Further on Down the Road

by ThumperE23

Eleven years have passed since Keith said goodbye to Izzy in Brooke's garden. What has happened in the small city between the river and the sea since then? Who has gotten older? Who has grown up? Who has reached their dreams? Who has had dreams fail? Who has moved away? Who has returned? What happened during the annus horribilis?

827. Chapter 827: Murphy House

Chapter 827: Murphy House

Tuesday, April 4th, Early Morning

The door opened with its usual creek, shaking her out of her light cat nap. The baby monitor was silent, and everything seemed good. Sitting on the sofa, she stretched out the knots in her shoulders and picked up her phone. It was very early in the morning, and the air was still cool. The dimly lit room had the soft glow of the outside lights.

Brett Pierce-Burke, a young woman in her late teens, turned to the front door and saw her Aunt Kelly coming in. It was dark and Brett couldn't make out any details. Brett stood up and stretched.

"I see you had a good night," Brett said, "Uncle Andrew isn't home yet."

Kelly paused and let out a heavy sigh. She stood in the doorway between the hallway and the living room, draped in darkness. Brett could see Kelly's shoulders slump, and she felt the air get heavier. Brett tilted her head.

Say it like you mean it

Bones become dust

Gold turns to rust

Say it like you mean it, mm

Underneath a spotlight

And all the splintered wood

Nothing here is shining

Shining like it should, mm

"Aunt Kelly?" Brett asked, and the answer was only a sob.

"Aunt Kelly, is everything alright?" Brett followed up with no verbal response from Kelly.

Brett got off the sofa and walked over to Kelly. Kelly was tall for a woman, but Brett was taller and stood a head taller than her aunt. As Brett approached her aunt, Kelly's features became more apparent in the low light.

Kelly's eyes were puffy and probably redlined. Brett noted her aunt had been crying. That struck Brett like a lightning bolt. She could never recall Aunt Kelly ever crying. Kelly was always the stoic strength that held the family and the land together. An old phrase from a movie she saw with Daddy Huck summed up what Kelly was to the family and why she always seemed stoic. "You will be the land, and the land will be you." If Kelly fails, the land fails, and the family fails. Kelly was their Arthur, even though she was the youngest of the siblings.

"Aunt Kelly, what's wrong? What happened?" Brett asked.

Kelly looked blankly at Brett. As if not in complete control of herself, Kelly stepped past Brett. Slowly, Kelly walked across the living room and went to the small bar. Brett watched as Kelly pulled out a highball glass and set it in front of her. Kelly picked up a bottle of Tullamore Dew and poured herself a glass.

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

Brett watched as Kelly drank down the whole glass in one gulp. Kelly put the glass down and poured herself more whiskey. Kelly turned around, holding the glass of amber liquid. Kelly wiggled the glass briefly, then brought it to her lip. Instead of one big gulp, it was just a little sip.

Kelly stared off with empty eyes. Brett stood dumbstruck as Kelly seemed to function on autopilot. Kelly slowly sipped at her drink. Brett watched as the level of amber liquid lowered with each sip. Once Kelly was done drinking, she put the glass on the side table.

Tell me that you mean it

Tell me that it's true

It's the last thing you do

Tell me that you mean it

After a long pause, Kelly walked towards the stairs, heading to the upper floor. Brett waited for a moment and almost followed after Kelly. Before Brett could go upstairs, Kelly returned to the living room. Her and Andrew's youngest child, their son Rian, was in Kelly's arms.

Kelly sat on the sofa. She held her confused and exhausted three-year-old. The young boy, confused, leaned his head against his mom's shoulder. Kelly seemed to not listen to her son as he started to make noise, a mixture of childish babbling and a few words.

Brett walked over to the other sofa. Sitting, she looked across the coffee table at Kelly and Rian. Kelly seemed to sit there like a live-action Madonna and child. At best, Kelly was a silent Madonna, but weren't most icons silent? Brett slowed her breathing as Kelly sat holding Rian.

The young boy stopped squirming. Kelly sighed and put her son down on the sofa. She leaned back on the couch, her head resting on the back, and stared at the ceiling. Brett noted that her eyes remained unblinking.

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

I want it all or not at all

For what seemed like hours, it was only about five minutes. Kelly picked up her head, and the light changed as the l'heure bleue started the day. A new dawn was approaching, and Brett wondered if what happened to Kelly in the dark would come forth in the light.

Kelly rested her chin on her chest. Her eyes were worn, empty, almost lifeless as she looked at the wall across from her. Kelly slowly adjusted her gaze towards Brett. The eyes seemed to come more to life as they fixed on Brett. There was a bit of light returning to her eyes.

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

Kelly sighed, opened her mouth, and closed it. Brett noticed that Kelly worked her jaw as if she was trying to relearn how to speak.

"O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis, semper crescis, aut decrescis," Kelly said in a flat even voice.

"What?" Brett asked.

"Nothing," Kelly said.

"Are you okay?" Brett asked.

"I am fine," Kelly said.

Brett nodded, "Look, Aunt Kelly, you don't seem yourself. Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Why would you think something is wrong?" Kelly asked.

"When you came home, you seemed out of it," Brett said.

"No, not at all," Kelly said.

"Aunt Kelly, what happened?" Brett asked.

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know. I had a feeling of something. I don't know what, but something happened," Brett said.

"What makes you say that?" Kelly asked.

"You're not dressed like when you left," Brett said.

"Oh, yeah, Dr. Perry brought them to me at the hospital," Kelly said.

"What?! You were at the hospital?" Brett asked.

Kelly nodded, "Yes," she said.

"Why were you in the hospital?" Brett asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine; I didn't go to the hospital for me," Kelly said.

"Then why did you go to the hospital?" Brett asked.

Kelly shrugged, "Because your Uncle Andrew died this morning," she said, her voice carrying the weight of the news.

"Oh, um, I should go," Brett said, her voice trembling as she gathered her stuff and left, needing a moment to process the news.

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall

I want it all or not at all