Soul's POV

5 months later

"Goodnight, Soul." says Maka with an innocent smile.

"Goodnight." I smile back and we both walk into our respective bedrooms.

I lie down and think of my relationship with Maka. I love her. She says she loves me, but…why does she keep hitting me? More importantly, why do I let her? I know I could stop it if I wanted to, but…why won't I? I could just…no. I can't. I can't bring myself to hit her back. I can't hurt Maka. I love her and will protect her at all cost. So, I'll let her keep hitting me. If she's safe, I'm happy.

I close my eyes and try to focus on all the good times Maka and I have shared. Even though she's made it a habit to hit me, we still go out and have a good time. I think about the date we went on today. We went out to dinner. She looked beautiful. She smiled at me the entire time. I even got to kiss her. It reminded me of how we were before her mother died. I smile as I remember. I remember all the times I've held her and cared for her. I remember all the times we've laughed. Eventually, I drift to sleep, dreaming of the day we'll forget all the beatings and go back to being happy all of the time.

The Next Day

I wake up smiling. I'm in a great mood. I feel like nothing can ruin my mood today. Then, I hear things being thrown in the kitchen.

"AAAAAAAAAAGH!" I hear Maka scream.

I quickly get up and walk into the kitchen.

"M-Maka? Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm fine!" she exclaims as she throws a plate at me.

I quickly dodge it. If there's anything I learned from constantly getting beat up, it's to always agree.

"Alright. I'm going to get ready for school." I say before I rush out of the kitchen.

"Whatever!" I hear her yell after me.

I sigh. Maka. She's the one person that can make me happy. She's also the one person that can make me feel completely broken.

I get ready for school quickly. I don't want to make Maka angrier. Then, I walk back into the kitchen where Maka was waiting.

I don't ask for breakfast. I know better. I only look at her.

She looks at me and says, "Let's go." She walks past me and I follow.

Maka and I walk to school in silence. I hold her close and ignore the emptiness I feel in my stomach.

"She's really dead." Maka says quietly.

"Huh?" I ask.

"My mom; she's really dead."

I stare at her intently. She hadn't mentioned her mother in five months and the last time she did, everything I said to comfort her only angered her.

"But you don't care, do you?" she asks suddenly angry.

"What? Of course, I care…"

"My mother's dead and nobody cares! Am I the only one who misses her?"

"Maka, I…"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I'm so tired of everyone pretending; pretending they care she's dead; pretending they care about how I feel. You can't fool me! I'm not stupid! I heard the whispers behind my back the first couple of months. I know everyone was talking about me!"

"Maka, nobody was…"

"Yes they were. I could feel them staring at me. You know that feeling you get when someone's staring at you? I felt that all the time when my mom died. I still feel it sometimes! And the whispering. People talking about me as if I'm there! But I could hear it all. I know everything."

I stop suddenly. I try to come up with the words to make her feel better. I rehearse multiple sentences in my head, but nothing seems just right.

"I think the one that hurt the most was you." She says suddenly.

I look up at her in shock. "What?"

"You didn't care either. You were just like the rest of them. You pretended you cared to my face and then turned around and mocked me when I wasn't looking! I didn't care about anyone else doing it, but you…I loved you! And you betrayed me. That really hurt. But I'm the one at fault there. I was stupid. I was stupid to believe that you cared. Why would you care? It was my mother, not yours. I thought you loved me as much as I loved you. I thought that would be enough for you to care. I guess I was wrong. You hurt me and now you're going to pay."

"Maka. I loved you then and I love you now. I do care. I wish I could bring your mother back, but I can't. I need you to know that I never talked anything but kind words about you."

"Just shut up already." She says softly; more out of pain and sadness than the anger that's usually in her voice. She begins to cry. "I'm tired of the lies. I'm tired of the pretending…" She stops. "I'M TIRED OF YOU!" she pushes me and runs away.

I stand silently, knowing that doing anything but would only make her more distressed. Clutching my head tightly, I let out a harsh sigh. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't get through to her. Almost all of my attempts to talk with her make her angry. The rest make her cry.

"You didn't care either. You were just like the rest of them."

"Agh! How could she think that?" I scream loudly. "How can she not realize how much I care about her?"

"Soul, why are you yelling to yourself?"

I spun around to face Death the Kid.

A/N: Hey...so I hate myself for not updating so long. OTL But I'm back and I'm hoping to be updating much more frequently. Thanks so much for reading. ^_^