Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.

Chapter 30: Words Spoken in Anger

Charlie POV:

It's been, six full months since I came back from Ukraine. Don and Dad have slowly let up in their smothering though, not entirely. I can understand why, they are still afraid I'll disappear again. Being in the CIA, it's both a gift and a curse. I keep those I love safe but, my own rights to a life are violated at will. It comes with the territory.

How was I to see that the next time I took off, it wasn't because of my real job, but because of words, simple words spoken in anger?

Normal POV:

Today was not a good, not a good day at all.

The Eppes house was under a dark cloud on this day.

Exactly two years ago, Margaret Eppes lost her battle to cancer and died on this date. She had come to death peacefully, with her husband and oldest son beside her. Her youngest som however had remained holed up inside the garage, working of P vs NP, the unsolvable math equation.

After she had passed away, Don and Alan had seen to all of the arrangements and formalities. The oldest Eppes brother had to all but drag his baby brother out of the garage so that they could all mourn as a family for the loss of their mother and wife.

Both Alan and Don believed that Charlie had never once gone to see Margaret on her deathbed. They had both always harbored resentment for that. Don especially had been angry, angry that his brother Charlie could be so childish, in his eyes, his brother had abandoned their mother when she needed him the most. Overtime, these feeling were buried away in the darkest crevices of Don's heart.

But, like a dormant volcano, it was only a matter of time before everything blew up.

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Charlie Eppes felt like someone had gone and ripped his heart out of his chest. All other sound was lost to him as his brother's words echoed through his ears.

" You abandoned her Charlie! She was our mother and she was dying, you didn't even go to see her once. You were selfish, you didn't care at all about her, all you ever cared about was your precious P vs NP! You used her up and then when she needed you the most, you weren't there for her! You weren't there for dad! You weren't there for ME! I'll never fogive you for that Charlie, NEVER! "

To add to that, Alan had notimmediately jumped to his defense, in fact, his father hadn't come to defend him at all. It wasn't that Charlie needed to be defended, it just would have been nice to have your father be the mediator and ultimate mender of the fences. He had also seen the look on his father's face, he was clearly with Don on this one.

Instead of denying all these claims because he knew they weren't true. Charlie had remained silent save forfive words.

" Get out. Both of you." For one terrifying moment, Ghost had been trying toclaw his way to the surface, trying to push Charlie Eppes aside. If Ghost taken over, Don Eppes would have probably had his throat slit open with the nearest metallic object. Thankfully, Ghost had not been successful as he was once again banished to the dark recesses of the mind he shared.

Now, a full two hour had passed since that fall out. Charlie was staring vacantly at the front door, the same door he'd practically shoved both his father and brother out of. Now he sat slumped against one of the walls. He felt nothing now, save pain, sheer agony burning through his entire being.

With a shaky gasp of air, Charlie let the floor gates open. Hot tears streamed down his face and his body shook with silent sobs. After a full hour of crying, and feeling sorry for himself, Charlie pulled himself together, a plan already forming in his head.

" I can't stay here, not after tonight. There's too great a risk that the next time I see my family, I'll kill them both. I gotta get out of here, go somewhere I can clear my head."