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Funkita - Oh my dear, the feels will probably get stronger and played around with for quite a few chapters lmao buckle up - safety first! I'm glad that you're excited for the next chapter, we hope to never let you down!
Up, up & away!
Deuce couldn't make eye contact with Clawd, he didn't know why Pops was having a similar panic attack like he did. But the gorgon felt like it was his fault in some way.
He shifted his gaze towards the front door, he wondered if he should've left with his mother. Maybe Barkley wouldn't be in the middle of a complete mental break down? He could grab his stuff and start walking home? He wasn't sure if that would upset Pops more though.
Deuce began to pick at the skin on his wrist, his mind was going hundred miles per-hour with questions as he watched Scarlet try her best to calm down Barkley.
Clawd was at a loss for words. He'd never seen something like this happen to his father before. It was startling. He reached for Deuce's shoulder but decided against it. He stood close to the gorgon though.
Scarlet rubbed the small of her husband's back as he let out his tears and heavy heartache. "Identify-ing his body wa-as..." His breathing was labored. "the hard-est... thing I've ev.. ver do-one."
"Shh, shh - I know honey, I know." She hated this part. Scarlet had no idea what she could possibly say to him to make it easier. The trauma was intense for him then and just as intense to him now. "I'm so sorry."
Barkley sniffled and rested his forehead on hers. "I miss him so fuckin' much."
Scarlet's eyes glistened with the threat of tears. When Barkley got emotional, she was almost guaranteed to cry with him. "I miss him too, but there's a small piece of him always with us. Right here." She gestured discreetly toward Deuce.
Barkley nodded. "You're right, you're right." He wiped his eyes with the long sleeve of his shirt. "We're blessed to have him here."
Deuce nearly jumped out of his skin when he backed right up into Clawd, he didn't even notice the other had gotten that close. He just glanced up at his wolf for a brief second until he heard something about a body.
Who died that Deuce reminded them of? The gorgon didn't know of any male gorgons in Barkley's year. If anything his family was the only one of their kind in New Salem.
Clawd gave Deuce's shoulders a light rub, physically letting Deuce know that he was there for him. Mentally… he wasn't sure where he sat. He hadn't heard anything about his father ever identifying… anyone. Who were they talking about?
Scarlet gave Barkley a squeeze and she kissed his cheek upon letting him go. "You can't keep this from Deuce any longer, Barkley. He needs to know." She shared a brief glance with the gorgon. "And you're the right person to tell him. Y'know Sawyer would rather you tell him than anyone else."
Even though 12 years had gone by the death of his best friend still haunted Barkley. He wiped his nose and Scarlet cringed, his poor nose would be feeling so raw later. He looked at Deuce meekly. "Your father, Sawyer Gorgon, was my very best friend. We'd been friends since middle school." He sniffled, leaning against the counter top. He folded his arms over his chest, staring in the direction of the whiskey. "The thing was… Sawyer, was normie. Complete normie. So obviously he didn't attend Monster High." Barkley thought for a moment. "Fuck, I can't even remember where my best friend graduated from."
Scarlet gave him a weak smile, resting her hand on his arm. "It was Oakridge High, way across town on the normie side."
"Thank you," Barkley chuckled. "Anyway, his crazy ass would be at Monster High before school started, he'd be back our lunch period and he'd hang out after school. Don't know when he slept really."
Scarlet chuckled too, Sawyer was always damn determined to be there. "He really wanted to be transferred. I mean, the students knew him, faculty adored him too. The only thing that kept him from our student body was the fact he was mortal."
Deuce looked down at his hands, he really didn't know much about his father. Heck, all he really knew was one day he never came back. Shortly after that his mom deleted him from their lives. "I'm sorry Pops, but... my father didn't want us." The young gorgon said confused as to why the elder wolf was telling him about his long lost friend. "Your friend sounds cool, though." Deuce figured Pops was mistaken, he had to be.
Barkley shook his head. "That couldn't be the farthest thing from the truth, Deuce. You have to believe me..."
Scarlet cut in. "Barkley, Dusa was livid... she was angry and hurt, he'd been gone for 48 hours with no contact as far as she was concerned... she told her son what she thought was the truth. It's not his fault that's what she drilled into his head." She looked at him. "It's hard to speak about but... bare with us okay?"
Clawd and Deuce settled in, ready to hear whatever they had to say next.
"Sawyer fit in well at Monster High. He always said he felt more comfortable around us than he did other humans." He paused, looking at Clawd. "I knew Sawyer Gorgon before I met your mother."
Wow, they really did go way back if that was the case! Clawd couldn't imagine a time where his parents weren't together. "Dad, what happened to him?"
Barkley hadn't wanted to delve into that so quickly however he knew it was coming. "I'm gonna approach it slowly, if that's cool?"
Deuce sat there, his head pounding. Barkley had to be mistaken, this Sawyer sounded amazing, there was no way that man was his father. No his father didn't die, he left them. He ripped out their hearts and stomped on them - they were trash in his eyes.
Clawd rubbed Deuce's arm tenderly, he was trying to piece everything together as well. He couldn't imagine what Deuce was thinking. Or how many thoughts were racing about.
Barkley cleared his throat. "So our sophomore year, right after the Howliday break… Scarlet was new to Monster High and-"
Scarlet sighed. "I was so fucked up… we had a car accident and I lost both my parents and my older brother, Clawnor." She emphasized, not to be confused with her youngest pup, Clawnor. "He was Clawd's age."
Clawd swallowed hard, he couldn't imagine his life ending right then. There was so much he wanted to do still…
Scarlet shifted and took the spot right next to Barkley against the counter. "I was the only survivor. I was trapped in the wreckage for 32 hours before anyone found us." She sighed. "Anyway… sorry honey."
Barkley shook his head, "No baby, you're fine." He cleared his throat. "When Sawyer saw Medusa for the first time… man, he ditched me in a fuckin' heartbeat to hit on her." He stifled a laugh at the memory. "I couldn't be mad at him, she was the hottest ghoul in school according to… everyone I guess. I don't know, I only saw Scarlet but-"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure you did. Sawyer told me the whole fearleading squad was after you. Just because you didn't want them, didn't mean they weren't looking at you, hot-shot." She nudged him playfully. "Your father was a band-kid. Alto saxophone."
He gave a curt nod. "Yes ma'am, I was. Sawyer was the hottest jock at Oakridge, blah-blah." He smiled. "The first outfit you came home from the hospital in after birth was a tiny casketball uniform of Sawyer's favorite team. Your mother would've taken his head off if she wasn't so exhausted after having you."
Deuce sat there, stunned. He remembered seeing a baby picture once, before his mother burnt them one drunken evening.
His eyes shifted to the ground, there wasn't much of anything to do with his childhood in that place. Anything from like 6 and under had been cleared out. All besides that stuffed dragon he kept very hidden.
He felt tears coming to his eyes, it was easier to hate his father for the fact he left. But if Pops was being real with him, which he always was, then his father was taken way too soon.
Deuce so badly wanted to ask Scarlet why his mother would lie to him. They were friends after all, Ma had to know something?
Scarlet rubbed Deuce's hand on the island. "I know you must have a lot of questions, we're gonna try and answer them as best we can, sweetie. Try to be patient with us."
Barkley reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, he shut it with his foot and twisted the cap off. "We were a trio of best friends. Myself, Sawyer and Elliot-"
Clawd raised an eyebrow. "Who's Elliot?"
Barkley scoffed lightly, how could he forget the boys wouldn't know him by his first name? "Where - y'know like Mr. Where? Elliot's his first name. Sawyer and I were both sophomores, at different schools sure but Scarlet and Elliot were both freshmen, or fresh-meat Sawyer used to call them."
Scarlet gave a playful roll of her eyes. "Sawyer was always the first one to laugh at his own jokes."
Barkley cleared his throat. "See, a lot of shit went down with Elliot one night. You guys are lucky," he took a sip from the water bottle before continuing. "for you to be together now is really not a big deal. Everyone's cool with the whole… same sex-relationship thing… but going back a few years… it wasn't. It was unheard of, it was unaccepted by a lot of society. His parents were huge homophobes and they kicked him out of the only home he'd ever known at 16, when they found out. They wouldn't let him get anything, he had nothing. So I guess later that night I ended up running into him and thought, 'Fuck that shit and them' and I brought Elliot to my place and Papa Pawsley and Nana Leena adopted him shortly after. He lived with us until he went on to Hellenic University. He was the kid brother I always wanted, my parents were only able to have me so they loved the extra boy in the house. Didn't care about his orientation at all."
Scarlet smiled, she adored Elliot. She had a few heart-to-heart's with that guy. Especially when he'd find her sobbing somewhere around Monster High. He gave her a make-over once or twice - boy did that invisible man have style! "Your parents have always been warm and welcoming, they could've met you a couple hours ago and they'd tell you they had a hot dinner ready and you're more than welcome to stay. That's where this one gets it from." She nudged Barkley.
"Anyway, Sawyer had it in his mind to set Elliot up. It was his personal mission I swear. The stories I could tell you." Barkley thought fondly of the shenanigans involving the 3 of them.
"My favorite is the time when Sawyer and your father got drinking one night and told Elliot that they were gonna get him laid, so they broke the rule that your father has in place right now - the 'don't leave the house after alcohol touches your lips' and the both of them decide to take Where to a 'gay nightclub'." She laughed and shook her head. "Now that was some funny shit."
The gorgon just stayed there, trying to sort through his thoughts. He was hearing what his wolf parents were saying, but it wasn't clicking in. He didn't understand - if Sawyer died, why would his mother say he left? Why would she paint him as a bad guy when Scarlet and Barkley were telling him different.
He shifted his gaze over to Clawd, who seemed to be listening to what his parents were saying. The gorgon couldn't tell if the wolf was processing the information or not.
Scarlet stole the bottle of water from her husband and drank some. "And I…" she bit down on her lip. "A few weeks before I started at Monster High I was placed in this all-ghoul's foster home kinda deal… y'know, with no parents but too young to be on my own? Anyway… it was rough, I had to get tough or die… almost. I was beaten up, my shit got stolen all the time. One day, Medusa found out where I was residing and she lost it, she was pissed that I was going through that kinda shit. She watched me get my lip busted and intervened. I really wanted fight back but she stepped in. Medusa told me that I was coming to live with her, that I had no choice in the matter. So around the same time Elliot was adopted by Barkley's parents, I moved in with Dusa and her sisters. I know her very well." She looked at Deuce. "She doesn't scare me like she thinks she does. She knows I'm above reacting to her pettiness… at one point she cared about me like I was one of her sisters."
Barkley gave his wife a soft smile. "This got quite off-track, I'm sorry. Anyway so Sawyer and Medusa were a thing for, wow, a long time. Basically from sophomore year on. They were just… Sawyer knew she was the one. The moment she rejected his first pick-up line, he said, 'You know I'm gonna marry her, right Barks?' and I said, 'Kinda hard to marry a woman who won't take a second look at you'. He said she'd fall madly in love with him by the end of the year… and boy was he was right."
Clawd was rather enjoying how this story was coming together. He had some questions but he didn't want to interrupt their train of thought. He kissed Deuce's cheek lightly, to remind him that he was still present for moral support.
Deuce again glanced at Clawd, it honestly sounded like how he felt about the wolf. The gorgon was crazy about the other. He shifted slightly so he was leaning against the other, he didn't want to be completely disrespectful to Ma and Pops and be all over their son. Just their bodies touching was good enough for him.
He was taken back when Barkley informed him that his mother fell in love with someone, personally Deuce couldn't see it. From his few years, he had learned that his mom only cared about one person. Herself. Or that's what it seemed to him.
Scarlet softly sighed. "Sawyer and Medusa were so close to us. And us to them. Medusa was the shoulder I cried on when I miscarried for the first time. She held the baby shower for Barklynn… and she was there again with open arms when we mourned the loss of our first child. She and Sawyer were there for us through a lot. They showed up with pink balloons and congratulations when Clawdia was born. She was 2 and 1/2 years old when she and Sawyer flew Barkley and my 7 and 1/2 week, pregnant ass to Greece for their wedding. Clawdia was their flower ghoul. I was her maid-of-honor… she specifically chose my dress just to flatter my enlarged tummy. She always made sure I looked and felt good."
Barkley nodded. "Sawyer was a real romantic… he wrote out his own vows when they married and… he promised that he'd always be with her. He promised that he'd never leave and their love would stay strong long after he was gone." Barkley didn't want to get choked up again, but this was getting too hard to remain stoic about. "When you came along Deuce, man… he told me he finally understood what it was like to have a chunk of your heart live outside your body, he finally got how 'becoming a father' felt. He was so close to you Deuce and you to him. You always followed him around, your first word was 'Pipper' but your second was definitely 'Dad'."
Clawd heaved a sigh, he had a feeling this was going to take a very sad turn shortly. "Holy shit…" he bit down on his lip after realizing he cursed out loud.
"I'm sorry Pops, but this sounds too fairytale-ish to me." Deuce said wrapping his head around the fact his mother, Medusa Gorgon, fell in love. Deuce wished he could remember anything about this child hood. Maybe it would make this easier? Sadly he couldn't. It was as if she deleted from his memory.
Scarlet nodded. "I know it does sweetheart, she erased anything to do with Sawyer after he 'left' - quote on quote." She wished she could give him those memories back, she was positive they had a few home video tapes around here somewhere but that would be for another time.
Barkley had bitten down on his own lip so hard that it started to bleed a little. He shook himself from those thoughts and licked the new wound discreetly. Would another shot of whiskey help with this story? Probably not. "It was early March, March 3rd… the weather was such shit… we'd had a bunch of snow fall and it started up again it's not weather we usually have during that month. Anyway Sawyer, I assume, was on his way to work and…" he swallowed hard. "Medusa was always on him, 'Sawyer, get another car', 'You gotta let that thing go'. And he always shrugged it off. 'No it's fine' and 'Don't worry baby, I will' and he never did. The car itself was fine, it wasn't anything on Sawyer's end… he was a 'generally safe' driver who liked to 'rev the engine a lot' so he said. Boy he appreciated nice cars."
Scarlet kissed Barkley's cheek as she continued to rub his shoulder. She knew this was a tough story to tell. "Take your time, honey."
He nodded. "It was snowing so bad and a trasnp-ort truck slid on ice… and lost control… the fucking transport truck slid right into his car." Barkley did his best to hold back tears.
Clawd visibly cringed. That sounded like the worst accident that could've happened - happened to him. He made mental notes to never drive around transport trucks again during any kind of weather... especially snow.
Deuce wrapped himself around the wolf's arm, he figured this might be hard on Clawd too. He was sure the wolf never really saw this side of his parents. He wanted to comfort his wolf, like Clawd had been comforting him all day.
"They tried to call Medusa, I tried to call her, Scarlet tried, Where tried - we all tried to get ahold of her… but she just wouldn't answer anyone. We've been trying to call her over the years still, she never answers or changes her number." The oldest wolf sighed in defeat. "She thought he took off and never looked back. She thought his promises were empty… she had no idea. The last thing Sawyer wanted was to leave his wife and child…"
