A/N: Here's chapter 2. Enjoy, people.
When Elijah was called to his father's office, he started a mental list on all things he could possibly have done wrong.
Did Dad finally figure out about the party I threw five years ago when he went away? He swallowed the dryness squeezing his throat, knocking on the office door.
"Come in!" was the crisp reply.
Elijah took a deep breath and opened the door, "Hey, Dad. You called?"
A warm smile crinkled the corners of David's blue eyes, "Elijah! Cancel any appointments you have today."
"What? Why?"
David's eyes brightened and his smile widened, "Your sister is coming home today."
A breath caught in Elijah's throat. His legs buckling, he clutched on the door frame, "Are you... are you serious?"
"I don't joke, Eli. You should know that by now."
"Dad, that's not- never mind. Why is Iris coming back? What happened to...to Elise?" A dull ache spread across his chest at his mother's name.
"Unfortunately, she passed away this morning," Despite his words, David didn't look particularly upset.
'My mother is dead.'
The thought didn't evoke any particularly strong feelings, so he allowed it to float away like a balloon.
"When will I be picking her up?" Elijah asked, his heart fluttering in excitement. After nine years he would finally see his little sister again!
"I've messaged you the name of her school. You should go at lunchtime, and make sure to stop by her home so she can get all her things."
"Okay... Dad, I'm really excited."
"So am I, Lai, so am I."
***
"Iris?"
She decided to play dumb, "Iris who?"
Elijah gave her a flat look- one he nearly always wore when they were young. It comprised of pursed lips, a slight narrowing of the eyes and a judgemental stare that never lasted long. Something ached in Iris's chest and she fought hard to stop the tears from welling in her eyes.
"Ah! Mr. West-Brown," Lakely greeted with a smile, but the tremors in her voice betrayed her fear, "I assume you are here to pick up Iris?"
"Yes. Where do I sign her out?" Elijah was emotionless, as though he was merely picking up a delivery rather than his sister.
"N-no need!" Lakely- usually a hard stickler for the rules- waved her hand, "I've already removed Iris from the system. From now on, she is no longer a pupil at this school. Goodbye Iris, it was a pleasure to have you here."
I was only here for four months. Iris raised a brow, but decided to settle on a tight smile.
"Come on Iris," Elijah said stiffly, "I've parked the car out front."
A couple of months ago, Iris was exploring a quarry; she drifted too far from her family and found a small cave tucked away on the rockface. Fuelled with the teenage desire to rebel and explore, Iris delved deep inside, until the light at the end was nothing more than a mere speck.
Unfortunately, she had wandered too deep, and was unable to find her way back out. Iris had screamed herself hoarse, tears streaming down her face as she blindly grappled for the exit. She ran her fingers across the bumpy cave wall, desperately trying to find her way back.
Several times she tripped, the sharp rocks sliced her delicate skin and caused rivers of blood to flow down her limbs. But she could not stop running.
She vividly remembered the soul-crushing darkness. How it warped her reality, made her spin round and round in circles. Iris remembered being huddled in the corner, sobbing until her heart felt like it would burst, praying to all the deities that someone would find her.
Thankfully, Jax realised she was missing and Harry was able to deploy a team who managed to find her. Harry had held her for the longest time afterwards and swore something like that would never happen again.
And yet, Iris found she would rather be back in that cave than in the car with her eldest brother.
"So...uh," Elijah coughed, trying to alleviate the awkward silence, "How has- how has life been for you?"
Really? Iris scoffed. Out of all the possible questions, you chose to ask that? Way to make it awkward, bro.
"Good, I guess," Iris's lips twitched up in an amused smirk, "How was yours?" How was your life living with a silver spoon shoved up your-
"Good, yeah, good," Elijah nodded vigorously, taking a sharp right. "Everyone back home missed you."
"I didn't miss anyone. And that's not my home."
"Sure it is," Elijah laughed awkwardly. When Iris didn't laugh with him, he coughed and decided to keep quiet.
Iris kept her gaze trained on the view outside, but quickly got irritated by how often Elijah kept glancing over at her. She wanted to tell him to stop, but the thought of even interacting with such a vile human kept her silent.
Finally, they reached Iris's home. She nearly tumbled out of the car in her haste to get away from her brother.
"This is where you used to live?" Elijah's brows furrowed and his voice dropped to a whisper, "Damn Elise couldn't even-"
"I dare you to finish that sentence."
Elijah looked down and stumbled back, shocked at the furiously dark look on his younger sister's face. It was filled with pure malice, a kind of hatred that ran many years deep.
"You know nothing of what my mother could and could not do," Iris stepped forward, her fists clenched tightly by her side, "so don't you dare judge me or my family."
Elijah opened his mouth to respond, but Iris had already turned around and stormed inside the small house. He shook his head. Not even when he was staring down the barrel of a gun had he been so scared. He contemplated following Iris, but decided it would be better if he stayed back.
Iris could somewhat understand his thoughts. To an outsider, the house was a health and safety hazard. The walls were crumbled and stuffed with mould and decay. A rat skittered out from the front gate and Iris stepped out of its path, the familiar stench of cigarettes and alcohol washed over her.
Home... She thought with a sad smile, pushing open the door that was never locked.
Other people saw the ruin, but Iris only saw the beautiful memories that were created. She saw seven-year-old her and her mother, chattering excitedly in the kitchen as they attempted to make a vanilla cake. Most of the batter was devoured before it even made it to the oven. It was also severely underbaked and had too much flour, but Iris didn't care.
She entered the living room and saw the scene from Christmas three years ago. They were playing charades, and Harry was badly acting out some movie. Iris saw herself laughing until her stomach hurt, hugging her mother.
We were happy, Mum/ Iris thought as the scene melted away. Why did you...why did you leave me? Leave us?
The crime scene had been cleared up- probably Harry's doing- but the faint outline of white chalk was visible. Iris scuffed the edge with her shoe, her throat constricting as her heart pounded.
No. She thought, turning away and marching towards her room. I will not cry. I already cried this morning.
Iris threw open her door and, with a glance at Elijah who was waiting in the front, called a contact on her phone.
He picked up even before the first ring finished. "Hey Red-"
"Harry, you know what happened?"
"Yes. I made sure the house was clean when you arrived. I'm so sorry, Red-"
"That's not important right now," Iris's voice was tight and cracked on the last word, "I have to go back and live with my biological family."
"The hell you will." Harry growled and she heard the sound of a chair being scraped back, "You will never go back to them. I'll call Tracy and we'll sort it out."
"Thanks! Okay, gotta go now. I'll call tonight if I get the chance." Iris ended the call and dragged out a purple suitcase from under her bed.
"Remember, Iris, you must always have a get away bag ready," Mum said sternly, pointing to the bag. "You never know what could happen."
Thanks Ma, Iris thought sadly, her bag rolling on the damp wooden floors. She closed the front door and quietly snuck up behind Elijah, catching the last few words of his conversation.
"-We'll be there in about fifteen minutes. See you then," He cut the call and sighed, dragging his hand over his face. A tired smile spread across his face when he saw Iris, "Ready to go?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. They weren't expecting her to greet everyone today, right? Iris really didn't think she could handle seeing her family.
"David remarried right?" Iris asked, reclining into the seat.
Elijah nodded and frowned, "Yeah... you don't have to call him David- he's your dad."
"Then why did you call Mum Elise?"
"That's different. Elise abandoned our family."
"And David abandoned mine," Iris dug her nails into the palm of her hand, using the pain as an anchor to reality. She refused to get dragged back into the vortex of memories swirling around her.
"You're...different, Iris." Elijah couldn't stop the words and sorely regretted them at the cold, dead look his sister gave him.
"People change, Elijah," She said in a flat monotone and refused to answer any of his questions for the rest of the journey.
**************
David: Elijah. I have something to discuss.
Elijah: *internal panicking* I must confess-
David: Your mother is dead and your sister is now homeless
Elijah: oh thank goodness.
I hope you guys liked it!
Stay safe and thanks for reading :)
End of chapter 2.
Hope you liked it!
Stay safe and thanks for reading :).