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The Before, and The After Part 4

A Knives Out Story

Story Masterlist

Warnings: Language, Sexual Content (18+ to be safe)

Summery: A wealthy classmate of Meg’s becomes close to the family, a little too close to the playboy grandson of Harlan Thrombey. The events leading up to, and following, Harlan Thrombey’s death.

“Lizzie!” Joni’s voice called as the redhead entered the Thrombey Estate.

“Hi Joni.” Elizabeth cooed as she wrapped the woman in a light hug, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Me too, Lizzie. It just doesn’t seem real. I can’t believe he’s gone... how are you doing with everything?”

Elizabeth nodded slightly, sucking in a sharp breath through her open mouth. “I’m... okay. I just wish we had the chance to patch things up before he- I wish I could have one last conversation with him.”

“Honey, don’t we all.” Joni grumbled, finally sparing Phillip a glance, “Good to see you. Is your father coming tonight?”

“Not tonight,” Phillip answered, “He isn’t able to make the trip out two days in a row, but he sends his love. He’s looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.”

“We are all looking forward to tomorrow-“ Joni started, referring to the will reading, but Meg appeared and quickly wrapped Elizabeth in a hug.

“Lizzie, thank you so much for coming! It’s been such a fucking shit show today.” Meg sighed and tugged her friend away. She looked over her shoulder at Phillip, as if she forgot he was there, “I’m stealing her for a moment.”

“Take all the time you need!” Phillip called as he followed Richard to the kitchen to get a drink.

Meg led Elizabeth into the library and she felt her heart sink. She missed lounging around in Harlan’s comfortable chairs as he edited her writing and gave her advice. She missed his laugh when Elizabeth would say something crass and she’d blush tomato red, remembering herself a moment too late. She missed Harlan’s subtle clues, the way he’d always say “Miss Reynolds, I won’t be giving you anymore help until you do something about that mess of yours. Go upstairs and I’ll meet you back here in two hours.”

Two hours was generous, and nobody, not even Meg, suspected anything odd about the ritual. Sometimes Harlan would send her away several times in a visit, yet nobody ever questions why she had no work to show for her efforts.

Elizabeth pulled herself back to reality. Harlan was gone. That book on the shelf, the one he’d created for her to gush words onto pages in her messy cursive writing, sat on the second shelf from the floor. It taunted Elizabeth, reminding her she’d made a selfish mistake. As Harlan told her, she sold out for the money.

Away from everyone else, Meg pulled out her vape pen, “This is a fucking mess. This Blanc guy is interrogating everyone. Pretty sure his car’s still outside.” She mumbled, then offered the pen to Elizabeth, but she refused. Meg scoffed, “What? Are you too good for this kinda shit now? Your husband wouldn’t approve of it?”

“No... it’s not that...” Elizabeth trailed off, not wanting to talk about her husband.

“I just always imagined you with someone... else. Don’t get me wrong, Phil’s fine. He’s nice, I guess. Just not... your type.” Meg said nicely, and Elizabeth could tell she was holding back her feelings, something the rest of her family wouldn’t have talked around.

Joni would have come out with it: Phil was short, plump around the gut, and not terribly handsome with his thinning hair and mustache. He was almost forty, a good twelve years Elizabeth’s senior. He came from a good, influential family. He was poised to take over his father’s booming law firm and he’d had bad luck in love. A sweet, sweet man who deserved the world found a failing author who needed a safety net.

Elizabeth’s parents were so proud.

Meg waited for Elizabeth to answer, but the redhead stared at the bookshelf, unable to pull her eyes away from that white bound book on the second to bottom shelf, “I’m pregnant.”

“What?” Meg snapped her head back toward Elizabeth, almost dropping her vape, “You’re pregnant? You’ve been married less than two months-”

“I know... I know.” Elizabeth threw her hands up to cover her face, “It was a honeymoon baby. It wasn’t planned. Trust me.”

“Shit Lizzie... you’re in it for the long haul aren’t you?” Meg laughed, but pulled Elizabeth’s arms down, “Do you not want it?”

“Of course I want it, it’s a baby, not a purse. I can’t just get rid of it.” Elizabeth grabbed her stomach protectively, looking down almost fondly, “I just wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon.”

“Lizzie? Is that you?” Linda’s voice called from the foyer and Elizabeth shushed Meg loudly as Linda Drysdale came swooping into the library. “Lizzie.” She cooed with venomous sweetness, “Thank you guys so much for coming. It means so much to us.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss. Is there anything we can do?” Elizabeth asked as she grabbed Linda’s hands, feeling her cheeks heat up as she silently prayed Meg would keep her mouth shut.

“No sweetheart, we’re just fine. It’s just nice to see you. I’m sure Dad would have appreciated you being here.” Linda said, but Elizabeth knew she was lying through her teeth. She smiled, but it was full of malice, “I’m sorry things were strained in the end. I never understood what happened between you two. Dad was so upset after Easter dinner.”

Elizabeth nodded, calculating her response slowly, “Your father and I envisioned different things... for me. For my life.” She corrected, lifting her left hand to scratch the back of her neck beneath her hair, “He tutored me, he guided me, but unfortunately I couldn’t live up to the greatness he expected from me.”

“Well,” Linda muttered with a shrug of her shoulders, “Some people find their own success. Some need others to help them get by. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No. I guess not.” Elizabeth straightened a little and grinned confidently, “We all have to make choices to do what’s best for ourselves.”

                                       Two Years Ago- New Years Eve

Harlan raised his champagne glass in front of his knife collection in the library, “To family, to friends, and to a glorious new year!”

Applause erupted around the room as his guests cheered, drinking their own champagne after his lead. Lizzie beamed at the author from his left and he looked to his watch, then motioned for her to approach but her parents rushed to his side first.

“Oh Mr. Thrombey, this party is phenomenal! Thank you so much for the invitation!” Elizabeth’s mom slurred as she tipped a little of her wine out of her glass.

Harlan smiled knowingly, nodding his head a little before addressing the woman, “I’m glad you are enjoying yourself. If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with your daughter for a moment alone... I have some ideas I need to run past her for my next book.”

“You hear that honey, Harlan Thrombey need to speak to our daughter about his new book! Can you believe it?” Her mother drawled and her father just smiled and put his arm around his wife.

“We’ll catch up with you later, sweetheart.” He told Elizabeth and led his wife away to chat with some other guests. Elizabeth was vaguely aware of her father calling to someone named Alan as she turned back to Harlan.

“What can I help you with? Do you want to get out of here? Head to your study to work?”

“No.” Harlan answered, looking at his watch again, “It’s eleven-thirty. If you were to sneak away now, I don’t think the other guests would notice if you weren’t back by midnight.”

Elizabeth grinned, pressing her red painted lips together as she raked her fingers through her scalp to her updo. “Where would I go at midnight, then?”

Harlan looked across the crowd to the entrance of his library, eyes locked onto someone behind Elizabeth, “We’re setting off fireworks on the west lawn away from the trees. If you went to the second floor bedroom, you should have a pretty good view from the balcony.”

Elizabeth swallowed down her feelings and nodded, “That does sound nice. Get away from all this for a little while.”

“I envy you for that.” Harlan gave a little wave to Marta as she approached, clearly uncomfortable in her knee length dress. “Go have a good time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Elizabeth leaned forward and kissed Harlan on the cheek, then darted through the mass of party-goers toward the hallway that would lead her to the main house. She slowed down when she noticed a gorgeous man sitting in a chair near the entryway. He seemed to be writing something, occasionally looking up to make sure nobody was watching, but no one seemed to care what he did.

The attendees seemed to think Ransom Drysdale was invisible, but he was the only man his Eliza saw-

“Darling! Have you met Phillip Stevens? His father is the attorney for the Thrombey Estate.” Elizabeth’s mother explained as she grabbed her daughter’s arm and pulled her into the circle. Elizabeth smiled weakly and jutted out her hand to shake Phillip’s, looking over her shoulder in a panic to find Ransom gone from his spot.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re parents have told me a lot about you, as have the Thrombeys.” Phillip explained, noticing her absent expression. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She croaked, seeing her white bound book placed on the second from the bottom shelf. “I’m fine. Just had a bit too much to drink.”

“Oh Honey-”

Phillip gently grabbed her hand and Elizabeth’s head darted up to him, noting that he was much older than her, but looked at her with kind, hopeful eyes. “We could go out and get some air?”

“Uh, maybe, I-” Lizzie stammered, but her father gave a firm nod, staring at her darkly. She swallowed and lowered her head submissively, “Some air would be nice.”

Phillip offered her his arm and lead her toward the foyer. As they moved toward the back door of the house, Lizzie looked up toward the staircase and met Ransom’s eyes, mouthing I’m so sorry as she was led outside for some air.

Ransom swallowed hard, watching as the lawyer’s son swept his girl away from under his nose. He considered finding another woman to pound into the new year, but he’d waited so patiently. He’d endured Thanksgiving and Christmas without her, and he didn’t want his plans to go to waste.

But seeing her led away by Phillip Stevens, a man who’s worth and wealth outshone his own, made Ransom realized she was never his to lose. So he stomped up the staircase to the west bedroom alone.

Lizzie stared up at the snowflakes that fell from the Massachusetts sky. Phillip spoke so sweetly to her, but the fresh air didn’t help her at all. She shivered, not dressed for the snow in her strapless gown.

“Oh.. I’m so sorry. Here.” Phillip pulled off his own jacket and draped it around her shoulders, and she smiled up at him thankfully. He was... nice. Just a little taller than her, enough to look up, but not nearly as tall as- others. He was portly and a mustache was beginning to grow. He looked at Elizabeth with true interest, and perhaps a hint of nervousness, “Is that better?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She muttered, already seeing where this was going. “My stomach just isn’t very happy right now. I may need to use the restroom.”

“I’ll walk you there, I almost know my way around.” Phillip teased and Elizabeth just smiled weakly, summoning what little care she could. “Let’s go.”

“I’m fine. Really... You go back to the party. I’ll be there soon. I might be gone for a while, I don’t want you to miss the fireworks.” Elizabeth assured the older man and he nodded, seeming to catch her drift.

Phillip took her hand and kissed it, and she felt her stomach twist in knots, “I’ll see you in a while, then. I’d love to talk to you more.”

“Yes. Later.” Elizabeth promised bleakly, hoping he couldn’t see how dismissive she was being. If he told her parents she’d been rude, she’d find herself berated in the morning when the alcohol wore off and the headaches began.

She scrambled through the doors and darted up the staircase, forgetting she was supposedly drunk and sick. She didn’t care much about what people thought of her, she was late.

Meanwhile, Ransom leaned against the balcony in the west bedroom. His breath turned to smoke as he huffed into the cold night air, but he continued to watch as Harlan’s team set up for the fireworks display.

Ransom didn’t give a shit about the fireworks. He cared about money, booze, sex, and not much else. Seeing as he wouldn’t be getting laid this New Years, he considered popping open the thousand dollar bottle of bubbly he’d placed in ice in the bathroom sink before the party started.

He couldn’t shake the image of his girl with the lawyer’s son. He was wealthy and powerful, heir to his father’s law firm while harboring a glistening reputation of his own in the courts. He was older than Ransom, and a thousand times more significant.

Ransom knew Lizzie didn’t intent on being a trophy wife, but she was struggling after leaving college. The money was running out, and her parents were running out of patience. The idea of their daughter marrying for money and stature wasn’t just accepted by the Reynolds, it was encouraged.

The young Drysdale knew he didn’t fit the bill. Wealth he had, but he didn’t have a job, a plan, and no reputation except for Trust Fund Playboy. Elizabeth wrote that she jokingly suggested him, only to be shot down her father who wanted his daughter to find a more “reputable” husband.

Not that Ransom had any intentions of settling down, especially with Elizabeth.

But her absence was disappointing since he’d actually put in effort for their rendezvous for once. He pushed himself away from the balcony with a loud sigh and left the door open, allowing the room to grow cold as his demeanor. Ransom grabbed the bottle from the sink and unwrapped the Veuve Clicquot ruthlessly, discarding the foil on the floor. He slunk back toward the balcony, standing just inside the door as he grabbed a decorative knife from the bedside table and used it to send the cork flying into the yard and bubbles foaming onto his hand.

Ransom put the bottle to his lips, the alcohol like water in the desert for him as he allowed himself to fall onto the bed. He set the bottle against the pillow beside him and used his Armani shirt to wipe the remnants from his face. He considered going back to the party. There must be some pretty women there looking for a New Years kiss. Or he could stay here, alone, where nobody would yell at him or taunt him or ignore him. Ransom could save himself the trouble and do what everyone wanted him to do anyway: leave.

He picked up the bottle again and took a long swig, looking at the single rose he’d set on the dresser near the drawer. Suddenly the door swung open and Lizzie panted as she shoved it closed behind her, catching her breath before turning to Ransom.

Her worry melted away into a knowing smirk as he pulled the bottle from his mouth, “You didn’t wait for me?”

“Didn’t think you were comin.” He answered gruffly, taking another swig and turning away. “How’s Phillip?”

“He’s nice.” She said bluntly, taking a step closer. Neither made a sound, so her heels were deafening in the room. Finally, she sat on the bed beside Ransom and took the bottle from him, but she didn’t take a drink yet. “He’s not you.”

“He’s husband material.”

“But I love you.”

“I hate when you say that.” Ransom spat, reaching for the bottle, but she raised it to her lips and took three long swallows. He watched her neck as the liquid ran down, imagining instead she was swallowing him, so his anger settled, “We’re fuck buddies, nothing more.”

Lizzie grinned and gave him the bottle back, using her hand to run along his side as he faced her, “I kinda think we’re more than just fuck buddies. I think of us more as an open relationship.” She bartered and he huffed into the alcohol, “Hey. We don’t do labels, but I do love you. I’m allowed to love someone I know I can’t marry, can’t I?”

“I suppose.” He replied, leaning back and placing the bottle on the bed stand beside the knife, “I suppose if we aren’t labeling it, and I can do whatever I want, and fuck whoever I want and love whoever I want- I guess I love you too, Eliza.”

She shook her head a little, slowly lowering herself onto him as she dug her fingers into his hair. He heard loud counting down from the floor below, indicating it was almost midnight. Ransom reached up and ran his thumb along her cheek, studying her fancy hair and painted lips and imagining all the time it would take for her to look presentable enough to go downstairs.

“Ten... Nine... Eight...”

Eliza nuzzled her nose against his, and Ransom breathed her in, as if she was the only thing giving him air. She whispered, “All we have is tonight, Hugh.”

“Two...One... Happy New Year!”

Ransom pulled her down to him and kissed her sweetly, and for a brief moment, he considered wedding the redhead, if only to keep her in his bed forever.

Dark In Your Heart {CEO!CH} 7

Previous Chapters: One Two Three Four Five Six 

◈◈◈

“Good morning, Mr. Hood!” Maddie greeted Calum happily. Ever since their conversation in her apartment, after they got stoned, ate pizza, and watched Breaking Bad together, Maddie felt less tense around him. Less nervous. Sure, she was still undeniably attracted to him, who wasn’t? But she felt more comfortable. And it seemed as if he did too.

“Mornin, Maddie.” Calum took his coffee out of her hand as he passed her and went straight to his office. He set down his bag, plopping down in his chair, and rubbing his eyes. He was tired and was not in the mood to work, but he had to. Just because he was the CEO didn’t mean he could fuck around whenever he wanted to. “Maddie!”

Maddie jumped up from her chair and entered his office, face expectant, and ready to do whatever he asked. Calum, in the morning, was usually grumpy and bossy, but once the afternoon hit, he was more laid back and less uptight about everything. Maddie learned that quickly into the job. She had only been working there for a little over three weeks, but she got to know the way Calum was in the workplace.

“Yes, sir?”

Maddie asked innocently, and Calum really wished that she would stop calling him because it made his pants tighten every time he heard it, along with Mr. Hood, but he knew she wouldn’t stop calling him that. She was too professional to call him by his first name in the office. Outside of the office? Sure. But inside? Definitely not. She didn’t want the people around her, her co-workers, to get the wrong idea if she casually called him by his first name.

“Can you go into the break room and get me a bagel? Toasted with regular cream cheese. None of that strawberry cream cheese bullshit that Claudia uses.”

“Mhm. Be right back.” Maddie didn’t mind doing the little things for Calum, she didn’t. He easily could have gotten up, walked the thirty feet to the break room, and toasted his own bagel, but he was busy and Maddie was his assistant. That’s what she was there for.

Maddie rounded the corner, entering the break room, and smiling at the few other people that were in there. She didn’t know most of them that well, not one to really socialize while working, but she was still friendly. Mostly everyone left the room while she toasted Calum’s bagel and one for herself, leaving just her and other guy she wasn’t familiar with.

She had only seen him a few times, never actually introduced herself to him, but she always caught him staring at her. She wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose or was just staring into space, his eyes accidentally landing on her, but with the way his gaze burned into her back, she knew it was on purpose.

“I don’t think we’ve met before,” He approached her, resting his hand on her lower back, as he smirked at her. She wasn’t fond of that. It was way too early for her to be getting hit on and touched by a man she didn’t know. Even if she did work with him. “I’m Ian.”

“Maddie.” She offered him a short glance, less than a second, and returned her attention back to the bagel. It was taking way too long, she thought, and all she wanted to do was get out of the break room, give Calum his bagel, and eat hers in peace.

“A few of the guys and I are going out for drinks tonight after work. You interested in coming? Get to know us all a little bit better?”

“Oh, uh thank you for the invite, but I can’t tonight.” Or ever, Maddie wanted to add.

“Do you have plans already?”

“Yeah, I do.” She didn’t, but there was no way she was going out with a group of men she didn’t know for drinks. She would have rather done anything but that. Finally, the toaster popped and Maddie quickly, in a half assed effort, spread the cream cheese on Calum’s bagel, completely forgetting about her own. “It was nice meeting you, but I have to get back to work.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ian grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks, and pulled her closer to him. Unbeknownst to both Ian and Maddie, Calum was standing outside of the break room, looking through the window that was on the wall, watching the scene unfold. “I’m not just gonna let a pretty girl like you walk away from me that fast.”

“Um,” Maddie swallowed. “Can you please let me go?”

“Now why would I wanna do that?” As if it couldn’t get any worse, his free hand that wasn’t gripping and squeezing her arm, slid down her back to grip her ass. “Kinda jealous that you’re Hood’s assistant and not mine. Would love to spend my days with you.”

Maddie tried to push him off, dropping the bagel on the floor next to her feet, but he wouldn’t budge. She started to panic, even though she knew that nothing would happen to her, there was no way. She was in the middle of her work day, in the break room, surrounded by people. And she knew, if Calum was near, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Ian,” Calum, who finally intervened, not wanting to see it go any further, barked at him and he instantly let go of her, pushing her away lightly. Everyone was scared of Calum and Ian was no exception “What do you think you’re doing?” Calum looked at Maddie; rubbing her arm and looking anywhere but him, and he tried not to let his anger get the best of him. “We don’t tolerate sexual harassment in here.”

“What? I wasn’t harassing her!” Ian threw his hands up in surrender.

“No? You put your hands on her, inappropriately, without her consent. What do you call that?” Calum was pissed. He was pissed because he had creeps like Ian working in his office and because a man who wasn’t him had their hands on Maddie without her consent.

“I-“ Ian tried to explain himself, tried to make up an excuse, but Calum didn’t let him get another work out.

“If you don’t want to lose your job I highly suggest you keep your Goddamn hands to yourself.” Calum’s voice was eerily relaxed despite how pissed he was. He knew he couldn’t lash out or cause a scene, not wanting the attention on either him or Maddie. “Now get the fuck out of here and go back to work.”

Calum wasn’t one to curse in front of or at his employees, but in that moment, he couldn’t have cared less. There was no way in hell he was going to let him get away with that. Especially since it was Maddie. His assistant that he couldn’t stop fucking thinking about.

Once Ian was out of the room, Maddie relaxed and let out a breath, leaning against the counter and gripping it in her hands hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Calum noticed that and the discarded bagel that was on the floor next to her heel clad feet, and he felt guilty. If he hadn’t asked her to get him a bagel, if he just got off of his ass and made his own bagel, that wouldn’t have happened.

So, he picked the bagel up, wiping the cream cheese off of the floor, and threw it away. He couldn’t give less of a shit about that bagel, more about his assistant. Carefully, Calum placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts. “Are you okay, Maddie?”

She finally lifted her head up, her bottom lip in between her teeth, and she let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Maddie nodded her head. “Thank you.”

“Dude is a fuckin’ prick. He’s a good worker, one of the best employees I have, which I hate to admit, but he’s a tool bag. I’m sorry that happened.”

“It’s fine, Ca- Mr. Hood. It’s not your fault.”

“Right.” Calum cleared his throat. “Now, let’s get back to work, yeah?”

“But, your bagel-”

“I don’t care about the bagel anymore, Madeline.”

With that, Calum turned on his heel and left the break room, leaving Maddie to gather herself and calm down. She was appreciative of him helping her, if he hadn’t shown up when he did, Maddie didn’t know what would have happened.

◈◈◈

“Mr. Hood?” Maddie knocked lightly on the already open door to his office and he glanced up, seeing her standing there with her coat on and her purse hanging off of her shoulder. He checked the time on his watch, seeing that it was already nearing five-thirty. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

Calum let out a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. He had a deadline, tomorrow, and he wasn’t even close to being finished with what he had to do. His small job, that seemed nearly impossible at the time, was reading and picking between seven scripts for one of the books he had published that was being made into a movie. The movie was obviously not spot on from the book, movies never were, and there had been multiple scripts written for it, and it was now his job to pick the best one. They weren’t perfect, they all needed some work and some editing, but that, thankfully, was not his job this time.

Maddie could tell instantly that he was stressed by the way his hair was so disheveled from running his fingers through it and the three empty cups of coffee on his desk. He had switched to Red Bull, which wasn’t his smartest idea, but it seemed to be helping.

“You look stressed. Do you need help with anything?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Calum finally leaned back in his chair after being hunched over his desk all day, and let out a sigh. Even though it was only a Monday night, Calum wasn’t sure if Maddie had plans or not, and he didn’t want to make her stay if she was busy. “Unless you have somewhere you need to be.”

“Just my couch.” Maddie laughed and adjusted her purse. “What do you need help with?”

“I have to read all of these scripts by tomorrow morning and pick one and I’m not even halfway done. Your help would be very appreciated.”

“You really trust my judgement to help you pick one of these?” Maddie asked as she looked through the stack of papers. Calum’s eyes lingered on her ring clad and black nails as she fingered through the stack of scripts, and his mind instantly went to how her fingers had been in his mouth the night they met.

“You’re an English major, correct?” Maddie nodded her head. “Then yes, I trust your judgement. Now, take a stack, sit down and get comfortable, and start reading.”

Maddie did as Calum said and took a small stack, walked across his office, peeled her coat off and put her purse down on the couch next to her as she plopped down on it. She had never been in Calum’s office for longer than ten minutes, and she had never had the pleasure of sitting on the way too comfortable white leather couch that was a few feet away from his desk, so she felt a little bit out of place.

The two worked in a comfortable silence, lost in the scripts, until Maddie’s stomach growled louder than she would have liked. Calum looked up, a smirk on his face, and laughed when he saw the red on her cheeks. He checked the time again, seeing it had been an hour and a half since she had sat down on his couch.

“You hungry?”

“A little bit. I haven’t eaten since this morning.” Maddie admitted sheepishly.

“I’m starvin’. You wanna order Chinese takeout?”

Maddie’s mouth nearly started watering at the mention of Chinese food. So, excitedly, she nodded her head and Calum laughed as he pulled his phone out to dial the nearest Chinese place phone number. It wasn’t a delivery service, but it was only a two minute walk from his office building, so he didn’t mind.

“It’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” They went back to reading and after thirty minutes, Maddie stood up and started to shrug her coat on and slip her heels back on, which she had taken off after an hour of sitting since her feet started aching. The commotion had Calum looking up. “Where are you goin’?”

“Um, to pick the food up?” It came out as more of a question than a statement.

Calum shook his head and stood up, only towering over Maddie a little bit as he put his own coat on and checked his pockets for his phone, keys, and wallet. “It’s dark out and even though we’re not in a bad part of town, I’m not lettin’ you walk there by yourself. Especially not after what happened this mornin’ with Ian. So I’ll go get it and you stay here, yeah?”

Maddie’s heart swelled at how nice Calum was being. Sure, he would have probably done that for any one of his employees, but for some reason, it made her extremely happy, but it didn’t help with her feelings when it came to him. She didn’t even know what she felt towards him. She was attracted to him, that much was obvious, and she was around him five days a week, so she could feel herself liking him more and more, but she tried to force herself not to. She could not fall for her boss.

“Dinner is served,” Calum announced, pulling Maddie away from looking at the picture he had on the corner of his huge desk. It was him and his family, she guessed, since they all looked alike, and she smiled fondly at it. “Let’s eat on the couch.”

They sat down next to each other, an appropriate distance, and Calum opened the food and took out the two chopsticks, handing one to Maddie. He delved right in, not noticing the confusion on Maddie’s face as she tried to figure out how the hell to use chopsticks. She had tried to learn how to, but never successfully did.

“Um,” Maddie cleared her throat. “Do you have a fork?”

“Here,” Calum put his food down on the small table and took the chopsticks out of Maddie’s hand. “I’ll teach you.”

After successfully teaching Maddie how to use chopsticks, after ten minutes, the two sat and ate, talked, laughed, and acted like they were old friends. And after Calum dropped Maddie off at home, not wanting her to take the train so late at night by herself, she shut her door with a smile on her face that she could not wipe off. She was already in deep.

◈◈◈

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Regarding your Heaven and Earth series, could you share a bit more on how Héctor, Imelda, and Ernesto’s parents met and got together?

Oh, I’d been planning to write something about it! But in the end, the focus should have stayed on the trio, so I scrapped it. 

I didn’t come around to think up anything very detailed for Imelda’s parents past the fact her father was enough of an idealist to voluntarily leave his family to go to war and die. 

With Héctor’s parents, I like to think they met when already in their thirties and had Héctor later in life, when they thought they were simply too old to actually have a child. The idea was that they both worked in the market, would look dreamily at each other from afar, and were basically Too Fucking Dumb to actually act on it, leading literally everyone else present to collectively roll their eyes and start forcing them into situations where they had to interact. (I have this image in my mind with her being a total klutz and knocking down stuff while repeatedly apologizing, while he watches from afar sighing and going “isn’t she just perfect”. And meanwhile he’s like, pouring coffee into an overflowing cup.)The wedding was no surprise. The baby that followed was. EDIT: oh wait I found some snippets about them too, scroll to the bottom! 

As for Ernesto’s parents, I actually started writing something about their first meeting. I dug it up from the scrap folder, here you go! By the time they met, Adela had no family left. Estéban never had any to begin with. 

***

The man laughed at her, which only made Adela angrier. She had worked hard to mend those trousers quickly; he shouldn’t get to walk out without paying.

“You have to pay for those!” she protested, taking a step forward. Her anger was met with a sneer.

“Or else what? You want them back?”

“I–”

“Want to come take them off?”

Three realizations hit Adela García at the same time. The first was that they were rather far from her home, halfway to the village, and that no one else was in sight. The second was that the man’s grin was just a little too wide. The third - he could overwhelm her in moments, and if he chose to–

Adela opened her mouth, to protest or scream, but she had time to do neither. She would never know whether that man had meant to do anything or was just trying to scare her away, because someone else spoke up, suddenly, loudly - more a growl than spoken words.

“How about you give her the fucking money, she stops shrieking about it, and I get to eat in peace?”

“… Huh?”

Both her and Delgado turned towards the source of the sound. There was a man sitting in the shade of a tree, which was… odd. Maybe she had seen him before, but it was hard to tell, because it was covered in dust the way only miners are, when it sticks to sweaty skin and hair and clothes. Miners usually ate their meals together, but he was a good walk away from the mine by the stream; he was sitting under a tree, a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand, glaring at them both like they’d just stepped uninvited in his living room

Adela fought back a bizarre impulse to apologize for the intrusion while Delgado scoffed. 

“You can mind your own business and keep eating, cabrón,” he snapped, and walked off. Or tried to, because the man stuffed the rest of the bread in his mouth - barely visible amongst dusty black bear - and stood. 

He was tall, broad, and probably strong as an ox, the way miners are. Delgado was not a small man, but all it took was a glance to see who would be worse off if it came to blows. And the man very much looked like he’d love an excuse to deal the first one.

“Call me that again,” he said almost calmly through the mouthful of bread. He swallowed, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Delgado took a step back, all arrogance gone. “Listen– I don’t want to fight.”

“And she wants her money. Plus an extra for making her run after you.”

“Who are you, some kind of–”

“Shut your mouth and pay her.”

For just a moment, it looked like Delgado might argue; but in the end, self-preservation prevailed over his pride. He almost threw the money at her, and left in quick strides, giving the other man a wide berth. Adela grinned - it was easily twice the amount he’d have paid if he hadn’t tried to run off, served him right - and picked up several coins. 

“Thank you for–” she began, and trailed off when she said the man was already walking off towards the mine, without another word. 

Rude. 

“What– wait! Wait a moment!”

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Adela rushed after a man - but this time not to ask for money. He stopped, turned to her, and scowled when he realized she was trying to hand him part of what Delgado had given her. 

“I need no charity,” he snapped, causing her to recoil.

“Oh! I meant no offense, it’s just– as a thank you, for helping me. This is more money than the job was worth. It seems only fair.”

He scowl softened in a look of mild surprise, and for the first time Adela noticed that, beneath the dust and grime, he was rather good-looking. In the end, however, he shook his head. Only later she’d come to know how much he despised the mere idea of charity - how humiliating he’d found as a boy, with the nuns running the orphanage reminding him to be ever so grateful for every scrap thrown his way. 

“I don’t need it.”

“Then let me offer you something to drink,” Adela insisted. “Or to eat before you go back to wor-” 

The church’s bell rang in the distance, and the man tilted his head towards it. “Got to go back now.”

“Dinner, then?”

He turned back to her, blinking. Adela’s brain caught up and oh God, she was rather sure her face was about to catch fire. That was stupid– what was she thinking– an unmarried woman living on her own, just inviting over a man she didn’t even know and had no relation to and–

“Or– or I could prepare some lunch for you tomorrow?” she spoke again quickly, faintly hoping the ground would open up to swallow her. “I’ll be making pozole, making a bit more than usual wouldn’t be a problem at all– you can come and pick it up. I’m not that good a cook but– better than just bread, no? Or maybe a few eggs, I have hens…”

He blinked again.

Shut up. Oh God. Stop talking.

“… I’d like that,” he finally said, a little astonished. He had nice eyes, a lighter brown then her own, almost amber under the sun.

*

(Ernesto has plenty of charm and precisely none of it came from his papá. But for some reason Adela’s brain short-circuited for a moment there. And by ‘some reason’ I mean ‘oh hey hot loner guy’.)

Also here’s what little I could find that I wrote about Héctor’s parents before I scrapped the idea.

“Maybe you need to sit down.”“Ricardo, I am fine.”“Maybe the baby needs to sit down.”“Ricardo.”The mixture of amusement and exasperation on Emilia’s face caused him to grin a bit sheepishly. She was right, of course - she was smart enough not to push herself too far, and countless women went on working while pregnant since the dawn of time - but he couldn’t keep himself from worrying.The old crib in their home had stood empty for so long, he couldn’t begin to contemplate the possibility something might happen and–“Mamá! Mamá! Mamá!”“I’m coming, Tito, just a moment–”“Maaaaaa…!”Making a face, Ricardo turned to the source of the unpleasant shrieking. A boy who couldn’t be older than three or four was dragging along a woman whose face was the very epitome of a suffering parent - a clear glance into what would likely become of him in a few month’s time.He couldn’t wait.“Adela! It’s good to see you,” Emilia, always better than him at recalling names, walked around the counter to greet them. “My, how he’s grown.”Adela smiled. “Big and strong like his papá. And how are you? It can’t be long before–” she trailed off when her child looked up at Emilia’s belly, as though confused, and reached up for it. “Ernestito, no! Not without permission!” his mother chided him, but he didn’t even turn: he just rested a tiny hand on Emilia’s stomach and tilted his head in a mute question. She smiled down at him.“There’s baby in there.”

Also

“Wait, what?”“What happened?”“They say something happened in the mine–”“Christ, what’s all the smoke?”“Madre de Dios!”“Someone call for–”“My husband works there.”Adela had spoken so softly, so calmly, like she was stating the weather; yet her skin was suddenly an ashen gray, her eyes huge and full of horror. Ricardo instinctively reached out to catch her should she falter, but she did not. Instead she turned - not to him, but to Emilia. Mother to mother. And Emilia knew what to say before she even uttered a word. “We’ll look after him,” she said, putting a hand on the child’s shoulder. “You go now.”

When it Happened.

Here’s my second request! I hope enjoy

(also shoutout to @masochisticlion for helpin ya gurl edit and coming up with the title im useless w/o you abigail)

Request: EmbryxReader where the reader is his imprint but she already has a boyfriend

The sound of the floor creaking under my heavy steps made an echo through the hall as I attempted to sneak my way through the dark house; my head snapping back towards my mother’s bedroom in fear that she had heard me. I held my breath, waiting for her to emerge from her room, pissed off at how late I was coming home; again. I stood there frozen for what felt like hours, but was really less than thirty seconds, before releasing my breath and tip-toeing to my room. I fell face first onto the bed I outgrew last fall after the transformation, turning to my alarm clock and seeing it was just past three in the morning. I groaned and planted my face into the pillow, falling asleep instantly.

The blaring of my alarm jolted me from another night of dreamless sleep. I reached up to hit the snooze button, still too tired from last nights patrol to get out of bed just yet. I rolled onto my side, cocooning into the comforter, considering just skipping school for the day. It was Friday, anyways, and what's one day? My eyelids began to droop and I was almost back asleep when my door slammed open and I sat up in shock.

My mother stood in the doorway, looking like she was about to erupt. She was already dressed and ready for work; her arms were crossed and her jaw was clenched. Her charcoal eyes burned into my own and she didn't even have to say anything as I made my way out of bed and to the bathroom to shower and get ready. She waited outside the door as I got dressed and stood by the table as I ate some dry wheat toast and old coffee. She still didn't say anything as she pointed to her old, beat up hatchback in the driveway and grabbed my book bag, making her way out the door. I followed her in silence, too scared to say anything.

She didn't say anything the entire drive, up until we were stuck in the drop off line, where she tore me a new one about staying out late with my friends and getting into trouble.

“…just don't make the same mistakes I did, that's all—“

“Whoa, wait,” I interrupted her, confused and honestly, a little pissed. “What mistakes?”

I didn’t mean for it to come out as harshly as it did when I saw her flinch slightly out of the corner of my eye. Her cheeks flared up and she opened her mouth to speak again, but then closed it, then opened, then closed; like a fish. I was growing impatient waiting for her answer while she fished around her brain to find a way out of her little flub. Before she could respond though, we had pulled up to the front of the line, and she audibly sighed in relief.

“Have a good day at school, Em.” She leaned over and kissed the side of my head before ruffling my hair and grabbing my book bag out of the back seat.

I forced a smile. “You too, mom. Love ya.”

I got out of the cramped car and stretched my legs, making my way through the sea of copper skin and jet black hair. I could feel their stares as I made my way to the old building and it made my cheeks heat up. It had been more than a year since my growth spurt but they still looked at me like I had grown a second head. Not to mention that rumors of the pack taking steroids still plagued the reservation, much to Sam’s annoyance.

Muscle memory took over as I opened my locker and tossed my back pack in, grabbing a notebook and a pencil, before slamming it shut. I turned around to see Jake and Quil barreling down the hall towards me while the other teenagers scrambled to get out of their way. I chuckled at what the other kids probably thought we did; starting fights, drug use, fu—

“Em, did you do the algebra homework last night?” Quil asked as I fell in step beside him as we made our way to home room.

My face paled a I turned to face him. “We had algebra homework?”

His mouth fell open and he started at me blankly. “Dude.”

My head fell back and I groaned. “What the fuuuuuuck. I was out patrolling ‘til three this morning.”

Jake slapped my back as some sort of sympathetic gesture as we entered the classroom. Our classmates idle chitchat growing quieter as we sat down. The irony in their fear of us was almost hilarious since we were the ones who protected them from constant threat of leeches. I'd look at them and remember what my life was like as a normal teenager who wasn't always grounded for sneaking out late and coming home in the early hours of the morning. My heart ached thinking about a normal life, but knowing that they could all live happy human lives because I helped keep the vampires at bay lifted my spirits.

“So, can I copy that homework or what?” I asked, eyeing Quil from across the table.

He rolled his eyes and fished it from his folder, sliding it across the table to me.

My body felt heavy as I rolled out of bed. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and it read1:34PM. I stretched, feeling stiff and groggy. I had to patrol late again last night because Jared had to resolve a fight he and Kim had gotten into after school yesterday. I rolled my eyes thinking about it, but still felt a twinge of jealousy. Jared had imprinted almost immediately after returning to school after his phase. Paul had imprinted on Rachel. Sam and Emily. Quil and Claire. Jake and Renesmee. I fell back on my pillow and tried to force the feelings away. I was still young and had plenty of time to get my life together before I found my soulmate.

I sighed and pushed the covers off the bed, making my way to the kitchen. I was starving after having to patrol two doubles in a row. I searched the cabinets and fridge but all I could salvage was a stale bagel and a bowl of Raisin Bran. My mom had left last night after dinner and still wasn't home yet. My mind wandered as to where she went but I pushed the thoughts away. I really didn’t want to know. All that mattered was that she was safe wherever she went.

I put on a pair of cutoffs and an old tee shirt and made my way to Emily and Sam’s. They would definitely have some food. It was brisk out, but my unnaturally high body temperature shielded me from the early winter conditions. Luckily, it was just overcast and it hadn't begun to rain yet. Not like that would affect me either; my wolf form kept me from getting sick ad helped me to heal quickly. Basically, I was virtually indestructible.

The small cottage was in my sights and I could already smell an assortment of different baked goods coming from inside. My mouth watered and I broke into a jog.

I burst through the door and ran to the kitchen. Half the pack was already there, devouring the freshly made pastries. I fought Collin over a chocolate chip muffin, pushing him to the ground in triumph, and heading to the couch. I plopped down, kicking my feet up onto the abused coffee table, pulling the paper off the bottom and eating it in two bites. I was still hungry, but didn’t want to try my luck against anyone else. There'd be more food later, anyways.

Quil sat down next to me, handing me another muffin. I nodded at him in thanks as he shoved a whole donut in his mouth, getting crumbs all over himself and the couch. I rolled my eyes at his habits and bit into the pastry. I instantly spit it out and a coughed, throwing the sad excuse for a baked good at Quil.

“Dude, poppy seed? Seriously?!” He snickered as I pushed myself from the couch and walked to the kitchen to get some water to wash the taste from my mouth.

Emily caught my arm as I was reaching for a glass and I turned and gave her a questioning look.

She smiled up at me and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Embry, do you think you could run to the store for me?”

I groaned as I filled the cup with water from the tap. “Like, literally run there or—“

She shook her head and held up a pair of keys. “No, no, no! You can take Sam’s truck!”

I pondered her request; I didn’t really feel up to it after having to pull two doubles in a row, but on the other hand, Emily did take care of us without complaining.

“I'll make a batch of chocolate chip muffins just for you!”

And there was the leverage. I sighed, grabbing the keys from her tiny hand, and held out my palm for her list. She placed the folded paper gingerly in my hand. I opened it up and it fell almost a foot down. My eyes bugged and I looked from the list to her, smiling sweetly as she dug through her purse for some cash.

“Thank you so much, Embry! It really does mean a lot to me.” She cried, giving me a side hug.

My shoulders slumped as I made my way through the house and out to Sam’s old F150. The engine roared to life and I made my way to the closest grocery store which was almost 20 miles away. I drummed my fingers against the wheel to the alternative rock song that played on the radio; musing about how I would've already been there if I had just ran in the first place.

As I came up on the Forks/La Push border, I noticed a car with its hazards flashing. It had begun to drizzle at some point on the 15 minute drive, and there was a person sitting on the bumper getting drenched. My heart strings began tugging in sympathy and I groaned as I pulled over. I threw on the emergencies and hopped out and made my way over the sedan.

“Hey,” I called out to the person sitting in the rain, and their head snapped up. We made eye contact, and that's when I felt the whammy. My head was spinning, but also could only focus on one thing; them. My mouth went dry and my heart fell to the ground as I realized what was happening. “Shit.”

“What?!” They yelled to me over the downpour that had started sometime in the five seconds since I had gotten out of the truck.

“Uh, um, I saw your hazards and was seeing if you needed any help.” I told them as I walked closer. My body craved to be as close as humanly possible, but my mind knew that I would come off as a psychopath, so I tried—seriously, tried—to keep my distance. They were shivering from the rain and I wanted to wrap them in a blanket like a burrito and carry them home and just keep them close and warm and protected. I ran my hands over my face in frustration at this situation, as the rain began to somehow come down even harder.

“Oh.” They shifted awkwardly on the bumper, looking away to the empty road. “Er, uh, well, my boyfriend is actually on his way to pick me up with a tow, so…”

I felt my face fall and tried to recover. Boyfriend. They had a boyfriend. Of course they did. I tried to thinking logically. I'm supposed to be whatever my imprint needs. Whether it be a friend, a lover, or a protecter. And they obviously needed a protector right now.

“Well, I'll wait with you until he gets here, if you want. It's pretty dangerous out here.” I tried to comply with the situation at hand, even though I could feel my heart breaking with every uncomfortable shift they made. “I could even take a look at your car if you want. I know a thing or two.”

They glanced around uncomfortably and sighed. “I mean, I guess. You're not, like, a murderer, right?”

I snorted. “Definitely not. So what's wrong with it?”

“It just…won't start?” It came out as a question and I couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Lemme take a look.” I said walking closer and they hopped off the bumper and opened the door.

They put the key in the ignition an tried to turn it, but all that came out was a loud gurgle. I asked them to pop the hood, and they did so. I took a closer look and nodded to myself.

I shut the hood and turned to see them nervously biting their nail. The rain had lightened up a little bit and I could see their hair sticking to their face, their eyebrows knitted together, and staring of into the distance deep in thought. I smiled to myself, wondering what they were thinking. What did they think of me? Did they like me?

Oh. Boyfriend. Right.

I attempted to push the imprint from my mind. “So, it looks like its just your battery. If you want, your boyfriend can bring it by my place and I can take a better look and fix it for the cheap. A mechanic will milk you for all you have, when it's really a cheap, easy fix.”

They turned to me, confusion painted over their features. I searched their eyes for something—anything—but I couldn’t tell what they were thinking. They just stared at me blankly. I dug my toe into the ground waiting for some kind of response, but they just stayed silent; and the silence was heavy.

They cleared their throat. “He has a guy, but thanks, uh…”

“Embry.” I smiled even though I felt like I was spiraling into the seventh sector of Hell.

“Thanks, Embry.” They held out their hand, and my own engulfed it. Touching them felt like a million volts of electricity flowing through my veins, and I never wanted to let go.

As soon as it had happened, they let go. “I’m Y/N, by the way—oh. Here he comes now. Better late than never, I guess.” They chuckled lightly under their breath as they stepped away from me and waved down a pair of headlights.

The tow truck pulled up and I got back in Sam’s truck. I sat there for a minute while they loaded the car onto the trailer. I felt like a million bees had made a home in my chest as I watched them pull off their soaked parka and exchange it for a dry one their boyfriend had brought. I then felt the bees die inside me as I saw him take their face in his hands and give them a gentle kiss on their forehead. The smile that illuminated from them made my heart somehow soar and deflate at the same time.

They began to climb in the truck, but turned back to give me one last look as I sat in the cab. They waved and gave me a small smile, and my heart burst. I felt a wide range of emotions as the tow pulled away and I made my way back onto the road; the most prominent was the gaping hole of incompleteness I felt in my chest.

✂

Send me one of those and Lee will kill you horribly. Cheers.

[A sequel of sorts to this:http://leeriverofwordsjordan.tumblr.com/post/83238073059/lived-long-enough-to-become-the-villain]

Warning: Character death, mention of torture, and blood.

The former Death Eater Rabastan Lestrange was propped up like an awkward plank of wood against the grey wall. His arms stiff at his sides, legs together, face obscured by a silver mask, the only evidence of a thinking, live person was in his eyes. They fluttered open at the sound of creaking. The door at the top of the stone steps opened and two hooded figures descended. The first silhouetted figure raised a wand and lit the torches. The figure lowered his hood. He was young , less than thirty, black, hair in cornrows and Rabastan didn’t recognize him until he spoke.“Ah, you’re awake. Good,“said the boy softly. The second hooded figured stood motionless, waiting, at the bottom of the stairs and was the only other audience for what the boy said next.“Thanks for tuning in to a brand new, improved, and refocused, and this time, intimate edition of Potterwatch.” That’s where he knew the voice. River. Real name: Lee Jordan. Order.Not that Rabastan had been the intended audience back then.Lee removed the mask from the former Death Eater’s face and dropped the broadcast voice.“Rabastan Lestrange. You’re wanted for unspeakable crimes…”He threw the silver mask over his shoulder and the hooded figure scooped it up and hugged it to their chest. Lee’s gaze remained fixed on Rabastan. “I’ve seen your work.St. Mungo’s. Neville never said. Five years in the same castle and I didn’t think to ask why he talked about his Gran and not his Mum and–"Lee shook his head.” Sorry. I talk too much. The point is...Can you think of a better way for you to go than to know how much pain you’ve caused?“ Lee didn’t expect a response. Full-body bind curses did not allow small-talk. And Lee wasn’t interested in conversation. He wanted to silence them. And these days, they were the only people he was honest with. They would hear the truth about themselves and him.He signaled the hooded figure. She placed Rabastan’s mask on the last step, turned back towards them and lowered her hood.Rabastan Lestrange’s eyes blinked in confusion. Bella.His brother’s wife. Wasn’t she suppose to be dead? She strode forward and stood next to Lee.“She had me as her toy for over a year…"said Lee circling her as if she were a collectible he was examining. "It’s my turn to play. I was excellent at connecting with people. Now, I can’t.I can numb myself with potions or I can be in constant,incessant, agony.” Lee squinted at the emotionless Bellatrix and adjusted a strand of hair out of her face. He faced Rabastan.He raised a hand to Rabastan’s eye level.“ This? Pretending.” Lee’s hand started to tremor.“If I was honest, I’d just let it–” The shaking spread up Lee’s arm. “But no, I pretend all the time. I pretend to care about people I loved–” Lee Inhaled and exhaled slowly and his arm stilled. “I have to control this situation. Because they think they need me.” Rabastan’s gaze darted to Bellatrix and back to the boy. Am I suppose to care about your sob story?“No. I didn’t think you would,"said Lee smirking.What?How–?"She’s helping me.With this."Lee wiggled the fingers of his hand before tapping them to his temple."And this.”Why would she? If they were all connected, then all Rabastan had to do was snap Bellatrix out of this and they could skewer the boy together.Lee grabbed Bellatrix’s arm and tugged on her sleeve.“It’s him.”She turned her head, concern suddenly flowed across her face.“No, this is Rabastan, he can’t be the one.”Rabastan couldn’t laugh in relief but he did make a sound.That’s right,Bells. Don’t believe him.“He is. He’s the one,"insisted Lee."He was jealous.He wanted you,but he couldn’t have you. Rodolphus didn’t know. How could he know? He loves his brother.Why would he suspect him?”Bellatrix’s brow furrowed deeper and she stared at Rabastan. He’s lying,Bells.Stab him and let’s get out of here.“I would never hurt my sister,"snarled Bellatrix stepping in front of Lee."Traitor.”Sister? well, that made sense. Bellatrix didn’t trust many. Of course, the boy would choose to confuse her by pretending to be someone else.This still didn’t make sense to Rabastan. Why would Narcissa accuse him of something?“Don’t act like you don’t know!” shouted Lee as if outraged.“He did it,Bella. He made me marry Tonks.”Andromeda. Shit. Rabastan’s heart-rate shot up. It’s not her!Bellatrix surged forward, but Lee blocked her. “No, he’s mine. I deserve to be the one. But I need your help, Bella,please. I need you to open his mind for me.” Lee cradled her face in his hands.“When I’m done, we’ll take Cissy with us and the three of us will go. We’ll be free,Bella. From your Lord, from our parents.Finally free.”Bellatrix nodded. “Are you sure? I can do it, you know.”“I need this,Bella,"said the boy almost pleading.She handed Lee a knife. Lee tucked it behind his back into his belt.Rabastan felt another mind, the probing, the precision, the–No. No, no, no. Bells. Please– The boy held Rabastan’s head in his hands. And Rabastan couldn’t open his mouth to scream, but a muffled sound tried to tear out anyway. What was it? Pain. But from what? Memories flooded in. Muggles. Squibs. Traitors. He relived the screams and pleading but this time he felt the jolts of pain, too. He stared at the boy and the boy stared back."It hurts…” And Lee spoke the words but he thought it, too. And Rabastan didn’t know who was in pain because it was all of them, every time, every twist of the Cruciatus or twist of a knife, all of them then and the three of them now–no, two minds screaming and reliving–Two? Bellatrix isn’t real.Then how did Lee know these things? Lee let go and dropped to the floor and Rabastan crumpled, back sliding down the wall, until he sat no longer stiff as a board. And the pain ebbed away for him, but the boy’s breath was still ragged. Rabastan spoke. “She isn’t real.If you could do all that why did you–?”“Y-you know w-why…” said Lee curled up on the floor.“To scare me,"snorted Rabastan."You got that information about her from my head. I wouldn’t be scared of you.And I’m not.It wasn’t their pain. It was your’s.You’ve shown your hand.” The former Death Eater stood. He kicked Lee and rolled him onto his back. The boy looked exhausted.“You almost had me there.” Rabastan said picking up the wand from where it had rolled out of the boy’s grasp.“Who fucked you up if it wasn’t her?”“D-does it ma-matter?"said Lee even as Rabastan raised the wand."No.”Lee drew the knife from his belt and jammed it into Rabastan’s calf. Rabastan howled. Blood dripped onto stone. Rabastan crashed. Lee withdrew the blade and flung his full weight on top sinking it into Rabastan’s chest.“You’re right. It doesn’t matter. We’re all the same. I just know what I’m doing is wrong.”