The Mercy of Birds

CHAPTER 26: THE DAYS OF RECKONING

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Nicholas' eyes were a mirror of murky water that just shattered right then and there.

"I brought her with me. I had to."

Regardless of how indurate he made himself out to be, neither one of them could recall the last time Nicholas was profoundly angry at Victor or Cameron. Of course, he would grow vexed with them almost every single time, but it was his care, his tough love. Even if he was always the most deferential out of them all to their parents, he had never censured Cameron for the path he carved for himself, which their parents never approved of.

Yet right now, something shifted within him as he became so still as a statue. Understanding failed him, his mind refused to acknowledge what he just heard as if he didn't speak the same language that Cameron spoke to him with.

"What?" he asked him, still grappling to make sense of the situation. His face had drained in color. "What did you say?"

Cameron didn't wait or hold back. Any delay was futile now. "Clementine. She lives with me now."

So there was nothing left to be said. Cameron knew Nicholas didn't need any technical explanation like Victor did, he only required a declaration of the main crux of the matter.

Any moment now, Cameron steeled himself as an onslaught of hazardous prospects invaded his mind. What would he do? Even if half of his memories almost all implicated them in a conflict, he could swear Nicholas wasn't a violent person, but he was no different than himself, both too headstrong for their own good and if push came to shove, anything could manifest as a response. So what would he reach for first? Was it his neck or his half-empty glass of champagne?

His stature didn't change though, only his mouth gaping. "You are... but this is Victor's birthday... how dare you..."

"Is this some kind of a fucking sick joke?" he laid out the question in the open, a silent plea in his tone for someone to relive his distress, but it was also weighed down by a sense of doom as if he was anticipating the worst.

He studied Cameron's features; short strands of blond hair fell on his forehead and cast a shadow on his blue eyes. Nicholas sought for something that would break under the pressure, but his stance was fortified, he was serious. He turned to his youngest brother who had averted his gaze away from the both of them. His mouth was stiff and his jaw was tense. The pain that emanated from his emotion was palpable and it made Nicholas acutely aware of the disposition.

No one was laughing.

Victor gritted his teeth as he shot Cameron a look, one which he held with an unflinching shamelessness, before he switched to Nicholas. His own turbulent gaze held the haunted look on his older brother's hazel eyes. "No."

"W-what do you mean?" his stare wavered and his body leaned back slightly. Finally, fear reared its head, suffused in him like a possession, and stirred his senses. As twisted as it sounded, it eased Victor a little bit to see that there was a fright in him when it came to her. They weren't so different after all. He wasn't alone being driven by the feeling of dread. At least, he knew he wasn't weak in that department because Nicholas wasn't.

"He set her free. I saw them. I saw her." Victor almost didn't recognize his own voice.

The comprehension now covered the whole expanse of Nicholas' mind as it was no longer able to repel or reject its existence. He stared forward, all the emotions that had influenced him dissipated, leaving only voidness in his eyes.

Silence as long as an eternity stretched between them. No one bothered to disrupt the stagnancy.

Cameron gazed up ahead into the bright neon illumination and closed his eyes, the glow kept what monsters lurking behind his eyelids away. He inhaled and exhaled his breath in a cycle, until he could feel his frantic heartbeat settling down. I did it, Clementine. Now, all that's left to do is to protect you.

A deadly sound of a chair scraping against the floor jerked him up as Nicholas stood up from his seat. Without another word, he turned away, strode into the parlor like an unstoppable force of a whirlwind, and with the sound of the front door opening, he left.

Cameron watched with astoundment. All his armors tumbling down from disuse, the impending enemy never came to assail him. No, Nicholas should've yelled at him, smashed the bottle of alcohol, turned over this table, punched him, or anything... not this...

"Are you happy now?"

He snapped his head to his younger brother that remained.

"Vic—" he tried, even if he didn't know what to say.

Victor shook his head. It was only disappointment now, pure and uncontaminated. "You shouldn't be here."

Cameron wanted to protest, but the look on his face forced him to concede; he was right. The moment he decided to side with Clementine was when this place became an off-limit territory for him. That was the least he could do for them. For their mother. For this house.

He stood up. "I'm sorry, Vic."

"No, you're not." Victor couldn't hold his eye contact any longer. His gaze swept down to all the food on the table that was now gone to waste. In the middle of the assortment, lay something that had slipped out of his attention, there was a black forest cake with red cherries planted above snowy frosting adorning the circular delicacy. Two small wax candles that were molded into the shape of 2 and 5 were fixed in the middle. His breath hitched. Their parents had never allowed that and he was obsequious to it even now that he was an adult, but the cycle had been broken today, Cameron with their sister, and Nicholas with this.

"Call me when he returns and please take care of yourself," Cameron pleaded with utmost concern but Victor would no longer hear him.

"Just go away, Cam."

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"There were times of lots of laughter
and you felt you understood.
We were carefree, open, and honest,
loving, easy, kind, and true.
And I supposed you never doubted
that we were all together fine.
You never really knew my mind.
I never really knew your mind."

- Chris Cornell