Family (Thursday Evening, July 12th)
"I can't believe they want to unclaw her," Ben complains, as he and Evie walk up the stairs. "How is she going to… you know?"
"Defend herself?" Evie shakes her head, "Mal was using them to hurt herself." She places a hand to Ben's arm, and he faces her. "Mal," she uneasily says. "She's using her nails to cut herself. She was going to kill herself with them. They need to be cut."
Ben frowns, "Those nails are the only reason I didn't hurt her."
Evie glances down, "They'll grow back." before she continues up the stairs. "Have you seen Jay? He should know about all this."
"No." He thinks, "I haven't."
When Evie reaches the top of the stairs, she sees Jay at the dining table, "There."
When Ben steps into the hallway, Jay frowns at him for a split second, before he watches him place some food onto his plate. Ben strides into the dining room, sits beside Evie, and eyes over the spaghetti noodles, meat sauce, cheese bread, steamed vegetables, and banana moelleux. Evie scoops up some vegetables, but when she stops placing food onto her plate, Belle comments, "Something with calories."
Evie gives her a look, "This does have calories."
Ben wets his lips, before he takes Evie's knife, cuts the banana dessert into fourths, and then into eighths. He places a small piece onto her plate, "Three hundred calories."
"What's that?"
Ben hears the gruff voice, and suddenly his chest feels heavily. He turns to him, "What?"
"That," his father points to his arm, and Ben eyes from his short sleeve to him. He lunges at him, pulling his arm.
"Adam," Belle's eyes widen.
"This," his father grips him harder, and Ben swallows.
"A band aid," he quietly answers.
"The color," his voice raises.
"It was the only one they had," Ben asserts.
"You don't bleed."
"I got a blood draw," he tries to explain.
"On your arm?" his father doubts.
Ben sighs, "No."
"Adam, please," Ben's mother urges.
He turns to her, "Did you even see this? Pretty soon, he'll start wearing jewelry again."
Evie and Carlos give each other a look, before Belle counters, "Cord necklaces are hardly—"
"The country will think he's weak," he angers, and Ben seethes, trying to get out of his tight grip.
Belle looks from Ben to Adam, "It's a good thing the kingdoms are no longer at war, then." Adam grumbles, and she places her hands on his arm. "Adam. Please. It's just a band aid."
"That glittery blanket he got?" Adam reminds her.
She frowns, "You heard him." before she nods once at Ben. "That was for Mal."
"And you believe that?"
She calmly comments, "Ben wouldn't lie to me." He grumbles again, and Belle nods towards Ben, "Now. Let him go."
"What?" Belle nods towards Ben again, and Adam notices his grip. "Oh." He lets go and folds his hands in front of him. "Are you, uh… okay?"
Ben eyes down, whispering, "I'm fine." He shakes his head and goes to grab the meat sauce, but then Evie interrupts, "Are you seriously going to eat that?"
"Why not?" he questions.
"Well, look at it," she points out. "The oil and grease have already separated from the sauce—and just imagine the fat."
Ben slowly lets go, "You're right. I shouldn't be having this anyway." He looks at his father, "It's your money. I should be buying my own stuff."
"Nonsense," his mother intrudes. "You promised us you would eat twice a day, so eat."
"No," Ben's father counters, and Belle gapes at him. Adam reasons, "If the boy wants to be independent, let him."
"He needs to eat," she insists.
"And he will." Ben's father turns to him, "Isn't that right, Son?"
"Of course," Ben's eyebrows raise, before his eyes shift and they furrow.
"You're not going to eat," Jay accuses. "You're just going to bury yourself in work."
"And what makes you think that?" Ben challenges.
Jay's voice raises, "Who do you think Mal complains to when you and Evie do this all the time?"
"I get busy," Ben excuses.
"You're not busy now."
"Ben," his mother softly speaks, "if you don't have your own food, why don't you just eat with us for tonight?"
"I have protein bars in the office," Ben frowns at her. "I'll eat later."
"Never heard that one before," Carlos mutters.
Ben gives him a look, "I paid you back. What do you want from me?"
"I'd like you to eat something other than me," Carlos yells, and Ben falters.
His mother turns to him, "Ben?"
He places a hand to his forehead, "I was having a day."
"And when was this?" his father sternly inquires.
"Before the calendar," Ben murmurs.
His mother nods, "Well." before she points her fork from him to the meal. "I want you to eat something decent." Ben shakes his head, and his mother sighs, "Honey. Please. For me."
He huffs, narrowing his eyes at her, "Fuck you."
"Excuse me?" his father's eyes widen.
"Not," Ben lets out a breath, before moving a hand over his eyes.
"You're going to speak to your mother like that?" he disbelieves.
Ben sadly gapes at him, "She said she wouldn't do that anymore."
"So, it's her fault now?" his head tilts.
"No," Ben cringes, facing the table with shut eyes.
"Adam," Belle interrupts. "Please. Let's just eat."
"You're going to let him get away with this?" he asserts.
"He's embarrassed enough," she reasons.
"He—"
"He didn't mean anything by it," she reassures. "Ben's working on…" She eyes from him to Adam, "Himself. He just got upset that I broke my promise."
He eyes between them, "What's this promise?"
Belle takes a moment, "Ben has set boundaries so that he may get his thoughts in order. By calling him honey and asking him to do something for me, I broke those boundaries."
"Parents ask their kids to do things all the time," Adam complains.
She thinks, "Teenagers can disobey their parents' instructions. When I ask Ben to do things, he can't. My wants mean more to him than a typical child."
"That's not your fault."
"And it's not his," Belle defends, before she picks up her fork again. "We're working on it. So, Adam, please, may we just eat?"
Adam watches her take a fork full of spaghetti and grumbles, before he takes a forkful of his own, "Ben."
"No," he persists.
He gives him a look, "I was going to say, you're free to leave."
Ben eyes over the others, shifting in his seat; however, when he stands up, his father coughs, "Ugh. Spicy."
Belle notices his horse voice, "Adam?"
He drinks from the glass of milk, "I'm fine." but when he starts the spaghetti again, he coughs worse than before.
"Father?" Ben eyes over him.
"I have to, uh, consult—" He waves the rest of his sentence off, and after he leaves, Ben looks from his mother to the spaghetti sauce. He leans over the sauce, and when he sniffs it, he brings a hand to his mouth, stifling a cough of his own.
"Ben?" his mother questions.
He faces her, "You couldn't taste that?" She shrugs, but before she can speak, he turns to Jay, "Garlic isn't going to kill me. You know that, don't you?"
"What are you talking about?" his mother intrudes.
"He's still mad about Mal," Ben's voice raises. "He's trying to kill me."
Belle gapes and looks at Jay, "Any words?"
Jay glares at Ben, "You deserve it, you mother fucker."
"Get that stuff Audrey's cook gave Mal." Ben frowns, "I'll happily take it myself." before he shakes his head, tears fill his eyes, and he turns away.
"Ben," his mother calls after him. She shouts, "Hon—" before eyeing towards the ceiling and sighing. She takes a deep breath and sternly eyes Jay, "We take you into our home, and this is how you repay us?"
"No," Jay counters. "Just him."
"You actually did it?" Carlos surprises. "I thought you were joking."
"Since when do I joke?" Jay crosses his arms.
Evie shakes her head, "Mal would be so disappointed in you."
"Well, Mal has a problem with solving her problems," Jay's voice raises. "Don't kill your father. Don't kill Uma or Hook or Ben. She'd rather kill herself."
"You think this is going to save her life?" Belle intensively inquires.
"Yes," Jay's eyes widen at her. "Because, once someone is dead, they can't hurt you anymore. She would be safe. She would be happy."
"She wouldn't be happy," Evie whispers.
"I don't care if she hates me for it." He turns back to Belle, "She would thank me eventually. Because, above all, we have each other. We're the only family we can count on."