No one told me.
She was mine to take care of, mine to protect.
She needed me.
I had to follow her to make sure she was safe, but they wouldn’t let me.
“Ghost? Come on, man, let’s go wait in the waiting room.” Someone said. I tried to go after her but was stopped again when my brother Grimm got in my face.
He looked different, like he’d been crying.
Grimm never cried.
I’d never seen him like this before.
“Balthazar, let Healer take care of Mia. There is nothing more you can do now. He will protect her.”
“She is mine to protect.”
“I know, brother, but there is nothing more you can do.”
“She was scared.”
“I saw, but Mia is a fighter. She’s our Tyrant. Hold on to that,” Grimm carefully said, turning me towards the others. I didn’t know where he was taking me. When he motioned for me to sit, I did so.
Brothers paced all around me, talking to anyone who entered. Others sat near me, not saying a word. I didn’t even see when Caroline arrived. I should have noticed. She was her mother. I should have said something, but I didn’t know what to say.
I looked at my hands.
They were still red, coated in her blood.
I knew I should wash them, but I couldn’t move.
I didn’t want to.
I needed the reminder of who I failed.
She was mine to protect, and I didn’t.
A door slammed, making me jump. I spotted the clock on the wall and noted the time, 6:38pm. I thought it an odd time.
I whispered, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
“What?” Grimm asked, turning to me.
“Just noting the time.”
“No, you were quoting the bible. You hadn’t done that since before dad died.”
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not, and you know it,” Grimm insisted. “What did you say?”
“Nothing, just some gibberish I remembered from when dad made us go to church. It means nothing. Leave it alone, Malachi.”
Twenty minutes later, Healer walked into the waiting room. He didn’t have to say anything. The look on his face said it all. I stood, knowing what was about to happen, and it did. Caroline screamed and would have fallen to the ground if it weren’t for Massacre holding her up. Brothers cursed, punched walls, kicked chairs, all feeling the grief that encompassed the room. Even Grimm, my quiet brother, shed a tear as he hung his head in sorrow. When Healer came over to me, I tried to listen to what he said, but I couldn’t hear a single word. I watched his lips move, but it was like seeing a silent movie. All around me, brothers tried to contain their pain to no avail.
Yet for the life of me, I felt nothing.