With a patience usually reserved for statues, Claire Lindon silently observed the poor girl currently standing motionless before her. Stephanie’s raw eyes stared blankly forward, her mouth hanging open just a bit. It was clearly a struggle for her, actually looking upon the results of the request she had made to Claire the day before, and it evoked a sympathy that only served to reinforce the Omega’s diligence. They had been like this for at least five minutes now, by Claire’s counting. Her, knees resting on her bedroom floor, hand dipping into Stephanie’s enclosure with the upturned tip of her pointer finger offered politely forward. Stephanie, just standing there. Staring. Struggling.
And that was fine. Claire would give her all the time she needed, there was no immediate rush. She wasn’t due to leave for hours, after all, and her travel bag was already prepared. Had been since early morning. And she could frankly hold this position steady all day if she were so inclined. If she needed to. Looking at Stephanie’s eyes as they worked to dredge up more moisture to send rolling down the girl’s cheeks, she doubted such a need would arise.
Her doubts were reaffirmed as the fingers of Stephanie’s right hand, resting limply at her side, began to wiggle to life. And within another minute, Claire was watching with baited breath as that hand slowly rose, trembling from the maelstrom of emotions undoubtedly raging within its owner. As it eventually hung in the air, mere inches from her fingertip, grasping furtively at empty air. It was a struggle that almost broke her to witness, in more ways than one.
You can do it, Stephanie, Claire mentally coached, doing her best to maintain her unassuming composure. The last thing she wanted was for Stephanie’s eyes to momentarily dart upward just to feel as if she were suddenly under pressure – or worse – by whatever emotion had overtaken her. So she simply looked on, impartial, while inwardly anything but. Hoping to be relieved of this small item that carried so much weight.
And when it finally arrived, the moment where Stephanie’s fingertips glided along the glass that covered the object that inspired such trepidation, Claire almost wanted to squeal. When after a few probing, gentle strokes, that hand softly grasped the metal frame that marked the item’s edges, she wanted to smile. When those raw eyes finally managed to produce fresh tears as Stephanie herself lifted the little portrait from its ridged resting place, pulling it into a tight hug against her chest…well, she could only hold back a smile for so long, really.
So she smiled and said nothing, not at all eager to intrude on Stephanie’s moment. In silence, she welled with an almost unmatched pride in her smaller charge. She had hoped so much that there would be more forward steps to come after yesterday’s first, but this second one had come far sooner than she ever could have imagined for a person that had been so…corrupted by the little beast that sat an enclosure away. Claire found herself fighting once more, this time to push any thoughts of her third charge far to the wayside. Thoughts of her vile worldview and poisonous tongue that even now refused to utter a single word that didn’t drip with filth. Of how utterly unapologetic she remained. Thoughts of the first practice doll she had been given, being swallowed into the porcelain mouth of the enclosure’s toilet, soaked in excrement as its recipient had looked defiantly upwards, a sneer on her face.
No, she wasn’t worth thinking about right now, Claire decided. Not today, when there was so much to be happy about, and she merrily pushed those heated memories aside. Naomi was starting her volunteer work, the largest step she had made so far toward giving back in the wake of what she had done. Claire had seen who Jenna had picked to be the girl’s partner, and couldn’t have been happier at seeing that particular name. And now Stephanie was embracing a delightful family photo, fetched at her own request. The look on Janet Bowman’s face when Claire had gone to collect it…God, it had been something else.
She was proud of these two girls. Immensely. Proud, and thankful for their forward motion. So much was attached to it, for the both of them, not the least of which was that as long as it continued, they could be spared some of what their actions had bought. Not all of it, but…some, eventually coming out the better for it. And that was good, she decided, as Stephanie marched listlessly back to her bed, picture still in a firm embrace.
The less necessary they made the sessions, the better.
***
“…I just want to make sure no one’s forgetting anything.”
From his current position nestled in the fields of Melody’s upturned palm, Corey could practically feel the wince caused by the honey-coated barb his mother had launched her way. And while he couldn’t quite see it due to his current facing, he was sure an ashamed little blush had asserted itself upon her. Not that they hadn’t expected such a reaction to Melody’s fib, of course. To his mother, Melody’s supposed incompetence had gotten in the way of much-needed time with their now fully reunited family – especially with three of them preparing to journey elsewhere. But while the truth was a bit more complicated, and Melody far from incompetent, it still clearly stung the young woman to have her boss and mentor obviously think less of her. And it stung Corey in turn, as if a piece of that barb had broken off and headed just for him, to be the cause of such a thing.
“I really am sorry about what happened yesterday,” Melody offered apologetically, driving the barb in just a bit further. It may have been Melody’s decision to personally take the blame and therefore the consequences for something that hadn’t actually happened, but it had been for his sake and that of his wishes for those girls that she had done so. That much wasn’t lost on him, and while he wasn’t quite sure how yet, he was going to thank her for it.
“Oh, dear, it’s fine,” his mother consoled with a tone that, coupled with a sharp downward glance in his direction, said that it was anything but. “Sometimes mistakes just happen, and it’s a learning experience for everyone when they do.” When one her hands reached over him, a great bronze bridge between the two colossi as it rested upon Melody’s shoulder, he half expected a sheet of ice to form from the contact.
He was thankful for the arrival of a little bit of warmth.
“Hey! We all ready to go?”
Sidling up to her mother and friend with an upturned palm of her own, Claire was all smiles. His sister had been in an absolutely radiant mood all morning, and currently she seemed intent on using that to defuse this particular bit of awkwardness. Her attitude was something he was more than thankful for, really. He’d frankly feared that she would be just as put off by his and Melody’s story as their mother had been. Though he supposed her own little trip with their dad might be mitigating any such feelings to quite a spectacular degree.
“Mmhm,” Melody confirmed, and somewhat meekly at that, flicking a thumb over the strap of the oversized duffel bag hanging from her shoulder. When Claire’s eyes found him, he gave his own little pat to the much lighter and much less impressive bag resting on his stomach.
“Then perhaps we should get going?” a quieter, but very familiar voice cordially suggested. “A thunderstorm’s rolling in later and I for one do not want to get caught up in it.”
“Oh, please, Daddy,” Claire replied, rolling her eyes playfully. “What’s a thunderstorm gonna do?”
“Make us very, very wet? And you two very, very electrified?” Corey offered, earning a snicker from his bigger sibling as she casually reached her hand toward him, finger outstretched.
“He’s right,” Howard Lindon commented rather simply as he strode along the length of his daughter’s finger, right up until he reached the end and stepped off gracefully onto the side of Corey’s Chamber, taking a seat on the attached platform. It hardly went unnoticed when their space suddenly got more crowded, as Claire and Abby both closed in on the now doubly occupied palm just a bit more. “And if my memory serves me correctly – as I think it does – you weren’t a big fan the last time that happened, Claire-bear.”
“I was like ten” Claire huffed, giving the impression that she was almost actually insulted. “I bet it wouldn’t even hurt now.”
“Well,” Corey started with a resigned shrug, “I’m willing to wait for her to test it out if she really wants to.”
“I can agree with that,” his father added with a grin. “How about you, Ms. King? Care to join her for it?”
“Pass,” Melody stated without hesitation, to Corey’s personal amusement.
“Looks like you’re on your own with it, then,” Howard informed his looming daughter, who at this point looked utterly displeased instead of just mildly insulted.
“Well, I mean, I don’t want to waste time just for the sake of it,” she excused, earning a snicker from both Lindon men. “I do wanna go for a quick swim when we get there.”
“Then I suppose you all best head out then,” Abby added, her brilliant blue eyes taking a sweeping glance over all involved parties, “because I don’t want any such test happening. Even by accident.”
“And I do expect you to keep up with the weather,” she added in that hallmark “suggestion as an order” way that only a mother could truly manage, a comment that couldn’t have been more obviously aimed at the girl currently holding the two Betas if she had tried. Corey grunted, earning a sidelong but silent glance from his father for his trouble.
Minutes passed, goodbyes were said, and soon enough the front door of the Lindon household opened to a beautiful summer day, with the promise of more to come as he and Melody journeyed to and through the lands she was do fond of. And that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Seeing new places, visiting friends? In the wake of his breakdown, Melody seemed more convinced than ever that this trip was something he needed, something that would help. He hoped she was right.
The two towering women broke off in their own chatter, while father and son did the same. It made Corey glad for the trip his father and sister had decided to take, and gladder still that their paths converged for this first leg of the rather sizable journey that awaited him and Melody. He was grateful for this chance to talk with the man, one he thought he had forfeited in his panicked retreat from the previous night’s festivities. It was an opportunity he wanted to enjoy.
That he was being rewarded for Melody’s sacrifice, though, was a feeling he could not shake; one that was much easier to hide from his parent than it was to let go.
***
As Abigail Lindon closed the door shut behind her departing loved ones, she couldn’t help the emergence of a drawn-out sigh of relief. That entire conversation had been one long, annoying struggle, and to say that she still felt bothered would be a severe understatement. Dealing with Melody had been a more unpleasant experience than she had imagined, keeping on track an exercise in frustration.
But she had had expectations to play to, and for Corey’s sake, she had done so, her penchant for feigning displeasure proving itself useful.
That Melody was lying on her son’s behalf was obvious. Had been obvious, since the moment Claire had naively passed along the news that Melody had “forgotten” to reschedule Corey’s treatment. And it wasn’t even just the fact that her apprentice didn’t just forget things like that, though Abby found herself impressed with the young woman’s otherwise convincing apologism. At the very least, it was enough to lull her daughter into a certain contentment, which she assumed was the point.
No, it was her son’s lightless eyes at the previous day’s luncheon that had told Abby all she truly needed to know. Enough that she had not been surprised that something had coincidently gone wrong to prevent his appearance at the night’s gathering. For she had seen those eyes countless times before, and would see them countless times to come. Looking into the eyes of her brutalized son had been like looking into a mirror, reflecting all of the horror and darkness and fear that raged, both aged and new, within mother and son. It was a likeness that hitherto existed only in her nightmares, battling against her hopes that his eyes would remain bright and untainted. Like his father’s.
She had added to his burdens today, she knew that much. She had easily spied the guilt on his face as she had taken her little jabs at Melody. It was regrettable, but she had judged it necessary in order to play along and avoid suspicion that she was on to the two. Even if it meant lowering the esteem of a woman she was frankly nothing but impressed with and thankful for. Even if it meant momentary guilt on Corey’s part for, in his eyes, causing such a thing. These feelings would be temporary in the face of the true problems at hand, washed away upon the couple’s return to an Abby Lindon that had seemingly cooled off during their absence.
More important was Corey’s apparent desire to hide his damage from those around him, and Melody’s respect for her son’s wishes was something the weary Omega was thankful and grateful for. Abby was not surprised by this want of his, nor was she particularly flummoxed by it. Corey may have taken a step closer toward herself in terms of likeness, but he was still Howard Lindon’s son to the extreme. He was not stupid. He was not unaware of his influence. And above all else, he was not lacking in a selfless desire to see people become better. And as angry as it made her to think of her son putting himself through this hellish trial – for the benefit of the very same girls that had torn his world asunder! – she would respect this, too. Not just for his sake, but for that of his sister, as well.
For Kayla’s words on that inner force, the Fire, which sought to corrupt and pervert her daughter’s mind still rang clear as a bell in her thoughts. As much as Corey was his father’s son; then so, too, was Claire her father’s daughter. Howard’s daughter. And she would not see that be ruined. Would not stand for it. And if that meant feigning ignorance or annoyance or whatever else, she would do it. If it meant idly supporting the two girls that Claire had developed so much pride in, she would do it. The third girl was…her own thing, and Abby had developed her own private curiosities about her presence here over her month abroad that needed to be mulled over a bit more still before any action on her part.
And she would do these things because if Claire were to ever become aware of the damage that had truly been done to her brother, any defense against that thing’s horrific influence would be shattered like so much glass, making Corey’s wishes so much more important than even he truly understood.