Roxas got dressed in his pajamas that were tattered and itchy. He managed to ignore the discomfort, however, and walked downstairs, his hair still somewhat damp. He looked at the dinner on the table and licked his lips, standing there as his stomach gave out a pained growl.

"Roxas, are you eating your special dinner with Uncle, or are you eating with me and your brother?" His mother's voice was cold and demanding. He hated hearing those icy words from her; hated it. Roxas knew what answer he was supposed to give, despite the fact that it wasn't the answer he wanted to give.

Roxas gave a small frown and looked at Sora, "Special dinner..." he said, beginning to walk out the front door. His hand was on the door handle and he was prepared to leave, but he was stopped by a small protest.

"No, Roxy please eat dinner with us tonight. I like having you around...you're never here for dinner," the brunette said, his words becoming a faint whisper as the sentence proceeded. "So...So please, please stay and eat dinner with momma and me!" he begged.

Roxas turned and looked at Sora then at his mother. His eyes were wide with shock and he couldn't help but hesitate. "Sorry honey-" Sora's mother said, agitation clear in her voice. "Roxas is eating special dinner with his uncle."

"Yeah," Roxas said, catching his mother's death glare. His dull grey eyes averted down and he sighed softly then looked up and gave a weak smile, "Don't worry Sora...I...I'll be back!" he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, trying to convince Sora to forget about him eating dinner with them.

Sora sighed and looked down, "Okay Roxy..." he walked to the table and sat down, looking at his plate of food. Roxas smiled encouragingly and walked out of the door, sitting in the grass outside. He layed down and curled up into a tiny ball. His special dinner was outside on the front lawn where he layed and listened to his stomach growl. He didn't even know who his Uncle was, let alone if he had one.

Sora looked up at his mother, "Momma," he said, taking a bite of his steak. "Why does Roxas always have special dinners with our Uncle instead of having normal dinner with us?" he asked, swinging his legs back and forth. His mother looked up at him with hazel eyes.

"Well Sora-" she started. "Roxas likes to bond with your Uncle and he prefers to be with him rather than us. It's fine though." Sora frowned at her statement.

"Momma you talk like Roxas is a bad boy, but he's not, really. I know he's really a good boy!" the brunette smiled. His mother regarded him, setting her utensils down. She looked a bit angry, but Sora was too anxious for an answer to notice this.

"Sora-" she said sternly. "Roxas is a very bad boy and he is ungrateful. End of discussion."

"But Momma-"

"End of discussion!" she yelled, receiving a startled yelp from her brunette son. He frowned his bottom lip quivered, looking on the verge of tears. She watched him then reached forward and softly petted his head, "Hey...don't cry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to upset you, come and give momma a hug."

Sora got up form his chair and sniffed, reaching his arms out to hug his mother. She picked him up and set him in her lap, hugging him tightly, "You're Momma's little boy!" she cooed. "Now finish your dinner and get ready for bed." Sora nodded obediently and jumped off of her lap.

"Roxas isn't a bad person," he whispered before finishing his meal. He smiled and ran upstairs, humming softly.

It was around midnight that Sora was awoken from his sleep. He and his brother usually shared a bed, but much to his surprise his brother's presence was not there. "Roxas...?" he looked around and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He repeated his brother's name, only to find he was the only one occupying the room. Even their bathroom was empty. He walked past the window and suddenly stopped then turned to look through the glass. He noticed a small blue lump on the front lawn with goldenrod-blond hair.

He ran downstairs, careful to be light on his feet and unlocked the front door. It made a clicking noise as he pushed it open and hugged himself at the sudden gust of cold wind nipping at his small body. He shivered and walked ut, barefoot.

"Roxy?"

Roxas jolted up, looking around. "So...ra?"

Sora jumped slightly as Roxas abruptly sat up. "Why are you out here in the cold?" he asked. "It's freezing. Come inside."

Mom said to stay out here. "I...just wanted some air. I'm fine...just go back to sleep," Roxas explained. Mom will kill me if she knows I got inside the house.

"Roxas..." Sora grabbed Roxas' arm and he pulled him towards the house. Roxas lashed out, striking Sora in the face, sending the older boy stumbling backwards. Sora stared up in horror at his younger half, "Ro...xas..." Sora felt his numb cheek and tears streamed down his face as he began to sob.

The lights in their house went on and Roxas suddenly felt like he was in grave danger. He stepped back slowly, looking at the hand he had used to hit his brother. "I'm sorry...Sora, I'm sorry-"

"What do you think you're doing!?" Roxas' mom yelled. Roxas stared at her wide eyed, frozen in place.

"Mommy-" Roxas' voice faltered as tears outlined his eyes.

"Sora. Go upstairs."

Sora obeyed his mother and sprinted up the stairs, crawling into his bed as he cried some more.

If only you felt my pain! Roxas wanted to sneer. That'd give you something to cry about! No...stop thinking that. He stood upright, still staring at his mother's beautiful young face, and the suddenly. Slap. Hard, across the face. His face was throbbing more than her hand was. The tears slipped by themselves, staining his pale cheeks.

"Don't you ever hit him!" she yelled before storming back into the house, locking the door.

Roxas looked around; he knew the neighbors could hear. He knew they were listening. He knew they could here every slap ever yelp every whimper that sliced through the silent winter air. He knew that it gave them some sort of sick satisfaction that his mom had the guts to do what no other parent on the block had the guts to do.

He knew they knew, so why didn't they help?