Chapter 25

The Things We Never Imagined

What would you do if your world had been shattered by an onslaught of bad news? A few words may be: crushed, depressed, as if the world signalled you to suffer. Or maybe you had been dropped in the deepest, darkest pit imaginable with no hope out. Overcome by a tidal wave of despair. Those words could just about describe how Bloom was feeling.

The night of her children's birth will always be bittersweet memory. That same night, Dr. King delivered her the worst news possible. Her born child, her first and only son, had died. To say she was devastated or dismayed was an understatement. Yet, the worse was not over. Due to what happened there was a slim chance she'll ever bear another child. She was barren. After hearing that, Bloom spent the night sobbing in her mother's arms mourning her child she never met.

Two days afterwards, as soon as she was discharged Bloom hounded Brandon for his story. After what he said, she was worried about the Dimension. She could only imagine what had in her absence. After days of begging Brandon finally gave into her demands and reluctantly told her. Bloom understood why he didn't want to her a thing. The monster's assault on Magix; Valtor's sudden return and strength; Musa's accident; Valtor's siege on Alfea; the Deformities and; lastly, how he got how he got to the hospital.

The news had her head spinning. She just couldn't believe it all. How could this have happened? Especially Valtor. He was supposed to be dead! Bloom nearly broke into tears. Her school, her friends, the Magic Dimension as she knew it was in chaos, ruins. People were dying or suffering every day. She was the most powerful fairy in the magic universe and she did nothing.

It was all her fault.

Bloom laid on her bed and stared up at her ceiling. The cream colour stared back accusingly. Beside her was her daughter wrapped comfortably in a pink blanket. Bloom placed a hand on Lilly and gave a small smile. She was thankful for Lily especially with everything that had happened as of late. She gently turned so not to disturb the child. Bloom gazed upon her daughter.

She had Sky's blonde hair with hints of her red but paler. According to Dr. King, Lily was smaller than normal but healthy enough. Her eyes, once open, were a deep sapphire blue that lit up with excitement. Like Sky's. She had so much of Sky in her that it made her want to cry. Bloom missed him and longed for him. However, no matter how much she asked Brandon was adamant about not saying a word. Instead he got a dark scowl on his face so Bloom gave up. She heard a knock.

"Come in." She said.

Brandon peered around the door and crept inside. His limp was gone and so were the band aids. He came over to the bed and carefully lowered himself onto the bed opposite Lily. The two of them laid in silence. Bloom sighed.

"What is it Brandon?"

"It's not your fault." He said quietly. "It's not like you knew everything was going to snowball into a catastrophe."

Bloom sighed deeply and turned to face Brandon. "That's not the point. I… I should've been there to fight. So what happened to my planet wouldn't happen to another."

"You already lost one child," Brandon told her, "you would've risked losing both?"

Bloom ignored him and fell back into silence but Brandon knew what it meant. After all, he knew what kind of person Bloom was. Brandon rolled from his side to his stomach. With that slight movement Lily woke up. She didn't start crying immediately. She blinked wearily as if she was trying asses her surroundings. After truly waking up, the waterworks started. Before Bloom could even blink, Brandon scooped her up and was gently rocking her. Slowly but surely she began to calm down. Bloom decided to test her luck.

"What happened between you and Sky?"

Brandon stiffened. "It's nothing."

"Brandon-"

"It's nothing!" Brandon sighed and took a deep breath. "It's nothing Bloom. I promise you it's nothing you'll have to worry about."

There was a tone of finality in his voice. Bloom backed down rather than choosing to test Brandon's temper. However, it made Bloom wonder even more what had happened between them. Must've been something terrible if it had them split like this.

"Do you have any idea how to get off this planet?" Brandon asked her.

Bloom shook her head and took Lily from him. "No clue. It was basically a one way trip for me."

Brandon handed her the bottle on the side desk which Bloom started feeding Lily with. The baby began to guzzle it down greedily.

"So, there's no definite way back?" He asked.

"No, I don't think so." Bloom replied sadly. "We're stuck here."

Brandon fell back onto the bed with a loud flop and sighed. Bloom felt sorry for him. He was coming from a place overfilled with magic, the only place he had ever called home, to a world without even the faintest trace of magic. Everything he knew now was utterly useless here; everyone he had loved was left behind possibly forever. Unlike him, she had nearly a year to come to terms with. She could always readapt to Earth and of course she'll miss the world of magic but her pain was incomparable to Brandon's. Earth wasn't Brandon's home then again, it wasn't hers either.

Brandon dug around in his pockets. He still wore the clothes he arrived in. A heavily torn grey shirt and dark blue jeans. Vanessa had washed, dried and tried to mend them to the best of her abilities. But given that she could see his chest through the shirt her mother had failed. After searching he pulled out his phone. His phone had seen brighter days. Spider web cracks covered the screen, the corner of the rectangular device looked ready to fall off. The backing of the phone was gone Bloom gaped at it.

"What happened to your phone?"

She took the now empty bottle from Lily mouth and put her on the towel over her shoulder. Lily spat up a creamy white substance and cooed. Bloom moved her back into her arms which the baby snuggled into.

"Close shave with a Deformity, plenty of tumbles." Brandon replied back dismissively.

The phone let off a few brief sparks. Bloom moved herself and Lily further from Brandon. To her surprise the phone actually hummed to life and chimed the song. A notification popped up on his phone. Brandon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. His eyes were glued to the phone in his hands. Bloom got and put Lily into the crib beside her bed then went over to Brandon and peered at the phone. It was a series of texts and miss calls. All from one person.

Stella.

Brandon jumped up and began dialling frantically. Bloom watched with bated breath as he paced around the room impatiently with the phone to his ear. From her spot on the bed, Bloom heard the dial tone of an unsent call and the sounds of the annoying woman. Angered Brandon cut her off and tried again. This occurred about three more times before he finally gave up. Defeated he dropped on the bed with his back to Bloom. Bloom felt her heart break at his dejected state. She scooted over to him and rested her hand on his back.

"Brandon I'm-" She started.

It was soft, so soft Bloom barely heard it. Brandon was crying. His body shook with every sob. Bloom began rubbing soothing circles on his back as she tried to reassure him but no matter what she tried the words always felt hollow and fake. The phone dropped from his hands shattering on the floor. She sighed and brought Brandon to face her. Tears streaked from his chocolate eyes like shining, silver rivers. His eyes were red and puffy. Bloom looked at him. This was another side of Brandon she didn't know existed but still Brandon all the same.

She enveloped him in a hug which he took gratefully. Brandon buried his face into her shoulder and let the tears flow. Bloom just sat quietly and stroked his hair. She didn't say a word nor utter a sound. There wasn't a need for it. She just held him and lent her presence. Just the comfort of having her there with him was enough. Besides there was nothing she could tell him. It was a couple of minutes before Brandon calmed down and his sobs quieted. Bloom looked down at him. His chest rose slowly with each breath he took.

Bloom laid him down on her bed carefully so not to disturb him and left him. It would hurt for a while and it won't be easy but she hoped he could come to terms with his misfortune.