Note: For some reference to Sephie's past, read Tyroth Darkstorm's one-shot fic 'Memories of the Lost' a great yet rather sad fic.

Chapter Fifteen

Open Wounds

Back with Sephie, Callum had spoken more about his family, about how he had turned to drinking, smoking and even trying drugs to numb the pain, as well as the anger he felt at his father, especially after the stress of Mona's disappearance had broken them up.

He could feel some wounds opening up, since the say he found out his sister was gone, then his mother deteriorating and finally succumbing to cancer, and his father leaving and re-marrying after he and Gina divorced.

Sephie had asked many questions, trying to see if she could suck out the venom within Callum, yet Callum seemed to be feeling more and more tense the more questions she asked.

Still Sephie was determined to find out more and she wasn't going to give up until she got to the bottom of Callum's anger.

"What happened with your mother?" she asked.

Callum glared at the wall, and he swallowed a painful lump that had formed in his throat as the memories came to him.

"She gave up." he rasped "Just gave up on me, after Mona was gone, she just lost herself, she wasn't her any-more..."

Flashback

Callum stood outside the door of his sister's room, he peeked through the door and he could feel a slight chill from inside.

It had been three months since they found out Monalisa had gone missing, and since that day the police had come to their house to break the dreadful news to the family, Gina had done nothing but sit in Mona's room heartbroken.

Holding his breath, Callum gently pushed the door open and he saw Gina sitting there in a little armchair next to Mona's bed, which still bore the same sheets she had slept in before she left on her fateful trip from which she never came back, her dirty clothes were still in the little laundry basket by the door, her books were stacked on the shelves and on her desk, all covered with dust.

On the side table next to the bed there was a water glass which Mona often had at night when the nights were warm, that had never been taken out and washed, it was if the whole room had been preserved.

Stepping further into the room, Callum could see that the window was open and the cold whistling air was blowing in, along with a few autumn leaves.

But the noise of the wind wasn't the only thing that could be heard, as there was the sound of a CD player playing some songs, and not just any songs, but songs by Eva Cassidy that Gina and Mona often listened to together, especially since a couple of them were their songs and lullabies, and one song was heard, which couldn't have been more appropriate for the sad moment in the room.

The falling leaves drift by my window
The falling leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands that I used to hold

Since you went away, the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you, most of all, my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall

Callum felt tears fall from his eyes as he observed his mother still sitting in that chair, never moving, but just sitting there, as if expecting Mona to fly through the window like Peter Pan back into their lives.

He wanted to go in there and talk to her, but he knew it would be useless, since Gina had practically stopped talking to everyone and if anyone tried to speak to her, she could either snap or just ignore them.

Callum had lost count over the countless times she had shouted at him or Jake when she just wanted to be alone. It made Callum feel so sad, as if his presence alone wasn't enough to help his mother keep going.

"Cal?"

Callum almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Jake's voice behind him and he turned to see his older brother watching him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Checking on mum." Callum replied to which Jake walked up behind him and looked in before letting out a sigh.

"She's still there? In that same chair?"

"Yes!" Callum said exasperated.

Jake frowned and looked inside as well.

Gina was staring at the window, unaware of her sons watching her, she just continued to stare out at the grey skies, not caring that it was getting colder, and the autumn leaves were blowing in through the window.

Jake squinted through his glasses and he could see her lips moving.

"Mona..." Gina was mouthing "Mona...Mona..."

"She's still pining." Jake sighed then turned to Callum who just looked at the floor.

"Boys!" both of them jumped as they heard Caledon call from downstairs "Come and get your dinner!"

Jake quickly stepped back pulling Callum with him and shut the door quietly.

Callum sighed and followed Jake as his older brother lead the way down the stairs to the dining area where Caledon was placing some plates of macaroni cheese on the table along with some salad and garlic bread.

"Come and eat boys." Caledon said in a tired voice "I'll take this plate up to your mother."

Jake and Callum nodded at Caledon in thanks and sat down as Caledon took a tray of food and began to walk to the stairs.

Both brothers knew Gina wouldn't eat, or least not eat all of it, since she was so heartbroken, she had barely eaten a thing.

Callum stared at his food and looked at Jake.

"Will mum ever realise that we're still here?" he asked "That we still matter?"

Jake took off his glasses as the steam from his food made them go foggy and he shook his head.

"We do matter to her little brother." Jake said "She's just so upset, as we all are."

Callum blinked and scooped up some of his food.

"She's got to know we're still here." he said "She has to..."

End Flashback

"But she didn't!" Callum growled "Mother never seemed to notice that Jake and I were still around, she just retreated into her shell, it's like we didn't matter at all!"

Sephie just sat in silence as she listened to Callum pouring out his anger, she felt so sorry for him, and it broke her heart hearing how heartbroken Gina was.

It seemed she had suffered the most when it came to Mona's disappearance, and she couldn't help but imagine how her parents felt, especially her mother, as like Mona, she and her mum were very close.

Though Sephie did come from a big family, and she had two other sisters, one older and one younger, it still broke her family's hearts, and in Gina's case, she had lost her only daughter, and would never see her go to college, or get married or have children.

Callum was silent for a bit, then he spoke again.

"Jake and I found ourselves shifting between our grandparents, and our mum's sister and husband, Uncle Jed and Aunt Jerry, her real name was Geraldine, but we called her Aunt Jerry for short."

"Nice nickname!" Sephie smiled, but Callum kept staring at the wall with the same scowl on his face.

"I hated it," Callum said "And I didn't care that my grades were slipping, I didn't see the point in studying if mum didn't care, and dad barely noticed! And when he did, he would just shout at me!"

Sephie swallowed hard, she remembered Mona telling her everything that Jake had told her when the Freeman brother's first arrived at the lair, but hearing it from Callum's mouth, it made her heart pound harder.

"There was one moment after mum's funeral, where dad really pushed my buttons, I was furious, not only because mum had left us! But also because dad was there and parading his floozy around! The woman he decided to marry!"

"Why didn't you like her?" asked Sephie "Your dad's new wife?"

"Why?" Callum asked glaring at Sephie "She wasn't supposed to be in our family! I didn't care if she and dad were in love, she wasn't my mum! And she was never going to be!"

Flashback

Callum sat in the church staring ahead at the coffin that held his mother within it. He along with Jake, his father and uncles had placed it on the alter then taken their seats.

It was a beautiful light brown coffin and covered with white lilies, along with pink roses which were Mona's favourite flowers.

There was also a large photo of Gina, smiling at the camera, one of the photos taken before she got ill, before she got depressed, and before Mona's disappearance.

Gina had been prepared for burial by being dressed in an outfit that her children had purchased between them, an olive green summer dress that they had bought for her last birthday before she died, and Mona's dress that she had held as she took her final breath, had been placed in the coffin as well.

Callum had done barely anything to help prepare for the funeral, mainly because he couldn't face the fact that his mother had given up on life after Mona had gone, almost like she had forgotten about him and Jake.

He also didn't want to be around his father either, especially when he was around with his new wife.

Jake sat next to him as well as his father and Pamela was on the other side.

Gina's sister and her husband were next to Callum, Aunt Jerry was weeping softly as she leaned on her husbands shoulder and some soft funeral music was being played as the priest walked up to the podium.

"Good morning my dear friends," the priest said softly as he looked around "Today, we are here to remember and celebrate the life of Gina Alison Freeman, a loving mother, a beloved sister and dear friend..."

Callum looked at his hands as the tears fell, he could hear other people sniffling and sobbing as the priest spoke and the words seemed to fade as he continued to sit there in silent sorrow as well as frustration.

Time seemed to drag by, and after saying a few speeches with the rest of the family and listening to some music and watching a slide-show of Gina's life, he and Jake, along with the other close male family members carried the coffin outside so they could bury Gina.

They buried her under a tree so she would have shade from the sun as well as shelter from the rain, and Caledon knelt by the grave one more time to speak to Gina and say how sorry he was that their marriage hadn't worked and how he would always love her despite everything that happened, and also to say hello to Mona when she got to heaven.

Callum felt stared at the grave as the coffin was lowered and threw his white rose onto it, he glared at his father as he heard him say those words and he strode away.

Jake turned and tried to pull him back, but Callum walked out of his reach and stomped away in anger.

Sighing Jake turned back to the grave and wiped a tear from his eye as he threw a rose onto the coffin.

"Good bye mum." he whispered "I love you, don't worry...I'll take care of Callum, for you...and for Mona."

After Callum walked away from the grave, he came to a stop by a large tree and leaned against it, he then placed a cigarette into his mouth before lighting it up. He took a few drags of the drug and exhaled.

He tried to get his head around the fact that not only was his sister gone, but so now his mother was dead, and he felt so angry. It was just not fair, it was like a curse had fallen upon them.

Finishing his first cigarette, Callum lit another and inhaled, yet the drug barely did anything to calm his nerves.

He reached into his pocket where he had a small bottle of whisky hidden, he looked over his shoulder and wondered whether to drink it, or keep it hidden until he knew he wouldn't be seen drinking it.

Sighing, he took another drag of his cigerette, but then he felt someone touch his shoulder and he turned expecting it to be Jake, but it turned out to be his father.

"Callum!" Caledon cried in shock.

Callum choked slightly in alarm, yet he didn't try to hide the fact he had been smoking.

"Callum? What are you doing?" Caledon asked in anger "I thought you said we had stopped?"

Callum just glowered.

"What do you care dad?" he asked "I can smoke if I wish?"

"Doesn't mean you should do it!" Caledon snapped "Just look at you! Just look at yourself! Would your mother be proud of you? Seeing you like this?"

Calum glared harder.

"It's her funeral! We're supposed to be coming together to say goodbye to her and I find you here? Smoking? And I can still smell booze on you!? Why Cal? Why? I thought you were wiser than this!?"

Callum continued to glare.

"Don't you understand what you're doing to yourself?" Caledon asked "You're wasting your life! You did badly at High School! You're on borrowed time at College! Drinking, smoking? Why are you doing this?"

"Fuck you, stupid old man!"Callum snapped "You can't say anything to me! Not after you decided to run off with Pam!"

"How dare you!" Caledon glared "I was open with you and your brother about her, and she never did anything to you to make you not like her! You never gave her a chance!"

"Like you never gave the marriage with mum a chance?" asked Callum "No, you didn't! And she never gave a shit about me and Jake after Mona was gone! How can you justify anything!"

"Callum!" Caledon gasped in shock.
"Leave me alone!" Callum shouted then strode away from his father and out of the graveyard, leaving Caledon standing there in utter shock.

"My son." he whispered "What have you become?"

End Flashback

"Callum..." Sephie said sadly "I'm so sorry...it must have been so hard for you."

"You have idea." Callum said softly.

"I understand how hard it was." Sephie said "But maybe, just maybe you could have done something different back then, done what your mum and sister would have been proud of?"

"Like how?" asked Callum "I felt nothing within me after my world feel apart! Tell me you wouldn't do the same!"

Sephie bit her lip.

"I know..." she said softly "I understand."

"Do you?" Callum asked in a croaked voice "Do you really?"

"I do." Sephie said "I know such awful things happened to you, and you still feel anger, but now you should try and let it go, you have another chance in life now! Another life to do something better, I know you'll never see your family again, and it must hurt, even if you weren't on speaking terms with them, but think about what's happening now, think about how you've been given a new life, it might not be what you thought would happen, but you shouldn't let this new chance slip."

Callum stared at the wall and said nothing, and Sephie waited a little.

"Callum?" she asked trying to get the Raven's attention, yet he didn't look at her, nor say a word.

With a sigh, Sephie stood up.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts Callum." she said "But think about what I said, okay?"

Then she waited.

But again there was no response from Callum so she sighed and decided to just leave him be, so standing up and being careful not to step on the broken glass, she left the room.

After Sephie left, Callum lowered his head and cradled it in his taloned hands, fresh tears falling again.

So Callum has spoken more about his past, especially about his grief and anger at his mother's death and at his father for re-marrying.

There is so much anger within the Raven, and it seems to still be eating away at him.

Yet all behaviour is a choice, as Sephie stated, he could have done something different and now he has another chance.