12. Puck
Bon,
This life you know isn’t always going to be the life you continue to live.
You say I can go out and meet new people, enjoy new experiences, explore the world. But the truth is, Bonnie, without you, I wouldn’t want to do any of that.
You claim to be trapped and that I should go out and be, what you assume, free. But without you there, I’d be trapped too.
If staying here, getting lost in the woods and roaming these four walls was it for the rest of my life, I would be happy, because I’d be with you.
But this isn’t all that’s out there for you, Bonnie.
The world is yours, and I promise, the day you set foot out of these gates will be the day you realise you deserve everything it has to offer.
I’m going to take you places you’ve only seen on a map. I’m going to teach you how to swim in a clear blue ocean. I’m going to help you climb the coldest snowy mountain. And most of all, I’m going to kiss you at every sunrise and every sunset, no matter what part of the world we’re in. Because my world is wherever you are.
And I will protect you, support you, and love you at all costs.
The world is big, Bonnie Rhivers, and it’s ours.
Soon.
Second star on the right…
Till Neverland,
Puck
Closingher door quietly after I left the letter on her pillow, I head toward my own room on the other side of the first floor. I don’t know if it’s done on purpose that mine, King’s, and Dax’s rooms are on the opposite side of the house to Bonnie, but I wouldn’t put it past Carlo to do that out of spite to keep her even more secluded.
Taking a deep sigh, I collapse onto my bed and fold my arm over my eyes, reliving everything that has happened this evening when a quiet knock taps against the door and my mum”s head pops around the frame.
“Goodnight, sweetie,” she says softly, and I smile weakly at her, wishing a goodnight in return.
‘What’s the matter?” she asks, pulling the door open wider.
“Nothing,” I reply and roll my eyes at her raised eyebrows.
“Now I know that look, and I know my son. It’s not nothing,” she shuts the door behind her, and I shuffle on the bed so I’m sat up, my elbows resting on my knees. She sits down next to me, her arm reaching out to rub my back.
“Are you going to tell me, or do I need to guess?”
Knowing there’s no way she’s leaving without me talking, I decide to go with the truth.
“Mum, why does Carlo keep Bonnie hidden?”
Her hand pauses on my back, and I look up at her, sitting up straight so I can give her my full attention. Her face looks pained and sad.
“I’ve known this family for a very long time, since Bonnie was just a little baby. Carlo has always been this way toward her. It just got worse when Emily passed.”
I never hear King or Bonnie talk about their mother, but they were only four and three when she died, so I guess they don’t really remember her either.
“But why?” I question, still not getting my head around it.
“I wish I knew, son. But that man does a lot of things for very little reason. Carlo has always made a point to dislike how Bonnie is a daughter and not a son, and I guess he let the anger over that consume him.”
“But why, Mum? Why does it matter that she’s a girl?”
She shakes her head, and her hands lift from her lap in an I don’t know gesture.
“I don’t have the answers for you. The best we can do for her is to show up, be there for her, protect her as much as we can.”
“I’ll protect her forever,” I whisper, not meaning to say it out loud.
Mum puts her arm back around me and squeezes my shoulder tightly, pulling my side into hers.
“And that is why I’ll always be proud of the man you’re growing up to be.” She kisses my head, and I sit and stare at the carpet for a while.
“I want to run away. I want to run away with Bonnie,” I say, looking up at her with determination in my mind, but the only thing reflecting back at me is worry.
“I know you like her, Puck, but you can’t do that. You’ve seen how that man treats his own children. God forbid what he”d do to someone who isn’t.”
“But we can’t let him get away with it, Mum,” I say a little louder. “If I don’t protect her from him, who will?”
She twists herself to face me better, grabbing both of my hands tightly.
“Now, you listen to me, boy, and you listen good. I will not let you do anything irresponsible. You’re such a good boy, and I know you want to help her, but we are going to have to do the best we can right here. I lost your father. I can’t lose you too.”
“It sounds silly, but I think I might love her,” I confess, and my cheeks blush.
“Oh, my sweet boy,” Mum says, tucking me back under her arm. “That girl has been in love with you since the very first day she set eyes on you. You may be young, but sometimes you just know when it’s right. It’s okay that you love her, son, and just that alone will be enough to protect her for now. Just don’t let your feelings get the better of you. Carlo is a dangerous man, and I won’t lose the both of you, okay?”
I nod and let her kiss my cheek before saying goodnight once more.
“I love you, son,” she says softly, pulling the door closed behind her.
“I love you too, Mum.”