Love Struck Delusion
Chapter 25 – I Alone Am It's Righteous Follower.
Alicia's POV, The Next Morning.
The night had been long and thoughtful with my husband. Many things could go wrong in our future. Many could cost us dear. A lot of these fears we had to face today by making this choice. It would be hard on all of us, but in the end we both finally agreed what we were doing was right. Not just for us, but for our kids. In the end we both care dearly about them. We love them more then we love ourselves. This had to be done.
As I sat down on the living room couch, Raptor was outside on his phone contacting Mason. God knows what he will say.
Raptor's POV.
My body still covered itself with aches and pains. I felt drained even with a full belly and a night full of rest with my once good wife. God knows we'll be doing this for the right reasons, but I can't blame Ghost or Midnight for hating us afterwords. Iraq is their home. But Mason was our only chance. Or at least mine. I don't want to see another family of mine get hurt because of me.
With my butt outside my house and resting on the steps leading up to my front door, I waited as Mason's cell just kept ringing. I need him to answer. Otherwise I'll just be hoping he would let me do this to him.
As the phone kept going on, I finally heard it cut. Through came his voice.
"Commander John Mason, Pakistan rebellion. What can I do for you?"
"Mason it's me, Raptor."
Suddenly his strict tone changed to a more caring man.
"Hey Raptor. God it's been long. How are you? You still in Iraq?"
"Yeah. Alicia and I live here with the kids."
"How are they?"
"They've been better Mason. Listen, I need to ask you a huge favor."
"Shoot." Urged Mason as I took a breath.
"Well first of all, please just listen first. What I might say may make you mad. Hannon already heard this and he's no longer in contact with me."
"What's going on Raptor? Just tell me."
After looking around my general area, I replied.
"For the past week or so I've been leading attacks against G.U.N. Two nights ago we hit the fuel depots here in Iraq. So far the capital has been hit and General Monroe has been injured. I've heard nothing as to if there is going to be a war, but that doesn't mean I'm any less safe as the rebellion leader over here. And we both know what G.U.N will do if they find out I've been the one attacking them. Mason...I need to trust you with my family. Is there any way Alicia and the kids can come stay with you over at the capital in Afghanistan?"
Mason of course was just hit with a lot of information. He didn't respond for a few seconds, but when he did he replied.
"Yeah, no problem. The rebellion Raptor isn't as strong over here as you think, but I can keep your family safe for now."
I felt like a weight was lifted from my body. With the slight bit of hope hitting me, I replied.
"Thank you so much Mason. I can't...?" Cutting me off Mason said.
"On one condition."
Stopping my rant I asked.
"What?"
"When Alicia takes the kids here I want you to come with them. We need to talk, I'm sure you understand."
"No problem Mason. Again thank you. We'll probably be coming up later tonight. So I'll call you when we're at the border."
"Be careful when you do come Raptor. G.U.N is very powerful over here with Linnen in charge. Don't cause any trouble for yourself. It sounds like Iraq is bad enough."
"Don't worry about me Mason. I've got things under control. You be careful, please."
"No problem Raptor. I'll see you later tonight at the capital."
"Alright. See you then."
After hanging up the phone, I let out a long breath and rested my head down in my lap.
"Thank god." I mumbled to myself as I attempted to get up from my porch.
With some pain, I managed and went back inside to find Alicia sitting by herself. Her eyes went to me as I nodded.
"It's done. Everything is ready. Mason will watch over you and the kids until things have settled here."
Even she was relived.
"Do you wana call them down and tell them?" She asked as I looked to her in confusion.
"Make me the bad guy huh?"
"In your mind babe you're already the bad guy. Might as well live up to your reputation."
"Well back me up. The kids won't like it one bit."
"Okay." She replied as I looked up the stairs to shout.
"Ghost! Midnight! Come down here for a second! Your mother and I need to talk to you!"
As doors began to open from upstairs, I heard Midnight shout.
"I'm coming!"
As her small black body bolted down the stairs, her brother came slowly to the edge to stop.
Our eyes locked. He wasn't happy.
"Come on Ghost." I urged him as he forced himself down to me. Placing my hand on his back to guide him into the living room, I was caught off guard as he pushed me off with his shoulder to order.
"Don't touch me."
Stopping in my tracks; Alicia didn't hear it. I watched as she lined him up with Midnight on the couch. After they were seated, Alicia looked to me.
Trying my best to ignore my son, I said.
"Your mother and I were talking all last night. And things here at home have gotten...complicated. We decided it would be best to take a trip to Afghanistan for a while. You'll be staying with a good friend to the family. His name's Mason. We consider him your uncle."
"Uncle Mason?" Wondered Midnight as Ghost was clearly seeing through my bullshit.
"Yes honey. Your going to be staying with him until things here have gotten better."
"What's wrong dad?" Wondered Midnight as Ghost looked to me for my next lie.
"Your mother and I are just concerned with the future. It's possible some bad people could be around and we want you kids to be safe. Hint why your going to be staying with Uncle Mason."
Slowly looking to her mother, Midnight asked.
"When are we going mom?"
"Tonight honey. That's why your both going to pack your bags as soon as we're done here."
"This is such crap." Stated Ghost as Alicia widened her eyes and I looked to Ghost who had his eyes looking to his mother.
"Ghost!" Shouted Alicia as he then pointed to me to say.
"It's dad's fault! We wouldn't have to go anywhere if he wasn't so stupid!"
Alicia was shocked as I bit my lip.
"Why is it that every time he messes up we have to get punished for it!?"
Taking his eyes of his mother, Ghost looked to me to shout.
"Before this, I didn't think you could be any worse of a father! In fact, I was happier when you decided to leave! Why do you have to come back into our lives now?! All you do is make things worse and ruin our lives!"
"Stop it Ghost! Right now!" Ordered Alicia as he shouted at her.
"No! I won't! I'm done acting like everything is all right! He pretends like he cares about us, but look at him! Look at what he's done! My whole life you've been avoiding me! You never even cared to spend time with me! Hell you barely focus on Midnight and she's adopted!"
Alicia and I immediately grew cold as Ghost said the one thing I never thought he would say.
"What?" Midnight was lost now as Alicia and I didn't know how to react.
"Sit by your sister! Play with your sister! Watch and protect your sister! She's not even my sister! She's not even part of our family!"
Midnight began to cry as Ghost continued to go on.
"Before this, I was confused if I hated you or not dad! I planned on even apologizing to you for how I acted! But now I don't care! Your the worst father in the world and I hope when your done abandoning us again you get killed! It would make our lives easier if you would just die!"
Alicia couldn't believe what was just said to me. Her eyes were wider then ever as I felt something snap.
Approaching my son in a rage I haven't felt since the war in Pakistan, I took a strong hold of his shirt.
"RAPTOR!" Shouted Alicia as I got in his little face.
"Now you listen here you fucking asshole!"
Ghost stared directly into my eyes as Midnight began to cry louder and louder. Alicia on the other hand immediately stood up to grab my arm.
"Let him go Raptor!" Ordered Alicia as I shouted to my son.
"I'm out there protecting you! I'm risking everything I have to keep you and your SISTER safe!"
"Your out there killing people!" Stated Ghost right back into my face as I increased my choke on him.
Alicia grew even more desperate and tried her best to get between us.
"You don't get it! You're too young! You don't understand what this world is like and what I have to do!"
"You need to die." Stated Ghost as my mind was snapping in two.
I wanted to kill him. I wanted to so bad. But being the adult, I used all my strength to release him and my grip.
Ghost continued to stare at me as Alicia took her chance to push me back.
"Back up! Go over there now Raptor!"
Taking all my anger with me, I proceeded into the kitchen to hear from my wife.
"You go upstairs right now Ghost and get your bags packed! Midnight, go do the same thing honey! I'll be up there in a minute!"
With my son running up the stairs in anger and Midnight crying her way to the steps, Alicia came into the kitchen with her mouth covered in an overwhelming amount of mixed emotions.
Through my rage, I chuckled to say.
"I told you he hated me."
Giving me a glare, Alicia replied.
"He doesn't hate you. He's mad at you because...?"
Cutting her off, I asked.
"Cause I didn't spend any time with him?!"
Raising a finger to me Alicia ordered.
"Be quiet for once Raptor! We have a bigger problem now."
Letting out a long exhale I asked her.
"How did he know?" Shrugging her shoulders she replied.
"I don't know. Maybe he overheard us one night talking about it. I never told him."
"Well nether did I. I wanted to wait till Midnight was older before we told her that kind of thing. Ghost really messed her up."
"We can't fix that now Raptor. We both need to go talk to her. Forget about your son for right now and do what's right and help me."
Nodding, I replied.
"Fine. Let's go."
As I went to walk by her, Alicia took a strong hold of my arm to pull me around.
"And I don't know who you think you are, but don't you ever lay a hand on our kids again. That's not how we act as parents and you know that."
I could only stare into her eyes as she finished.
"I catch you doing that again and next time I'll knock you on your ass. Rebellion leader or not. Do you understand me Raptor?" She asked in a serious tone as I nodded.
"Good. Now come on."
Following my wife up the stairs, we made our way to Midnight's room to find her on the bed. Her head sunk into a wet pillow as I shut the door behind us.
"Midnight baby. Stop crying." Begged Alicia as she approached the small black hedgehog.
I stood my ground by the door as she sat down ever so gently next to her.
Midnight just kept crying as Alicia looked to me.
I had no idea what to say and she knew it.
"Baby please." Softly running her hand down her quills, Alicia urged.
"Honey please stop crying and look at me."
Midnight was an angel. To see her like this was horrible to me as a father. But as Alicia kept rubbing her, she slowly began to calm down and relax.
"Can you look at me baby?" Wondered Alicia as her eyes carefully moved off the inside of the pillow.
Midnight's tiny body turned to first look at her mother, then to me. Her eyes were wet and with a gentle touch, Alicia wiped them to state.
"Midnight baby, your father and I wanted to wait till you were older to tell you this."
"Tell me what? What did Ghost mean? Am I really not part of this family?" She wondered as she looked to me for the answer.
"Midnight, now that the word is out thanks to your brother I'm going to treat you like an adult about this. You can cry, but it won't make a difference. And no matter what Ghost thinks or tells you, you are a part of this family and always will be. Do you understand that?"
Giving me a small nod, I said with a low tone.
"Years ago, when you were first born, it was in the middle of war. Things were really bad back then. A lot was going on. But somehow Alicia and I found love. And so did your real parents."
"Real parents?" Questioned Midnight as I nodded and urged.
"I'll be right back. One minute honey. I got something for you."
Making my way out of the room and across the hall, I entered my bedroom to head for the nightstand next to my side of the bed. Opening it up to begin my hunt, I reached under a small book to find an old photo. As soon as I looked at it, I proceeded back to my daughter who was now gently sitting up with Alicia rubbing her back.
Handing her the photo, I pointed to a pure black hedgehog and the woman standing next to him.
"That's your father and next to him is your mother. Your dad's name was Ghost. Your mother's was Dove. They fell in love and gave birth to you during the war."
"My dad's name is Ghost?"
Nodding Alicia explained.
"He was a really good friend to us. We named your brother after him."
Midnight seemed to understand as I continued.
"During the war I mentioned, your parents were killed and you were left alone as only a small child. Do you see that other hedgehog standing next to your dad?"
"This one?" Wondered Midnight as she pointed to Shadow.
"Yeah. He asked us to adopt you. There was no one else who could. Alicia and I did what was right and we took you in as our own. We gave nothing but love to you ever since then. You've been a part of our family ever since."
"So is Ghost my real brother?" Wondered Midnight as I shook my head.
"Your brother was made by me and Alicia. Legally he's our only blood child. But that doesn't mean anything baby. He's your brother regardless. And your his sister."
With her head going down, Alicia said.
"We love you Midnight. You don't have to consider us your mother and father anymore, but that won't change the fact that your part of us and this family. We'll always love you like you are part of this family."
Gently smiling, Midnight asked.
"What were my real mom and dad like?"
Alicia looked to me as I widened my eyes.
"Ahhh that's a tough one baby. Your mom was a very strong and independent woman. She could scare even me into doing whatever she wanted. Your dad...well he was one of a kind."
"What do you mean?" She wondered in curiousness as I thought about a way to describe my best friend.
"Well...He was a man of his opinion. He never once questioned his belief in our country. Your father was a fighter. An honest to god, good man. No one could match his personality. I think that's one reason your mother fell in love with him."
"Was he like you?" Wondered Midnight as I looked down to reply.
"As I said baby. He was one of a kind."
Giving me a smile, Alicia calmly took the chance to say.
"Now we both know your a smart girl Midnight. Don't let your brother get to you if he mentions anything. He's only trying to hurt this family right now. Let him calm down. Understand?" She asked as I looked to the photo of Ghost and Dove she held. My eyes got lost in them as the conversation around me blanked out.
Flashback, 12 years ago, Mess hall, Pakistan Capital Building.
I sat here by myself. Smoke's blood still could be felt on my fur. I could see it among the men and women who vowed to follow me through hell in this war.
They were scared of me.
I couldn't blame them. I was scared of me. I overreacted. But in my mind it was to make a point. What I did to Smoke was to make it clear.
You don't cross the rebellion. Not for anything.
As I sat there in focus I was caught off guard by Ghost who came up behind me to rest his eyes on my back.
"What?" I asked refusing to look at him as he stood there behind me.
Ghost was good friends with Smoke. I knew what he wanted to say. Question is...would he say it?
"Can I sit?" He wondered as I calmly replied.
"If you wish. Not like I'll hurt you."
Slowly taking himself down to rest across from me now. I saw his eyes connecting to mine. Yet I refused to look at him as nothing more then a nuisance.
"Your scaring people Raptor." He stated as his opening act as I let out a chuckle.
"I'm not scaring anyone. They're scaring themselves to think I'm some monster."
"You shoved a loyal soldier through a plane turbine man. That's not normal." Stated Ghost as I now focused on him to reply.
"Smoke wasn't loyal. He was protecting that G.U.N bitch!"
Ghost went silent as I tried to calm down. The last thing I wanted was for this to get out of hand.
Letting out a sigh I said to my silent friend.
"I'm sorry. I know you liked him. But in the end he was putting everyone in danger Ghost. You know me. I can't watch things happen and not do anything."
Nodding Ghost replied.
"I know you can't. I just want to know why? Why did you have to kill him like that? Even Hannon couldn't believe that action. The guy had the right to at least explain himself. You didn't even give him that. Why?"
Looking into his eyes I replied.
"To prove a point."
"And what point is that?" Wondered Ghost as I explained in a few short words.
"You don't get in the way of our freedom."
Ghost fell short and could only stare at me as I asked.
"Do you want to know anything else? Cause I'm not in the mood for this right now."
It appeared like he wanted to say something else, but he was caught off guard as Dove came from the corner of his eyes to see us.
"Hey!" She shouted as she got his attention.
I remained silent as he responded to his love.
"Hey babe. What's wrong?"
Taking a seat next to him she replied.
"Nothing. I just came to see you. I didn't know you were talking. Did I interrupt something?"
Looking to me Ghost replied.
"No not really. We were just...?"
Cutting him off I said.
"You were going to say something."
"What?" Questioned Ghost as I replied.
"You were going to say something to me. I urge you to just say it now. If this is important to you in any way you shouldn't have a single issue holding it back. And don't let her keep you from saying what you feel Ghost."
Offended, Dove said.
"Excuse me?"
"Say it." I ordered Ghost as he breathed with a stutter now.
Sitting up straight Ghost replied.
"Your just not the same guy anymore. You haven't been since then."
"Since when?" I wondered in a slight bit of anger as I had an idea what he was going to say next.
Dove stayed silent as Ghost replied.
"Since Abb...!" Leaping for his vest, I yanked him over the table to order.
"Say that name! I fucking dare you Ghost!"
"Stop Raptor!" Ordered Dove as she attempted to reach for me.
"Stop!" Ordered Ghost as Dove went still.
Looking back into my eyes Ghost said.
"Someone needs to say it to you."
"Say it then." I ordered him with a viscous growl as he found the strength.
"You lost yourself ever since you killed Abbey."
Dove widened her eyes as I felt him cross the line in more then full.
Reaching for my M9, I placed it under his chin.
Immediately Ghost shut his eyes as Dove screamed.
"NO! RAPT...?!"
"Click!"
Everyone went still as I pulled the trigger and a nothing was fired. Ghost quickly fell into a feared shake as Dove began to cry.
"Look at me." I ordered him.
Opening his eyes to stare directly at me, I said.
"You ever cross that line again, my gun will be loaded next time."
Pushing him back in his seat across from me, I ordered.
"Get the fuck out of here already. Both of you."
With tears running down Dove's petrified face, she began to pull on her boyfriend who was still shaking.
Slowly getting up, they could only stare at me with everyone else who had witnessed the whole thing in full. In a few seconds they left my sight and I continued to be alone.
For anyone that has read Love Struck you should remember when Raptor killed Smoke. That was a little back story I didn't put in that part of the series. There's a lot of things that went on between the scenes. Some like that. Anyway please let me know what you think and I'll have another chapter up soon.
mT Shadow.