HER SWORD AND SHIELD

Running down the street as fast as possible, Lemy was starting to get drenched. He miscalculated the time he would be out and the quickness of the thunderstorm now hovering all over the county. Just a block away from home he quickened his pace to reach his place and shelter from the downpour. At the same time he hoped that Lyra would be more open to speak again with him. Dad would be back soon from work and Aunt Lynn was certainly already on her way over. Maybe they could convince her to at the very least say a few words. She doesn't have to right away speak about her internal troubles, he just wanted to hear her talk.

Arriving home he walked up the steps of the porch and entered the house.

Finally safe from the rain he wipes his shoes on the welcoming mat and wipes his wet hair back and forth. Stepping to the living room he finds the television on but nobody watching. In fact he actually sees Lupa crouched in the far corner of the room, hugging her knees and quiet as a mouse. Her arms covered most of her face, only her eyes visible and they were devoid of any life.

Lemy looked at her with confusion, 'What's up with her?' He wondered as he walked closer to her.

"Lupa?" Her ears perked up at his voice, she was so lost in her own little world she had not noticed Lemy enter the house.

"What's wrong?" Lemy asked.

His questions of concern only made the young goth squeeze herself tighter and hide her face from the world. This was so bizarre of her and he was stumped by it. He looked behind him, hoping to spot anyone else around and he did. Lacy merged from the dining room having been mingling in the kitchen in her own silence. The way she looked at him was not beautiful, on the contrary it was a cause for concern.

"Guys, what's going on?" He looked at them both back and forth, he needed answers.

Lacy's only response was a sudden choke from her throat as she began to sob again. Covering her face she turned away from Lemy and muffled her cries. As he took a step towards her to console her, Lupa began to cry from behind him. Both his sisters were crying down a river and he couldn't feel any more useless as he did at the moment.

"Lupa? Lacy? W-what the matter?" He began to panic, his mind racing around searching for a valid reason for their sorrowful state.

"Where's Lyra?" He immediately asked.

Both sisters broke harder at hearing their older sister's name and that was the clue he needed. Lupa uncovered her face allowing Lemy to see her ruined mascara courtesy of the many tears she had been shedding. Her face was a strange mix of tranquil sadness. Looking up at her brother with the same dejected eyes she spoke her piece of mind.

"... Don't worry about Lyra, Lem. She is safe now. Forever safe."

He did not understand. Looking over at Lacy she wiped away her tears and said nothing in return, simply looking away from him. His heart began to beat uncontrollably at the implications. Lupa had low-res one leg and rested her elbow on the other knee, holding on to her head with said hand, staring down at the floor in utter defeat.

"Where is Lyra?" He raised his voice, his worries starting to turn into fear.

"Not here." Lupa replied, her voice dead and empty.

Just as she finished her words he raced up the stairs with such quickness, almost stumbling a few times up the steps. Crashing into the walls of the second floor he violently took a sharp tune to her room and yanked the door wide open screaming her name. All he got in return was an empty room field with silence.

She was gone.

Carefully entering the empty bedroom, his fears increased as he scanned every inch and saw none of her possessions in sight. The closet was devoid of all her clothing and the suitcase which she arrived with was no longer around either. Lyra had left them and it looks like Lacy and Lupa allowed her to leave without putting up a fight. Grabbing his head and shaking about in denial or frustration, his world was crumbling down yet again. It had happened yet again.

As he was ready to run back downstairs and confront the girls a phone somewhere in the room began to loudly vibrate.

Looking around he searched the place until noticing the glow of the phone screen underneath the bed.

Reaching out he grabbed the phone and pulled his arm back. It was Lyra's phone. Had she forgotten it? The caller was his mother and he quickly swiped to answer it.

"Mom, Lyra's gone." He quickly spoke.

"What? What do you mean she's...why do you have her phone then?" She was confused by the unexpected response.

"She left it behind. She's not here!" Lemy raised his voice, every second that passed was her getting farther and farther away, "Lacy and Lupa aren't saying much, but she left the house. She's gone!"

"Son of a bitch!" He could hear her cursing away from the phone, "Alright I'm calling your father and your aunt's, she couldn't have gone too far. Stay put."

"Fuck that, I'm going out." He protested.

"She may change her mind and come back so stay in the house." Luna countered back.

"My sisters are here, they can stay behind and look out for her! I need to find her! I will find her!" Lemy proclaimed.

"...Fine. Just be careful okay. It's starting to rain hard and some dumbass may not see you crossing the road." Luna sighed in defeat.

"Got it." He hung up and raced back down the stairs.

He was halted by his sisters who stood by the doorway, blocking his path to the outside. They didn't appear confrontational, but we're desperate to halt his progress. Lacy raised a hand letting him know that they wanted to speak with him. Lemy was in no mood for this and needed to get out quickly and find Lyra instead of wasting more time inside the house.

"Move Lacy, I gotta go find her." Lemy pressed.

"Lem...you need to...let her go." She said,

"The hell?" Her response was incredulous to his ears. He could not believe what she had told him.

"Move!" He pushed past them, but they kept their ground and pushed back.

The look in their eyes was deadly serious. Lupa, whom he was accustomed to having those glares on a daily basis, was more serious than usual. She was practically begging him not to after Lyra. Lacy, who was the sunshine flower of the family, was equally opposed to his demands. She never got angry, never got sad, right now she was showcasing both emotions on full display. They meant to stop him. Sabotage his progress and allow Lyra to run away and for the life of him he couldn't understand why?

"Seriously what the fuck is wrong with an you two!" He shouted at them. His anger erupting and overcoming his initial sense of concern as his two most trusted allies had turned against him.

"It's for the best!" Lacy shouted back.

"The best?" Lemy was shocked, "The hell is wrong with you two. I fucking ask again."

"Lyra wants this. She needs this." Lupa finally spoke up, having stayed quiet for too long now. "We can tell you, but... I'm scared of how much it will hurt you."

This was new. Her words sounded so sincere it was hard to pick up any lies from her. He was hurting as it was, how much worse could it possibly get? They were offering him the answers he was seeking, but at the same time stalling his immediate search for the girl he loves. What a damn situation to be trapped in.

Fine he'll bite, at least he will finally get a bloody answer.

"Lyra had a boyfriend back in Los Angeles." Lupa told him, her voice sounded almost disgusted with those words exiting her mouth.

That revelation left him stunned, "What…?"

Lyra had a boyfriend? She was dating someone in college. Another guy had claimed her long before he ever could. All motivation to sprint out the front door evaporated as his brain and body shut down upon receiving the ill news. Such a cruel statement to learn at a time like this. Many thoughts swarmed his mind, and he tried his best to ignore them, but they persisted regardless; Did she truly love him or was he just her second choice after things fell apart back in college?

'Lyra felt distraught and ashamed about her feelings for you. She needed to get away and attempt to be normal." Lupa continued on explaining, "The shame of loving you drove her to seek comfort with another...it turned out to be a horrible, fucking mistake."

Her words had a sharp and painful impact on him. Lacy shifted back and forth uncomfortable as Lupa explained it all. The storm outside was intensifying. All three remained silent as the sound of the rain pounded itself against the rooftop of their home. After much thinking, Lemy found his voice again.

"...What happened?"

Lupa didn't respond back. Averting her eyes from him, she lacked the strength to tell him the full truth. It was horrible for her to learn it, it would be fatal for him to hear it. Frown and quivering lower lip, she closed her eyes and gave out short breaths to control herself. Her behavior brought more fear into his heart, his mind was now racing over a hundred miles by the seconds. Both siblings were on the verge of freaking out together, Lacy had to grab the reins now.

"She thought it was all fine and...she believed that it would help as some form of therapy from her feelings for you, but…" Lacy paused, breathing heavily for what was to follow, "He was a piece of shit. He...that fucking monster hurt her. He...she...Lyra was trapped in a nightmare for almost two years with that fucking scumbag. He got locked up and she escaped, fled back home to us, back home to you."

This was all extremely hard to process. To believe that she tried to completely forget about him and pursue what would rightfully be considered a normal relationship was heartbreaking enough for him, but to now finally know the mystery surrounding her absence and breakdown was even more languishing to him. Was this the reason she never called at all? Had to be, the man she was with, no, was enslaved by having her on a tight leash and controlled every aspect of her life. No way she could contact for help, she was terrified of him and he had been a witness to that fear manifesting out of her.

"She was happy. Lyra was in love with being back with us. In love with you." Lacy said.

"Nothing lasts forever." Lupa scornfully said.

"Do mom and dad know about this?" He asked, surely they had to at this point, right?

"They were the first ones to know the truth, us second, now you." Lacy replied.

Luna and Lincoln knew and that was why they were very secretive and protective around Lyra. Made sense for them to want their daughter to feel safe after such a tragic story. If only Lemy had been told right away he would have understood, or would he? He knew he wasn't the smartest person in the family and the most likely to go off and allow his emotions to get the best of him, so was he truly ready to hear this news altogether?

"Why did she run away then?" He already had the answer, but needed to hear it from someone else, needed to have it confirmed from someone who knew.

"I think we all know the answer to that one bro." Lupa spoke again.

"His name is Caleb and he was locked up for assault. The fact that he texted her means that he is most likely out on bail." Lacy hugged herself, very uncomfortable with this undesired revelation.

"Lyra is scared of him. She doesn't want to be found. She cares about us, but fears him even more." Lemy winced at the hard truth, his sisters also felt distraught, but that is what it was.

"He did...things to her. Took away her...sense of security. That bastard treated her like...a...a.." Lacy couldn't finish her sentence as her voice began to emotionally crack.

"That asshole deserves to die for everything that he did to Lyra. That's all you need to know Lem." Lupa harshly added, so much anger in her eyes and voice. Hatred for a guy she doesn't even know, but heard enough to despise for all eternity.

This was the worst case scenario. Lyra was hurt and he had failed to make her feel safe in his arms. He felt so useless right now. His emotions were all over the place; left, right, up down, hot and cold. His heart ached for Lyra, but now his mind raged with violence toward the one who hurt her. Learning all of this made him want to punch something, anything. He wanted to scream, cry and break everything within his vicinity. All of this was too much for Lemy and he had to take it and accept it.

"We let her go because we now understand her fears." Lupa reached out to her brother, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Her safety is more important than our own selfish needs and wants."

"We love Lyra, but we needed to let her go." Lacy hugged Lemy, a form of apology for stopping him and telling him the ill news.

Maybe they were right. Maybe this is the right thing to do. Perhaps it was for the best to let her go. Her safety was all that matters, it was all he cared for. Lyra suffered so much and now when she finally found actual peace, hell came back to reclaim her. Letting Lyra run and find peace somewhere else was the correct thing for him to do.

Then again. He was one stubborn bastard.

"Thank you for telling me all of this." Lemy hugged them both, "I have to go find her now."

Both sisters let go and stared at him in disbelief. Had they heard him right or had he not fully understood the ramifications? Was he not listening at all?

"Dude, please just stop. Stop chasing her!" Lupa roughly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, angry at his response.

"I understand sis, I deeply understand now. Now that I know I have to go after her. I want her to understand that this is her home, we are her family, there is nothing to fear with us by her side." Lemy grabbed Lupa's arms and removed them from him.

"Lyra is scared. She's out there alone and scared. I get it now, why you guys allowed her to leave, but running and hiding is not the answer. She needs us. Without us she's utterly lost. A life of fear is not what she needs, a life full of happiness with all of us being part of it is." Lemy refused to accept their terms and conditions and stood his ground.

"Are you sure you can accomplish this?" Lacy spoke up, interrupting Lupa from speaking any further, a glint of hope in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I have to try. I need to try. She's our sister, even if she wants to be left alone we should not be okay agreeing to such a miserable fate. She's family, we don't abandon family." The determination flaring from his very core as he stood sure of his decision to pursue her regardless of the terrible chain of events.

"You are so fucking full of yourself sometimes you know that?" Lupa scoffed at him, but looked back at him with the same hope in her eyes, "If you believe everything you just said then go. Bring her back."

With that said he walked past them and exited the house where a roaring storm met him in all its glorious power. Standing in defiance he grabbed one of the many umbrellas by the coat rack and stepped down the porch and towards the only location he was highly certain she had taken off to.

Royal Woods Bus Terminal…

Her bus would be ready to take off in thirty more minutes or less. She only had enough saved for the long trip across the eastern united states, flights were very expensive at the moment. None of that mattered to her, she was leaving and never coming back. The farther east the more safe she would and could ever feel. It was better this way.

Everyone else who had purchased their tickets had fled inside to avoid the aggression of the storm and not get their clothes wet by the chaotic rainfall. She chose to take a seat on one of the many benches outside and admire the storm in front of her. A front row seat to mother nature's erratic behavior. It was a thing of true beauty to witness.

Watching the rain brought her memories, wonderful memories that gave her a small smile. Traveling back to memory lane she recreated the time in which she and her siblings ran around in the rainfall, goofing about and laughing as their parents yelled at them to get back inside the house. Her and Lemy danced in the rain while Lacy and Lupa collected mud in their hands and tossed it at each other. Old memories that she wished to have the ability to experience again. But instead all she had left were the ones that haunted her dreams and robbed her of any semblance of purity.

She was no longer the same girl. She was a hollow shell pretending to be normal, pretending to be okay, pretending that everything that had occurred was just a terrible dream from which she finally awoke from.

"It's better this way." Lyra mournfully whispered.

She loved him. By God did she deeply love him, the burning passion for her brother was undeniable, but her demons were a beast of their own. It could never work. She was far too broken to ever feel happiness again. He was out and she needed to get as far away as possible. Protect herself and protect the others. A caring person even at her lowest point in existence.

A bus began to pull up around the entrance, but it wasn't hers, her bus was currently parked; the driver taking a quick break before the long journey to Manhattan.

In the end she had decided aunt Lori to be the best option. To be quite frank, Lisa was too socially uncaring to be around. Her mind worked differently and she had always viewed the rest of the family more like unwilling test subjects. Lyra would probably feel so out of place living with an MIT professor who lacked basic human emotions and was more invested in her studies than to acknowledge her mere presence.

"Ten more minutes." She checked her wristwatch, her phone had been left behind. Dropped during the struggle with her younger sisters she chose to not retrieve it. They could never find her now, Caleb could never taunt her now.

"I'm going to miss you Lemy." She frowned, heartbroken at the core.

"Lyra?" She could hear his voice invading her ears.

"Lyra!" This time it was much louder and clear. Confused, she turned her head around and saw him on the other side of the terminal.

Drenched in water from head to toe, Lemy was gasping and shivering as the cold rain penetrated his skin and activated an icy response from his nervous system. The umbrella he had carried with him had been useless as he chose to run straight against the wind and rain. Standing about twenty feet away from each other, he locked eyes with her, glad to have caught her in time. Lyra stood up from her bench and faced him with concern. Neither moved, each other waiting for the other to respond first.

"Please come back home." Lemy pleaded.

Lyra couldn't look away, her eyes too focused on the boy she loved. Here he was begging to her. He had run through this rainstorm to find her. She felt moved by his actions, her heart beat louder at his dedication for her.

"I know everything Lyra." Those words sent a massive shock of energy across her body, her heart stopped for a second before accelerating dramatically.

"I know and I am here for you. I will always be here for you. I don't care about the past because I have you now. You shouldn't care about it either because you have me now. I don't ever want to see you in pain ever again. Please let me heal you, let me love you." Lemy was determined to win her over as he spoke from the heart.

"You...forgive me?" Lyra remained stunned, surely he should be hating her for trying to move on from him. For allowing herself to be tainted by him.

"We're family, I can never hate you. All I have is love in my heart for you. I will never abandon you, not when you need me the most. You are my one true love." Lemy smiled at her.

He extended his arm towards her, offering his open hand to her. Lyra was in an internal struggle; flee or stand? Her bus was right there all she had to do was climb that vehicle and be gone. But as much as she tried to move her feet remained frozen on the ground. She did not want to leave. Even if her brain was telling Lyra to turn her back on him, she could not do it.

Something inside her broke. Her intentions had been switched off and her body began to move on its own. She began to walk towards him, slow at first, but once he walked towards her did her pace increase. Both collided in a massive embrace fueled by unstable emotions from both sides.

"I promise to always protect you." Lemy held her tight as did Lyra who did not care that her clothes were getting wet by hugging him back.

"I love you. I'm sorry." Lyra now remembered just how in love she truly was with him and now wanted to be with him forever.

Looking at each other they smiled happily at each other. Despite all the trials and tribulations they both faced off against, in the end all they needed was each other. Not wasting anymore time, both leaned in and shared a kiss. As the storm continued to blow from all directions they defied it by demonstrating their passion. A love many would consider impure, but to them it was heaven on earth.