Alt J - Hunger Of The Pine (Song for Chapter)
It's Friday, so that means a new chapter! I was going to upload two chapter this week, but didn't get round to it, so keep your eyes peeled next week for a double update!
Dedicated to the countries who are dealing with sorrow and strife! #BlackLivesMatter #PrayForNice
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Chapter 3: Judgement
"Now promise me you'll behave" Tayte said,
"No promises, but I will try to be on my best behaviour"
"I guess I'll have to take that"
"Good, because you weren't getting anything else"
"Is Noah coming back?"
"No, I haven't even told him we're going to meet Damon, I think him being there would make it worse"
"Just remember be keep an open mind, if he really is like you and I, then we may butt heads, because you are very stubborn"
"Not going to argue, I know I am"
We headed next door, after saying goodbye to Angelo who was happily chilling out in the sitting room catching up on some TV, without Noah being there, we also told him not to let him come next door if he so happened to come back whilst we were still over.
Mum opened the door,
"Everyone is in the sitting room, Dad is just making everyone drinks" She said pulling me in for a hug, "Thank you for doing this"
"Well it was either now or never, so I opted for now" I said. We walked into the sitting hand in hand, Arii looked up first and I could see tears in her eyes as he dashed up and ploughed into me, hugging me as if it was the last time she was ever going to see me,
"I'm so sorry, I love you so much" Even though I was going against my morals with seeing her so soon, with her letter I realised that there is no point holding grudges or ruining relationships. Life is genuinely too short, there's no time for hate, only love.
"Hey, sis, don't cry. Arii, stop crying, I love you too" I wrapped my arms around her,
"Please forgive me, I can't lose you"
"I forgive you Arii and you'll never lose me, our love is so much stronger than that and you are my kid sister. We're in it for the long run. I know we don't get to choose family, but if I had a choice, I'd choose you and Noah and Tayte all over again"
I could feel the room swell with pride and love. Arii's heart truly melted and from that point on, I think everyone knew that things were going to be okay.
"Keane, Tayte, this is my boyfriend Damon LaBelle"
"Nice to finally meet the two men in Arii's life that she loves the most" He said, shaking our hands, he had a firm grip, but mine was firmer,
"I think you're in that category too, by the sound of things" I said,
"I hope to be one day" He answered, Tayte and I sat ourselves on the opposite sofa to Arii and Damon, Mum and Dad came in and handed everyone drinks then settled themselves down too.
"So we hear you're taking Arii to Spain?" Tayte said,
"Yes, she said she wanted to go and my parents own a villa in Barcelona, so I thought it would be ideal"
"Do you know the country and city well?" I asked, "Because I'm not too okay with the idea of her in a foreign country..." I trailed off,
"In a foreign country with me right" Damon said,
"I don't know you, so I can't make that judgement" I said, "I just want to know whether my baby sister is going to be safe and well looked after"
"Keane" Mum began,
"No, that's fair" Damon said,
"Mum, Dad, you've got to know Damon over the past 7 months. Tayte and I don't know him at all, you've made your judgement, let us make ours" I said,
"I love your little sister, she came into my life at a difficult time and like a whirlwind swept me in her wake and got me through. I can promise you, that Arii will be safe with me no matter where we go. I know for a fact that you would kill me if anything happened and I would have then broken my promise and if there's one thing you should know about me. It's that I never break promises,"
His little speech was good, I can tell you that, I was also curious to know what he'd been through, but then realised that I wouldn't want to speak about all of my past demons to anyone,
"So far I'm buying this nice guy pretence" I said,
"Keane, be nice" Tayte warned,
"I was joking," Arii smiled at me,
"So tell us a bit more about yourself" Tayte said,
"What do you want to know?"
"That you're not a psychopath" I said, Tayte rolled his eyes at me,
"I'm not a psychopath, but I have killed like you" He said with cold eyes smiling at me maliciously, I stood up,
"Keane, baby what's wrong?" Tayte asked, everyone was looking at me with worry apparent on their faces,
"Keane?" Arii questioned,
"I need some air, I'll be back in a minute" I left the room, Tayte hot on my heels,
"Talk to me, what's wrong? What happened?"
"There's nothing to talk about" I said,
"Oh really, so that's why you zoned out and looked like you'd just seen a ghost" he retorted,
"Just forget it"
"Keane, baby. Do you not know me? And do you not think I know you?"
"Like I said, I just zoned out..."
"And what else?"
"What was the last question you asked?"
"I asked Damon to tell us a bit more about himself. And you said that you're not a psychopath"
"Okay, I remember all of that and what did he respond with?"
"He laughed and said of course I'm not...he didn't finish what he was saying though because that's when you stood up all spooked"
"I was hoping that I was imagining it" I said, sitting down on the wall, "He said, no I'm not a psychopath but I have killed like you and he smirked at me"
"I can promise you that he didn't say that, in real life time anyway"
"I thought I got over this. This hasn't happened since Cylan was still alive"
"Look, he's a strange guy who's entered the frame so I totally understand that you're a bit on edge. Trust me, I am too. Just don't think too much into this happening okay" I didn't reply, "Okay"
"Okay" he kissed me and then pulled me up,
"Let's get back inside, do you have a cover story, one that won't make anyone panic?" I smiled,
"I love you"
"I love you too," we headed back inside, everyone was talking amongst themselves, they went silent when they saw me,
"Are you okay darling?" Mum asked,
"Yes, sorry Mum. I'm good, I just needed a bit of air, and I can feel a headache coming on. But I promise you I am fine" I replied, giving everyone a smile. I think they all brought it well enough. Damon carried on telling us all about himself and even though I thought he came across as a bit of a pompous dick. Arii loved him and I could tell that he really did love her too. There was no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't keep her safe. I would just lie to her and say that I like and approve of him, it wasn't as if it was a total lie. Our little bonding session was interrupted however, by Noah, thankfully,
"Why was I not invited to partake in the meeting of Damon?" He asked,
"Because you've already met him" I said,
"That is not the point. I wanted to see your reaction" he pouted, I laughed,
"You didn't miss much, Keane's been on his best behaviour" Tayte said,
"Well that is just boring"
"It was nice to finally meet and hear about you Damon" I said, but looking at Arii, she made a face at me, "You seem like a genuine guy and I can tell you both love each other very much and as long as you keep my baby sister safe, I don't think we're going to have any problems"
"Thank you and I do love Arii and I will always keep her safe. I know deep down I won't ever be as good as Tayte but..."
"Really, why do you all drag me into this? I am nothing special" Tayte said,
"I disagree" I whispered smiling, then winced as a pain shot across my eyebrow, Tayte saw this and narrowed his eyes at me, "I have a headache" I stood up,
"Seriously, nice to meet you Damon, look after my girl" he winked,
"Boys I'm cooking dinner for us all, so we can chat more then, be over here for 8.30pm" Mum said,
"Sure thing" We said then left the room, Noah came bounding after,
"I thought you were meant to be out with friends" I said,
"Yeah, I was, but then something happened and I...I just left" I Stopped,
"What happened?" I asked,
"Nothing important" he said still walking,
"Noah seriously what happened" Tayte stopped him,
"We just, ran into some dick heads, it was nothing really, I just..."
"If you don't tell me. I'm going to ring every one of your friends and find out what the hell happened" I said trying not to get angry,
"Keane it was nothing" I rubbed my temples, the pain getting worse,
"Don't lie to me"
"Keane, you don't look too good" Noah said,
"Don't change the subject" I answered,
"Noah's right baby, you don't look too good"
"I'm fine, can you just talk to me"
"He'll talk when you're sat down" Tayte said wrapping his arms around me,
"I promise, I'll tell you" Noah said. So I relented and headed back into our house and I sat on the sofa after being forced to take something for my headache, after I refused greatly, "This group of guys approached us and started to verbally abuse us. Which I could handle, you know I have a mouth on me, but..." he trailed off, "Keane I'm worried about you"
"Yeah and I'm worried about you too. I am fine" yet the throbbing in my head was telling me otherwise, Tayte took my hand,
"Just continue Noah" Tayte said giving him the look,
"They were homophobic bastards and started getting very abusive and saying some things which I know deep down really hurt me, but I just push them away. My friends stood up for me, they were then about to get physical so we just walked off as they kept shouting abuse. I wasn't in the mood to carry on the rest of the evening"
"Fucking bastards" I said, "Did you know any of them?"
"No" he answered, I stood up and stormed out, "Keane wait" both Noah and Tayte chased after me. I was getting into my truck, Tayte went and stood in front of it,
"Get out of the car Keane" he said, Noah came around to my door,
"You're angry and you have a crazy headache" He said, "I love how protective you are of me Keane. But I promise you that I am okay and I honestly don't know who they were, but I don't care. I just want you to stop hurting" I looked at Tayte who was still stood in front of my car,
"We won't go over for dinner, we'll cook up something nice and chill out, the four of us" he said, "Just get out of the car"
"I'm sorry. You know how angry and protective I get. My head isn't helping the matter" I got out of the car and Noah hugged me,
"I love you so much Keane" he said,
"I love you too kiddo"
"If I can make a suggestion, and that being we all go and chill out and if you're not up for going next door Keane, then we don't go" Tayte said,
"I'll be fine, maybe I just need some food or something"
We headed back into our house, Angelo was now in the sitting room,
"How did the meeting go?" He asked,
"Good, he seems like an alright guy" I answered,
"You don't have to lie to me Keane" Angelo laughed, I smiled, "Noah doesn't really like him, he's just pretending for Arii's sake"
"Angelo jeez, anything else you want to announce?" Noah said,
"Um, Noah's pregnant with our child," We all laughed,
"Why am I the lady?" he pouted,
"Because you are much more feminine brother" I teased,
"Who's the female in your relationship?" he asked, Tayte and I looked at each other,
"We're both equally masculine and feminine" Tayte answered,
"Good answer" I told him, plonking myself down on the sofa,
"How's the head?" Noah then said,
"It's not too bad, just a dull throbbing, am I still pale?"
"No, still black," I smiled,
"Are you joining us for dinner next door Angelo?" Tayte asked,
"Of course he is" Noah replied for him,
"Seems as if I am"
The time was now 8pm, so we had half an hour,
"I'm going for a quick shower, please do check on me if I don't appear in the next 15 minutes to make sure I haven't collapsed and died" I said,
"You are so positive Keane" Noah said rolling his eyes at me,
"It's a gift" I retorted,
"Come on Mr Doom and gloom" Tayte said, taking my hand and leading me away.
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Mum and Dad had decided they were going to cook a three course meal. We had tomato, mozzarella and basil bruschetta for starters,
"This is beautiful thank you" Damon said, I made a sly face at Tayte, Noah and Angelo, in which Noah had to stop himself from laughing out loud,
"Just a little something we were experimenting with" Mum said. Arii and I cleared away the table after the starters,
"I'm so glad you like him" She said as we put the dishes in the dishwasher,
"Me too" I smiled, she hugged me,
"I love you so much" She whispered,
"I love you more baby sis"
"Mum sent me in for more wine" Noah said, and then, "Aw family hug" joining in, we both laughed and I wrapped my arms around my baby siblings.
"Look at my babies" Mum said coming in, "The main isn't quite ready yet, so I suggested we play Pictionary, but without the board and just use a random word generator instead. I think it will be fun and a sort of family bonding session.
So that's what we ended up doing, Mum and Dad were a total power couple. You could tell they'd known each other a long time, they were just great. The chemistry and love still very evident, made me feel happy. They powered through with ease, and I'm sure, even though the rest of us had yet to go, put us all to shame.
"Now that is how you ace Pictionary" Mum said,
"I afraid I have to agree" I told her smiling,
"That is going to be tough to follow" Arii said, "But I think I can handle it"
"Ooh fighting talk" Dad teased as Arii and Damon stepped up.
Safe to say that Arii and Damon didn't outdo Mum and Dad, far from it, they started well, then everything went downhill. The point of no return was when Arii drew an airplane and we could all see this, Damon said Banana and laughter filled the house.
"A banana" Arii said afterwards, "What bananas have windows and clouds around it?"
"I thought they were the black bits and yeah, no clue what the clouds were"
"This game has revealed your mind is weird," she shook her head in disbelief, I was still trying to compose myself,
"Who's next?" Dad asked,
"Noah" I said, the same time as he said,
"Keane" we grinned at each other,
"Rock paper scissor it out" Angelo said,
"Oh Lord" Tayte said, "An argument will follow this"
"That was one time and we were only little" I said.
Flashback
"Do it on the count of three okay, I'll call it" Tayte said,
"No cheating" Keane warned,
"Says you" Noah retorted,
"One, two, three"
Keane showed the rock and Noah the scissors,
"Winner" Keane announced,
"No, you did that after me, you saw my scissors and did rock" Noah argued,
"Stop making excuses because I beat you"
"Best of three" Tayte said, trying to make peace,
"Fine" Keane huffed, Noah smiled,
"Scared because I'll beat you"
"That smirk will be wiped off your face in a minute"
"One, two, three" Paper was the product of both Keane and Noah's hands,
"You were saying" Noah said,
"Shut up, you're going down"
"One, two, three"
Noah did a rock and Keane paper,
"Nice try kidda, but I told you I'd beat you"
"It's not fair, you cheated, I want a rematch, you're so...just do it properly" he said trying not to cry,
"How did I cheat? Stop being a sore loser, it's only a bit of fun"
"You wouldn't be saying that if I won" Noah said running off, "You all suck"
End of flashback
"Call it Tayte" I said, as Noah and I squared up at each other,
"One, two, three" Noah did a rock and I showed paper, I smiled,
"Best of 3" Noah glared,
"One, two, three"
Noah did paper and I did scissors, he groaned and threw a pillow at me,
"You still suck" he pouted, I laughed,
"I just know what you're going to do"
"Fair is fair, go on Noah" Mum said, he glared at me, I blew him a kiss.
Noah and Angelo were awesome, we all, well, I knew Noah was very artistic and Angelo the sneaky devil had a very creative side and they smashed it all up. One minor blip was when Angelo drew a unicorn and Noah said a horse with a drill in its head. I cried with laughter, Noah then attacked me and we ended up on the floor in a heap catching our breath,
"I love how close you all are" Damon said,
"Your part of the family now too, give it time" I heard Arii whisper as I pulled Noah up,
"I can't believe you said a Horse with a drill in its head, you like unicorns what the hell was going through your head?" I said, finally composing myself,
"I panicked" he grinned "And that is basically what a unicorn is"
"I do not know how I survive without you, besides having Tayte of course"
"Creeper" Tayte answered,
"Come on boys, round us off so we can eat our main course" Mum said,
"What are we having?"
"It's a surprise" Dad said.
We took our turn and totally killed it, power couple right here! We guessed every one of each other's drawings with ease and I knew everyone was very impressed.
"How do you do that?" Damon asked,
"We have a telepathic bond" I said,
"It's from a long 20 years of friendship" Tayte said,
"You win the title of the power couple" Noah announced,
"We disagree" Mum said,
"Sucks to be you" I teased. We ended up seated and began eating the main course 2 hours and 15 minutes after the starter! Dad had cooked up his favourite shredded minted lamb with rosemary rice and homemade gravy which Noah literally loved.
"Love love this gravy is love" Noah sang,
"So when are you leaving for Barcelona?" I asked, Noah drinking the gravy like it was a drink,
"A week tomorrow" Damon replied,
"I'm so excited" Arii beamed, "it's going to be amazing"
"We'll see all of Europe's wonders Rii" he said, my face obviously changed to something detrimental as Tayte squeezed my hand and whispered,
"I love you so much" it sent shivers down my spine, I stood up,
"We'll be back in a minute" I said, dragging Tayte out of the room and out the front door,
"What's...?" I kissed him to shut him up, he wrapped his arms around my body and began to caress my tongue in his, as his hands explored my body, I pulled him closed and slipped my hands down the back of his jeans. We broke for breath after a few minutes, "Shall we skip desert?" he took my hand and we crossed the road and sat on the sand leant against the wall. We looked out at the vast ocean,
"Do you honestly think that we're going to all be okay now?" I said, as the crashing waves of the ocean soothed me,
"You never know what the future holds, but I think it's looking good Keane" he kissed me and I rested my head on his shoulder,
"That was a good answer"
"Keane, Tayte?" Noah's voice called, we stifled giggles, "You didn't giggle quiet enough" he jumped on the wall, "The parents wondered where you got to, are you okay?"
"We're perfect" Tayte said,
"Well then, I would like some dessert and Mum won't serve until your back. So come on" we laughed,
"Coming your royal highness" I said getting up, Noah did a little curtsy then grabbed both of our hands and pulled us back inside,
"I found them, they were so totally about to escape by sailing off on a homemade raft into the ocean to be captured by pirates and become cabin boys" Noah said,
"I really do worry about you" I smiled,
"So do I" Angelo said, Noah grinned sticking his tongue out,
"Where did you really go?" Arii asked,
"To get some air and we got...distracted" she rolled her eyes,
"Right, distracted" she winked,
We had homemade chocolate millionaire shortbread with strawberries dipped in chocolate on the side, it was divine, I ended up feeding Tayte and was then copied by every other couple, Mum and Dad included.
"How does wine and cheese outside in the garden sound?" Dad suggested,
"I like the sound of that" Damon said, "I really admire your family's lifestyle and I hope one day I will be included in that"
"I can tell you son, that you will" Dad said. Son, Dad had never called me that, Noah looked at me, and then mouthed,
"Son" and made a face, or Noah from that response, Angelo's phone then rang, Noah stuck out his bottom lip,
"Excuse me" he said leaving to take the call,
"I hate when he goes on late night calls" Noah said as everyone else began to disperse, Damon and Arii slipped away and Mum and Dad went into the kitchen,
"It might not be anything important "I said,
"Usually always is"
"Are you coming outside?" Arii asked reappearing in the doorway,
"We'll be there in a bit" Tayte replied, she smiled in response. Angelo came back after 5 minutes,
"I'm going to have to go..." he said,
"Can I come with you?" Noah asked,
"Yes, it's not important, I just have to see to a minor injury" he answered, this brightened Noah up,
"Are you sure? You can say no if I'm going to be in the way"
"Baby don't be silly, come on" he said taking his hand,
"We'll see you later, if you're still out here" Angelo said,
"I doubt it, but do come and say goodnight, I'm sure we'll be around somewhere in the house" I replied.
"Love you both so much" He said, and they left,
"Come on babe, let's at least have one drink" I said, taking Tayte's hand and heading outside. Arii and Damon were sat with a drink in hand talking to Mum and Dad,
"Angelo and Noah have gone on a call so they won't be joining us" I said, picking up a bottle of white and pouring out two glasses,
"Well I'm sure the six of us can finish off a few of these bottles" Mum smiled. I sat down on the old wicker sofa soon to be joined by Tayte who I passed a glass too. I leant back and took a long sip of the cool liquid. I could hear everyone talking, but after a while the voices were muffled, fuzzy.
You fought your demon's Keane and you won. You created happiness again, but this happiness isn't going to last. The days are numbered and you have to understand that. Something's coming Keane and its big, it's bigger than all of you. Be careful who you trust, those who are nicest are the ones you need to watch. You will fight, you will fail and you will fall, but you mustn't give up. You have the strength of a thousand lions and a heart of gold. I'm with you in your mind, you got through an addiction and you saved your family. You will get through this.
"Keane, do you want to be topped up?" I looked at whoever had spoken to me,
"No, I'm good Mum. I'm...I'm going to head to bed"
"Are you okay?" Dad asked, as I stood up.
"Yeah...I'm just tired, thanks for dinner. It was...it was lovely. Goodnight everyone"
"Keane are you sure you're okay" Dad said again as Tayte stood up, I nodded,
"Love you Keane" Arii said,
"Love you too," Tayte slipped his hand in mine and we left the house.
Tayte's POV
"Your awfully quiet babe. Is it really tiredness or do you have something on your mind?" I asked,
"Can we go to the cove?" he said, I looked at him, there was definitely something wrong,
"Of course, just let me grab a few things. I'll meet you in the truck" he nodded at me and then slowly made his way to his Chevrolet Colorado. I left a note for Noah and Angelo. Considering it was 11.30pm, grabbed a lantern, blanket and some money, then locked the house up. Keane was sat silently in the car, staring out of the window, I knew there was something seriously wrong with him.
"Babe" I said softly after I'd pulled away, "Was it a flashback?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now" he replied,
"And I don't want you to wallow and be eaten alive by whatever it is that's going on in your mind" I answered,
"I'll talk, just not right at this minute. Just let us be in silence, I need to digest what..." he trailed off,
"Okay...okay. I won't push you, but you have to promise me you'll talk to me" I stopped at a red traffic light, I looked at him, he leant over and kissed my cheek and I knew, that no matter what he was feeling, it was going to be okay. That we were going to get through anything that was thrown our way.
The cove was our special place, it was a carved out rocky cave, you had to fight with rocks and pools to get into to it, but once you'd made it, the sand and the secretive cave with exceptional views out at the sea met you. I parked up in the layby cutting the engine. We both got out of the car and looked out at the vast ocean. It was dark, but the sky still glowed with light from the thousands of stars, I grabbed a lantern and a blanket. Then we began to contend with the rocky path and the darkness,
"Be careful" Keane said as I lost my footing and he grabbed me. Thankfully we got to the cave with no mishaps or accidents. The sand was soft beneath our shoes and dry in the cave. Keane sat down, I joined next to him,
"So...do you come here often?" I asked, he smiled, but it was a sad one. I set the lantern to a warm glow and wrapped the blanket around our shoulders. "Are you going to tell me what's going on inside that head of yours?"
"Isn't it better to keep everything inside Tayte? Because the only person who can judge me then is myself" He replied,
"Keane, we all try to hide our feelings, the thing we forget, is that our eyes speak for us" he looked away,
"I fought my demons and I won. I created happiness again, but this happiness isn't going to last. The days are number and something is coming, something that is bigger than us all. I have to be careful who I trust, because those who are the nicest are the ones I need to watch. I will fight, fail and fall, but I can't give up. I have the strength of a thousand lions and a heart of golf. I got through an addiction and saved my family. I'm going to get through this" He said, or recited,
"The voice in your head told you that?"
"If you put it like that, you really do make me sound crazy" he said, I smiled,
"Sorry, I just want to understand"
"When I was going through withdrawal and having dreams there was this voice and it's the same one. Warning me that something is coming"
"It's good that their warning you, but it would be better if we knew what was coming" I said,
"Well sorry, why don't I just tell the voice in my head to be a bit more precise" he said, giving me that look, I shoved him and he smiled, his eyes twinkled. "I really don't know what I'd do without you" he said, "You never judge, you just stick by my side no matter what and I cannot thank you enough. You really are something special"
"You are worth it all babe. I am not going anywhere"
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Next update: Friday and ???
Peace out!
GTRx
Copyright © Georgia T R Wing