[ it's just as well that he moves on from that statement about not letting anyone treat him like that quickly, because charles finds he doesn't know what to say in response — but none of what he said was untrue, he thinks, and the words burn inside his throat before he swallows them down; no one cared when i was alive, he thinks, except it's not quite true, because his mum did care, she did, patching him up and taking him to the hospital in the few times it was required, but he also remembers her quiet voice, telling him you know what to do, beta, we keep it in the family, remembers her standing there and turning away and never once helping him —

in the end, he says nothing, just leans against him. and he remains quiet until junpei mentions his mum, and he just shakes his head. ] Wasn't really her, though, was it? She's —

[ his voice hiccups slightly, despite himself, and he has to swallow before continuing, ] She's good, back home. I, um, I check in on them, every week. I can make the mirror show them, you know? And she's... she's fine. He's not, you know, he's not — she's fine. And that's, that's good.

[ the words are a struggle to get out, and he doesn't quite manage to say he's not beating her anymore, the words stuck inside his trachea; and somewhere far, far deeper, the words and i'm glad but why is it that he couldn't find it in himself to be good when i was alive never see the light of day, either. because, well, his dad was right, wasn't he? they're better off without him. now that he's not there, his mum is safe, the way she never was when he was there, hurting her just by existing. ]