Chapter 26

The door slammed open, the hinges wavering. She took hold of his shoulders, pressing him against the bedhead. She stared at him with so much intenseness that he didn't notice the pain in his arms for a few seconds. He opened his mouth but she was faster. "Why? Why would you do that?" Mackenzie wriggled in her grip. She slammed him against the wall again. "Why?" She shrieked.

"Mummy, you're hurting me…"

"What was going through your head?" he looked at her. "What are you-?"

"Tell me!" She pulled him off the bed, the cake plate fell to the ground and she saw it, her mouth opening and closing without sound. "Mummy…what's wrong? ... Mummy?" She glared at him. "Stop calling me that." She yelled. "Mummy-" Then something hard hit his check, he fell to the ground. He looked up, tears following. His mother was shaking with anger; she was breathing hard, her hand high ready to hit him again. He crawled away. "W-w-what?"

He looked around; his body ran into a couch, a dozen servants were looking through the door, their eyes gleaned in happiness. He looked back at his mother, "Mummy…please…" She yelled and her fist began to descend. Mackenzie pushed away, fleeing his room, knocking the servants aside and down the stairs. He came across a doctor, a machine growing from his arm. Mackenzie gasped and turned, not really watching where he was going but followed his legs. Tears streamed from his eyes, he held his check, it throbbed.

The cold air embraced him with horrible happiness. He stumbled down the stone steps, passed all the gardens and outside areas. Into the forest, a place he had avoided for as long as he had live in the house. The mountain rose up over him and the moon hung bright silver and full. He tripped on a branch and landed on his face, he didn't get up crying to the ground, brushing away his tears, trying to force a smile. "What did I do?"

The forest whistled, his mother's house loomed far away and random lights flicked over him. He crawled up underneath a tree as rain began to fall; large drops hit him from above. The sky began a suddenly array of rainbow then returned to its original colour. Midnight…A light hit him and he cringed, the light burned his eyes. He wiped away his tears and looked up. "There you are." His dad lean in and turned off the light. "You've made a right old mess, you have. Come here." Mackenzie shook his head and pushed back more into the tree.

His dad moved forward, crawling on the damp ground. Mackenzie didn't move when hands wrapped around him. "Are you ok?" Mackenzie shook his head again, not looking up. "So did you really through a plate at Rian?" Mackenzie blinked, stunned. "Maybe…why?" His dad frowned and wiped some dirt off his face. "Rian is…he isn't in a good state, um…actually he's not waking up." Mackenzie flicked his head around, his mouth hanging open.

"I killed him?"

"No! No, nothing like that, he'll be fine in a few days, you managed to hit his eye and the broken glass fell into his mouth so he isn't breathing well, but that can all be fixed. You're mum's angry though." Mackenzie nodded, touching his check. "I know." His dad was silent for a while then he pulled Mackenzie's hand away. "Did she hit you?" He was silent.

"Mackenzie! Tell me, did she hit you?"

"Maybe…a bit, Daddy…she said not to call her mummy anymore…what do I call her then?" His dad stood. "I think we should go, you need some sleep, and I don't want you catching a cold." Mackenzie took his hand and let his dad take him through the woods. "Don't worry about your mother, she gets like this sometimes, she…" He turned off the light when they got near the house. They didn't go to it though, instead they walked around. Mackenzie's feet started hurting, but he didn't complain. A car was waiting for them in the drive way.

"Sebastian, inform the staff that Mackenzie's been found and they should stop looking." His dad flicked the robot away and it sped off. "Here Zee-zee, wear this." Mackenzie took the shirt from his dad and pulled off his pyjama top. The shirt was warm, and dry, his pyjamas weren't designed for the outdoors. His dad sat down next to him, sighing. "I think it'd be best if you stayed with me for a while. Driver take us out." The car started to move.

"But why? You said Mum-"

"Your mother is very angry, she may get angry again. No it'll be just you and me for a while." Mackenzie watched as the house disappeared behind the mountain. "And don't do that again, Mackenzie, you have us all worried."

"Do what dad? Hide in the forest or throw a plate at Rian?" His dad rolled his eyes, a small smiled creeping on his face. "Don't do both, but…throwing a plate a Rian was pretty funny. Tell me what did he do to incur such wrath?" Mackenzie looked at his dad with the most serious expression and said, "He pretended to be you." His dad smiled and ruffled his hair.

"That's my boy."