I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from The Kids Are Alright.
It was a dreary, overcast late summer morning in Trinity South Carolina. Although the sun was blocked by the multitude of dark clouds overhead, the temperature had not eased up any and the air was so thick with the heat that it was hard to breathe.
Lucas Buck sat in his navy blue Crown Victoria with the air conditioning blasting, more so for his Deputy in the passenger seat than for himself. Lucas had never been bothered by the intense weather of the deep south, he remained at a steady temperature throughout all seasons and his skin was always warm to the touch no matter what the weather was doing, or so his Wife had told him.
It was amusing to watch his townspeople squirm, either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. They were never happy, always craving the opposite extreme and it was a wonder that they managed to function at all with their lack of foresight to prepare for upcoming weather conditions.
Ben was as much a culprit for being unprepared as anybody, he called for the sun in winter then cursed it in the summer. Seeing the buckets of sweat Ben was losing from his body just by completing everyday tasks, you would never have guessed that he had been born in these parts and had over 50 years to acclimatise to the temperatures in which Trinity experienced every summer.
'What are we doin' just sittin' here Lucas? Don't we have some work to do?' Ben asked concerned, spotting the familiar predatory look which sometimes crossed over Lucas' eyes when something bad was about to happen and he was worried about setting him off.
Lucas sensed Ben's concerns and smiled. Good, his Deputy should know who is boss. Over the last few years his people had become more arguable than they had ever been in the past, Lucas had let this slide and often adjusted his own behaviour due to his expanded family, with the aim of ensuring everything ran smoothly; however, judging from what he was witnessing just past the small park where he had chosen to stop his vehicle, Lucas had failed his people by allowing them too much free will and that was soon to stop.
'Lucas?' Ben asked quietly, his anxiety rising at the lack of response to his first question.
'Hush Deputy, unless you want me to drop you off at the marsh outside of Town to walk back to the Station...I hear the gators are mighty hungry these days' Lucas answered coolly without taking his eyes off of his current target, growing tired of Ben's need to question.
Ben slinked down in his seat and closed his mouth, knowing better than to challenge his oldest friend when he got like this.
'Smart man' Lucas advised, happy that Ben had made the right choice and continued to watch his target closely.
Gail paced up and down the sidewalk holding her Daughter securely on her hip, while Luke held her hand tight. This had not been one of her better ideas; however, she was not one to back down once committed and changing her plan now would be a show of weakness.
'Don't Momma, I don't wanna' Luke pleaded, planting his feet firmly on the ground and letting out a frustrated grunt when she dragged him along effortlessly, as she chose to continue forward.
Gail Jr sensed the hostile energy surrounding this place and smiled devilishly. Like her Brother, she had no desire to step inside the huge stone structure; however, there was a part of her which was excited at disturbing the strange energy within it and that took over her concern.
'No!' Luke yelled abruptly and yanked his hand out of his Mothers grasp when her attention was elsewhere, sensing his Sisters thoughts and wanting no part of this.
Gail stopped in her tracks, then slowly turned towards Luke and regarded him with dark eyes. 'You really want to do this now?' she asked firmly, feeling her darkness rising at his blatant disobedience. Obviously she had not intended to get the children involved in this and would rather have tackled this on her own; however, Merlyn was out of bounds having a short break with Billy and his Father, forcing her to keep the children with her.
'Wuss' Gail Jr said smugly, then pulled her tongue out at her Brother amused.
Luke did not want to disappoint his Mother, she was his whole world; however, he felt an overwhelming unease as they neared the entrance to the building and he just could not go in there.
Gail watched as tears began to well up in Luke's eyes and her demeanour softened. It was not his fault that she had become drawn to this place, or that she had dragged him here due to her lack of childcare. How could she really be mad at him when she sensed every part of his being was screaming for him to run?
'It alright Son, I'm here...Nice to see one of my children using some common sense' Lucas berated Gail Jr for not following her older sibling, as he picked Luke up and allowed him to wrap his legs around his waist tight.
Gail Jr's mouth dropped open at the dig, then her bottom lip began to quiver as she failed to hide how upset the comment had made her.
'It's ok Darling, your Father is just misinterpreting cowardice for sense...It seems us girls are the only ones with a back bone these days' Gail retorted for her Daughter, disregarding the sharp intake of breath Luke took at her dig and stared at Lucas defiantly.
Lucas let out a small laugh and shook his head in disbelief of her audacity. She was trespassing where she did not belong and forcing the children to go along with her, yet somehow that made him the one in the wrong.
'Trespassing is such a judgemental word Soulmate, I'm just exercising my right as Mother to ensure my children have explored all options before they choose their path in life. Besides, these grounds are welcome to all...it is God's house after all' Gail smirked, spotting Ben in Lucas' car and knowing that her Husband would not make a scene in public.
Lucas inhaled deeply as two old women strolled down the street towards them and forced a charming smile when they regarded him courteously. For some reason his Wife had decided to test him today and he would not give her the satisfaction of losing his temper publicly. 'There's nothin' for our children here...this ain't playin' fair Gail and you know it' he said calmly through gritted teeth, it was taking all of his strength to remain civil at this blatant challenge to his authority.
Gail had not intended this to play out like it was, she had expected her Husband to be busy playing with his pawns and ensuring that the Town was being run in line with his rules; however, he had somehow stumbled across her at the worst possible moment and it was difficult to re-evaluate her options under his intense stare. Had she have been of sound mind this morning, she would have dumped the kids with him before he had time to escape without them and she would have been able to avoid this unpleasantness with her family all together. It was unfortunately that he had dragged her into the shower with him earlier, causing her mind to be distracted when she was due to leave.
'Hindsight's a bitch ain't it?' Lucas asked smugly, sensing her thoughts and continued to stare at her dominantly so not to allow her any space to relax.
Gail tried to come up with any plausible reason which would convince Lucas to leave her alone to continue on to the Church unobstructed, but her mind went blank. She could just march in of her own volition, say to hell with his need to always be the alpha and remind him that he was not the boss of her. If this was a few years earlier that would have been her play, insert her own dominance and independence to show that no man could shackle Gail Emory; however, she was no longer Gail Emory was she? She had chosen to give herself over to this man fully and she could never be disloyal to him. Forcing his children to learn the word of Christ when he completely opposed it would be just that and she could never take his choice away, even if it did get her closer to Malcolm's hidden world.
Lucas did not trust how quiet she had gotten and tried hard to read her; however, her guard was fully up and he could not penetrate it. 'Your move Love' he reminded her, and prepared himself for a heated discussion in the street as he knew how stubborn she was.
Gail inhaled deeply and shook her head in frustration, then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Lucas was taken aback by the gesture, not expecting her to stand down and regarded her suspiciously. 'That easy? Really?' he asked in disbelief.
'No Lucas, it's not that easy but we're not going to do this out here' Gail responded forcing a sweet tone and nodded pleasantly at the couple pushing a buggy past them, who she had sensed approaching them while Lucas were distracted.
Lucas smiled charmingly at the couple, inwardly cursing himself for Gail sensing them before he had. 'Alright Love, I think it's time we returned home for a much needed parley' he advised teasingly, as he gripped the top of her arm gently and surveyed the area for her car, appreciating her smart move to fall in line and feeling a sudden need to be inside of her.
Gail pulled her arm free of his grasp abruptly and let out a small laugh, not believing the desire she saw in his eyes. 'You can go parley with whoever you want, but you just stay away from us' she warned, annoyed at herself for being the one who stood down first, then spun around and stormed off towards her car with Gail Jr in her arms.
'How is it that you still manage to screw me over, even from your hidin' hole ol' man?' Lucas asked in frustration, fully convinced now that Gail was gunning for his Father and not believing the fool had left a trail of his haunts for her to find. He had grown up in his Father's sacred places, they were an important part of Trinity and he could not allow his Wife to go messing with tradition. He supposed it was about time that she stopped taking her true calling for granted and got reminded of where her efforts should be directed.
Caleb wandered the long sterile corridors of Fulton County Hospital, searching for any nurse that he was familiar with. He had a free period before lunch and had decided to be proactive and get this visit out of the way, in preparation for the chemistry assignment that he had been given for homework.
Caleb did not much care for chemistry, he was more interested in biology and finding out what made things work; however, he was not averse to learning new things and he had discovered an enjoyment of High School, contrary to what people expected of him. He had discovered his love of books when Gail came into his life, Gage was not one to promote anything apart from his own addiction of alcohol and it had been refreshing when Gail opened up his mind to all sorts of literary works. Now that he was in High School, there was even more material which were not limited to the collection Gail owned and he was excited to expand his knowledge to see where it led him.
'You're ditching School here? Oh Caleb, I really don't want to be the one to have to break the news to Gail' Matt sighed disapprovingly when he spotted Caleb wandering down the corridor, knowing that his hopes for a straight forward day was shattered.
'Then don't tell her, it's that simple' Caleb shrugged unfazed by his presence, slowing his pace slightly to allow Doctor Matt to catch up to him.
Matt looked at Caleb in disbelief of his casual demeanour at being caught outright, then saw the small smile on the boys lips and relaxed. 'You're not ditching are you?...It's awful that I automatically jumped to that conclusion without speaking to you isn't it?' he asked in disappointment with himself.
'Yep, don't know what I did to cause that distrust of yours Doc' Caleb responded casually, continuing to walk down the corridor.
Matt shook his head in exasperation at himself, then pushed it out of his mind and started again. 'Hey Caleb, nice to see you...Anything I can help you with on this fine day?' he asked overly pleasantly, smiling when Caleb glanced at him confused with the sudden change of demeanour.
Caleb looked Matt up and down, then laughed. Despite his Fathers disdain for the man, Caleb still had a soft spot for Matt and he could never truly be mad at him. 'Is this how you get Gail to forgive you all the time? Kill her with kindness?' he asked sarcastically.
Matt laughed at the question and placed his arm around Caleb's shoulder affectionately. 'Your Cousin has the patience of a saint' he advised.
'My Momma has the patience of bull seein' red, but she has a kind heart' Caleb corrected, reminding him that he had accepted Gail as his Mother now and wondering if Matt had ever actually seen her true self. He guessed not with how he always regarded her, as though she was a precious rose that required a delicate hand. That could not be farther from the truth and it was a wonder she was able to keep up her façade around him for so many years.
Caleb supposed Gail had her reasons for keeping certain aspects of herself hidden from Matt, the man did have a mental breakdown and tried to kill his Father after all. Caleb was just happy that he knew the real her, no matter how scary and unhinged she may be at times. Gail was his, she had given up her life to come to Trinity for him and although his Father liked to believe her feelings for him were what kept her here in the end, Caleb knew better and he did not require her to say it.
'Do you want me to call Gail to pick you up? You are on School time and your lunch isn't that long' Matt asked, not wanting to push the matter but still wondering why Caleb was here.
'I got a free period, double the time to get what I need and head back' Caleb answered, glancing at the doors as he passed and becoming frustration that he could not find what he required.
'What is it that you need Caleb? I know you like to believe you can do everything yourself but this is a big place and if you're late you will be in trouble'
Caleb let out a small sigh and shook his head, annoyed that he could not locate what he needed himself before having to head back to his English Literature class. 'There was a small Library of medical stuff, a nice Nurse showed me it a few years ago...I need a book for my homework' he replied finally.
Matt smiled, he instantly knew the room that Caleb was referring to. It was a small collection and a child should not have been given access to it; however, this boy was smart beyond his years and he supposed that there was no harm in letting him look if he had been there before. 'Alright, follow me-' he advised and gently took Caleb's arm to lead him in the right direction. '-This is a private collection, so don't go publicising that I allowed you in here and certainly don't let Doctor Charlton know'
Caleb nodded his understanding, hearing his parents mention Doctor Charlton in their private conversations before and not wanting a run in with the man.
'Perfect...in there, I'll be back in half an hour then we'll get you back to School before you're missed. We don't want people knowing you ventured this far out when you should be in the Schools care' Matt smiled and ushered Caleb into the room, then left him in private to get what he needed.
-To be continued-