Chili spluttered at the screen for a minute, too angry to find the words he wanted. What the hell?! How could Coriander just leave them with that?! He scowled, and if Cilan hadn't put a hand on his shoulder, Chili was sure he would have thrown the Xtransceiver across the room.
"Chili, please…" Cilan shook his head. "I, ah… I'm sure it'll be fine. Come on, let's go check on them, I'm sure they're upset about all this, too."
Chili huffed and grumbled something as he followed his brothers back to the dining area. He wasn't really in the mood for talking to them, he didn't really trust himself to not blow up, but Cilan did have a point.
The girls were still sitting at the table they'd been left at. Clove and Carolina were talking quietly among themselves while Cinna watched everything with that weird expression. She turned to face the older three, gray eyes seeming to look directly past their faces and right into their souls. It was creepy as shit, if Chili was being honest, but it was nothing he hadn't seen before. He didn't think anything would ever compare to being fifteen and seeing those creepy-ass eyes staring at him from down the hallway, silently asking for a glass of water while he went for a midnight snack.
"What happened?" Clove asked as soon as she noticed the others. Her expression radiated concern, and Chili's blood boiled. As if that old prick deserved any worry from anyone.
"Well, uh…" Cilan seemed to have appointed himself the spokesperson, and Chili was momentarily grateful. "It looks like you three are staying with us for a while. So let's just, ah, have some dinner or something and we'll figure things out from there. Okay?"
"M'kay." Clove smiled, though the expression seemed strained. Cinna made no outward reaction, but Chili thought he saw a gleam of interest in her eyes at the mention of food. Carolina seemed to perk up instantly, though that was the extent of her outward interest. Still, it was better than her earlier scowl. Chili glanced around at the three of them, assessing how they were, before something occurred to him.
Shit.
"We're gonna have to leave," he muttered, and Cress turned to look at him. "We don't have enough room for all of us here," Chili repeated, a bit louder, and the other four all went quiet.
"And where do you suggest we go?" Cress asked in a clipped tone.
"I dunno, but I'm not squeezing into that little apartment with six of us." Chili nodded up at the apartment above the restaurant the three brothers had shared for six years. "I wonder if he did anything with the house, actually."
Cress' expression hardened, and the color drained from Cilan's face. "Chili, you can't be serious," Cress muttered in a dangerously low tone.
"Do you have any better ideas?" Cress was quiet for a minute, and Chili took his chance to keep going. "C'mon, it's the one place we know that'll fit all of us and then some, and I'm sure the girls would feel better in a place they know."
Carolina crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "We can hear—"
"Quiet for a minute." Chili waved a hand in her direction, looking back at the other two brothers. "Look, I know it sucks, but it's the only option we have. It's better than the apartment."
Cilan and Cress were both quiet for a few seconds, thinking it over. Finally, Cress huffed and looked at his brother in thinly veiled annoyance. "Fine."
Cilan nodded in agreement, and Chili braced himself. They hadn't been back to that house in six years, not after they'd moved out and into the Gym. It would be… well, it would be interesting to go back, if not scary as shit. Chili wondered briefly if Coriander had even bothered to do anything with the place.
Wait.
"Hey, did you three hear him say anything about selling the place?" he asked, looking at his sisters. Carolina and Clove both seemed confused, but Cinna just shook her head. It looked like that was all Chili was going to get, so he decided to just take it. "Okay. Then let's just go back over there until we figure something out."
"I suppose we ought to pack the essentials for the next few days." Cress muttered something else under his breath before heading off, Cilan following after.
"We'll be back." Chili tried for a reassuring smile, looking at his sisters before going off upstairs to get his stuff.
The trip to the house was long and uneventful. The place was on the outskirts of town, a fair distance from the Gym. Striaton City was not a small place by any means, and so the six siblings were left to take the bus, backpacks in tow. The six of them all filed on without issue, Clove immediately resting her head on Cilan's shoulder. Cilan put an arm around her as the bus started off down the line of stops.
It was a while before they finally reached theirs, the last one the bus was supposed to make. With some mumbled thanks to the driver—all of them were too caught up in their own problems to care much for manners—Chili, Cilan, Cress, Carolina, Clove, and Cinna all filed out of the bus and under the covering of the bus stop. Chili collapsed onto the bench and let out a heavy sigh. Yes, it had been his idea to go to the house, but he wasn't particularly happy about it. Still, it wasn't like they had many other options. So, with all the energy Chili could muster, he got up and started walking. He could feel Cilan's concerned eyes on him.
It didn't take the six of them long to reach the door. Chili wondered briefly if the door was unlocked, and he reached out to test the knob. Did Coriander even bother to lock it?
Apparently not, considering the door opened with a creak. The living room stood before them, uncannily empty yet so familiar. Everything was still in its place. It made sense—the place had probably only been completely vacant for a few hours, if the girls had been there since the morning. Even so, it felt like Coriander was still there, as if he could walk around the corner at any minute.
That was not a good thought to have.
Chili walked in first, and Cilan and Cress followed after. The girls trailed in behind them, all six siblings quiet as Whismur.
This certainly felt like the kind of place where one shouldn't talk. The living room was so perfectly Coriander: the dark colors, red and green and brown, combined with the opulence of the decor. Chili was half surprised there wasn't plastic over the couch and the two chairs on either side of it. Damn, it had been so long since he had been here…
Cilan's face was pale, and his shaky voice was the one to break the silence. "Well, uh… it's certainly familiar."
"Right about that," Chili muttered, sending out his Pansear from its Poké Ball. Pansear jumped onto his shoulder, and Chili went over to light the fireplace attached to one of the walls. One very light Flamethrower from Pansear and the room was light enough to see the place in more detail. A few pictures sat on the mantle, just as Chili remembered, and he could almost hear the rain pounding on the windows and—
Nope. Not right now.
Cress was the first to compose himself, and he looked down at the girls. "Well, I imagine it's been a long day for everyone. Why don't you three go upstairs and rest?"
Clove seemed happy with the idea. Cinna and Carolina were much harder to read, but all three went upstairs without a word. The brothers were left alone.
Chili collapsed onto the couch and let out a heavy sigh. Now that they didn't have to put on a good face for their sisters, they could finally be honest with themselves and each other.
"This place creeps me out," he muttered. It was the understatement of the year; the place set him on edge in a way Chili couldn't quite name. It was like Coriander could walk around the corner at any minute, yelling at them for something or other. For a minute Chili was seven again, soaking wet and begging to be let back inside while rain pounded down around him, all because he'd lost track of time playing outside.
"Yeah…" Cilan looked around, sitting next to his brother on the couch. The word snapped Chili out of his thoughts, and he sat up. "But I'm sure we can make it better… make newer, happier memories on top of the old ones, I guess."
Chili resisted the urge to shoot that down the second he heard it. The day this place had any positive memories would be the day Patrat flew. One of the pictures on the mantle caught his attention, and he got up and walked over. Cilan joined him, his only words a quiet "Oh yeah… I forgot about that picture."
The picture in question was nothing special to an outside viewer. It was a standard family photo, Coriander standing in the back with his children in front of him. Chili remembered it had been only a few years after the girls were born. They couldn't have been any older than two or three, which would have made him, Cress, and Cilan somewhere around thirteen or fourteen.
Cinna was sitting on a chair, an open book neatly in her lap. Her expression suggested she wanted to keep reading it (had she been able to read back then? She'd always been smart for her age, Chili guessed), but had been pulled away for the great inconvenience of a photo. Carolina's eyes were red and puffy. Chili had never heard Coriander yell as much as he did at her that day, and he could still hear her crying as he looked at that picture. Cress was holding Clove in the photo; she was facing away from it like it scared her. Chili was uncharacteristically sober, and Cilan just looked exhausted.
That had not been a happy day, and the picture reflected it. Coriander had scolded and yelled at and threatened all of them, and it was the first time Clara had not been there to help. The space where she usually stood remained empty, a hole in their family no one could fill again.
"She'd know what to do," Chili muttered after a second. Clara was much more fit to deal with the girls than her sons ever were. She would know what to do, if she were here. If things were different, maybe she would have been.
But they weren't. He and Cress and Cilan were the adults here. And they would just have to figure it out.
Even if none of them had a damn clue what they were doing.
"I, uh… I'm going upstairs." Cilan yawned. "I'll see you guys in the morning…"
"See you then." Chili nodded at his brother, who headed in the direction of the stairs that led to the second floor.
Chili could feel Cress' eyes on him. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" the third brother asked after a second or two of silence.
"I'll be fine." Chili put the picture back on the mantle and adjusted it until it was straight again. As Cress went upstairs, Chili fell back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Part of him dreaded going upstairs, back to that room where he'd slept most of his childhood, but he knew he would have to eventually. He'd rather deal with that than his neck hurting in the morning, and he sure as hell wasn't about to risk it on the couch.
Chili eventually found the energy to drag himself upstairs and find his room down the hall. It was just as he'd left it six years ago; not a single thing was out of place. For a minute Chili was surprised Coriander hadn't made it another office or something. He was certainly attached enough to his work to want something like that, Chili thought bitterly. It was the last thing he thought before he collapsed onto the bed, his head hit the pillow, and he fell into a restless sleep.
The next day was nothing particularly special. Cress, Cilan, and Chili had agreed not to open the Gym or restaurant for the day. Their sisters would probably need them, and besides, they all could use the time to settle in. Cilan was still insisting that they could make things better. Cress wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it. He wanted to believe his brother, he truly did, but how were any of them supposed to ignore the pain that had happened in this place?
Cress shook his head and tried to focus on his book again. He had to pass the time somehow, after all, and the house's library was thankfully well stocked. It wasn't until a few minutes later that the front door opened, and the girls came trailing in. Cress looked up, mentally checking them over for anything wrong, until—
"Where's Carolina?" he asked, looking at the other two. Cinna had the same neutral expression on that she'd had the night before, and Clove shrank back the way she had that morning when Cilan had sent them off. Strange. They weren't doing anything to scare their sisters, were they?
"Carolina had detention…" Clove finally mumbled, looking down at the ground as if it were her fault. "She'll be back later."
"Ah. Alright, then. I'll stay here to wait for her." Cress mentally braced himself. "What did she get detention for?"
Clove's expression was reminiscent of a Deerling in headlights. Cinna seemed entirely unfazed, as usual. Cress just sighed. "I'll ask her myself when she returns. I'm sure you two have homework to do."
"Mhm…" Clove smiled, though the expression was somewhat strained. She always seemed afraid of Cress and the others, and Cress could never put his finger on why. Cilan couldn't scare a Togepi if he tried, and Cress certainly wasn't doing anything to contribute to it. Chili wasn't either, to Cress' knowledge. Before Cress could think on it further, Clove and Cinna had disappeared upstairs, leaving Cress to himself once more.
It was another hour before Carolina finally returned, a scowl on her face as always. Cress looked up at the sound of the door opening, noting his sister's foul mood. "You're back late. What happened?"
"Shut up." Carolina stormed off. "None of your business, so stop asking." She headed off for the staircase, and Cress returned his attention to his book. He'd expected that reaction. It seemed Carolina was physically incapable of doing anything but scowling and snapping at the three of them whenever they tried to talk to her. Cilan already refused to be alone with her, and Cress could tell Chili wanted to snap back every time Carolina opened her mouth. Frankly, Cress admired his brother's self-control.
It was some time before dinner, five of the six siblings eventually gathering around the table. Noticing a conspicuous absence, Cress huffed and stood up. He wanted to say he was surprised, but he wouldn't have put it past her anyway.
"Carolina." Cress opened the back door, walking out into the garden and immediately noticing Carolina and Scraggy wrestling in the dirt. "You're sure you don't want to come in for dinner?"
Carolina scowled, and Cress was sure if she could she would have burned holes into him with that glare. "No. Go away."
"I'm afraid that's not an option." Cress crossed his arms. "You need to eat sometime, Carolina."
"I'll eat later. Go away," she repeated, the scowl deepening.
"No." Cress planted his feet into the ground. "You're coming inside, or I'm getting Drednaw to drag you there."
Carolina seemed briefly torn between lunging at him or yelling every swear word she knew. Eventually she made her decision, getting to her feet with a huff and storming back inside with Scraggy at her heels.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Though Cilan and Clove did their best to infuse something other than tension into the sparse conversation, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Everyone seemed to feel the tension in the air, and it seemed no one was in a talking mood.
Something caught Cress' attention, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Carolina, you are aware there are utensils you can use."
Carolina looked up, both hands full of cooked Iapapa Berry, the soft slices almost mushy in her hands. She scowled again, stubbornly shoving more into her mouth, and Cress huffed. Fine. As much as he wanted to avoid making this dinner any worse, something had to be done.
"Carolina, I mean it." He gave his sister a warning look, while Clove seemed to be pleading with her eyes for Carolina to drop it. Carolina seemed to notice her sister's expression at the same time she did, because she finally dropped the issue and picked up the fork next to her plate. Cress thought he could hear Cilan sighing in relief.
The rest of dinner went by much too slowly for Cress' taste, but eventually everyone was finished and going off to their own activities until it was time for bed. Cress figured he might as well go to sleep early. It would be a long day tomorrow if today was any indication, and he would certainly need rest if he had to deal with Carolina any more.
Cress went to his room upstairs and closed the door, blocking out the sounds of his siblings in the house around him. As he prepared for bed and tried to relax, Cress could feel his tentative optimism waning.
If today had been that bad… how on Earth were they going to handle any more?