Curtains Close; Take a bow. I think we fooled all of them now.

Anthony's POV

The house was quieter than usual. The kids barely stirred, and Oli and Rain only lingered around, barely talking to each other or anyone else. The house started to feel warmer, like there was a sudden vanishing of any tension.

I saw her hair, flowing down the side of the arm chair. Fast asleep, her legs resting on the side table and the steam from her coffee swirling from the breeze of the open window. The curtain swayed gently, allowing a few beams of sun to cover her face occasionally. Her arm was limply hanging down the side of the chair. She rested it there while she slept. She didn't know I was here watching over her from behind. I stood in the door frame, admiring her.

But something that seemed like a miracle to me. I looked at her arm, hanging gently there, her fingers twitching as the breeze blew over her body. A few scars on her arm. But upon looking closer; the scars where healing. And for a second, I could have felt like everything was going to be okay from here.

From the bottom of the stairs, I admired Sienna. She wandered slowly, Hanley still holding tightly onto her. She babbled on her way down, but I couldn't help but notice the beautiful dress she was wearing. Her hair was plaited and she had a ribbon holding it together at the end. Her eyes opened wide, as if she could see me. I looked back at her, with false hope. She glanced away then. I picked her up on the last step, and held her softly.

"Who did this to your hair?" I smiled softly. Hanley was watching me from below, fiddling with his hands and listening to my voice.

"Mommy did." She said, the sun from the window shining onto her face. She smiled under it's warmth and I slowly lifted her back down to the ground.

But it didn't feel so warm on me. I knew what was about to come next. And it would surely pierce the silence here. The kids wouldn't cope well. I didn't expect them too. Especially Sienna. Her sweetness would be so lost for the next few months. Still, it had to be done. No matter what.

They wondered off into the kitchen. I followed them there, and found Oli standing over the stove. He starred at the wall, his arms stretched out over the counter to support him. He glanced over at me with a look of despair. But I gave him a comforting look, as if it was going to be okay. But the fear in his eyes conjured tears. Before I could say anything to him there, the taxi pulled up into the front of the driveway.

I stood motionless. My heart stopped and memories of her flooded my mind. Even I didn't want to let go. Oli suddenly kicked into auto pilot, shuffling past the kids and greeting the driver at the door. While they discussed how long the journey was to the center, I made my way to the living room. Brushing my hand against her arm, her lips puckered as she took a deep breath. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Are you ready?" I said to her, glancing back at the children in the doorway, who were now beginning to look quite panicked.

She nodded and quickly got up. She walked to the front door, her hand trying to block the bright light as she got there. Oli took her suitcase and lifted it into the back of the taxi, while the driver got back inside. Rain looked back once, and a smile raised on her soft cheek. The kids gathered around her feet.

"Where are you going?" Hanley cried, starting to grip onto her.

"I'll be back soon darlings." She bent down and kissed them both on the head.

"Don't go!" Hanley cried again. I took his hand and held him back. He started to hit and scream, desperate to grab his mother before she got into that car. "Please!" He shouted. She shut the front door, without looking back at them. "Mommy! Wait!" He started to yell louder now, scarring Sienna.

"What's going on?" Sienna softly sighed, putting her hand up to her head and holding onto me. She started to flinch when Hanley threw punches at me and tried to make me let go. I had to hold him there. It had to be this way, otherwise Rain would find it harder to leave.

"Hanley. Please. She'll be back before you know it." I tried to soften his shouting.

"No! No!" He wriggled beneath my grip and tried to get free.

"Hanley you have to be quiet now. Stop hitting me. Otherwise I'll have to put you in your room." He started to anger me.

He didn't listen to me, and he suddenly twisted my wrist backwards, which caused me to let go. He forced himself towards the door, trying to reach up and open it. I quickly snapped at him, locking the door and picking him up.

"What did I say?!" I started to shout at him. I carried him up the stairs towards his bedroom. "What is she going think of you acting this way? Pushing and hitting me isn't going to make her stay. Now..." I said, opening up his bedroom door. "I'm going to put you in here and I don't want to hear a word from you until I come back up here and say so." I laid him down on his bed, to which he tried to throw himself off and run for the door. I held him back and shut the door on him, before locking it so he couldn't get out. He started to scream from behind the door. "Quiet, Hanley!" I called, slamming my hand on the door.

Silence fell. I could hear the taxi pulling out of the drive.

I wondered back downstairs to find Sienna. She was sat on the stairs, tears falling from her eyes onto her lap. She heard me and called my name. "Uncle Anthony?" She whispered.

"Yes?" I said, exhausted.

"Where is mommy going?" She asked.

I didn't know what to say. I bit my lip. "She's going to get better."

"Was she sick?" Sienna looked up in shock.

"Sort of. You'll understand, sweetheart. But she's going to miss you both dearly."

Sienna stood up. "She's coming back, right?"

I picked her up. "Of course." I smiled at her cute cheeks.

Sienna seemed to accept the absence of Rain more than Hanley did. Which made me think, maybe I was wrong. Maybe Hanley was more attached to Rain, but it just didn't show. I felt cruel locking him up there, but he shouldn't lash out like that. In fact, I'd never seen him act like that before. Something clearly triggered it, and I was unsure if things would be alright without Rain here.

Walking into the living room, it was no longer warm. It was no longer a gentle silence. The chair by the window was empty, and the shadow casting behind it was full of darkness and heart ache. Her coffee didn't steam anymore, her legs didn't bridge between the table and the armchair. The whole room felt empty. I tried to consider whether this was the right option for everyone. Because it started to feel so much worse than I could ever have imagined.

Notes

This chapter gives me feels :(