Tragic Magic [boyxboy]

Chapter Four

The next few days passed tensely in the Darlington house. Tristan was in a bad mood with everyone – which actually made me feel less left out than when he was just in a bad mood with me – and nobody was telling me what was going on. Being in the same room with him felt like being in the eye of a hurricane; he was deathly silent and fuming most of the time, like he could snap at any moment. Masochistically, I tried to be in the same room with him as often as possible, because there was something thrilling about the possibility that he might explode at any point.

                Gregory and Edwin were going on like everything was normal, but it was clear on their faces that they were strained. Whether this was because of whatever the family had been arguing about, or because of Tristan's volatile mood, or both, I didn't know, but it was adding to the general weight of the household.

                Maya was still acting as bitchy to me as ever, but I sometimes caught her biting her lip worriedly as she watched Tristan before seeming to take a deep breath of preparation and going to him, whispering to him and trying to get him to calm down – though it never worked.

                The only person who seemed to retain any sense of normalcy was Annabelle. There was a noticeable gravity about her but she didn't seem as weary by the whole thing as Edwin and Gregory, moving fluidly from day to day with me at her side, buoying the whole family up. She finished complicated puzzles for adults in a matter of hours, read regularly, and even once opted to play a game of hide and seek where I was embarrassed to discover that it took me significantly longer to find her than vice versa. I told myself it was because she knew the house better, as it was depressing to think that a six year old was smarter than me.

                Whatever was going on, she was concerned about it, but it wasn't her main priority. Annabelle was getting on with her life in a way the others weren't and I had to admire her for it. She gravitated towards me whenever she came into a room opting to sit by me rather than anyone else, and I felt that sense of smug specialness that you feel whenever somebody picks you as their favourite.

                I guess the stagnant depression that was filling the house came to a head for Gregory and Edwin after about a week, because when I arrived in the kitchen one morning I found everybody sitting in a similar fashion to when I'd found them arguing, except that there was a free seat beside Annabelle, which she motioned me towards, beaming, as soon as I entered the room.

                Awkwardly, and still feeling like an intruder, I lowered myself carefully into the chair and glanced warily from one person to another until I landed on Annabelle's still smiling face.

                'Good morning Cody,' Gregory said, but this time he looked at me and smiled too.

                '... Morning,' I said tentatively. Why did it feel like they were about to fire me?

                'I know you don't know what's been going on lately-' he started, but Tristan cut him off.

                'Gregory!' he snapped, and I noticed he used his dad's first name. Still not on great terms then. He looked livid.

                'Oh be quiet, Tristan,' Gregory said tersely. 'We all know you're angry, you've done a perfectly good job of showing us, and if you'd listen you'd realise I'm trying to do something about it.'

                Mortified, I looked down at the table. I've never been comfortable around my friends when they're getting in trouble with their parents, it's makes me feel simultaneously embarrassed and like defending them. I bit my tongue and didn't look up even when I felt both Tristan and Gregory return their gazes to me.