Freed from his father's grasp, Roman is quick to spin around, his fist at the ready. Only...he stopped. Shoulders slump as he wiped away tears from his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt.

He says nothing but turns away.

Silence is powerful. It's heavy and crushing in ways that his fist can't be. Roman knows this because it suffocates him when alone. He's sat with it, endure its tortuous presence in the dead of night when nightmares plagued him.

His dad can suffer through it for once.

Roman moved to the couch. Content to stew in his anger and leave the mess on the floor.

boruta maher

Like Roman, Bo had spent long stretches of time alone, sitting in his broken throne with the torn back handle. Moments when he didn’t will himself to disappear into headlines crossing the screen of his television, after long days of work. Those moments between all of it, before sleep.

So much sleep.

The silence was powerful; perhaps more so than any punch Roman would be able to throw at him throughout both of their lifetimes.
He watched for a moment when he moved to the couch.

With a deep sigh, Bo decided it was time to clean up for now.

“I’m gonna clean the kitchen. I need you to pick this stuff up before your mom gets home, or I may not be allowed back for a while. I’ll warm your dinner up.”

Roman Maher

Nothing, not a single word. Only the haunting presence of silence. Roman didn't move an inch to clean his mess either.

Unless his father cleaned up the temper tantrum's destruction. It would remain on the floor until his mom got home. Not like she'd question why it happened. This wasn't the first lamp he'd broken. It definitely wouldn't be the last either.

Maybe.

He'd see.

Lately, an idea had been forming in his head. One that he should have thought about a while ago.

Roman reached for the remote on the coffee table and turned on the TV. Some random anime played about robots fighting in space. Roman didn't much care, but he sat back down to watch it nonetheless. Getting nice and comfy on the couch with no cushions.

boruta maher