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he could only make out her silhouette. He tried to focus on the sound of his heartbeat rather than the harsh breathing coming from his mother. It was so loud, almost deafening, that for a second he couldn't hear what she was saying. "Get your coat and shoes on and go wait in the car for me in the driveway. We're leaving as soon as we get there," she ordered harshly. She turned around to look down at her son, and after seeing the look in his eyes, she let go of his arm. She stepped closer to him, grabbing his chin firmly to force his attention on her. "Now, Victorz," she said sternly. When he remained silent, she continued, "Now." With one final glare she released his face. Victorz could feel her stare piercing through his skin. He felt sick. Without any hesitation or delay, he grabbed his coat and ran to the garage, throwing it over his shoulder. He practically jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut before looking up at his mother, who had been silently watching him for the past five minutes. "We're going to the hospital," she informed him simply. His stomach dropped, and he froze in place, trying to ignore the fact that he might actually die before he could finish school. He hated hospitals. He' never liked them. He hated being around sick people. All they did was scare him. They scared him more than anything, more than his mother's anger, more than his stepfather's threats, even more than the threat he would have taken had they actually succeeded in killing him. He wanted nothing more than to run, to hide somewhere safe, but he had already given in to his mother's demands and he knew that if he disobeyed her, she would punish him severely. He'd learnt his lesson. "What for?" he asked quietly. "Because I said so," replied his mother curtly. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "You're going, aren't you? You've agreed to it?" she repeated. Victorz remained quiet. "Yes, I know you agree, so I need to know what you've told him..." he heard her ask. Again, Victorz stayed silent, so she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. His head swerved from side to side with the blow. "Don't lie to me," she whispered sharply. "Tell me." "N...no." he whispered hoarsely. His eyes filled with tears as he looked back at his mother. "Please, Mom. Don't kill me." His mother frowned and raised her hands to rub her forehead slowly, trying to calm herself down before answering him. "I don't want to do this either..." she sighed softly, "...but if you continue on acting like this I might have to," she added in a slightly quieter voice, "so please listen to me. Tell your father what happened yesterday night or I swear to god that you will regret it." "I won't," muttered Victorz quietly. He bit the inside of his lip anxiously as he awaited her reply. Her face softened considerably when she saw the fear in his eyes. She knew that if her words hadn't frightened him enough than his next actions might have. "Alright... But promise me that when this happens again and I ask you this question, you'll tell me the truth," she demanded, placing both of her hands on his shoulders and staring deep into his eyes. "Promise." "I promise." Victorz mumbled as his mother nodded and smiled slightly, patting the top of his head comfortingly. After another couple seconds of silence Victorz's mother took her left hand off his shoulder and held her right hand out expectantly. "Give me your phone." Victorz immediately handed it to her and waited while she punched in the number. She paused for half a minute before putting the cell back to her ear.