Chapter Text
“I am going to die.” Kel bemoaned, tugging at his collar. The starched white shirt did not settle well upon his skin. In fact, it itched like crazy. He was happy that he had listened to his mother and had put on a long-sleeved tee shirt under it, if not for the cold, to keep the irritating fabric off his skin. However, that didn’t help the collar. “Pour Orange Joe on my grave.”
“That would kill you a second time,” Aubrey muttered, kicking her feet. The Hernandez brothers had both needed a haircut before the big night, so they waited outside the barber shop as Hero got his trim. Aubrey glanced over at Kel, who, admittedly, looked rather uncomfortable. Seeing him in anything other than torn basketball shorts and tee shirts felt strange, yet here he was. Black slacks, a blazer, dress shoes, hell, even a bow tie. His unruly hair slicked back, if only for tonight. He looked like an entirely different person.
And not a very comfortable one at that. But it was just for a night, so he could suck it up.
Aubrey, for her part, was more excited than anyone. Not only was she going to do something fancy and fun, but she had gotten to go shopping with Mari. She… Well, Mari knew. She knew a lot about Aubrey's home life, something that she didn’t like anyone knowing about. So, of course, since Mari was the best, she helped her pick out this dress! It was pink and had frills, and Mari had BOUGHT it for her!
Ever since, she had treated it like it would explode if she even brushed it the wrong way. New clothes were a rarity, and new clothes that weren’t thrift store finds were even more rare than that! So she treated it with the respect something like that deserved. So she made sure to sit prim and proper, not wrinkling the fabric in any way.
She had gotten ready earlier and now sat here with Kel, as Hero was going to be her ride to the recital. The recital! Oh, she was so excited for it! A fancy event, where she could see her friends perform. Where she could see Sunny perform…
Her thoughts began to drift as she thought of Sunny. She couldn't help herself. He already tended to drift into her thoughts when she sat alone with them. But as of late, he was always at the forefront. It was Mari’s fault, of course. The big sister she was, she was also a massive tease. Not only had she said she would catch Sunny’s eye, but Sunny was looking good in his suit.
She could feel her face heat at the thought. He was already cute as is, though she would never say that. But in a suit? She would die. She would burst into flames, she would melt into a puddle, she would be no longer among the living! Yet, she would live. No matter how much it felt like she would simply perish.
“It would BRING ME BACK, if anything.” Kel retorted. He was starting to annoy her. That was nothing new, of course. Kel was always absurdly annoying. But not in the way that made her want to beat someone's face in. Well, not all the time. It was different, but in a way that she would struggle to put into words. She wanted to beat his ass, but not enough to really hurt him.
Mari always smirked when Aubrey expressed her frustration, or whenever Aubrey called him a big jerk. She (rightfully) pointed out that Aubrey messed with him just as much. She didn’t care! Something about him just got under her skin! It chafed her in a way that was…. satisfying. Like when you itched a scratch that eluded you for days.
She looked at him, struggling to keep it together but trying his best. She wanted to say he looked like a pig stuffed into it, but couldn't find it in her to do so. Besides, she had to admit, he cleaned up nicely. “You would come back from the dead for that sludge, wouldn't you?”
“Yup!” he popped the P, and stopped pulling at his collar as he had a new distraction. “Not like I can have any right now. Hero’s orders.” He sulked, unable to fathom how his own blood would force that kind of thing upon him.
“Beacuse you would be bouncing in your seat the entire time, or because one drop of that orange sludge would stain your clothes.”
“.... Were you talking to him earlier?”
“Lucky guess.” She fought the urge to roll her eyes and instead sat and kicked her legs, looking at her shoes. A hand-me-down from Mari, but they were adorable. “You look good. I don’t want to ruin it.”
While Aubrey sat in the silence after, wondering WHY SHE SAID THAT, Kel just sat there. He slowly looked over to her, his own restless legs forgotten. She did everything in her power not to look at him, not to even breathe.
“That pink dress… uh… isn’t as gross as pink stuff normally is.” Kel offered. For him not to besmirch what he considered the worst color to exist was a feat of superhuman. They both sat there, processing what the other said. Looking anywhere but at each other.
“That took a little longer than I wanted to.” Hero came out, brushing some errant hairs off his collar, donning his suit jacket. He looked at his wards and paused. Huh. This was strange! He had expected them to be trying to kill each other by the time he got out of here. Not only were they not trading insults or hands, but they were uncharacteristically quiet. “ What happened out here?”
“Nothing! nothing at all!” Kel was the one to open his mouth, of course. Hero thought back and considered his life with his younger brother. Nope, he could never remember a SINGLE time his brother had been bashful. Yet, he was sure acting it now. Suspicious.
He looked at Aubrey, and she seemed fine as well. No marred clothes, no sour expression, but she looked just as bashful as Kel was. He opened his mouth to begin to get to the bottom of this. He had to make sure nothing would boil over tonight. It had to be perfect, after all.
However, he was interrupted by a phone call. That would have to wait. He flipped the hand-me-down from his father open and pressed it to his ear.
“Mari? Whats…” Hero dragged off as he listened. Kel was the first to notice something was wrong. The way his brother’s expression shifted made him uneasy. “Please, talk slower. I can’t…No, I can't understand. It’ll be okay.”
His brother was growing increasingly distressed as he listened. He looked over at the children. Now, Aubrey was looking to him, aware that something was not right. So he stepped away, whispering into the phone as he began to pace a few feet away.
“What's going on?” Aubrey asked, feeling a pang of worry in her gut. Surely, this was nothing to worry about. “Who is it?”
“Mari, I think?” Kel answered, unsure himself. He jiggled his leg nervously. “He couldn't hear what she was saying.”
Both of them got an answer soon enough, as Hero came up to them, face pale as a sheet. “Get in the car.”
“But-”
“Kel, not now, get in the car. Now.” Hero didn't demand so much as he stated it as fact. His tone also shook the kids. He had always been a rock in their lives, and it sounded as if he was going to crumble. “I’ll tell you later.”
And so, bundled into the back of the beat-up van, they drove back into town in uneasy silence. Aubrey hoped beyond hope that this was nothing.
The thing she would later remember, and would feature in her nightmares, were the red lights. The sweeping, slow-rotating lights colored the neighborhood in a pale red hue. As the sun slowly made its way down, and the streetlights had yet to click on, the waning sun and the ambulance lights were what colored the crowd of people that had gathered outside a house.
She stared at the outside of the house, which she had considered a second home, as they slowly made their way through the street, with more than one of the boxy emergency vehicles blocking the way. “They're not here for anyone we know…right?”
She felt a little silly asking that question as Hero slowly brought the van to a stop. He slowly looked back at her, opening his mouth, before closing it again. He got out and started pushing through the crowd of people watching whatever was going on.
Aubrey was afraid she had gotten her answer. Kel stared at her with wide, wet eyes. The fact that he hadn't said a thing freaked her out more than all of this. She huffed to herself, shaking her head. They didn’t know what was going on yet! Everything could be fine! Yea! It would be fine. And even if it wasn’t, then the paramedics could help! That was their job!
“Come on. We’re gonna see.” Aubrey grabbed his hand and pulled. Kel didn’t budge at first, eyes widening further.
“But, but I think Hero wanted us to stay in the van.” Kel offered weakly. Aubrey had seen this side of him only once.
Kids, as you know, tend to do whatever it is you told them not to do. It was in their nature, after all, to question the status quo of authority figures in their life. Things like watching something you were explicitly told not to. Ending up with a group of middle schoolers watching the grudge while the teens meant to watch them were flirting in the kitchen.
The look on his face then was a mirror of now. He became quiet, frozen in place instead of running around as he usually did. If he was going to be like that, then she would just have to take charge.
So she pulled him, and he put up little resistance as they clambered out the back, hand in hand. It took a little time, but they managed and then began to push their way through the gathered crowd. She recognized most of them. Kel’s family, the people that lived down the block, and that weird pie guy. Everyone from the block had gathered around the house and had the same look of nervous concern that almost made her pause. Almost. But she was a lady on a mission.
They managed to push to the front of the crowd and found themselves being blocked by stony-faced officers. It was Sunny and Mari’s house after all. Aubrey had hoped that it had been some kind of mistake, yet there the house stood. The door, wide open.
A hand blocked her as she went to continue forward. The officer said nothing, just shook his head at her. The pity in his eyes made her bristle. She could never handle it, even on her better days. But the wail from inside made her forget everything else.
The first one to come out of the door was Basil. A familiar face in the crowd should have brought her some comfort. It did not.
The boy could have what people called a “pale” complexion. It was always meant as a compliment, for some reason, and it always made Kel and Hero frown weirdly when they did. But if he was pale before, he was now borderline vampiric. All of the life had been drained away from him, and she could feel her stomach drop.
He was led away by another cop, one who had a greenish tinge to his complexion rather than the pallid, drained look their friend had. Basil tugged on his hand and pointed to Aubrey and Kel. Aubrey felt Kel squeeze tighter as the cop made his way over, dropping Basil off without much of a word before going back into the house.
“Basil? Are you okay?” A shake of the head is all she got in response. Even that took a few silent moments before he could even do that. His eyes were wide and glassy, and she had the distinct suspicion that he wasn’t there. Not really. “Basil?”
“There… There was an accident. “ He said, dumbly, pointing to the house. If she had any follow-up questions, she didn’t have the opportunity to ask them.
They were barking orders at each other as the paramedics wheeled him out. The burly men were alert, rushing through their task as quickly as they could. One was running to open the door. Another was holding up a bag of blood above his head, and the other two pushed the gurney as fast as they could down the sidewalk towards the awaiting car.
Aubrey watched it as it passed by, heart stopping as she saw who lay upon it.
The sleeping face of Sunny was something she was accustomed to. In fact, she cherished it every time she saw it. Considering his perpetual sleepy nature, it was pretty easy to catch Sunny snoozing. Something about it just made her want to chew his face off in a way she struggled to articulate.
She stared, with wide eyes, at the new features on his face. The top half of his head was bandaged tightly in stark white with slowly blooming patches of red. And a large, wooden chunk is being kept in place where his right eye should be.
She didn’t know how she felt as they wheeled him into the back of the boxy car and tore down the street, sirens blaring. She just stared at where they had been, moments before. That wasn’t Sunny. That couldn't have been Sunny. It must have been some mistake, right? It was someone else. It had to be.
She slowly put an arm over Kel as he pressed tightly into her side, shaking gently. She could barely register what she had seen, and soon Basil did the same. She stood there, the unknowing pillar the two clung to tightly so as to not lose themselves, unaware she wasn’t moored at all. She was adrift in her own mind. Just like Basil, she wasn’t really there anymore.
She looked up when she heard the scuffle. Hero was trying his very best to hold back Mari. She had, as she would later learn, wanted to go with Sunny, but was denied when the depth of his injuries were discovered. Aubrey had always seen Mari as the pinnacle of prim, proper posture. A goal to strive for.
What she saw now was more akin to a feral beast straining at its chains. Her eyes were wide and mad with grief. Her clothes torn, and makeup running as she strained against Hero’s body, trying to break free. Trying to reach her brother, who was already long gone.
And that broke her. She crashed to the ground and wailed. Grief, fear, sorrow pouring out of her in the guttural sounds expected from a beast, and not a person. She was utterly broken.
It had been an accident. Or at least, that's what Aubrey had learned as she sat in the hospital, waiting for more news. It had been a few days since the incident, and this is how she spent her time. In hospital waiting rooms, waiting to hear more news. That was the cycle she found herself in. Waiting, hearing something, coming back. Half the time, it was good, half the time, it was bad.
She had been staying with the Hernandezes during this time. She didn’t want to go home and get roped into something while she waited to see Sunny’s condition. Besides, she didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about her mother, Sunny, and Kel. Kel was not doing well at all. His bright smile had wilted, and he had gone quiet. He tried to put on a brave face, on occasion, but those cracks. He was scared, and so was she. So they clung tightly together to weather all of this.
It had been an accident. That's what she had heard. The adults whispered around them, faces grim and tones hushed. She knew that meant they had nothing good to say about what had happened. Sunny’s parents were a wreck. His mother had not stopped crying since, and her father went to Gino’s when it closed to children every night. For what reason, she didn’t know. But he was finding some comfort there, she assumed. The same kind her mother sought. She only hoped he would pull himself out of it before he ended up like her.
It had been an accident. That's what Mari had told her. She had not left the bedside unless forced to by Hero. She said it was all her fault, and to a point, it was. Aubrey wanted to be mad at her, but who could be mad at Mari? It was impossible. She was grieving right next to them. If she had hidden what happened, maybe Aubrey would be madder. But now, she just felt worry and fatigue.
It was an accident. Mari admitted to it. The long hours, the brutal practice, her frustration. The conditions that led to this event were blurted out between sobs, wails, and prayers that everything would turn out fine. The pressure cooker this whole thing had been. The way she must have wrung any last bit of fun out of it for her brother. The way she screamed it was her fault, when the adults who raised her couldn't even meet her eye or correct her.
It was an accident. Sunny had snapped and done something drastic. Not that anyone blamed him, who could? He had thrown the violin to the bottom of the stairs, thinking that it was the source of his misery. He only knew the truth that was in front of him, not what lurked behind his sister, slowly pushing pressure to its most absurd point. His reasons were unknown to them, as he couldn't answer their questions. He was beyond them.
Mari blamed herself, of course. If not for Hero, Aubrey was sure she would be trying to join Sunny by any means necessary. He was keeping her grounded in all of this. Trying to keep her from doing anything drastic in the end.
It was an accident. The kids had been avoiding her for a good long while now. It wasn’t that they hated her; to boil down what they felt to something so simple would be foolish. But none of the kids had the time to even consider them. Sunny’s condition had put any self-reflection far down the priority list. Yet, in those quiet moments, where sleep failed to find them, they would be forced to consider it. And they were coming up with nothing.
It was an accident. Kel knew this, but found himself struggling. His first instinct was to forgive Mari and simply be there for her. But was that what she needed right now? Mari had not been innocent in all of this. In the end, she had admitted it and done the right thing, but did that negate any of the stuff she said she had done? He didn’t know. This was far out of his depth, and he just wanted everyone to get along.
It was an accident. Aubrey didn’t know if she would forgive Mari. She had always looked to her as some pillar to strive for. The big sister she never had! In truth, she had never considered any of this until recently. Time was all she had right now, waiting in rooms, waiting for news, good or bad. She had the time now to sit and think.
And all she could think of was how angry she was.
Not only had Sunny been hurt badly, but over something so stupid. If she understood everything the way it had happened, she couldn't even blame Sunny. One of the reasons they had gotten him that violin was a way to bond with his sister! She remembered how ecstatic he was when he had gotten it, and for a few months after. How he was practicing with her, and learning from her too. The joy on his face made all that extra work with Kel to scrimp and save worth it!
She was mad at Mari for taking such a wonderful thing and twisting it. Turning what should have been an opportunity to grow closer to her instead make herself look better and flesh out her college applications. Sure, she had been under pressure to perform from her parents. More pressure than Aubrey had known about, it seems. Prep school and tutoring, and more than that. Hero had spoken softly to her about all this. Perhaps he had seen the anger building inside of her and had tried to cool it before it had reached a crescendo. But she hadn't the time to put a name to it. Or the energy. In truth, Mari was the last thing on her mind.
It was an accident. Basil, for his part, shared her feelings. Everything came secondary to Sunny’s recovery. He came by every day, just like Aubrey and Kel, to wait for news. Always donating flowers to the desks of the doctors and nurses who were helping him. Basil knew more than any of them, through his grandmother. He was the one who told them that Sunny was getting multiple surgeries because the wood went deep into his right eye. Deeper than it should be for him to live. Yet he did.
His grandmother didn't tell him everything, however. Basil was trying to be as positive as he could, but she could see it in his eyes. How realistic are the chances of something like that? He had been in constant surgery for the past week, and it would most likely need more. Yet he kept showing up, just like the rest. He didn’t pay attention to Mari much.
It had been an accident. Even Basil said it, but he didn’t seem reassured by that fact. He had been privy to the damage Mari had been inflicting to Sunny’s hands, but he had promised not to tell anyone. When Aubrey asked why Sunny didn’t tell her, Basil laughed bitterly and explained he didn’t want to disappoint her. Why would that have mattered? She cared more if he was alive.
But that was besides the point. Basil had apparently been there for some of the argument. He had seen…. everything. Not that he would tell them a thing of what he heard, no matter how much she pried at him. He kept his lips sealed about it. He had seen the impact with the ground as well. He had only told her a single thing.
“If she hadn't called for help, I would have turned her in.”
Something about that sentence chilled her. The very implication that she wouldn’t have instantly called for help. Mari wouldn’t have done that, would she? Then again, how well did she know Mari? Not as well as she thought.
It was an accident. But did that matter?
“.... This fucking blows.” She muttered to herself. Kel looked up from his seat, where he had been thumbing through whatever magazine he had managed to find. Not that they hadn't looked at every single one in here.
“... Anything specific?” Kel asked, putting down the magazine. In truth, he had been dying to talk for the past hour, but there was no point in initiating. Aubrey would give him a look, then go back to staring out the window. “Or just…” he waved his hand around.
“Everything. Everything about this fucking blows.” She knew if anyone heard her, she would be in trouble. That she would be chewed out for such coarse language. But it had been Mari who told her that it was okay for big situations with big feelings. And this felt like one of them. “Sitting here blows, not knowing anything blows, how weird everything feels with Mari blows.”
“... Yea. I'm not happy with her, but not mad at her.” Kel admitted. “Then sometimes I am? And sometimes I'm not, and I just feel…. tired.”
They sat with that for a moment before Kel had an idea. “You know, Hero gave me some money.” Kel transitioned clumsily. Aubrey just raised a brow.
“Good for you?” Her confusion was obvious. God, he was hoping she was just going to get what he was putting down.
“So, let's go do something!” Kel said, hopping out of his chair. “We’ve been waiting around here forever. He’s going to be in surgery for another few hours.”
“And I want to be there after,” Aubrey said, crossing her arms. How dare he even think about leaving? Sunny would wake up all alone. The thought made her guts twist. “Don’t you?”
“Yea I do, but we can’t DO anything!” Kel exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I want to be here when Sunny wakes up, too, but for the last week all we’ve been doing is waiting for someone to tell us something, and they don’t even do that!”
“So what should we do, Kel?” Her tone was already on edge. The last thing he wanted to do was have a knock-down argument with her here, of all places. No matter how she got his dander up, if they got kicked out of here, then he knew neither would be able to forgive the other. So for once, he really thought about what he was going to say.”Well?”
“....Why don’t we take a walk and come back?” he offered. “Go to Gino’s. Go to Hobeeze, just go do something for a bit, and come back.” He almost begged. “I’m worried about Sunny, too, but we can’t run ourselves ragged before he wakes up. He’ll need more help after!”
He leaned in. “Besides, if I have to eat in the cafeteria again, I think I’m going to go crazy.”
Aubrey stared at him, trying to find some kind of angle to his words. It took her longer to wonder why she was going than in the first place. Why was she trying to find fault in kindness? She knew, in some part, he was right. She was tired of sitting here, as awful as a thing that was to think. He hadn't even started to argue with her!
“...Yea. Let’s get something to eat.” She hopped down, to Kel’s surprise. “But no anchovies.”
“They're better than you think! I know they look gross, but they taste good!” Kel countered, grinning as they made their way out.
“First Orange Joe, and now fish on pizza. Your taste is messed up.”
“Says the person who eats their eggs with ketchup.”
“It's good!”
It was one of those rare October days. The kind of days that made you question if weather patterns were real, or just made up for the amusement of whatever higher power existed. Because for some reason, it was almost 80 degrees! The sun was out in full force, with a slight chill in the breeze to remind you that it was, in fact, Fall.
They sat in the secret spot, on one of Mari’s forgotten blankets as they worked through a pie together. They had stopped at the Othermart first for something to drink. Kel, of course, was working on a 2-liter of Orange Joe on his own, and at room temperature too. A horrifying thing to witness, but he was chugging along. She was sipping her soda as she bit into another slice of Pepparoni. A rare treat, considering Basil and his issues with meat.
“Okay. Okay. Would you rather drink Orange Joe, or that healthy tea that Basil’s grandma makes.” They had been going bath and forth with would you rathers as they worked down the pizza. Both of the kids had been starving, and Aubrey hadn’t realized how BADLY she needed something greasy in her life.
“The health tea.” She said without a doubt in her mind before taking another big bite. Finishing it in three as she chewed.
“It tastes like feet!”
“Yea. But don’t you feel better after drinking it?” She asked after swallowing, smirking a bit as Kel destroyed the last of the bottle, flopping back. There was no more pizza left now, well, except the crusts that Kel didn’t feel like eating. He saw no point in breadsticks if there wasn’t sauce to dip.
“Yea, yea. You just hate the joe.” Kel mumbled, watching the wind blow the brown leaves in the treetops. Soon it would be time to rake. It was that time of year, after all.
“Hey Kel?” Aubrey laid down as well, watching the trees sweep by. Her belly was full, and her mind wasn’t a tangled buzz of wires for the first time since the accident.
“Yea?”
“Thanks for this. I think I really needed this.” Kel propped himself up on an elbow to look at her. She turned her head slightly to make eye contact with him. He considered her for a moment, then smiled widely. She realized she had missed that smile.
“No problem.” He brushed her off, even if the compliment made his heart skip a beat. “I think we both did. We can’t be worried all the time.”
“... I guess you’re right.” Her eyes drifted back to the trees. This little moment would be remembered fondly for the rest of her life. Not that she knew it. It was always when the moments passed that you cherished them the most. Because you could look back, knowing what you know now. Knowing what was waiting for you. Because it was this moment, Aubrey knew, was the last moment she believed something with her whole heart. Her very being believed it as a universal fact. And it was simple.
She believed that everything would be okay in the end.