14

When he spotted the bathroom and decided that his hunger was stronger than his tiredness, he started heading towards it. When he passed by his father's room, he looked inside and noticed that the lights were off, which meant that his father had gotten up. Knowing that he would be gone for quite a while, he continued on his way to the bathroom. The only problem was that once he entered he found that the bathroom door wasn't even open anymore. He knew that it wouldn't open unless someone knocked on it, but as he stood there frozen in place for a moment, he suddenly remembered. He couldn't believe how completely he forgot about it, and it was probably going to ruin his whole morning plans... Victorz was still standing frozen in front of the bathroom door when he heard something slam hard against the wall outside the door and the handle turn. "What are you doing?" asked his mother's voice angrily. She's mad, Victorz thought. She sounds pissed, which means that something serious must have happened. This could mean only one thing: He has done something really bad. I'm going to be dead today. He stood there, not knowing what to do, for at least ten seconds until his mother's voice came through the door again. "If I don't get an answer in two seconds I swear to God... You will be spending your last day at St. Mark's Hospital as a patient! Come out now or I am going to call the police on you!" She slammed the door shut. "I hope you've learned your lesson by now," she yelled. There was a brief pause before the footsteps echoed throughout the house as she walked away from his parents' room. Victorz swallowed heavily and closed his eyes before taking a few tentative steps forward. He reached the doorway and peered inside cautiously. His mother, who looked as angry as he had ever seen her, glared back at him through the crack between the door and its frame as she approached. When she got there, she turned sideways and leaned against the doorframe. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at him sternly, but she didn't yell at him this time. Instead, she sighed deeply. She didn't say a word; instead, she motioned towards the closet. "Put on a coat and shoes. Your father wants to talk to you," she said in a low tone. Victorz didn't move. He stood there in complete silence as he studied his mother's face and the expression that he could clearly see there; it appeared to be disappointment. Then he blinked a few times before shaking his head. "No." He refused to budge, he couldn't do it. It was too late. There was no turning back. She was already mad. She was already calling the police and having them bring me to the hospital right away. There's no escaping. What the fuck am I gonna tell them? What is he gonna say? What am I gonna do? Why can't I just tell him the truth? I can't. That'll only hurt him worse. And I don't want him to be sad. Not like this. His mother pushed herself off the doorframe and started pacing around the kitchen. She paced back and forth for several seconds, pausing every now and then to glance back at Victorz with a concerned look in her eye, but she didn't stop moving. Her pacing grew faster and quicker until she reached him and grabbed his arm roughly, tugging him toward the closet, where she shoved him unceremoniously inside. As she pulled him further down the narrow space, the closet door was barely big enough to accommodate their bodies, leaving Victorz standing pressed firmly against the wall, trapped in the confines of the tiny room. He could feel himself breathing harder, and the smell in the confined space made his head throb. The darkness seemed to close in around them both, and soon he was unable to see anything other than the outline of his mother's figure against the dim light. Her back was to him