Ludovica's eyes widened in fury; her mouth curled into a snarl. "How DARE you say that I don't love you?! There--there is no 'version' of me in your mind that isn't you! I love you for being you, even if your current ideals aren't quite right. But you know what makes me very angry?"
She stepped forward, anger apparently vanishing. Taking a deep breath, she regarded her son with a controlled smile.
"When you don't listen to me. So if you and Shoe could just--just stop fighting, and you could just let Life die, that'd be wonderful. Because in the end, there's nothing you can do. I'm your mother, this is the reality you've been given, and let's face it--the world would be so much better without her."
"You b*tch," Life spat, body trembling and tears forming in her eyes. Ludovica watched as her furry creatures slowly but efficiently tore at the girl's skin. She felt nothing--no pity, not even satisfaction as she watched the disgusting entity crumble to the ground. Life wheezed. "Wh-what did I... ever do... to deserve this?!"
Ludovica closed her eyes, still smiling her smile. "You existed."
Kayin hesitated, though still following close behind. "Why do we need to work on it in the first place? Why don't you just love me? Do I not matter enough? What about dad, has he ever cared?"
His mind was always racing with doubts. He wondered if Bennie could ever understand how that felt, and after a moment decided she was too uncaring to care about anything, herself included. No--no, she cared about herself. She just didn't care about him, and that was the sad truth of it.
"Are you ashamed of me?" He tried, twiddling his thumbs. "Why don't you just tell me why you don't love me, so that way I can try to fix myself?"