EUTERPE POV:
As everyone ate I kept toying with the necklace around my neck distractedly. My other hand was tightly gripping Othello's trying to get a sliver of confidence back. Of course, I was hesitant to attempt to remove any type of comfort from Othello, the Vaughn's in general but I had to.
Miles and August have always been there for me in times of need, and when not needed at all. We stuck together side by side all these years and I certainly have never been more thankful. But I also know when to pull back a bit. With everything that's happened last night, I knew it didn't only affect me. I am torn about it but so are they even if they try not to show it so much. The three of us are basically one and because of that, they feel the loss as well. It hurt, it does hurt... so bad but what happened cannot be changed no matter what. I couldn't just wish the baby back and just go on my merry way. Finding out you were pregnant and lost the baby in one day is an absolute wreck. I did not want a child from Nolan but it was my baby as well. Half of the baby, was me... just all me. Children were never something I thought of and if I did, I didn't want children. I didn't want them to have a fucked up mother who couldn't even speak up for herself. I didn't want them to have to learn about the things I went through one day. I didn't want them because I was still a child myself at the time. And yet now, while I feel relief, I also feel complete despair. It feels like something was ripped away but nevertheless... it just wasn't meant to be. So yes, I needed comfort and if I had to go out of my comfort zone to get some, then I was going to do that.
No other reason was needed...
Okay, maybe I also just didn't want to hold Milo's right hand because he needed to eat. He was right-handed and I didn't want him to spill his food or something. It'll be a mess...
"Euterpe,"
I blinked looking at Rydge, "Have you decided on a dress for the Gala this weekend. It is only a few days away and if you want the dress to be made and fitted properly on time it is best to settle right away." He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, shi-" Aug coughed, "I mean, oh yeah... haha the Gala is this weekend." He spoke through clenched teeth with a smile.
I forgot about that, I don't want to go but they will never let me stay home. I hesitantly let go of Othello's hand making a small frown appear on his face in the corner of my eye.
"I- not exactly but I will have a dress by Sunday. I am sure you have other things to worry about." I signed looking around.
Rydge hummed, "Yes. I do. However, I also need to make sure that the dress you prefer will be good for the Gala. Many people will be attending and it is best to make a good first impression." He narrowed his eyes at me.
Aug cleared his throat, "Miles and I were actually planning on going shopping today. While we in no way want to leave her after the scare last night it might be best. While we are out shopping we can pick up a dress for her. That way she will not have to stress over anything." He smiled tightly.
"You want us, to let you pick a dress for her?" Axton blinked confused.
Castriel nodded, "How do you expect to find something that fits her well? We need to make sure that she stands out. As she will be associating with us, people will want to know who she is." He tilted his head.
"How will you find something that fits without her there? Something that she likes." Braxton frowned.
All three of us watched them blankly, "Okay, one, we have known Euterpe since we were kids meaning, we know what she likes. Two, we are gay." Milo said straight-faced.
"Yeah but-"
"That's fine!" Thorn cut in, "As long as you remember the specifications and what colors she is not allowed to wear. If you can just- please, nothing that will require a double take for the wrong reason. It will create an uproar that we want to avoid rather than encourage." He smiled nicely.
Milo smiled slightly back, "Do you like nicknames?"
Thorn blinked, "Uh- sure? I have a few embarrassing ones for all the boys but Euterpe is just butterfly to me. Why?" He questioned confused.
He shrugged, "No reason, just wondering. You seem like the kind of guy for nicknames." Milo nodded to himself.
Aug gave me a subtle nod, "You know when we were kids Miles thought my name was Asparagus for two whole months. He would try to correct the teacher when she said August. I think he was trying to bully me the whole time." He frowned dramatically.
"You were missing a tooth and had a lisp! I said sorry like a hundred times. I don't know why you keep being it up!" Miles facepalmed exasperated.
August smirked, "One day at recess we were playing hide and seek outside the school. Miles couldn't find Euterpe so he tried to find me to help him but he couldn't as well so... bahaha. He went to the teacher and started yelling about losing Asparagus and they sent him to the counselor! They thought he went crazy. That's when he finally learned my name was August and wouldn't look at us for two days." He cackled.
"Shut up," Miles groaned.
"Why do you call Euterpe, strawberry?"
Aug huffed, "She likes to steal all the red skittles. It hurts, right here." He touched his heart.
Thorn smiled, "When Euterpe was small she called me Thornado."
I covered my face listening to the laughs, "I don't know why you're laughing Axman. The only reason you got that name is because you reminded her of a lumberjack when you trying to down a tree with a butter knife. She looked at you and said 'Get Axe man... Axman!' and it stuck." Thorn smirked.
"What?! I can't believe you! How could you give me such a horrible, horrible, knife?! If you knew I was cutting a tree then I would obviously need something bigger!" Axton sighed in disappointment.
"Loser," Braxton smirked.
Axton pouted, "What about Braxton then?"
At that Castriel was the one to chuckle, "She called him Bee and as much as it seems simple it really wasn't. We were out in the flower field and a beehive was up in a tree we were sitting by. Braxton had the smart idea to jump on said tree and since it was on the small size the beehive jerked. The bees went berserk and started flying around. Braxton screamed and they went straight for him and that resulted in him running around for twenty minutes crying. And successfully earning you the nickname Bee." Castriel sipped his water with a smug look.
Braxton scoffed, "I highly doubt that." He weekly protested.
"I can confirm," Rydge spoke looking at his phone.
When is he not on that thing is the real question.
"And me?" Othello asked curiously.
Thorn smiled with a look of nostalgia, "You two would sneak away before dinner and eat Oreos like you hadn't eaten in weeks. No matter how hard we hid them all, you two would always find them. You two would should up with cookies on your cheeks and a big grin but deny any claim of eating them. One day I caught you two and you offered me some in exchange for my silence. You said 'T, we will share if you don't tell Rydge. We will give you... um... how many? ...Well, we only have ten left so we can get four each and he will have two. Yeah, you can have two if you don't tell.' Very stingy if you ask me." Thorn pouted, "But her given name to you was Oreo."
"What? I hate Oreos." Othello looked so confused.
"After... you wouldn't eat them anymore. You don't hate them, Othello, you hated the memory that came with them." Castriel looked down.
Before he could reply I kicked Milo, "Right! Well, we are done. Thanks for the food and everything bit we should get going. Suits and dresses to find. Very busy day today, very busy." He chuckled nervously standing up.
Aug nodded, "Yes, we should go. Call us if you need anything okay?" He kissed my head with Milo following.
"Adiós!" They ran out.
"So weird." Axton shrugged.
"Yeah, you are." Braxton replied.
Axton glared, "You want to start again you blind dried turkey?!"
"I swear to- I will end you!"
"My god,"
"Oh yeah and how do you plan to do that? With your jelly rolls?"
"WHY YOU-"
"Axton, apologize! We don't joke about that!" Thorn gasped.
Axton smiled sarcastically, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you don't have an ass like me. Instead, you got that roll roll 4000. What you gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?!" He sung the last part.
I covered my mouth, what the actual hell. I will not laugh, no no no.
"WE ARE IDENTICAL!!!!!"
"Even if you spray it, it won't be enough to look like moi." Axton puckered his lips.
I can't.
"Enough! Both of you apologize now." Rydge ordered rubbing his head.
"I'm sorry." They both mumbled.
Just then the doorbell when off and I watched the boys faces turn to confusion. There was distant chatter for a few minutes which inclined my growing curiosity as well. After another two minutes of quiet Jensen walked into the room.
"Master Rydge, there seem to be two guests with an undying need of attention right now. Your audience was requested right away." He spoke with a slightly bitter tone.
"Who is it?"
Jensen scowled before school his expression, "Miss Sage's social worker and her father's lawyer." He inhaled calmly.
Damn- who upset him, it's almost impossible.
Rydge narrowed his eyes at the table. "Uninvited, unannounced, and apparently also unmannerly. It seems as we have a problem to take care of, let's get the over with quickly." Rydge stood up fixing his long sleeve.
"Come,"
Oh right.
—
We were waiting in the living room for them when I suddenly felt the urge to laugh. Axton and Braxton were sitting together and kept hitting each other until the other fell off. Axton hit Braxton in the face on accident and completely froze before lunging for him. Axton was hugging Braxton muttering apologies and would not let go.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me." He changed holding onto Braxton.
They twisted and grunted, "Stupid arse I'm going to murder you!" Braxton hissed quietly.
Othello sighed heavily from next to me, "I am going to die before they quit." He mumbled into his hands.
"Axton Phoenix Vaughn. Let him go and sit down right now." Thorn scolded.
Axton visibly cringed, "I don't understand why you bring the middle name into it, we all have the same name. It does nothing." He rolled his eyes letting go.
"It diverted your attention enough to get you to stop so yes, it does do something." Castriel gave him a 'shut your mouth now' look.
He sulked but stayed quiet until Jensen walked in with a man and woman behind him.
"This is Ms. Vale and Mr. Delgado. If you'll excuse me," he gave the woman a pointed look, "I will be back with refreshments." He smiled tightly walking away.
Rydge stood up, "Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet us, Mr. Vaughn. I can imagine how busy you are." Mr. Delgado held his hand out.
Rydge shook it quickly, "I would say your welcome but I was not informed of your arrival. This meeting was pure luck." He stated sharply.
Delgado looked confused turning to the lady, "You told me you took care of everything and that it was agreed that we met today. Did you not call them?" He glared at her.
She huffed, "They were here and that is enough."
Delgado blinked turning back to Rydge, "I apologize for the inconvenience. Euterpe's original social worker, a coincidence really, was my wife. She, unfortunately, couldn't be here with us because she gave birth to our newborn daughter the day Euterpe was taken to the station. This is Miss Vale, her current substitute. If I had known, I would have called myself." He spoke sincerely.
Rydge nodded, "Do not apologize for something that you're not at fault for. You have our best wishes in the name of your wife and daughter. Please, sit." He gestured to a chair across from us.
"Mr. Vaughn." The lady held her hand out.
Rydge looked at her hand and back at her, "You may sit as well." He sat down on his chair again.
Axton snorted before coughing.
She looked heavily offended but sat down next to Delgado who gave her an eye roll. Jensen and a maid walked in with a tray of waters for everyone except he handed me tea.
"Thank you!" I signed.
He smiled kindly at me, "Um- is this Voss? I only drink Voss. I'm sure you have it. If not, you can surely get it." Vale looked at the water disgusted.
Delgado immediately sighed, "Ms. Vile, was it? If you didn't already know, water is water. Slapping a fancy name on an oversized water bottle isn't going to hurt you any more than the makeup on your face already does." Braxton rolled his eyes.
Oh-
"It's Vale..."
"That is what I said."
I will not laugh.
"Can we continue? Jensen, it's fine, you can go now thank you." Castriel chimed in.
Jensen nodded and walked out with the maid who was staring at the woman with wide eyes. Same, I would look at her too but these guys don't scare me, as long as they mind their business anyway.
"Well I can wait, it is more private so Miss Vale, you have the floor." Delgado gestured to us.
Vale clicked her tongue, "I just need to know if has caused in problems. If so, we can place her somewhere more fit for her... status." She spat disgustedly looking at me.
Excuse you bitch??
"And what pray tell is her status?" Thorn gritted out.
Vale picked her nails, "Well for starters I believe that she belongs where all trash does, jail. Her record is beyond a mile long and such disgraces should not be associated with people like you all. Besides she is certainly bizarre, the girl can't even speak. She should be ashamed of herself but don't worry. I will handle everything." She grinned uglier than a clown.
OH F-
Thorn took a deep breath, "Ms. Vale, I can speak for everyone in this room when I say to kindly shut your mouth. We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all. Nothing is wrong with Euterpe. She is perfect the way she is." He spoke calmly but with a tinge of rage in his tone.
"I believe you were here to document her stay, not into insult her or her family." Delgado glared at her as well.
Vale sniffed, "I didn't bring the paperwork. It is unnecessary." She waved him off.
"Then what do you have in that bag? It is half your size?!" He hissed.
She opened it and one of those crusty white dogs peeked out, "I couldn't leave numnums all alone, no I couldn't, no I couldn't." She let the dog lick her lips.
"Gross,"
The dog jumped out of the bag and started sniffing around, "Vile, get your damn dog under control. The stuff here is worth more than your life." Braxton hissed shooing the dog away.
Suddenly the dog started growling behind the couch and lunged. I peeked over to see the ugly dog fighting with Hotdog!! No crusty dog is going to touch Hotdog! The lady started screaming for her dog when I calmly went over and held my hand out.
"Numnums! My numnums! That rodent will hurt my numnuns!"
Hotdog hissed at the dog before jumping into another attack when I whistled and he finally jumped my arms making the dog bark louder. The dog bit my leg hard and I hissed kicking him- she- it away from me resulting in a cry. Othello ran over trying to check my leg since blood was practically running down like a waterfall.
"You stupid brat! Your little- bitch of a pet hurt my numnums!" She yelled finally grabbing the dog.
I saw Rydge look up from his phone when two men, security walked in. Hmm, I didn't know we had security now, was it because of me? That's lame.
Rydge looked at them, "Sector four."
They nodded and walked to her, "What is the meaning of this? What does that mean?" She pulled the dog closer.
Rydge smirked but it wasn't a warm one, no it was a smirk that meant pure evil. It was a smirk of the devil when torture was needed.
"It means a lot, Ms. Vale. Right now, this means I'm a very important wolf that must be obeyed." His eyes weren't cold, they showed mirth, "You will be escorted off our property promptly. You are no longer needed or welcomed, no matter the case." He waved them away.
And yes, they literally dragged her out kicking and screaming.
I limped to the side door and opened it before letting Hotdog down. Hotdog nudged my leg before running off into the tree line. Othello helped me back to the couch while Thorn started cleaning my leg.
"I'm so sorry, I only met her today and not many people are willing to work international cases. I will inform you of what I know from my wife." Delgado drones taking out some forms, "First of all, Euterpe was entrusted to your care for the sole reason of her record in the first place. It is known that in the United Kingdom teens as young as sixteen can move out and more. Euterpe's case was different, the Northern Ireland officials thought having a steady home would be good for her thus the reason she is here now. They thought maybe it would help her in the case of staying out of a police station for longer than a week. With the information we have here, it seems that it has been good so far. Euterpe was usually in the station at least once a week but it's been almost three and nothing. That is great." He smiled looking around.
Axton snorted again.
"I will talk to my wife as soon as I can to have her deal with this personally. It seems as the people they sent were not... qualified." He muttered embarrassed.
Rydge nodded, "It was not your fault, please carry on." His hands clasped together.
I jerked away feeling a sting, "Sorry butterfly but I'm not taking chances. That dog could've had rabies or something." Thorn cringed putting alcohol on the bite.
"Moving on to why I am here, I have the will of Mr. Nolan Sage. I have read it over and to put it very simply, he left everything to her. She now owns all his assets with one condition though. It states here that if Euterpe is under the age of twenty-one when he dies that 90% of the money left to her should be put in a trust until she comes of age. The other 10% will be available for her to access anytime she wants or needs." He looked up.
Castriel nodded, "And how much is that ten percent that she has now?" He asked curiously.
Delgado hummed, "Actually, we do not know the exact amount due to recent purchases he made on the day of his death. The ten percent is roughly about 38 to 40 million. Since the purchases are still pending the amount altogether was 376 million dollars." He nodded thoughtfully.
Hmm, nice but suspicious.
"And she will be able to access the rest at you said twenty-one?" Thorn looked up from my leg.
Delgado nodded, "Yes, it will be put in a trust right away to avoid complications."
I have a question, I lightly tapped Othello and he turned to me confused.
"Can you ask him when the will was made?" I signed.
Othello nodded still confused, "Um- Euterpe wants to know when the will was created..." He pointed at me with his thumb.
"Oh, yes. That is one reason we are trying to move the money very quickly. It is to avoid further problems with counterfeit wills. This will was made over a decade ago, so she would've been maybe five or six at the time. There is no record of a more recent one but we want to make sure she gets what he left for her." He explained.
Now that, makes absolute perfect sense. He wouldn't have left me shit, he made this when he still liked me.
"Is there anything in there about her middle name?" Rydge spoke up.
I paled.
Delgado looked over the papers, "No, nothing about it all. Is it important?" He looked up.
Rydge squinted, "We just needed to know if she already had a middle name that her father picked out." He retorted honestly.
Delgado nodded, "Well maybe now she can pick her own middle name if necessary. Well, I believe I have taken up most of your time so I shall be on my way. My office will contact you in a week with the details of her trust." He stood up.
Rydge stood up, "Perfect, thank you." They shook hands before Delgado left.
"Why did you ask about her middle name again?"
Rydge turned to me, "Because I know for a fact that Avery never would have left that go. The only reason we have a middle name is because of her. Avery's family liked strong names, that was the reason she married dad but the ones she had for us were not... adequate. Father told her that his sons would be named after Grandfather Phoenix or nothing at all. She just didn't expect to have six of us. Which comes down to you, she would've picked on right away. I want to know why you don't have one." He demanded.
"I don't know okay? If you are so stressed about it then give me one yourself." I rolled my eyes.
He sighed before looking at my leg, "Be careful, don't walk on it too much." He mumbled walking out.
"You didn't tell me you had a whole fucking raccoon!!! Can I meet him? Is it a him?" Axton bounced.
Oh, here we go...
—
"Euterpe,"
I looked up from my bed to see Castriel, "Be honest with me please," he frowned walking over, "Why don't you have a middle name?"
I shrugged, "My father just never got the chance to give me one. He obviously died before I got the answer." I signed.
Castriel frowned, "Alright dove, get some sleep okay? And do what Rydge said. Not too much pressure on that leg, it looked bad earlier."
I nodded and he left closing the door.
I am pretty tired so I guess...
I'll just sleep now...
"YOU FUCKING TURKEY!"
Oh... maybe not.
~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Hey cuties, sorry about that. Yesterday was my mom's birthday and she was off almost the whole week so it was nothing but errands on errands and I couldn't find time to write. This chapter was almost 4000 words alone to I hope that is a bit okay. I hope you're all doing good and are safe. I miss you, see you soon!