Dean had no idea what to do, as he looked at the girl in his arms who only recently decided she did not despise him. He was used to comforting people having sisters prepared him for that, but Leta was a whole new can of worms he barely even knew how to make her happy let alone comfort her after finding her missing parents Death certificates. All he could do was hug her while she violently cried into his chest and hope that it would be enough.
Time painstakingly ticked by with Leta showing no signs of calming down, her sobs slowly subsided into ragged breaths and whimpers, still clutching tightly to Dean's now wet jumper. Dean hesitantly stroked Leta's back before speaking in a low soft voice.
"Leta, d-do you wanna get up off the floor, we can go down to the living room and wait for your nan to get back?". Lowering his head, while Leta just slowly blinked before nodding. Getting her down the stairs was a more complicated affair than getting her to hang out with him, her legs were weak and she clung to Dean like life support; every step was slow and shaky.
Dean guided Leta to the sofa before setting off into the kitchen to make her a hot drink, it was around 3:30 pm so Dean figured Dionne would be home soon. As he waited for the milk to heat, he stared back out of the window, rain beginning to drizzle down the windowpane, dark clouds looming overhead; the faint 'ding' of the microwave in the background brought him back to reality. Walking back into the living room Leta still had the lifeless look swirling in her eyes as she stared at the rain outside. He set the hot drink down on the table before sitting next to her.
"Do you want me to do anything?"
silence
Dean began to rack his mind of something to say, some kind of sentence where he could get any kind of reaction because while he had no idea how Leta must be feeling right now, he couldn't stand her not saying anything at all. She was always the liveliest person in the room, the one whose laugh was beyond infectious, she was the one who would make her friends feel like they were all that mattered. But at the moment she needed not only her friends but Dean the most, and he couldn't so much as utter a word of support. The wheels behind his eyes were working ten to the dozen, distracting him from Leta's slow movements to face him.
Her voice came out as nothing but a croaky whisper, "I-i just don't understand". Dean's head snapped to face her. He stared at her not wanting to say or do anything to stop her from talking, She was picking at her fingers, "I don't understand why my nan wouldn't just say they were...".
She choked on a sob as she continued "dead, if-if she had just told me from the beginning that... that they were gone, I could have coped with it, i-i could have come to terms with it". As she continued it was visible Leta was getting more upset, "she could have stopped me from 15 years of pain and hope". She shot up her eyes flashing a luminous green, the rain outside had begun pelting down a low rumble of thunder vibrating across the street, "SHE COULD HAVE JUST TOLD ME, BUT INSTEAD, SHE MADE ME BELIEVE THERE WAS A CHANCE"
Her breaths were becoming shallow again and the green flash in her eyes disappeared as she sat down again, her eyes welling with tears threatening to spill. "A chance that they were still alive, that one day they will come home and I would have my parents back".
Leta slumped as she began to cry again, Dean just stared at her visibly uncomfortable unsure of what else he could do, he took her hand and squeezed it, "Leta I have no idea how you are feeling, and I couldn't begin to imagine it, but I do know something, and you can tell me to go to hell and never speak to you again if you want".
His eyes meeting hers, laced with trepidation, "I have known you for 15 years, and one thing I'm certain of is that your nan adores you, I don't think she would keep something like this from you unless she had to, I-I think you should hear her out. She might have an explanation for it all". For what felt like the thousandth time his eyes darted hesitantly to hers, her eyebrows were furrowed, a blank expression adorned on her face.
She huffed a breath "I am just so angry with her for lying to me my whole life" Dean looked at her sympathetically. "Leta you have every right to be angry, this is an awful thing you have had to find out but before you blow your nans head off for lying, let her explain because I'm sure there has to be a good enough reason for it". With another deep sigh Leta said softly "Okay".
They sat in silence while Leta sipped the hot chocolate Dean made which was now cold, the sun was setting in the distance, plunging their small village into darkness. The front door flung open sending a gust of wind into the living room forming goosebumps on Leta's body, Dionne was bustling in with a very sorry looking umbrella. Leta gave Dean an anxious look before she stood up to help her nan through the door.
"Oh thank you, darling, it's horrible out there, nearly fell into the river walking back from Dove's". Leta helped her nan out of her soaked jacket and went to put it in the tumble dryer, she could hear her nan talking to Dean. "Hello Dean my love didn't expect you to be here, do you want to stay for some dinner", Leta walked back into the living room and saw Dean becoming more and more uncomfortable, hoping that they wouldn't start fighting while he was there. Dean cleared his throat "I should probably get home, it's getting late".
Leta smiled at him, "Yeah, of course, I'll um show you out". Dionne went into the kitchen to set about starting dinner while Leta stepped into the hallway with Dean. "Thank you for, you know, I know that must of been uncomfortable but I appreciate it", Dean smiled at her feeling relieved that he had managed to help her in some small way.
"I know you would do the same for me. If you need anything just give me a ring okay and just try to hear her out okay". Leta nodded stepping back and watching him leave.
She took a deep breath before she sat back on the sofa, staring at the newly lit fireplace, she hadn't noticed her nan was calling her name until she came in and tapped her on the shoulder. "You alright honey, you were miles away for a second there".
Leta flashed a half-hearted smile before gesturing for Dionne to sit down. "Nan I think we need to talk", Leta's heart was beating out of her chest. She asked Dionne to wait while she went up into her room, sitting on her bed was the box, where Dean had left it; Leta stared at it from the doorway before gently picking it up and taking it downstairs.
Leta could see Dionne visibly pale as she placed the box down on the table, her face alone made Leta want to bolt and act like it never happened. For a while neither of them said anything; Leta was unsure of how to approach the subject without starting an argument, Dionne was bewildered at how her granddaughter had found the box that she had been hiding for 15 years.
Leta and Dionne had the same mannerisms when they were nervous, their eyes would dart at the other while they fiddled with their hands. The uncomfortable silence was becoming unbearable so Leta swallowed her anxiety and spoke first.
"Why", Dionne almost didn't even hear her speak but it was the one question she dreaded hearing. The truth was Dionne didn't know. All those years ago when her youngest daughter had asked her to look after Leta no matter what, Dionne never thought that they would never come back. She assumed that Brontë was feeling sentimental about Leta's second birthday passing. But as she sat there a part of her brain, just the smallest part told her she did know. A part of her felt as those she knew everything that happened that night, that she knew where Bronte and Charles went that night, except she could not remember it. There was an invisible lock around that memory that was unable to break free.
Dionne turned to Leta with sad eyes, her hands fidgeting. "Leta I- I wish I could tell you what you want to know, I wish I could tell you every little detail about your mother and father and what happened to them, but to be honest, I don't know myself.". She looked away from Leta and abruptly stood up pacing towards the fire before turning back around. Leta refused to break eye contact and began to eye her Nan, willing her to say something. Anything.
Leta could tell that this was going to be something she would have to pry from her Nan as if her life depended on it. "How about I ask you a question and you try your best to answer it without lying". Dionne's eyes darted to Leta's narrowing with anger "Now listen here, young lady" she pointed an accusatory finger at her. "I understand you're angry and upset, but I will NOT let you speak to me like that, do you understand me? I have raised you since you were one year old and you aren't too young to get a clip round the ear". Leta glanced away before nodding slightly, only her nan would find some way to make her feel guilty despite being completely pissed off at her.
"How long have you known they were dead?".
"I haven't. When your parents dropped you off the day they disappeared, they told me they were going out for a date night. They asked me if I would take care of you and I, of course, agreed. When they didn't show up the next day to take you home I started to worry, they were usually always on time, and while they loved their time alone together they adored you and loved being a family more.", Leta shifted, the back of her eyes stinging.
"I started to call everyone I knew, their friends, anyone who knew them. No one had seen them and no one could tell me where they were. I hoped and prayed that they would just turn up, stumbling over apologies for being late. But they never did. So I filed a missing person's report, I know it isn't really helpful for wizards but I couldn't just sit around doing nothing. A few years had passed and there were no new leads." Dionne wiped her eyes before she continued.
"After your 7th birthday, I got a visit from the police that I filed the missing person report with. They said that because it had been over 5 years since I filed the report that they suggested I apply for death certificates. To help with the grief" Dionne scoffed.
"So why did you never tell me," Leta said.
Dionne sighed, she knew that if she said that she didn't think her parents were dead Leta would never know peace, she would live her life waiting for her parents to return to her, just like Dionne had done waiting for her daughter to come home. It was no life. and so she lied.
"Leta I only want what's best for you, you know that and I love you so much and I wish every day that your parents were here to see you grow up, but I didn't want you to have the crushing burden I have knowing that your parents are never coming back." Dionne choked on her sobs as she finished her sentence. She snuck a glance at Leta hoping she believed what she had just told her.
Leta hadn't realised she was holding her breath until she gasped for air. She had tears streaming down her cheeks and she felt completely lost, she spent her whole life thinking her parents would eventually show up one day and now that one dream she was holding onto was shattered before her very eyes.
She tenderly stood up and walked to her Nan, she wrapped her arms around her and squeezed allowing the tears to flow down her cheeks, both of them holding onto each other. Leta pulled away, "I just... just wish you would have told me, It would have been so much easier for me to deal with; all this time I've been thinking that they would come home, this feeling that they are still alive. I still have loads more questions but I am too... tired to hear anything else right now. If I ask you a question do you promise you will tell me and not argue with me."
Leta stepped further away, "I just want to know who they were, I wanna know everything I can about the kind of people they were, what they liked and didn't like, who I am more like. I know it is hard for you but you owe me this Oma."
Dionne looked hesitant before she nodded knowing that if she kept lying she would lose Leta as well. Leta nodded in recognition before going upstairs and crying hard into her pillow, hoping to dilute the sounds of her ragged cries.