Chapter 24: Standing up to the abyss

Lindsey jolted brutally awake when her phone rang loudly and she looked around her, her eyes still half-closed, her lids fighting against her will to open them. The sun had fallen below the horizon since a long time, from what she could tell, but the sky still had this bluish shade indicating that some ray still managed to light the western edge of the world. Which meant that it was probably around 8 p.m., perhaps even 8.30 p.m. but certainly not latter. Lindsey brain was focusing on those details, the young girl feeling quite groggy, the skin on her face strangely dried.

“I’m a, I’m a, I’m a cool girl, I’m a…” suddenly sang her phone again, finally waking the MAJOR fully, forcing her to care about something more pressing.

“Lindsey’s here” she mumbled, answering the phone, passing an hand on her forehead, massaging it as if to push away what remained of her sleep which prevented her to use her superior abilities to their fullest, which she confusedly felt was needed.

“Hey, Little Lind” cheerfully answered Alejandro, with a tone which was so full of fake joy that his concern for her became extremely blatant.

“’Rando? What is it?” she asked him, surprised to see him calling her. “Is there… is there a problem? You can’t come and…”

The pre-teen stopped herself, her breath quickening too much for her to speak while inspiring and expiring as hard as if she had exercised for hours on end without a rest. Everything was coming back to her, how she had revealed who her brother was, even more importantly, who he was with, and thus botching is chance to have a normal High School experience for a Minor. Tears welled up in her eyes once more when she felt her disgust at herself rise again, threatening to engulf her whole and make her fall in an abyss of depression.

“What!? No!” shouted her older brother in the phone. “It’s just that I’m at the door, and I can’t open the damned thing!”

“But you have your keys and a MAJOR driver with you…” mumbled the young Latina. “Can’t he just open it and usher you inside?”

“Well, that’s the thing… I kind of forgot my keys at Shannon’s and I didn’t want to hand them to some stranger, so I have sent the driver away since I had no reason to make him wait here. I hadn’t expected you to be asleep and me needing to wait ten minutes for you to wake up.”

“Wait a minute, how did you know that I was… Ten minutes! You’ve been alone outside our house for the last ten minutes!?” she suddenly shrieked, realizing what he had just said.

“Jesus, don’t scream in the phone like that Lindsey! It hurts my ears real bad, and you have to know it, I’ve told it a thousand times if I haven’t said it once!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” she mumbled frantically, rushing to the door and fidgeting with her keys to open to her brother, mortally afraid for him.

She brutally opened the door, making the hinges scream in protest. Before her was her brother, looking up at her from his petite 1m82 (6f), his mouth agape, his phone still against his left ears for a second before his arm fell to his side, his eyes wide open. A little bit of perspiration had formed on his face, possibly because of the particularly hot weather of this January, around 23C° (73.4F°), or simply his anxiety. She knew perfectly well that distressed Minors tended to have physiological reactions which included that kind of problems, and her brother was prone to them, at the very least.

“Are you okay?” she urgently asked him, leaning forward, letting her muscles bulge for all the onlookers to see, if there were any. “As anyone bothered you while I…”

“I’m perfectly fine, Lindsey. And I should be the one asking you that. How are you feeling? And don’t tell me that you’re fine, or better. I want to know why you ended being so affected by what you apparently did, if I understood you well.”

“I… Why don’t you come inside first? I don’t feel like talking about it here in the open” she mumbled, feeling her naturally tanned skin darkening even more under her all-consuming shame.

She invited her brother inside, stepping sideways to allow him the space to enter the house without having to navigate around her legs. Not that her ‘Rando took so much place, to begin with, but it was simple courtesy, something usually fundamentally forgotten by MAJORS when they interacted with their smaller cousins. The young woman was perfectly aware that she was just as prone as others of her kind to forget it when interacting with other Minors, but with her brother, the force of habits kicked in and allowed her to be her best self. Who isn’t much…

“So, now that’I m here, care to explain when you started to, I don’t, feel unworthy or something?” abruptly asked Alejandro, just as the door closed ominously behind him.

“I… It’s not that dire, really” tried the young girl, letting her hands wade through her mass of raven hair while searching for the right words. “I swear that it’s just…”

“I… I can’t, I’ll fail, I always fail! At everything!” growled the Minor, mimicking her words from hours before, cutting her pitiful attempt at remaining silent. “You’re not well, Little Lind, and keeping it to yourself won’t do you any good, so start talking. I won’t stop pestering you until you do, get it?”

Lindsey took a deep breath, feeling her guts clutching painfully inside her belly once more. A sudden weakness came over her, and a burning shame was the icing on the cake. How to explain to her brother, who had been the sole Minor in Old Creek, that she had felt alone and almost alienated from the rest of their family because she had no memory of their life before the Incident? How to not sound like an entitled brat by saying that she felt that there was a wall between her and her brothers, that she felt that her parents were always overcautious when she wanted to interact with her ‘Rando? There was no good way, so she chose to try the truth.

“I… I’m sorry, I really am… I know it’s egotistical and, and… bad! Really, I do… but I, I feel that I’ve been left alone and behind everyone else in the family!” she finally blurted.

“Wha… what? What do you mean, alone?” asked her brother, frowning and confused.

“Mama and Papa! They’ve always, always, forced me to be so cautious around you, but they kept talking about how Mama almost tore his head off when he used to sent you flying high in the sky as a newborn before catching you, or how everyone had to watch their step around you. And I know that it’s for good reasons! I know that the Incident has done you hard, and I understand it, I really do! But I don’t know the older Alejandro, I’ve never known him!”

The young MAJOR took a quick breath, focusing her entire attention on her older brother. She expected to see anger spread on his face, his eyes narrowing, his lips revealing his teeth in a furious grin, his face turn red with rage. Instead, her ‘Rando stood there, looking at her, utterly lost. His mouth was slightly open, perspiration ran on his right temple and he looked at her as if he had never saw her before. She suddenly felt the need to stop, but managed to overcome it. Finally opening her mind felt… good. It was a cathartic event and she decided to see it through the end.

“And I feel that I’ve been treated badly, you know! Yes, it’s unfair, I know that it is, because the whole world is made to cater to my needs, not yours! And I know that Mama and Papa are so damn supportive of me, they always pushed for me to become the best I can be, while they always ever wanted to protect you, letting you seclude yourself in your room, never leaving the house and all! And I’ve accepted it, it’s ingrained in me, really. I wouldn’t ever go against your wishes, I swear! But I’ll still always feel that I’m not good enough, because I’m not Alaric, or Mama, or Papa!”

“But you don’t have to be! You’re you, and it’s more than enough Lindsey! You should know that” finally intervened Alejandro, his voice almost pleading, as the young girl felt tears rolling on her cheeks, not knowing when she had started to cry once more.

“No it’s not! I’m not good enough! Alaric has no difficulties doing it! He would die for you, he almost did it during the Incident, and I don’t know if I would! I don’t know if I would…”

A burning pain seared from inside her chest, and she let herself fall on the floor as soon as they reached the dining room, crying for a second or an hour, she simply couldn’t tell. It was only when she felt her brother’s hand on her shoulder, his frail body pushing against her larger and far more powerful frame, as if trying to comfort her. She looked at him and saw that Alejandro was also crying, even if he tried to smile at her, hushing her and caressing her face, her hairs, her nose…

“Why are you crying?” she whined. “I’m horrible! You shouldn’t… you shouldn’t care about me!” she let out in a painful howl.

“Don’t ever say that! You’re not horrible, you… you’re just a MAJOR, and a little girl, and I kept forgetting it. But I won’t from now on and I’ll help you feel better, okay sis? I won’t let you wallow in your pain alone. We’ll find a way for you to feel better, and we’ll start now, because I need you to be your best self when Izzy will be here!”

“Why? She won’t ever look at me! She… she’ll see how disgusting, and rotten, and toxic I am and she’ll hate me and…”

“Stop it” ordered her ‘Rando, his voice stern despite his evident sorrow. “You’re not a terrible person, you’re just… well you’re still just a kid, cursed to have someone like me in your family. That’s all, Little Lind. And nobody’s asking you to risk your life for me, it’s not your role, it’s nobody’s role, really! I’m the one who has to be careful, that’s all.”

“But… but if a gator or someone attack you, you won’t be able to defend yourself! You could die, or be hurt just as bad as when you lost your arm!”

“Then it’ll be my fault for being careless. It’s something Mom, Dad, even Al’, they never really got, and you, well you’re too young to remember it anyway but… It was my fault that the Incident happened. I was the one wanting to go trick or treating and who then proceeded to not care one bit about what was happening around me when Mac Ferlan had made his intentions for this night quite clear. I’m not saying that my supposed friends are blameless, or anyone, really, but I’ve a part of responsibility here and I have to own it.”

“But” interjected Lindsey, “you were eight, you couldn’t have known better! It wasn’t for you to know what to do or don’t! And you had Alaric, he should have…”

“He should haven’t been alone. My friends, including Shannon back then, fucked up big time and left me alone with another eight year old MAJOR wanting nothing more than to not chaperone is itty bitty older brother just this night, because he wanted to go with them. And I can’t fault him, it would have been funnier for him, even discounting the Incident, even if he would have had ended with less treats than by staying with me. Not that we kept much but…”

Alejandro stopped to look at her and smile. His eyes were still teary, but none were now rolling on his face. It left Lindsey utterly lost. How can he be so calm recalling the Incident? How can he be able to… to let bygones be bygones!? I wouldn’t be able to do that. I wouldn’t want to do that! Once more, she was reminded of how different Minors were compared to her kind. No MAJORS, not even one less self-respectful than herself, would be able to let things slide like that. Actions would have to be taken, strength displayed, wrongs righted, if only to keep one’s social position safe.

“You can’t think that” she finally mumbled. “It… it’s not your fault! You… you’re just a Minor, and you were a kid! It was the duty of the MAJORS around you to protect and care for you, to make sure that no one and nothing could hurt you! And they failed, and I would have failed too! And that’s why I’m so undeserving of Izzellah, I wouldn’t be able to protect her, I wouldn’t be able to care for her as much as she deserves, and…”

“And you would smother her in this patronizing idea that MAJORS know best” huffed Alejandro, shaking his head in apparent disbelief. “Seriously, Little Lind, do you hear yourself? It’s the duty of MAJORS around me to treat me like a porcelain doll or some never-aging baby?”

“That’s not what I meant! You know that I wouldn’t… I don’t see you like that ‘Rando, but you have to admit that most of the time, MAJORS do know best, at least when it comes to making you safe! Think about the plane! If we had told you that you needed to be bonded to board, you would have made a fuss or even refused to move out of the house! You wouldn’t have met so many new peoples, possibly made a friend for the first time since forever and, and… You know what I mean!”

“I’m not sure that I’m liking what I hear” he grumbled, making her cry once more. “Come on, Lindsey! Don’t cry just because I disagree with your opinion. It’s alright, it’s your right to see things differently, in fact I would hate to see you thinking just like I do. But we really need to shake off your idea that, somehow, you’re worthless because you aren’t Al’ or the typical MAJOR. Find your own way little sister!  And… well, fuck it, but you’re right, I probably wouldn’t have come here if I had learnt that a Minor needed to be bonded to fly.”

“What?” yelped a powerful voice which startled Lindsey as a powerful rumbled drew her attention to the kitchen’s counter.

“Shannon!?” shrieked the pre-teen. “Since when have you been here!?”

Lindsey was feeling herself becoming hysterical. It was bad enough to break down and call her brother when he was with her lover. Being a little wimpy bitch, in her eyes, before the titanic billionaire was worse, much, much worse. Even if the face of the older MAJOR was now turned toward her brother, clearly focused on what he had just admitted, Lindsey felt as if she could feel the disdain emanating from the colossal frame not even half hidden by the furniture. She knew it, because it would have been what she would have felt if she hadn’t been the one crying and groveling on the floor. And she was far less a typical MAJOR than Shannon was.

“Since the beginning” grumbled the billionaire, “and I heard everything. It’s… not a great display, but I guess it’s better now than when Izzellah Ivory and her friends will be here… But worst of all is what I just heard!” she bellowed, stepping out of the kitchen to walk toward the two siblings.

Lindsey felt her brother press himself, however slightly, into her, as if he tried to hide a little from Shannon, and she could understand why. The young Ferrand girl was tall for her age, but Shannon had around 2m60 (8f5) over her and several hundreds of kilograms. The pre-teen felt a sense of dread fall upon her, and she suddenly wondered if it was how Minors felt when a normal MAJOR approached them. Sitting here, on the floor, she was almost at her brother’s size, and it made the giantess walking toward them with an angry face all the more frightening.

“Just because you would have known beforehand that you’d have to bond with your sister, someone you told me you trust, you would have refused to come here!? You would have refused to give us a chance because of it!?”

The titanic MAJOR stood before the Ferrand siblings, her eyes glaring and her hands on her hips, in a pure display of displeasure. Lindsey suddenly felt a surge of will when she looked at her brother unsure and slightly afraid face. But before she could use it, Shannon’s behavior abruptly changed. She crouched, her massive frame becoming somehow even more impressive and her anger seemed to evaporate, as if she had realized that she had been reacting far too violently to what her ‘Rando had just said.

“Listen, I get it, bonding is really not something you like… but refusing to do it even if it meant not meeting me again… can you really tell me that you would have preferred to not bond with Lindsey than to come to me, sweetie?”

“You could have come to him” grumbled Lindsey, cutting off the sudden stammering of her brother. “You’ve got crazy amounts of money, don’t tell me you couldn’t buy a house of something in California. Everyone know you’re always travelling around the world to go in crazy parties!”

“Is that people really think? Then I’ll have to fire all of my PR department” growled Shannon, turning her full attention on Lindsey, who suddenly regretted her reaction. “I’m moving around to bolster my companies, and it’s good for the U.S that…”

“Oh come on, spare us that right now, sugarplum” interjected Alejandro, apparently having overcome his instinctual fear of the mighty titaness. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t afford to live on the Golden Coast. Your therapist was in New York, so flying over the country isn’t really a problem for you. And we’re here for my Little Lind anyway” he added hastily but sternly when his girlfriend opened her mouth to answer him.

“Sugarplum?” stupidly repeated Lindsey, looking at her brother, Shannon and then her brother again. “Since when do you call peoples with nicknames outside the family?”

“Who’s saying it’s outside of the family?” asked Shannon, a shrewd smile on her face.

“No way! You’re engaged!?” blurted Lindsey, taking her brother in her hands to press him against her torso. “But you can’t be married yet! Alaric isn’t even and… and… he’s your twin, you have to marry in the same time!”

“She just proposed and I just said yes! Jeez! You MAJORS and your overreactions… But don’t even think for a second that we are finished talking about you, Lindsey! If you don’t feel well here, if you think that moving back to California is the thing to do, then we’ll do it.”

“But the school year just started!” complained Shannon, who looked very unhappy with the way the pre-teen was holding her brother, if Lindsey managed to read her body language well. “And Izzellah is coming here and…”

“And you want to hook us up because you’re insecure about yourself, for Gods know whatever stupid reason because you don’t have to, I know!” screamed Alejandro, getting agitated. “But it doesn’t change the fact that if need be, we can return to California where school year hasn’t started and where you could buy a house or something! Because the most important thing for me in the world is that the people I care about are well and happy, okay?”

“Okay, fine…” mumbled Shannon, hanging her head in shame. “Can I hold you a little?” she added with an almost childish voice, for someone so massive.

“Can I keep you just a little more?” immediately asked Lindsey, defying the colossal danger who wanted to get her hands on her ‘Rando.

“Why you…” started Shannon, but the Minor cut them off before any of the two MAJORS could speak again, clearly not too happy.

“Hands off, both of you! Are you trying to make me angry or what!?” complained Alejandro, struggling to get free. “I’m not some stress reliever or something to cuddle with to calm yourself, damn it!”

“Sorry” mumbled the two MAJORS, sharing a glance to gauge the other’s shame. She seems sincere, had to admit Lindsey, even if she still eyed angrily Shannon while releasing her brother.

“Now, that’s better. And we still have to discuss what we’ll do when Izzy and all will be here. You’ve got to shape up Little Lind, if you want a chance to get Izzellah naked in your sheets, waiting for you.”

“’Rando!” screamed Lindsey, burning red once more, mortified by her older brother’s rudeness.

“Oh come on, get a grip. I’m almost twenty and you’ll be entering puberty in the next few weeks or months, probably, since your thirteenth birthday is next week! You’re old enough to know that us Minors knows what sex is and all that!”

“It’s not a reason to talk like that” mumbled Shannon, also embarrassed. “It… it’s not fitting your image, I’ve already told you so…”

“Pretty sure I told you that you had to lose that kind of image of me, actually” taunted the Minor. “Anyway, all of this is good and all, but we’ve got two days to start dealing with your insecurities” he added, pointing at Lindsey.

“But that’s… that’s impossible! I know I can’t…”

“You know nothing, Jean Neige!” affirmed Alejandro. “You’ve no idea how great you can be. You’ve absorbed knowledge which took me weeks to understand in mere hours Lindsey. That’s some serious talent here. Even Al’ isn’t has bright, no matter what he thinks. And don’t go taunting him because I said that!” he hastily added.

“I wouldn’t even think of that” brazenly lied Lindsey. The young MAJOR couldn’t wait to brag about her superior brain power to her older MAJOR brother.

“Of course… but it’s not just that. You’re really focused on your goals, once you’ve found them. And I mean, all kind of goals. Just look at the body your building. I don’t know anyone who’se been able to change that much in six month without sacrificing anything else in their life, but you just did it! I mean, look at your arms! They’re twice as large as my thighs already, and you’re far from ending your growth spurt, and you’re bound to add more muscles to your frame all the time. I mean, just look at Sam or even that damned Helena Beaulac or whatever.”

“Your brother is right, Lindsey” added Shannon. “You shouldn’t be too harsh on yourself. I mean, Auntie Ofelia, your mother, lauded you, you know? I’m pretty sure that any Minor not blinded by poor upbringing would fall for you.”

Lindsey squinted a little looking at the gigantic face of the black woman above hers. While the words were kind, she couldn’t help but feel that the other MAJOR didn’t thought them, at least not entirely. Not that she couldn’t understand why Shannon would have a poor opinion of her after what she had heard and seen coming into their house with Alejandro. A fact which finally managed to light a bulb in her head. There is no way that Shannon could come here incognito! She has to have been seen by the neighbors!

“Shannon! You have to go away, peoples will see you and…”

“It’s okay Lindsey. I somehow managed to talk her out of her stupid idea of not revealing that we are together. She’ll come to our school at some point in the next few weeks, to settle things, hopefully to fully give up on her delusions of not being loved enough.”

“It’s not delusions if I know you aren’t as all consumed by me like I’m by you! You’re still attracted by Izzellah Ivory!” huffed haughtily the giantess.

“You… you’re in love with Izzy?” mumbled Lindsey, looking at her brother while losing her colors.

“For fuck sake, Shannon!” roared Alejandro.