Eliot is dead. Gilbert has tried to keep his sorrow at bay, but once alone, he allows himself to feel the pain and say his final words to his brother.
R&R?
Enjoy!
It is raining, as it seems to always be at moments like this, the sky is dark, looming and growling, snapping its teeth with the sudden painful streaks of lightening, and I am alone. Oz is somewhere with Alice, probably seeking some sort of danger to join in, Vincent has vanished like so many other members of my adopted family, and I am alone. Eliot is gone, Leo is being questioned, Break, Liam, and Sharon are all watching me, terrified that I will shatter, and I am alone. And now I am walking through this storm, angry. Angry that everyone I love is gone, angry that everyone else is watching me, angry that the days after that painful night the sun burned the sky with such a brilliantly, spiteful light, mocking our loss.
I cannot sit quietly while everyone else suffers, but Oz refuses to speak to me about it, Alice doesn't care (as was typical of Alice), and I have been refused my request to talk to Leo. I look up at the clouds, the rain burning my eyes, or maybe it is the angry tears I am fighting against. The garden is silent, other than the rain splashing into the water of the fountain. I feel it, everything inside me breaking into a flood of emotion.
The ground is soft under my knees, the mud and water seeping through the fabric of my pants almost instantly. I rest my head on the edge of the fountain, the words spilling from my lips intentionally. Slow at first, but growing in intensity.
"Eliot. Eliot. Eliot," I say his name, hoping the soft mantra will resurrect my younger brother, but the only answer is the soft kisses of betraying skies, "Eliot, Why?"
More affection from the dark clouds respond to my question.
"Eliot, we could have done something, prevented all of this. I know, I know you never cared for me, I know you thought I was weak and shameful, but Eliot, it didn't have to end like this."
My tears are like lines of fire as they slide down my cold cheeks mixing with the wetness already there.
"Eliot, didn't you think about how this would affect everyone else? Eliot." I weakly pound my fist against the concrete wall my grief and gilt outweighing my anger, "Eliot, as your older brother I should have done something, I should have saved you."
I let my emotions carry me, until my voice grew hoarse from saying my precious brother's name.
Alice finds me a while later, after the rain has stopped and the sun is peaking its head over the horizon. She walks up slowly and I do not notice her. She leans her head down, her ear next to my mouth, and listens to my barely audible voice mutter, "Eliot. Eliot. Eliot."
She sits on the edge next to my head and cautiously brings one hand to my hair, running her slender fingers through the damp locks.
"Raven," I ignore her. She sighs, "Gilbert," I raise my swollen golden eyes to her face, "Don't cry anymore."
I try to look away but she catches my face in her tiny hands, "Please. Oz needs you to be strong. I… I need you to be strong."
Her scarlet eyes are shining, "Eliot wouldn't want your tears anyway, so please, don't."
She watches my eyes as I process what she has just told me. It's the truth, I have to be strong for everyone else and I would only be enforcing Eliot's view of me if he saw me now. She stands and smiles down at me, "Now, Seaweed Head," Her eyes glisten with mischief, "Your master has been looking for you since we returned," She holds out her hand to me, "Let's go find him, together."
OH GOSH I CIRED WHEN I READ CHAPTER 60.
