Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, hell I don't own the title to this fan fic. FMA belongs to Arakawa-sama and the title and song belong to the writers, editors, and whatnot of Martina McBride. I do not condone abuse nor am I a fan of it.
A/N: Dark themes, child abuse, violence, language. This story is fictional and should it offend anyone please do not read. Flames will be used to make smores and comments and constructive critism is welcome. This story is un-beta'd and edited by me. Oh, and here's a shocker, Hoenhiem is the good parent in this, OMFG. lol.
If I fall and all is lost
No light to lead the way
Remember that all alone
Is where I belong
Cloud Nine-Evanescence
Chapter Two
Two Weeks Later . . .
After being pestered by his brother, who finished unpacking everything only two days after they moved in, Ed finally finished unpacking everything. Their father made them go shopping with him for new furniture for their study and dishes, and clothes, and groceries, and a bunch of other pointless things that Ed had just found to be tiring and boring. He was laying on his bed in his room with his arms crossed behind his head staring up at the ceiling. He'd just had lunch and had gone up to his own room because Al and his dad were downstairs going over different things they could do for the remainder of the summer.
Ed sighed and turned over on his side to look out his window, he couldn't figure out what was worse, moving to the city or that he had to go to a private school now. He sat up when he noticed something in the window next door. The curtains were drawn but there were two shadows in front of the window, one of them he knew was the girl next door, but the other was much bigger than her and was looming over her from what he could tell. He tensed when he saw the larger figure raise their hand above their head and then strike the smaller one and her shadow fell out of view.
Ed jumped off his bed and ran out of his room downstairs to the living room where Al and his dad were on the couch going through brochures and looking over maps they'd strewn on the dining room table. He stopped in the door way looking at his dad who rose to his feet at the serious expression on his face.
"What is it son?"
Ed pointed towards the neighbors house where the girl lived, "I saw something going on in her room, it looked like someone was hurting her."
Hoenhiem raised an eyebrow at his son, "Are you sure?"
Ed glared at him, he wasn't lying and he wouldn't come downstairs and say anything if he hadn't seen anything. "Yes I'm sure, you have to do something."
"We need to be logical about this, I can go over there and see if anything is wrong."
"You have to stop them-"
"Edward, I will do what I can."
Hoenhiem walked up to him and put his hand on top of his head, "You and Al stay here."
"But-"
"Brother," Al inquired. Ed sighed and gave a short nod and Hoenhiem ruffled his hair before he walked out the front door. Ed turned and ran up the stairs to his room to look out his window. He could still see two figures in the window but he could only just barely make out the girls shadow. He glanced to the front of the house to see his father crossing the lawn. He looked back to the window to see the larger shadow pause and release his hold on the girl then turn away from the window. His breath caught in his throat when the curtain was pulled back just the slightest and the look of the girl as she peered out her window before ducking away from it and out of sight was carved into his mind.
Ed jumped when Al's voice carried over to him, "Brother?"
Ed turned on his bed to regard his brother who was watching him from the doorway, "What's going on?"
Ed made to say something, he tried to find the words, but he couldn't say them, he didn't want his brother to know more than he already did. Ed looked away from him and closed his eyes only to open them as the sight of the girl next door came to the forefront of his mind. Ed kept his mouth shut and his gaze averted but Al leaned against the door frame watching him and Ed knew his brother could be just as stubborn if not more so than he was and he was going to keep waiting for an answer.
Ed didn't know how much time passed, but before long they heard the front door opening and closing. Ed jumped off the bed and dashed out of the room and past Al, careful not to push him or knock him down. He ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs to look at his dad. Hoenhiem looked at him, "Ed, we need to have a talk, go wait in the study for me."
Ed made to say something but Hoenhiem held up his hand to silence him, "Please just do as I ask Edward."
Ed flinched at the tone and grimaced before turning sharply and making his way up the stairs and heading to his and Al's study slamming the door behind him. Al had stood looking over the railing and walked around to walk down the stairs, "Dad?"
Hoenhiem smiled softly at Al, "Everything is alright Al, go look through the brochures and maps and see if you can find something for all of us to do together."
Al nodded and walked to the living room to do as he was told while Hoenhiem walked up the stairs and into the study closing the door softly behind him. Three of the four walls were lined with bookshelves full of books of science, alchemy, history, mechanics, and even some music and art books for Al and some martial arts books for Ed. There were two desks against the only wall not lined with bookshelves and they were along the wall where the window facing the front of the house was. There was a couch and two chairs in the middle of the room with a coffee table in front of the couch and chairs that was aligned to make a 'U' and a small table with two chairs towards the back of the room.
Ed was sitting at his desk which was cluttered with two stacks of books and notebooks full of notes, his arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking pointedly away with his ankles crossed on the desk top. Hoenhiem sighed, "Edward."
Ed huffed but still didn't look at him as he said, "You're going to tell me you didn't see anything and that I was making it up, right?"
Hoenhiem crossed the room to sit at the couch and regarded his son for a moment, "No, I wasn't going to say that."
Ed moved his legs off the desk and turned in the chair to look at him, "What happened?"
"I spoke with them and they wouldn't let me see her."
"That's because-"
"Ed, listen."
Ed sighed but nodded and Hoenhiem continued, "Even though they wouldn't let me see her there's nothing I can do. They are her guardians Ed and unless there's proof"
"There's proof on her-"
"Did you see her?"
"In the window . . . just for a moment . . . "
Hoenhiem got up from the couch and moved to kneel down in front of Ed as he looked away. Hoenhiem reached up and rested his hand on his son's smaller hand, "Ed, tell me what you saw."
"It was only a moment . . . but she was hurt, I saw one of them hit her . . . "
Hoenhiem sighed, he believed his son, he'd believed him when he first said something. When he'd gone next door to speak to her parents both of them were friendly but there was something behind their smiles, something they were hiding and they were adamant about not allowing him to see their daughter. It unsettled him and he knew that if he called the cops they would be the same way with them and only speculation or suspicion wouldn't get them into the home to see the daughter. But he was still calling the cops, to at least make a report, it would take more testimony or claims from others of suspected abuse to get a warrant.
"Can't you do anything dad?"
He shook his head and squeezed Ed's hand when he made to argue or say anything. "I'm sorry Ed, I am going to call the police and we can file a complaint but there really isn't much that we can do."
Ed hung his head and Hoenhiem got to his feet pulling Ed out of the chair to hug him close, "I'm sorry Ed. When I call the police they are going to want to talk to you, they'll ask questions about what you saw."
"They won't believe me," Ed mumbled while he buried his face in Hoenhiems' shirt.
Hoenhiem sighed with a nod, that was also very likely. He wasn't going to lie to his son and of course Ed took the silence as confirmation. Within the next few hours the cops were called, they were questioned, and the police went next door to talk to the Wethertons'. It was time for dinner by the time the police left and even though they did file a complaint they were still skeptical to believe Ed.
Hoenhiem was making a quick dinner in the kitchen and Ed and Al were setting the table in the dining room. Hoenhiem smiled as their conversation carried into the kitchen as they made their way back into the kitchen.
"Who were the Daimyo's anyway to rule over samurai's anyway"
Al sighed, "Brother that's history, there's nothing we can do about it now."
"But still, the samurai were warriors and they could have killed the Daimyo's."
Hoenhiem shook his head and turned off the burners on the stove. With the help of Al and Ed he managed to move the hamburger helper, green beans, and mashed potatoes to the dining room and they ate in mostly silence lost to their own thoughts. Ed helped wash the dishes after dinner while Al went upstairs to get ready to take a shower and go to bed. Hoenhiem expected both boys to lock themselves in the study until at least ten in the evening like they did every night. Once he and Ed finished cleaning the kitchen Hoenhiem stopped Ed from going upstairs, "Can I talk to you Ed?"
Ed shrugged and took a seat at the kitchen table across from his dad, "Okay."
"I wanted to talk to you about school-"
"Dad," Ed sighed, they'd already talked about school and he didn't want to talk about during the summer.
"I want to make sure that you know how big of a change this is going to be for you."
"I already know dad, there's going to be a lot more kids and there's so many students at the school that they are separated by what year and there are even different schools to separate certain years."
"It's more than just the number of students Ed. You're going to be in a class with students three years older than you, they placed you in advanced classes ahead of the year for students your age. There's most likely going to be kids that are going to mess with you about that."
"What about Al, he's being place a year ahead-"
"There's more of a gap between you and your class than Al and his class. You know Al wanted to go to a public school."
"Yeah, but I want to go to a public school too."
"You'd have more problems at a public school son, we discussed that already."
Ed sighed, "Okay then, so I have to worry about the other kids messing with me because I am being placed three years ahead in school. I am going to the junior high instead of going to the grade school."
Hoenhiem sighed at the exasperated tone of voice Ed was using, "Alright Ed, you can go."
Ed stood up and walked out of the kitchen, Hoenhiem heard him make his way up the stairs and heard him calling out to Al telling him to hurry up that he wanted to take a hot shower too. Hoenhiem ran a hand through his hair and stood up, he pushed the chairs back and turned off the light as he left the kitchen. He had called all of the schools that were more than willing to except Ed as a student and had tried to talk them into moving him back, but he scored really high on all the tests they sent him and they didn't want to put him in classes where he would be bored or unchallenged. Al had scored really high on the tests as well, but Hoenhiem was determined about not moving Al ahead too much until he was older.
He knew how hard it was going to be on both of his sons but was more worried about Ed. Being moved to junior high at nine years old, regardless of how smart or mature he was for his age Hoenhiem had spent enough time in the city when he was younger. He knew kids could be crueler than adults at times and he was pretty certain that with the times the kids would only get meaner just as they seemed to be growing up faster than ever.
She wanted to hate them, the neighbors next door, especially now that she was locked down in the basement again. She'd heard the adults talking and saw the flashing lights outside before they'd locked her in the basement, but she had expected them to do so. Even though she should hate them, should be angry at them because now she was going to be beaten worse than ealier, but she couldn't be. She tried but she couldn't be angry with them, that split second when she peered out her window her eyes had locked with those golden ones and she'd seen the horror, the genuine fear in his eyes. She hardly knew the boy next door and she was rude to him when they first met but he was still concerned for her. That was something she didn't know anyone could do, you could treat them poorly and you still cared, it was new for her.
She shifted and flinched from the sound of the chain rattling on the ground at her movement from the metal shackle around her right ankle. She'd pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees to hug them close as she sat huddled in the corner of the dark, damp, and cold basement. She knew the basement well, the washer and drier were to her left against the wall a good ten feet away from the corner where she was. The water heater was in the corner opposite where she was. Other than that there was only the cabinet along the wall to her right where they stored the items they used on her; the whips, other shackles and chains, needles and different types of drugs they used on her when they felt like it. She also knew that there were other instruments in there but she didn't want to think about them.
The drugs they gave her they were careful not to let her know what they were considering her real family's history with medicine and so she could never tell anyone else what she was given. She preferred the daily beatings for whatever reasons to being locked in the basement. Down here she only recieved the bare minimum of nutrition and they would splash her with buckets of cold water as a means of giving her a bath. They would take turns at beating her and when they wanted to whip, drug, or torture her one would hold her down while the other did so. Overhead about ten paces from where she was a thick chain hung from a beam in the ceiling that had two cuffs, that was where they would put her to whip her most of the time because they didn't want to end up hurting one another.
She was already sore from the beating earlier, this time it was because she was caught staring out her window, even though the curtains were drawn, watching the the boy next door. They'd put thicker curtains up when they caught her the first time and had taken her downstairs to punish her. She'd been injured so much that she knew when she had broken limbs, internal injuries, or just bruises. Right now her left eye was swollen shut, her lip was busted, she had a cut across her right cheek that stung, her ribs were bruised, her right wrist was sprained, and she had bruises up and down her arms and legs, and she knew that her kidneys hurt. She knew that they wouldn't take her to the hospital, he was medically trained and could take care of serious injuries so that questions would be avoided.
She took in a deep breath and winced from the sharp pain that caused in her chest. She rested her forehead on her folded arms and let her mind wander. Those golden eyes had caught her attention since she first saw them and from his reaction at seeing her just hours ago she felt drawn to trust him, to befriend him. Her parents had told her that she would be going to school with the younger brother and in a few years she would be able to attend school with the elder brother. She was only a year younger than the elder brother but he was two years ahead of her in school and was going to attend a private school.
She smiled at that, they went on to say that the older was a genius and that both brothers had the potential to become just as renown as their father. They wanted her to befriend them and wouldn't stop her, but she was not to tell them anything that wasn't their business and to stay away from them after she was punished. That was why they were so angry with her looking out her window. Then, when she was bold and told them that it would be easier to make friends and not hide the marks they left on her if they didn't hurt her so much. She felt a little bit of achievement at that, she hardly ever stood up to them and even though they were just rougher with her after that she still liked that it made them angry because that meant that she was right.
Screams never echoed or reached above ground while in the basement just like no one ever saw what went on in the basement. It didn't matter if she fought or screamed, it never really did because the truth of it was, she couldn't get away from them anyway, there was no where for her to go if she tried. So when a blood curling scream sounded in the basement a few hours later, no one heard it, no one saw what caused the scream, and the world outside of the house remained unfathomed and undisturbed.
Except for the golden eyed, blond haired boy lying in his bed. He sat up in his bed drenched in a cold sweat and looking fearfully at the house next door. He let out a sigh at seeing the lights in the room of his neighbor were off, but he still felt sick, like something was terribly wrong. Normally he would have given anything to escape the dreams of the night his mother died, of the funeral, but when those dreams were clouded over with dreams where he watched that girl next door being hurt and being powerless to stop it he would have preferred anything else. He heard her scream in his dream and it chilled him to the core. But dreams were not something he could wake his dad up about, he couldn't demand that he go next door again in the middle of the night because of a nightmare.
Ed laid back down and wiped the cold sweat from his brow and rested his forearm over his eyes before turning his head tiredly towards the window again. If there really wasn't anything that anyone could do right now, then he would get strong enough and learn enough to be able to do something. If the girl next door was really being hurt then he was going to do what he could to stop it, one way or another. For now he just wanted to be friends with her, to maybe try and let her know he wanted to help her, to do what he could. He didn't know why but he felt so pulled towards her, like he knew her.
He decided that he would look through the photo albums from the time he lived in Resembool, to try and see if he'd met her once before or something. But that would have to wait until the next day, the nightmare had made him even more exhausted than he'd been when he went to sleep. He let out a yawn and burrowed back into his blankets and closed his eyes trying to get what little sleep he could manage.
