SHAY TOOK A SIP OF COLD COFFEE and lowered the cup, relishing its taste as it cleared her mind of all the disturbing thoughts. She had been thinking about today's morning, unlike every day when she thinks about her nightmares sometimes. She had woken up screaming and thrashing which had freaked Jade and Rose out.
She had woken up screaming very loudly, but Shay didn't know why. Shay didn't remember the nightmare she had, and she hit a blank wall every time she tried to recall it. Usually, her screams get muffled by the pillow, but today she had been sleeping in an awkward position. She had woken up to a high-pitched screaming and Rose's and Jade's face hovering anxiously over hers, and it took her a few moments to realize she was the one screaming.
Shay looked around at her friends sprawled on the couches distributed across the room when she caught them looking at her worriedly. She narrowed her eyes at Theo, who then looked at Jade with a thoughtful expression, "Do you think—" he started by was interrupted by Jade. "Yes. All the time," Jade said with a satisfied smirk. Theo sighed exasperatedly, "That's not what I meant. Do you think—"
Jade cut him off again, "Yep."
"Quit that, I'm trying to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"Thank you," Theo said with relief as he took in a deep breath. "Do you guys think—"
The poor guy was cut off by Kai this time, "Yeah, well, all the damn time. People even say that I'm a good thinker. Didn't you know that Theo?" Theo scowled, "You guys have something against me? Is it the food I stole from your plate?"
Kai shook his head, "Nope. It absolutely has nothing to do with your food, cause I stole something back to make it equal. I just wanted you to know how we feel when you interrupt us. You do the same thing every day."
Theo's shoulders slumped, "Well, I didn't know it's this annoying. I'll stop it. It's always kind of fun to interrupt your sentences and change the track, but I've never been on the other side, the receiving end."
All of them smiled at Theo, silently signalling him to continue whatever he wanted to say. Everyone leaned forward to hear what Theo wanted to say curiously. George exhaled, "Theo, please tell us whatever you wanted to tell quickly because I think I might die because of curiosity and suspense."
Theo shook his head disappointedly, "Ugh!" he exclaimed. "I forgot what I wanted to say."
George leaned back looking dissatisfied, "You have no idea how disappointed I am, Theo. Now I'm gonna spend the rest of my life wondering what you would've said."
It had been three days since the holidays started, and their school didn't inform them when they would start again. It would most probably be after everything stopped. They spent each day with George, every moment spent with him making him closer to them.
They became attached to him, even though they knew him for a few days. He was easy going and very kind, hiding all his sorrows behind his cheerful smile. Even though he went through that hard times in his life, he made sure he would spend every day of his life plastering a smile onto his face for the other's sake, so that they wouldn't be worried about him.
Shay and her friends have discussed whether they should tell George about what they had discovered or not. It might be a risk telling George about it, but they had a gut feeling that nothing bad would happen. And also that they were running in circles regarding those matters and needed someone to help them out. Someone who knew what to do.
Today was the dreaded day of telling George about everything. They had no idea how to even start it, how to tell him about everything which was going on. Shay wondered how he would react as she gobbled the cookies on a large plate. Soon enough, with everyone nibbling anxiously on the freshly baked cookies, only one was left. Both Rose and Kai had their eyes and hands on it and started fighting for it wearing identical glares and scowls on their faces.
Will sighed exasperatedly, "I'll break it into two."
"No."
"You know what?" Theo said, simply plucking out the cookie from their hands and putting it into his mouth. "There," he said chewing it. "Problem solved."
George shook his head gravely, "Good job, Theo. You just killed yourself." There were chaos after that. Rose was screaming at Theo and Kai was sobbing into his hands. After twenty minutes and two freshly baked cookies, a comfortable silence descended over the grand house. George looked at the empty cups of coffee and stood up to get some more, but Shay volunteered, tugging on Will's shirt.
Will looked at Theo, Kai and Rose, who got the signal and stood up, but Jade remained on the couch, "Why do we need so many people to bring coffee?" She asked but hissed when Will stepped on her foot. Will said softly, averting his eyes to George and back to her, "We are gonna get more snacks and I don't think one person would be enough."
"Yeah, but—" Jade broke off, realizing why Will did that. She nodded and stood up, glaring daggers at Will. They closed the door behind them gently, with George curiously looking over at them.
Kai leaned against the door and spoke softly, "Okay, now who will be the one telling him?" Shay shook her head no. She wasn't so good at explaining things to people, especially things as important as these. She would confuse herself and others. It wouldn't be so easy, telling people what was assumed by them was entirely wrong, that six teenagers carry the weight of a secret which threatens to crush the hopes of humanity. And there was Anthony they had to explain about, tell George that his grandson put his life at stake for the betterment of the city. He knew what he was doing, he knew about the dangers he would face but still threw himself in front of them. Ready to face the consequences for the good of Blackwood like a warrior.
Everyone was looking at Will, knowing he was the only one capable of being calm and explaining it very well, and Will sighed, nodding his head. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, his green eyes sombre. Jade stepped on Will's foot, and he groaned. "Now we're even," Jade said with a satisfied smirk.
Shay smiled at him as they went inside the room, George standing up expecting coffee, "I don't know how I would survive without that stuff. One day without it, and I'd have a hard time focusing on things, and a bad headache. But don't get too used to—" George broke off, realizing they had no coffee.
He looked at their expressions and frowned, nodding at them to sit down as he sat in front of their semi-circle with Leo right in the middle. Shay was right beside Will, and she found him looking at her when she looked up. Will's mouth was set in a grim line before he smiled at Shay and looked at George, thinking about how he should start.
Leo walked to Will and settled comfortably in his lap, licking his hand to comfort his distress. Leo was like the best antidepressant in the world with so much love, always ready to tackle their sadness with a reassuring lick which said 'Remember I'm here for you. Always.'
Will smiled at Leo, his hands on either side of Leo's face. Leo barked with contentment as Will tickled the sides of Leo's face. Will set one of his hand on the floor as he looked at George, Shay immediately set her hand on his. George spoke lowly, "You guys can tell me anything, you know that right?"
All of them nodded. George took in their expressions and his grey eyes filled with sadness, "It's about Anthony, isn't it?" Shay's eyes widened. He somehow looked right through them. Will took in a deep breath and started telling George about everything.
George's expression didn't change. If he was hiding his emotions, he was doing a very good job of doing it. And knowing George, Shay knew that he was hiding them. He nodded at Will when he stopped after telling about the conversation they had with Anthony before he died. "Go on," he urged, putting a smile on his face to show that he was okay and that Will should continue. Shay was the one who continued the narration, carefully looking at George's face as she spoke.
The light in George's eyes went out, tears replacing them. He stared at the black marble with golden veins fixedly for five minutes, then finally looked up. His eyes were dry. He smiled at them, "At least I was right about the fact that I was certain my grandson didn't kill himself. Anthony is brave."
The sadness in George's eyes threatened to consume him, but he just said: "There's more, isn't there?"
Will continued again, and George's mouth tipped up slightly when they got to the part about Aquariaa. All of them had their heads in their hands, avoiding eye contact. George let out a short amused laugh, "Now, Now, don't look so ashamed and sad, it was quite a stunt you pulled out. You did it for the sake of our city, not for your own selfishness. Though I have to say, you guys are a bunch of brave hearts."
George had a thoughtful expression after that, as they told him about the commonalities the people who were murdered had, updating him with all the news that hadn't been released into official newspapers, telling him about their suspicions on Royale Pharma. Others filled on whenever Will missed something out, which happened only once.
George was now looking at the articles, to look if they had missed something. He grimaced at the two walls in the pictures: one of them with Look what you made me do written with blood, and the body in front of the wall, and the other one with the lyrics of You should see me in a crown with black paint.
"You know," Will continued as George scrolled through the phone's screen. "We had been suspecting Royale Pharma from the start because of its involvement and all these shady things happening there. But now... I'm not so sure. With the CEO missing, I don't think it's them. They are certainly involved in all of this, it might be because someone else is targeting them. And if they are being targetted, they do know some things."
"Or," Kai put in. "Sam might be faking his disappearance to get the suspicion on him away."
They all nodded at the possibility. Jade glanced at George who was frowning, "Do you know any other medical companies? Companies who might be suspects?"
George looked up, "Royale Pharma is definitely on the list. There are very few companies in Blackwood because Royale Pharma was always leading and any other company would shut down because of the competition. But when I think about it," he said as he looked at everyone. "Vyper is a start-up company. And is very successful. The company is pretty brilliant, getting well-earned money and fame quickly."
"But their record is clean," Rose assured. "We checked it thoroughly. We found nothing."
"Well," George said as he exhaled. He smiled at their tired faces, "Whatever it is, we need to think about it tomorrow with a fresh mind. We are tired and our thoughts are too muddled right now." He smiled at Kai whose eyes were drooping.
George gave them a genuine smile, "Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for sharing this with me, I know it was tough for you. We'll work together tomorrow, okay?" George said as he opened the door and walked out, others followed suit.
Two words kept echoing through Shay's mind as she walked, trying to fight her sleepiness. She held onto Will's hand as she stumbled, who caught her almost immediately. He was always there for her whenever she fell down. His beautiful eyes were now wide with worry and concern. Her thoughts were hazy, and her head nodded down with sleep.
Will caught her by her shoulders, his green eyes looking at her anxiously. He was saying something, but his voice came out distorted. She leaned into him, tiredness and days worth of sleep catching up with her.
Two words were still echoing in her mind, they seemed like a promise to her regarding another situation. Darkness caught on her, but the two words rang one last time before stopping completely.
Together. Tomorrow.
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