaving the safety of the bed. He could hear something. It was soft and sad. It was coming from Mommy. It had to. Mommy would never leave. Mommy would never leave him all alone like Daddy. Daddy was mean. The Bottle made him mean towards Mommy, towards Mathieu. Mathieu didn't like the Bottle. The Bottle was bad.
Mathieu paused as he heard the crying stop, his heart beating loudly with fear as he heard footsteps come down the hall. It was Daddy. Daddy was mean! Daddy was scary! Hide! Hide! Hide!
Mathieu turned and ran as fast as his small legs could carry him, crying as he couldn't fully get under the bed to hide, his shirt stuck on the crude wooden framework of the bed. Mathieu started sobbing loudly as he heard the door open, tears streaming down his face. He didn't want the Bottle.
Mathieu's sobbing subsided as he felt a gentle tug at his shirt, feeling large, thin hands pulling him out from under the bed.
"Sshhhhh. Mommy's here. Mommy's here, Matty. Daddy's gone now." His mother cooed, bringing the child into a gentle, yet firm hug. "Everything is okay."
Mathieu wrapped his tiny arms around his mother, tears rolling gently down his face, sniffing. His mother was crying, blood running down her temple, her eye bruised from a blow to the face.
"It's going to be okay, Matty. Mommy won't let Daddy hurt you. Daddy will never hurt you." His mother whispered softly, running her delicate fingers through his small mop of hair to soothe the child.
"But Daddy hurts you, Mommy." Mathieu stated, looking up into his mother's eyes, her eyes watering at the fact that she couldn't hide the truth even from a toddler.
"I know, Matty. But it doesn't matter. Daddy doesn't hurt you. That's all that matters, honey." His mother answered, holding her child closer.
It wasn't fair. Daddy was hurting Mommy and Mommy was defenseless. Why did Mommy deserve to get hurt? Was Mommy bad? No, Mommy never did anything bad. Mommy was nice and warm and always told him lullabies and kissed him goodnight and made the booboos better. Why would Daddy hurt Mommy? Mathieu didn't understand. If only he could protect his mother like she protected him, like he wanted to.
"Daddy will never hurt you. I promise, Matty. Mommy promises." The woman whispered softly, sadly as for once, and only once, Mathieu's mother showed weakness around her baby, letting the tears flow gently down her swollen face.
Mathieu didn't understand. Why would anyone want to hurt his dear mother?