Another story writting for a Facebook RP'ing group. Not nearly as happy as "Any Means Necessary."

Enjoy

An Explanation

Before I begin, I just want to say that I did not marry an abusive bastard. If at any point in time my husband had laid a violent hand on myself or my son, I would have left with Severus.

That one day, however, that one brief moment, I shall never forget.

The sound a fist makes as it slams into a wall mere centimeters from your ear is one you'll never forget. At least I've never forgotten it. A loud thump followed instantly by the crackling of plaster as small bits of wall fly everywhere and dust goes in all directions. Sadly, I cannot recall what that fight was about, probably some unpaid bill. There were always a few of those lying around.

As with most fights, it started with a wrong word on a bad day. Tobias always had a temper, but had never become violent, especially not towards me or Severus.

He truly loved his son. Tobias did everything in the world to make sure Severus never went hungry. Unfortunately, that often meant Severus could never have the one thing he wanted the most: his father's attention. Or mine for that matter. Tobias was not the only one that worked long hours trying to pay bills and put food on the table. I'm sure some will argue that leaving my son alone in an empty house is neglect that we were horrible parents.

But I wonder which would be worse? Leaving my son at home with food and a roof over his head? Or spending time with him sifting through rubbish bins for something to eat? Such opinions hardly matter now, however. What's done is done. Mistakes have been made and the consequences paid in full.

To go back to the original topic, I was telling you about the fight, you'll recall. Eventually, the argument turned into shouts and screams that left me cowering and my little boy in tears. My son had come home from school to a fight. And like all young children didn't really understand. His pleas for us to stop went unheard and he could do nothing more than cry in a corner, watching his parents at their worst.

As I said earlier, the words and subject of the fight have been lost to me. I don't recall what made my husband slam his fist into a wall as he watched me shrink away, terrified that I had indeed married a monster. I remember the sound of the drywall giving away, however, as well as the look Tobias had on his face. After his fist had gone through the wall, it was as if time stopped. Tobias stood over me, looking shocked and breathing heavily. I vaguely registered that I had tears streaming from my eyes, and Severus's cries seemed to echo against the walls.

Slowly, Tobias removed his fist from the wall, more pieces breaking off as he moved away. His anger dissipating just as the dust from the wall settled to the ground. Taking a step back, he looked down at his plaster-covered hand and back at me. The silence between stretched on for miles interrupted only by Severus's tears.

After a moment, Tobias turned from me and slowly went over to Severus, as though he just noticed his sobs.

"Severus," his voice was gruff and continued breaking as he spoke. "Severus, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have seen that. Severus…"

Severus's response was to cry harder. "Mummy! I want Mummy!"

Hearing my baby's cries forced my shaking legs to move towards him, and pushing my husband out of the way, I gathered him into my arms, trying to calm him.

"Shh…Severus, it's all right. Mummy's here. Mummy's got you."

As I tried to comfort my baby, I watched Tobias back away slowly from us. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, his chest still laboring from the force of his pounding heart. He didn't seem to know what to do and stumbled over his own words.

"I…I have to go to work." Looking around the living room, he located his coat and quickly left the house.

Severus was still crying and holding onto me, his small fingers clutching my shoulders tightly as his tears ran down my neck. His entire body shook even as I held him. Severus slept beside me in bed that night while my husband worked.

The next day Tobias repaired the wall without a word. We never talked about that fight, as though mentioning it would make it real instead of some horrible nightmare. The tense days turned into less tense weeks. And while the events of that day were talked about, they were never forgotten. Eventually, things went back to normal. While Tobias and I still argued from time to time, never again did it end with such savagery.

Thoughts? What do you think of this prespective of Tobias Snape? And Eileen?