"You… you what?"
Michaela's voice broke as she began to digest the horror of what her nephew had just confessed to. He traded her best friend's soul for her sister-in-laws. She didn't know what to say, let alone what to think of the situation... And what to think of Cal.
Cal.
Sweet, innocent, young Cal. How could he do something like this? She felt like she was gonna throw up.
"I'm sorry aunt Mick I really am." Her nephew desperately pleaded. "You have to know I had no choice, please."
Mchaela lifted up her hand to signal him to stop talking. She shook her head at him, not able to look into his eyes as she let the tears run down her face. "No." She spoke. "I can't…." Zeke put his hand on her back, his gaze staying at her side as he felt her body weaken. "I can't do this right now."
Cal sighed. His eyes fell as he looked at the ground, examining every imperfection in the wood floor as if it would magically clear his mind of this. But the tears made it hard for him to see. His head felt like it was weighted by bricks.
The weight of his actions caused him to collapse inwards. He hated when people expressed disappointment in him… especially his aunt and uncle.
Zeke was just as appalled as Michaela was, feeling the crushing pain of his wife's heart in his chest. Sometimes he wished he didn't have this ability. That he could just be a normal, supportive husband. He wished that he could take her pain and make it his own. Instead they both had to feel this pain... and it hurt like hell.
"I need to go lay down."
Olive turned her gaze to her aunt, sighing deeply. "You can go in my room." She wished she knew how to help more than just offering her a place to rest, but she knew Michaela was grateful. Her aunt nodded in response, kissing Zeke and going downstairs. She said nothing as she walked down the stairs, the only sound was of her sniffling dripping snot caused by her crying.
The room felt empty without her.
Silence was crushing them like bugs, and making them wiggle with awkwardness.
"Cal." Grace prodded, finally breaking the deafening silence. "That was her best friend."
He looked up at his mom, his eyes bloodshot and irritated as if he hadn't slept in days… weeks even. The guilt was eating him alive, and Grace blamed herself for not noticing sooner.
"I know." He spoke in a jaded tone, letting the disappointment he felt at himself emerge into the air.
Ben turned to his son, rubbing his hand down his face. "You were faced with an impossible decision. I understand the choice you made."
Ben hadn't moved from where he was standing in a while.
Trading his normal pacing for stillness and bewilderment. He felt his hands grip the dining room chair in front of him. Looking down he released them, squeezing his hands into a fist. He wondered how long he had been clenching them like that.
"We're gonna figure this out." Spoke Olive.
Cal locked eyes with his sister. His sad eyes made her quiver her brow. She hated seeing him like this. Memories came back to her in a rush. She remembered a time when Cal was half alive, clinging onto life with every breath. Where he kept a brave face for their parents but was crying himself to sleep every night. Being undone over the fear of dying. She still heard his wails when she closed her eyes. The flashbacks were too much.
"Hopefully." Said Cal.
Suddenly there was a knock at the front door.
"I'll go get it." Quickly moving from his position, Ben made his way to the door. This was the worst possible time, he thought.
When the door opened, he stared at the person in front of him. No way in hell did he expect to see his face. He had conjured something different in his mind on his way to the door, thinking it would be his dad, or someone selling something. And when he didn't see those two possibilities, he exhaled. Memories flooded his mind of the last time they had met like this. Both of them soaked in rain water that wasn't even there.
Was it a friendly face? He couldn't say that. But at least he knew him.
"Eagan, this is a bad ti-"
Eagan didn't hesitate, cutting Ben off without a second's notice. "Turn on the TV."
Eagan was relentless, Ben knew that. But despite his stubbornness and rigidity, he knew wasn't the worst human.
"Eagan I told you, this is a bad time." Ben insisted. Eagan rolled his eyes in response, not letting up. Ben never listened to him, and he wondered why he had even come. But even though he had his reservations about him, he had to know what was happening. "Stone. I'm telling you, turn on the TV."
Ben shrugged, moving aside and showing Eagan in. He stared at everyone around the dining room table, raising his brow at the scene. He wondered why they all looked so mopey. Did they already know?
"Geez." He exclaimed. "Who died?"
Grace's jaw dropped as she let out an exhale, and Olive pushed her brown down in anger. "What a douche." She whispered under her breath. Zeke shot him a look, but Ben grabbed him by the arm. Knowing full well if he didn't pull him away, Zeke would've most likely lunged at him. "Okay, Eagan. Come on. What do you have to show me?"
"Turn on channel 30." Eagan sighed as he let himself plop into the couch behind him.
Suddenly everyone was in the living room, their voices silent, and their bodies stoic.
They heard the words coming out of the news reporter's mouth, but they didn't believe it was real.
"828 passenger Angelina Meyers was found dead outside of a park in Queens this morning."
Olive's hand went to her mouth. Grace grabbed onto her, shock riddling her face. "What?" Olive asked. "How?"
Angelina was dead.
How was this possible?
Eagan glanced at Ben, a sly, somewhat menacing smile appearing on his face. "Told you." Ben shushed him in response, wanting to hear what the reporters had to say next.
"Detectives at the scene discovered a note left beside her body, stating that she was 'sorry but she had to do this to be washed clean of her sins'. Detectives aren't sure exactly why Meyers took her own life, but they have expressed that they can only imagine how it feels to be a passenger."
The lot of them became furious. A girl was dead, and all they cared about was the fact that she was a passenger? Not the fact that she was a girl who had gone off the deep end. A girl who was neglected by her parents as soon as she returned.
They only cared about what would make a good story, not the real truth.
The reporters words rung in Ben's mind. "What's that supposed to mean?" He finally asked as he could no longer argue with himself internally.
"Shhh." Said Eagan. "It gets better."
The camera on the TV panned past the reporter, and to someone else. As it got closer, the figure looked more and more familiar. His eyes were glossy, yet there was no conviction.. or even feeling on his face.
"I'm here with Detective Vasquez who discovered the body on his morning jog. Detective Vasquez-"
Then, the TV went black. Zeke tightly held onto the remote as he took it from Ben's hands. "I can't watch any more of this." He spoke, his stomach turning.
"Whoa. Landon, you look green." Eagan said in a condescending tone. Ben gave Eagan a look before turning over to his brother-in-law. He tilted his head to the side, examining his flushed face. "He's right. You ok?"
Zeke shrugged, lifting up in his hand and shaking it. "Michaela must be getting sick."
They all seemed to understand what was happening without further explanation… except for Eagan. He stood up, his mouth ready to spew questions before it hit him.
"Ohhh. The famous empathic abilities." He spoke as if a light bulb had shown up right above his head. Everyone else rolled their eyes at him, paying no attention as he stated the obvious. "Must suck having your wife's morning sickness."
Zeke wanted to grab him by the throat and choke him. But instead, he restrained himself.
"Where is Sister Stone anyway? She's missing all the fun."
Ben pushed himself in front of Zeke, in protection of Eagan… well, in protection of the both of them. "She's resting."
"Hmm. what a shame she's missing this dazzling family reunion."
Suddenly, there was another knock at the door. The group looked at each other, then back to the front door. They all stayed put, until another knock emerged from the dark. "Wow! More family? The power of your words." Ben turned to Eagan, squeezing his fist and letting it drop as he walked backwards. "I'll be right back."
He opened the front door, his tone rigid and his words unforgiving. "What do you want?" He asked as the door fully opened. He changed his body language when he saw who was waiting there before him. His jaw dropped as he made out the man's features. He embraced him with all his might, practically taking all the breath from his lungs.
He patted his back, smiling so hard his face felt like it was gonna fall off.
"Tj!"
yayyyy! Tj is back along with Mr. Eagan. Do you think Angelina really is dead? And if so, was it really suicide? Stay tuned to find out!
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This month has been really busy, and I'm lucky I was able to get this up on time. I hate being late so i crammed until this thing was done. Despite the chaos, I'm waiting for it to finally be spring here. The winter wasn't really that cold, and we've had weather consistently in the 50's-70's since March. We have also had 70-80 degree days on and off, so maybe we're skipping spring and going straight to summer? LOL.
Anyway, If you haven't already I hope you guys check out my new OUAT fic "Angel with a Shotgun" on Archive! I'm in love with how it's going right now, and I can't wait to continue.
As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter here or via my twitter!
Love you all!
-The Color Gray
