My heart stopped, "Mom?" My throat dried up the longer I looked at her innocent eyes. I looked at her black ripped robe and saw the number 4 painted in red on it. "Number four...Number four!You beat me, you were the one that cut my neck with a knife!" I noticed I was screaming at my mother, not in anger or rage, but in disapointment. "Why would you do this to me? is this what you have been doing my whole life? Sneaking out and beating people? Beating, me!" My head began to throb, and my heart barley beated. Gaven had his head down, hugging m back.

With anger, I ripped his hands off and stormed back into the room of darkness. I heard foiotsteps run after me, I slammed the door shut and waited for it to open again. I sat in the corner, some what hoping I would see my mother's face walk through that door. But, it was Gaven's. "I'm so sorry Madelene..." he walked over to me and sat right infront of me, my knees were tucked tight into my chest, I could feel my heart beat through out my body. Slow, ready to stop at any moment. Gaven looked down, not sure what to say. He finally looked back up and grabbed the back parts of my legs and pulled his chest to my legs. He rested his head on the tops of my knees and stared at me.

"Why would she do this to me?" Gaven shook his head and pressed his lips to my knees, "I don't know." "Gaven, she tried to slit my throat! She tied me to a tree and threw rocks at me." "Maybe she had to Mad. I mean, being a Watcher isn't a ful choice. If your parent was a Watcher and they were killed by a citzen, their oldest child is forced to take their place." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to admit it. I just wanted to sit here and pout about my mother forever. "You know Maddie, they might have known you were her daughter and forced her to beat you." I rubbed my nose with my sweat shirt and then replid, "I heard if they fail at doing this, they get killed?" Gaven nodded his head, "Remember? My oldest brother and sister and Watchers. I bet they have beat me at least once." Gaven's older brother, Thomas, and his older sister, Lucy, are twins. When their mother died, Thomas and Lucy were forced to be Watchers.

"What number are they?" I asked, clearing my throat. "Ten, and eleven. Lucy ten, Thomas eleven." I've been beaten by them only once. Most of the time they would watch the others have at it. "Thomas bea me three times. Lucy has once. Lucy beat me with a tree twig, Thomas cut me once, and the other two times he punched me until I was unconcious." Gaven shook his head and showed the emotinal pain in his face, he hated it when I got beat. "Gaven, there's nothing you could have done." "Yes I could have! I should have been there for you! I could have fought them off, or tried!" I winced as Gaven tightened his grip on my legs, crushing them, they felt broken.

I didn't say anything, jus listened to him ramble on about how he should have been there. Finally, a scream made its way out of my mouth. Gaven instintly let go and looked up at me, "I am so sorry! I was, I just! I'm sorry." I smiled as he layed his head back on my knees, only this time I couldn't see his face. I began to pet his hair, and the leaned forward and rested my head right by it. Gaven lifted his head and pulled my legs straight and sat over me, looking at me, his eyes still gleamed in the dark. I crossed my arms and looked down, Gaven took his finger and lifted my head back up and unwrapped my arms, replacing them with his arms.

He looked at me, and then lay down his head on my chest. I would normally laugh if he had done something like thi, but this time, it was all seriouse. It wasn't a time of laughing. I didn't move him, or tell him to get off of me.  I just sat there and let him alone. I closed my eyes and thought about our old school. The cool spring breeze, the sweat shirts and flowers. The slamming of lockers, the screams in the halls. The faint sound of couples laughing together, one of those couples were me and Gaven. Gaven would walk with me to my locker and watch me scroll the lock until I had typed in my combination. Then, I would look at him who had been watching me the whole time anyway and smile.

Not a full smile, but the kind of smile that doesn't show your teeth. We would stand there for a moment, and then start laughing. Then, he would take me in his arms and sway me back and forth as he hugged me, or just sat there, his huge body bet over my tiny body, most of the time his hands were lower then they really should have been. Then, he'd let me go and kiss me, say he had to get to class and retreat to his locker. It never really mattered if he left my locker, because soon after I'd head off to his locker while he gathered his things and wait for him to hug me again before sending e off t class.