evelynreed:
For once, Evelyn felt there was no use in retaliating against Sebastian’s mockery of her emotions, sure of whatever clever line she could come up he’d only have one better. In the short amount of time she’d had the displeasure of knowing him that is all he ever did: deride her inability to bottle up her emotions and one-up her if given the opportunity. It was a rather annoying price to pay for his help. So what could she do? Cry some more? Give him the satisfaction? Apparently so.
She felt stupid as she angrily wiped at her cheeks once more, swallowing the aching knot stuck in her throat that just wouldn’t go away. By now her cheeks had gone red; the only color left on her face after going pale at the sight of her brother on that photograph. ‘How brave’ If only.
As Evelyn turned her gaze towards her feet and back to the photograph, she contemplated over the fact that she no longer knew if she found what she was looking for. This little journey of theirs had answered none of her questions and only left her with more. She already knew the world was full of fucked up freaks, she didn’t need proof of that (hardly knew there was one standing nearby). Unable to stare back at the eyes she’d last seen all those years ago, she stepped over the picture, feeling at peace for that brief moment before Sebastian’s voice came barging in again. The news that there was a sequel to their journey came as a surprise to her, chest rising up and down steadily with sudden anguish when she quickly moved her gaze towards him. All she saw were his shoes, which quickly disappeared from view as he left her behind.
“What do you mean?” Evelyn called out after him, voice hoarse from her unsuccessful attempt to keep it together. Eager for his answer, she hastily picked up the photograph and made it to the bottom of the stairs where instead of looking back at the room like she wanted, looked up. Had Aaron ever gotten that far? “What do you mean?” She repeated, this time with more determination as she ascended up the stairs. “You know this guy.” It was supposed to be a question, for which she already knew the answer. Was the purpose of her being there simply for his amusement then? “You’ve already fucked with my head all day just give me a straight fucking answer, man.” If she sounded defeated and tired it was because she was, hands coming up to rub her temples.
Sunlight poured through the wounded door, concentrated in the one-holed sieve that only a bullet could create, a pure and undefiled beam that Sebastian fractured when he approached it. Her voice was ricocheting behind him, bouncing around the walls of the small enclosure, intent on inflicting their own damage to the space like his gun had earlier. The result was much less effective, barely a wisp of a touch across his attention while the daylight grew, casting his shadow down the short stairs to envelope her in, as if even the rays of the sun wanted nothing to do with her.
"Were you under the impression that your investigation had reached its conclusion, Reed?" The grit of glass against glass was heard under his words and under his shoes, stepping over the mess of the destroyed mirrors that lined the carousel's core. Shattered. Destroyed. Irreparable. All the words fitting of current company. "Does your resolve in all matters wane as easily when presented with effort, or is it only reserved when familial ties are involved?"
Reflections stared upward, not one able to meet his gaze, before the herd of them thinned out, his frame weaving through the rot-infested horses with eyes gouged out by flaking paint and weathered wood. The scent of his cigarette still clung to him in the open air; Evelyn's plea for transparency seemingly unable to break through its clout, even as his head turned in her direction, eyes pinning her in place.
"You've had extensive time to catch up, Reed. Apparently, a decade of inaction can only do so much when it comes to basic research," he spoke, the kind of tone that was as condescending as it was casual. "Though, I wonder," he went on, "what will your reaction be when you have to remind him that you were also present?--Or has the practice with your parents prepared you for that moment?"












