𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐘; trevor spengler

chapter sixteen

SHE FELT LIKE SHE COULDN'T breathe. With the wind whipping her hair, the traumatized girl ran towards the only person she knew could help her; the person she needed. Her eyes were clouded over with tears, her vision foggy in the dark, frigid night. Her fingers were frozen to the point of immobility, a bluebell tinge slowly travelling up the skin of her arms. By the time she'd sprinted to the Spengler residence - her heart frantically pumping - she was surprised they didn't mistake her for a Smurf.

Athena pushed the front door open hurriedly, letting it slam against the left wall as she soaked in the warmth from the old home. She could hear footsteps madly bounding down the stairs before her, glancing up from her position leaning against her knees to catch Trevor running down worriedly. He didn't know what to do.

Standing in his front entrance was the girl from the library, tears running down her flushed cheeks and hair knotted from the harsh wind. She was shaking from her head down to her toes, her skin painted in blue from the icy cold air occupying the late evening. The sight made him want to tear up too.

"Athena?" He questioned nervously as he rushed down the stairs. The girl didn't hesitate to run forward and throw her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder to hide away her tears. He wrapped his arms around her torso instantly, comfortingly rubbing her back to bring more needed warmth to her freezing body. She felt like an ice cube herself. "What happened, love?"

He looked up from her messy head of hair to the open entrance behind her, expecting to see Gary standing smugly on the porch. However, much to his concern, nobody was there.

"Where's Gary?"

"There was a monster and it- it got Gary," she explained in a whisper, her voice breaking with the weight of the guilt. She scolded herself - she should have saved him; she should have gotten in the way. 

"What about you? Did it hurt you?" He started worriedly, slightly pulling out of the hug to cup her face in his buzzing hands, studying her pale face in the dull light.

"No, no. I'm fine. But it got him, when I could've saved him. I just stood there but I sh-" she started to cry, Trevor immediately softening at the sound.

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything," he reassured her calmly after he'd raised her tilted head with his finger. He comforted her until he heard loud footsteps trailing down the stairs. 

"What happened?" Phoebe asked as she looked between the two, one scared and one nervous. Athena quickly wiped her cheeks clean as Trevor gulped, not knowing what to say or do.

"Something happened to Gary," he summarized quickly before glancing back at Athena, seeing her eyes casted towards the ground. He could only guess what thoughts were running through her head - and by the way he knew her, he knew they weren't good. 

"What do you mean something happened to Gary?" Phoebe questioned cautiously as she slowly trailed down a few more steps, her palm gliding against the splintery, wooden railing as her eyes occasionally flickered over to a shaky Athena. She still didn't know why the girl was here.

"It was the ghosts," Athena whispered, not daring to look up and meet the younger girl in the eyes. "The ghosts got him."

Phoebe's whole face dropped, her eyes shining with a newfound spark. She was angry - fire lacing her venomous tongue - but not because of the guilty girl behind her curly-haired brother. She was angry at the policemen who took away their weapons. They'd taken away her rights along with it.

"You've got to be kidding me," Phoebe started with a roll of her eyes, Trevor's brows furrowing as his lips morphed into a disgusted frown. He thought the teen was talking about Athena. "I knew we needed that stuff, but it's all at the station." The elder brother let out a breath he didn't know he was even holding.

"I'm so sorry, really-" Athena began whilst taking a soft step forward, coming to stand next to the taller boy in the dull foyer.

"Athena. It isn't your fault, okay?" Trevor murmured gently in her direction, smiling convincingly as she swallowed her fear.

"Okay," she managed to whisper, glancing down as she blinked away her last tears.

"What are we gonna do?" Phoebe interrupted as she pushed up her round glasses, glancing between the two as she waited for any suggestions.

"Honestly, I think we should stay here," Trevor spoke up as he looked to the side, nodding to himself as he thought the idea through in his head. He didn't take any notice of the two pairs of eyes boring into the sides of his head, the two girl's in the room staring at him as if he was insane.

"We need to help him, Trevor," Athena argued persistently, her irises softened at the thought of the kind man. She hoped - prayed - that he was okay.

"Yeah, and we can figure it out tomorrow. It's dark outside, we won't be able to see anything. And what can we actually do? Because we don't have our stuff. We can't do shit," Trevor explained as he glanced between his sister and the frizzy-haired girl before him, his hands waving infront of his body as he dramatically announced his speech to the pair.

"You've got a point," Phoebe sighed sadly, wishing she could argue against his opinion.

"Stay here for the night, we'll work it out in the morning," Trevor told the girl beside him as he slung his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder at an attempt to provide her some comfort. He knew that's what she wanted.

Whilst Phoebe retreated back to her room with furrowed brows, trying to understand how the world around her managed to hide so many secrets from the human race, Trevor led Athena to his room for the second time that week. 

Nobody knew what they were in for.