๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐:
His heart dropped into his throat when the lights went out, irritants riling his stomach acid and the foul necrose that had been splintering his ability to consume foodย like a normal human for months ( maybe longer โ it can go dormant, he remembered the doctor saying that, always the possibility itโll come backย ). Thumb and forefinger pinched the end of his button nose, his free arm bouncing and swaying absently the second that AJ began to wail, sensing the distress of everyone around her. Cyrek was shiteย at clamping down on his emotions, and some would see it as morose necessity in the presence of children. This time, it was notย his own unhinged ridges bursting through the canvas and erupting despair for the offspring that he had bore into the universe, at times unintentionally. The chaos of others was translated to them, and after momentary composure, he turned to face the sound of Ellieโs voice in his right ear, saying over the caterwaul,ย โAre the triplets with you?โ They were the vulnerable ones, four months and defenseless to sit upright, not that AJ was in a better position.
The mention of clownsย forced his eyes shut, intangible fear that cascaded eliciting the sensation of the earth opening beneath his feet to pair the uncontrollable nausea that he was now experiencing afterย indulging in one too many joints with Evren. What was meant to subdue the boiling volcanic magma in his abdomen was insistent on being knownย as his stress levels rose, hissing,ย โIf I see that fuckinโ clown again, in the dark, Iโm gonna puke on his shoes โโ Literally. Focus bleared away from his own breathing, torn between the mounting concern about which sobbing baby to tend to and the immutable panic as he realized he had no idea where Evren had gone. Nowย would be the perfect opportune for someone to spring out, and the itching, burning sensation of all eyes on him was incomparable to the attachment of a stage. There was muted malignity tainting the air, and if he were capableย of inhaling the aroma on the air, Cyrek was convicted it would have changed.ย โIโve โ Iโve got her,โ he said after a pause, a low growl escaping then when Lula screamedย loud enough to pierce his good ear,ย โI donโt have enough fuckinโ hands for all these kids.โ Spoken out of pure frustration, he lowered AJ to sit on the ground between his feet, detaching Tuffy the black stuffed bear from his punk pants and shoving it into her arms.ย โWeโre gonna have to get creative. Iโll take one, you take the other two. Soomi and Amaris are just gonna have to cram in the fuckinโ stroller and โโ God, he fucking hopedย Stella still had Joelle.ย โI gotta fuckinโ find Evie when the lights are back. Or someone else so youโre not a one-guy fuckinโ army if they donโt.โ
Youโve got the triplets with you? Hell, Ellie was their designated driver the entire evening โ not that he was complaining. Although he did encounter a moment wherein his intrusive thoughts encouraged the bassist to begin zig-zagging throughout the paved out carnival streets with their shared stroller like it was Tokyo Drift, alas he was a reformed person as of the last... Eight months or so, and even before then he wouldโve thought they needed to breach at least one year of age until he embarked on joyrides with the infants.ย โYeah, yeah. Right here,โ Absentmindedly patting the handle of the stroller as if his brother could even see the gesture that was meant to reassure and ease his conscience.ย โIโd countย โem if I could, but, well, this doesnโt feel any lighter to cart around than it did earlier?โ The petite blond supplied, nervous laughter jolting through his sternum.ย
Oh, shit. The clown thing. He shouldโve kept his lips tightly sealed and not said a word about the encounter, even if it was a halfhearted attempt at diffusing the quickly developing tension as the darkness implored more and more occupants to begin screaming out for their loved ones like it were some sort of infinite pocket dimension. Mightโve been. You never really knew in Paris, Ellie found.ย โLook, forget about the clown. Iโd never forget AJ with that jerkoโ weirdo,โ he held his tongue, watching his invectives in Cyrekโs stead.ย โOkay, yeah, see? You got her. Iโll get the others. Iโm great at multitasking.โ Not technically untrue, though a vast majority of those incidents occurred whenever he was under the spell of a manic episode and he felt as if he physically couldnโt keep his hands from acting on their own volition. That counted for something, didnโt it? That he possessed that capability, even when they came only when his mood was rapid cycling like hell.ย โI can be a one-guy army if I want. You oughta see how many set pieces I can carry at once. I think Ziv likes seeing me juggle so much with my little spaghetti arms. Iโm almost like a circus freak. They shouldโve hired Uncle Ellie to work here, huh, Amy?โ A gentle nudge pressed against his eldest nieceโs shoulder in an attempt to counteract any panic that couldโve begun brewing as the lights remained off.ย โJust donโt puke, Cy. Thatโs all I ask of you. I just washed these chucks for the first time since I bought them.โ