Life as We Know it [Five]

Seventeen

"Dangerous how."

"Dangerous as I'm thinking more about- you know what, it doesn't matter. What matters is we're fucked unless I figure something else out. Can I get five minutes?"

Emery just shook his head, ignoring the boy and running the tap for cold water. He splashed his face with it and tried to drown out Fives lingering jabs. About Elliott, about Marianna, about himself.

Luther came in a moment later, panting as he pushed through the door and into the main room. "Hey! Five, doomsday is still coming. We gotta think of a new plan."

Five just groaned and let his head fall onto the back of the couch.

"Don't you get it, Luther? It's over, all right? We're already dead." He said, anger gone and lacking as it had all been used up on Emery.

"Then what are you doing?" Luther pressed. Five was up now, stepping out into the hallway and entering a different door, locking it behind him.

"I'm going to do the unthinkable." The boys voice sounded from the other side.

"Five? What the hell are you planning." Emery said, pressing up against it and trying the handle though he knew it was locked.

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." Five said.

"Five, I'm coming in." Luther warned.

"Don't you dare!" The boy shouted. "I need time to think just- go away."

Luther glanced at Emery's tired face and shrugged, heading back to the main room and sitting on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Emery asked when the man started making himself comfortable, folding a blanket over himself and fluffing a pillow.

"Five needs time to be alone. He's gonna take a while. Sit down, trust me, it'll be worth it."

Emery didn't have it in him to fight the man. He was tired and his body sagged as he sunk into the chair. He should go back home, figure out what to do with Marianna's body but something in him knew he would never be able to find it within himself to do anything but stare in rageful regret.

"What was she like?" Luther said suddenly. Emery's chest tightened impossibly more. The lack of present tense terms used to refer to his one friend made in this godforsaken place was still fresh.

"She would have thrown me under the nearest bus to get what she wanted." He said simply.

"Oh." Luther said, sounding incredibly confused and unsure as he tried to put the pieces between Emery'a somber voice and the lack of sombreness in his sentence declaring the girl would have murderer him if given the opportunity. "But she was determined in a way that could be compared to no one else. The first time those bastards tried killing me- us, she used an red hot straightening iron to burn the man's cheek nearly clean off. When I found her, she-" his voice broke. "she was more calm than me. Even in death. She was level headed and rational. Always a realist but it just hurts more knowing she knew I could do nothing to help her."

There was a heavy pause in which Luther digested his words.

"But there's nothing I can do now. It's in the past and we have bigger things to worry about." Emery added though it pained him to say his mind was more level headed than his throbbing heart.

"You have every right to mourn her. Look, Emery, I'm sorry I brushed you off before. I'm sorry I've been so harsh to you in general. It's taken me a while to come to terms with the world ending not once but twice and add in a strange kid who somehow won over my stubborn brothers fondness, it was just too much and I grew to resent you because against all odds, you're what this family needs. You're rational and know when to take our side against Five and when to shut us all up. I'm sorry you lost Marianna and I'm sorry you've had to go through everything alone."