Chapter 8 - Truth and Lies

By the time she had arrived back to her apartment after the ceremony, Marilyn was in a particularly bad mood. Flopping back on her bed, she stared up at the metallic ceiling. A few months back, not long after her birthday, she had decided to paint clouds above the bed, though she admittedly lacked the skill to make them look like anything more than white splotches. Even so, it had always been calming, to see those painted clouds. It brought her back to that day, that terminal. But now, instead of calming her, they only frustrated her. Real clouds moved. The ceiling did not.

Giving an exasperated sigh, Marilyn arose from the bed and approached the apartment door. She felt restless and figured a change of scenery, what little change she could obtain within the Vault, could help to settle her a bit. She moved to open the door but paused near the button, instead glancing at the Pip Boy on her wrist. It was almost time for the curfew. The diner was probably already closed by this point, the library too. There weren't very many places of leisure that remained open so late into the evening.

She supposed she could go visit Quinn in the clinic, but then she wanted to feel better, not worse. Her parents had likely already gone off to bed, and Dick probably had too. Ever since he started working his job full time, he always seemed a bit tired. Given this and how strong he'd become, perhaps Marilyn underestimated just how labor intensive it was to handle the Vault's garbage. Maybe she really was lucky she only had to deal with laundry.

Ultimately, Marilyn decided to just go for a stroll. It was a bit aimless, but it was still better than standing around thinking until the curfew had already come to pass. Her suspicions about the diner were confirmed after a short walk, finding the lights off. So she continued past, further down the corridor. Soon enough, she found herself in front of the retirement center. It was an amusing coincidence that it just so happened to be the most lively place in the Vault around that time. Many of the retired elders were napping, but a couple of them were invested in a poker game.

"Marilyn, is that you?"

Marilyn startled, glancing over to see the smiling face of her grandfather approach beside her. It was so unfamiliar for her to see him smiling that it took her a moment to recognize him. And ever since he'd retired as Overseer, he'd decided to grow a mustache too, so that didn't help much either.

"Oh, good evening, sir," Marilyn responded on instinct, wincing a bit when her grandfather frowned.

"I'm not the Overseer anymore, Marilyn," He gave her an unhappy smile, "I'm just your grandpop now. You don't need to be so formal."

"I know," Marilyn sighed, "It's just hard to change the habit."

"Well, maybe it'd be a bit easier to drop the habit if you'd only visit me a bit more," Her grandpa said with a perked brow.

Marilyn glanced down uncomfortably, rubbing her arm.

"Sorry, I've just been very busy lately," She lied, "Work and everything…"

"Mmhm?" Grandpa nodded skeptically, "Yes, I'm sure the laundry is a very pressing matter."

Marilyn was unable to help the sigh that escaped her, dropping her head forward.

"...I wish I had an important job," Marilyn confessed quietly, "Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if what I did for the Vault mattered, at the very least."

Grandpa frowned, glancing aside for a moment.

"Walk with me, Marilyn," He sighed, "I have something to tell you."

Marilyn glanced up curiously, turning to hurry alongside him as he began to walk down the corridor. They walked side by side in silence for a good minute before her grandfather sighed again.

"...As Overseer, I had to do some things that I didn't care for," He began quietly, "The truth is… well, I'm sure you already know that you were destined for greater things than laundry, don't you?"

Marilyn frowned, unable to meet his gaze when he looked over towards her.

"Well, I used to," She frowned, "But then the G.O.A.T. said—"

"Nevermind that," Grandpa interrupted, "I told Tim to change the results."

Marilyn was confused for a moment what Timbo had to do with anything, before recalling that Timothy was also the given name of her teacher. And then the gravity hit her of what he'd actually said.

"Huh?" She blinked, "But he… the key…"

"No, not then," Grandpa shook his head, "Years before that. I told Tim to change the results of any of my grandchildren who would've been assigned as Scouts."

Marilyn stared wide eyed as her grandfather turned to her.

"So, you see, you never had a chance," He frowned, "And there's no other reason you would've landed as a custodian."

Marilyn furrowed her brow as she heard this, stopping in place. Her grandfather took a few more steps before realizing she no longer walked with him and turned back to face her.

"Why?" She managed to ask, her voice trembling with emotion.

"I can't tell you that," Her grandfather glanced aside, "But no descendant of James Alden may ever leave this Vault."

"Who is… you know what, nevermind!" Marilyn huffed, folding her arms, "I don't care!"

"Marilyn, please, you must believe me. I never meant to hurt you. The opposite, really," Her grandfather began, "I wanted to protect you. And not just you, but all of us."

"You… You just think I wouldn't make it out there, is that it?!" Marilyn cried, unable to stop the tears from falling, "You don't believe in me at all?!"

"There's so much more at stake than simply you or I," Her grandfather sighed, "This is how it must be. And if that makes you hate me, so be it."

Marilyn didn't know what else to say, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand before turning away. Her emotions were a rolling ball within her, crashing around wildly from one extreme to the next. She didn't know whether to start laughing, cry harder, or take a swing at the old man. Maybe all three at once. But instead, she just ran. As fast as she could, as far as she could.

Somehow, she ended up back laying on her bed. Only this time, she laid curled on her side with her face smothered into the pillow. It was all she could do to keep her sobs inaudible.