Talking. Familiar voices. That was the first thing Zelda heard as the groggy fog of the drugs lifted slightly. She opened her eyes slightly, careful not to move at all and alert them to her consciousness. They were arguing. Finn and Sebastien. It wasn’t uncommon, but this wasn’t friends arguing. It was aggressive.
Sebastien sighed, looking away from the man next to him. “She’s safe now. She’s alive.”
“Yeah, and she almost wasn’t, thanks to you.” Finn practically spat the words at him, vibrating with rage. “Why the fuck didn’t you realize she was missing sooner? Does she really mean so little to you?!”
"Shut up.” Zelda’s head snapped to the side, staring the man down with a rage of her own. She saw a flash of complete devastation in Sebastien’s eyes, though it was quickly removed. “What happened is on me. Me. Don’t ever put the blame on Sebastien like that again.”
“Tu es réveillé (You’re awake).” Sebastien exhaled loudly, and Zelda couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been holding his breath.
Zelda pushed herself up to sit on the bed, leaning on the pillows. “I’ve been awake long enough to learn that you two are more messed up than I am right now.” She sighed, letting go of some of the anger she held on to. “That’s my fault, and I’m so sorry.”
“Zelda, are you okay? What hurts?” Finn practically jumped up at the chance to be helpful but Sebastien just shot him a glare.
“Give her some fucking room.” Sebastien muttered under his breath.
Zelda kept her eyes on the two men, studying them for a moment. She knew what was happening. She knew Finn well enough to know his anger to Sebastien wasn’t real, that tomorrow, everything would be fine between them. But to be sure, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Apologize to Sebastien.”
Finn leaned back in his chair, muttering an apology to the man, to which Sebastien simply nodded in response. Zelda smiled at the two.
“Thank you. Now I’m sure you two have some things to yell at me about... So go ahead.”
There was silence for a moment, giving Zelda time to settle back into the pillows, tugging the blanket over her a bit more.
“I’m just... I’m really fucking mad, okay? At both of you... and well, you almost died, so I can’t really take it out on you...” Finn’s voice wavered, “Hence, y’know, taking it out on Sebastien.”
Sebastien stayed silent, instead opting to slide his chair forward, reaching to hold on to Zelda’s hand gently. Zelda froze for a moment, staring at their hands and reveling in the warmth that his hand brought. She looked up at Finn again, smiling sadly at him.
“There isn’t a reason to be mad at Sebastien, though. I was super shitty to both of you recently. That’s all me.”
“Yeah, I guess...” Finn sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, “I was just worried, okay?!”
“You’re independent, it’s not a bad thing.” Sebastien squeezed her hand lightly, “Just let someone know if you’re going into a den of murderers next time, hm?”
Zelda just smiled, shaking her head slightly, “You make it sound like either of you would have actually let me go if I told you.”
“The point is, you tell us, we have your back...less chance of almost dying...” There was a hint of a smile on Sebastien’s lips, one that Zelda managed to catch.
"You're right, I know you are... and I know I should have informed you guys before almost dying..." She was speaking playfully, though everything she said was exactly what she meant.
“Next time, shoot us a text in your last moments please...it’s only polite” Sebastien’s tone lightened, something Zelda was surprised by considering the events that led them here, considering she still wasn’t sure she was out of the woods yet.
Finn made a dramatic gagging noise from his spot against the wall, “God, now that I finally see it, you two are gross together.”
Zelda glared teasingly at the man, “Don’t worry, Finn. Next time I’m in grave danger, I’ll send you a cute, lovey dovey selfie of us.”
Finn just laughed, though it was cut off by his phone going off. It only took a quick glance at it before he was standing from his chair. “I’ve got to go, murder calls. Keep me updated though, I’ll be back when I can.”
With that, their friend was gone and an uneasy silence settled over the couple. Zelda knew what had to come next, looking down at their hands, still grasped on top of her blanket.
“Did he tell you?”
Sebastien squeezed her hand, catching her gaze, “He brought it up, yes.”
Tears sprang to Zelda’s eyes, “I’m so sorry, Sebastien. I.. I should have told you sooner, I know. I should have been more careful.. I’m so--”
“Stop.” The man spoke the word gently, “Are you alright?”
She was silent for a moment, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to spill with every breath she took.
“No, not really.” She took a shaky breath, looking away from the man again. “I’m alive though... so I guess it could be worse.”
Finn came in the next morning, practically vibrating with energy. How was Sebastien, how was her night, how was her pain, when is her surgery, was there any news on Sebastien getting out of ICU, was there any news at all. He even asked if she had heard anything about the other couple. Zelda had forgotten all about the other two but spent a silent moment hoping everything had gone okay.
Finn was still talking, rambling about how he had called into work and said he wasn’t going to make it in today and to cancel his appointments. Zelda held her hand out, one finger up to quiet the man for a second.
Her head was throbbing from a lack of genuine rest. She had been restless from not being able to get out of bed much, and on top of that, every noise had woken her up once she actually fell asleep. Hospitals seemed quiet until you were trying to sleep, then you realized just how many noises there were.
“Sorry, the only reason I exist right now is coffee... I might have had several cups already.” Finn laughed, but it sounded nervous. He moved, pulling up a chair beside her and slumping into it. “I figured I would go over to your house, clean up a bit for you... It took longer than I thought it would.”
Zelda froze for a second. She had been hoping to spare Finn from having to see upstairs. The gore and horror that Claudine’s room held. Hopefully, he had just cleaned the living room up...
A nurse walked in, saving her from having to respond and find out what the man had seen. She sat up in the bed, watching the man walk in and pick up her chart. He looked at the two, smiling cheerfully at them. Zelda almost wanted to hit him. It was 8 in the morning, no one was that happy.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Young? Your pain’s bearable?” The man was skimming her chart.
Zelda’s eyes narrowed slightly. She knew she had no reason to be irritated by the man, but she was, regardless. “I’m fine, I just want to get out of here and see Sebastien.”
“Good, good. The doctor has your surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning, but someone will come in and let you know all about that later.” He ignored her comment about seeing Sebastien and it only raised more alarms in her mind.
“That means she’ll be able to leave soon, right?” Finn piped up, sitting straighter in his chair.
“Within the week, I would imagine.” The nurse smiled again, and Zelda had to stop herself from snapping at him.
“Okay, but what about Sebastien?” She saw the flicker in the man’s attitude, how suddenly he seemed ready to break the fake cheeriness. “Can we see him? Has he woken up yet?”
The nurse just put her chart back and turned to leave. “I’ll send the doctor in to update you when he’s free.”
The pair sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. It was probably only half an hour to forty-five minutes, but the tension that hung in the air after the nurse left seemed to slow down time.
Zelda knew she wasn’t being paranoid. Something wasn’t right. Finn knew it too, and that was why he stayed silent. She wished he was being his usual loud, oblivious self, but even he knew when to be serious.
Dr. Hardwick walked in, looking friendly, but also solemn. That was bad enough, but then another woman walked in. Ms. Harmon. That was a bad sign or just bad timing. Either way, the woman’s presence made her anxious.
Finn was sitting up straight, his attention fully focused on the two people who entered the room. “Your face looks like this isn’t going to be a happy update..”
“Unfortunately, no. I’m not here with good news, but I wanted to be the one to deliver it.” The man started out, his hands clasped in front of him.
“As you know, your friend was not in good condition when he arrived. Even after emergency surgery, he was still having problems as you both witnessed yesterday. That crash you saw was only the first of several throughout the night. At around 4:15 this morning, his heart stopped again and we were unable to get it going again. Sebastien is dead.”
The world seemed to fade out of focus for a moment, her mind repeating the one sentence over and over again. Sebastien is dead. Her vision blurred, but she quickly blinked away her tears before they could fall, glaring at the man in front of her.
“You killed him. You gave up on him, and now he’s dead.” She spat the words at the doctor, “He wouldn’t have given up without a fight, and he didn’t even get a chance to fight.”
“Zel...” Finn’s hand brushed her’s but she pulled it away quickly, shooting a quick glare at her friend.
“There was a great deal of internal damage that we hadn’t got a chance to properly assess yet because of his condition. There was nothing more we could have done until he stabilized more.”
“Bullshit. I’m sure there was something you could have done.” Every second of looking at the man’s face made her angrier, but she couldn’t look away from him. “I want to see him. If he’s dead, I need to see him. I want to say goodbye.”
“Unfortunately, because you admitted that neither of you are actually family members, we can’t let you see him.” Ms. Harmon spoke up, standing slightly behind the doctor. Zelda almost forgot she was in the room and flinched at the woman’s sudden voice.
"We’re sorry for your loss.” The woman continued. “Zelda, I’ll be back to talk with you later today.”
Zelda opened her mouth to call after them, scream at them more, but nothing came out. Instead, she just dropped her hand to the bed in defeat.
“He didn’t know about Claudine. He would have been fighting to get back to his daughter because he didn’t know she was already dead.” She spoke softly, trying to piece everything together in her head. “He didn’t know... I...”
She was crying, though she wasn’t sure when it had started. Finn took her hand gently between both of his, and this time she just accepted.
You’re going to live with the fact that you all killed two people tonight.
“He can’t be dead, Finn. They both can’t be dead.” Part of her knew that nothing anyone said would change a damn thing, but still, she prayed that it would. That Dr. Hardwick would walk back through the door and tell her that Sebastien’s heart had started up again and he was awake.
Halloween. Usually, she loved it, but this year was different. This year, she was supposed to be out trick or treating with her child, with Sebastien. As a family, making memories. Instead, she sat on her bed, alone. The house was silent, only being filled with laughing and screaming from the street outside.
She should have moved a long time ago. Once she was back on her feet, able to work full time again. She made good money, she had good credit, finding a new place would have been easy. Then she wouldn’t be stuck in a happy neighborhood, full of happy families with happy children. She wouldn’t be surrounded by Sebastien’s things, Claudine’s things, the few memories she had of both of them that would never bring them back...
Zelda had never really wanted a family. Growing up, she watched her parents’ marriage unravel, and watched how it affected her and her brother. When the divorce finally came, she and Nate had to pick sides. Her mother had gotten so petty with the drama of it all, that because Zelda refused to leave her father, her mother had abandoned her too. When her mother moved out, it was the last time she saw her and Nate.
Families were complicated. Dedicating your entire life to one person, to trust them to help you raise a child, it was a recipe for disaster. They could leave you high and dry one day, simply because they wanted to. She never wanted it, never had dreams of finding a husband, having a bunch of children. She had been content with her life, with her friends. Until Sebastien.
Of course, when she met the man, her first thought wasn’t that he was the one. He was going to be her husband, father her children. But he had made her wanted more. He’d treated her nice enough on their date, had made her breakfast in the morning. Everything a true gentleman would do. When she found out she was pregnant, she still didn’t want a family. She had half a mind to put the child up for adoption, not even tell Sebastien. Maybe it would have been better if she had. They would probably still be alive.
It wasn’t until she moved in with Sebastien, gave birth to Claudine. Then, once motherhood had overcome her life, she was happy to have a family. She and Sebastien were simply co-parents, lived together. They slept alone. They were starting to become friends, or at least she thought they had. But it was nice. They were a family.
She regretted every moment of it now. All it had brought was heartache. She should be out partying like she normally would. She shouldn’t be thinking about all the things she had planned to do. Taking Claudine out to find a costume, talking Sebastien into dressing up with her so they could all have matching costumes.
A knock at the door dragged her reluctantly out of her thoughts. She didn’t want to face trick or treaters. She had been praying that keeping the lights off downstairs would keep children away.
Another knock, harder this time, more determined.
She moved off of her bed, socks sliding on the floor. Maybe it wasn’t trick or treaters, though she couldn’t imagine who else it would be. Someone needing help? Hopefully not. Last time, that didn’t end so well.
As she made her way down the stairs, there was another knock. Slower, but still hard. It wasn’t until she hit the foot of the stairs that she heard a voice
“Zel, I know you’re home. Let me in, or I’ll break in.”
Finn. She should have guessed. She sighed heavily, unlocking the door and swinging it open to face the man. He was dressed up as a pirate. A pretty good looking pirate, of course, probably on his way to a party. There was a bag in his hand that he thrust towards her as he walked in.
“Look, I know you had all these plans for Halloween, but sitting here being alone is going to put you back in therapy. So, get dressed, we’re going to this Halloween party at the bar.”
She looked inside the bag at the still-in-the-package costume; a sexy vampire outfit that Sebastien probably would have hated. Perfect for going to the bar and getting attention though, which is maybe what she needed.
Zelda stared in shock at the closed door that separated them from Sebastien. He was dead and he had never known how loved he was. At least he would get to join Claudine, to join their baby girl in the afterlife and further leave her isolated and alone.
She took a sharp breath, refusing to let herself cry. There was still a chance he would make it, after all. There were nurses and doctors doing everything in their power to keep the man alive. She just hoped that they were capable enough to do so.
Finn was still behind her, more silent than she had ever heard him, and she wondered if he was even breathing.
The door opened and a man exited, walking directly to where they were waiting. “Sebastien’s family, I presume?”
Zelda nodded, studying the man carefully. He looked like a doctor, but he also looked quite young. Still, he looked confident and not even slightly panicked, so that had to be a good sign.
“I’m Doctor Chad Hardwick, Sebastien’s doctor. The good news is that we got his heart beating again. I know that was probably nerve-wracking to witness.” The man’s voice was calm, practiced, “The bad news is that his brain isn’t getting enough blood. We’re doing everything we can to fix the problem, but the fact is we just don’t know what to expect. We have him in a medically induced coma right now, but when things start to look up, we’ll reverse it and he should wake up.”
“How bad were his injuries?” Zelda spoke, almost surprising herself that she couldn’t even breathe, let alone speak.
“He lost hearing in both ears, and he’s going to need a prosthetic leg, but the rest was repairable.” The man stuck his hands in his pockets, “Now we just have to get him back to having enough blood, and he should be fine.”
Fine. He would never be fine, not truly, but the doctor seemed nice enough and she didn’t want to put a damper on his work. If this doctor was telling her that Sebastien was going to one day live, and be okay, she would take it.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Finn spoke up, his voice surprisingly steady.
“I’ll make sure to update you both when we know more.”
Finn had returned her to her room, leaving shortly after. He had been talking about going to her house to pick up some things for them, to lock up so that their valuables weren’t stolen. He had promised to come back in the morning if nothing else but to make sure she was okay and that Sebastien had made it through the night.
It felt like as soon as he had left, a woman entered. She wasn’t old, but she definitely older, and the years hadn’t been the kindest to her. Her eyes look tired, not from lack of sleep but from years of chaos.
“Zelda Young, correct?” The woman stopped just inside. Zelda only watched her for a moment from where she lay in the bed, shifting slightly.
“That depends on who’s asking.”
“I’m Kacey Harmon, a psychologist with the hospital. They wanted me to come and give you a small evaluation.” Her voice was kind, but not genuinely kind. It was a facade, she knew because she often used it with rude people who came into the veterinary clinic where she worked.
“Zelda, the nurses tell me that you haven't talked about what happened to you and your family.” She started, pulling up a chair beside the bed and laying a notebook in her lap.
Zelda rolled her eyes at the woman, “I told them what they needed to know. The extent of my injuries, what I knew about Sebastien’s injuries. I’m sure they don’t really care about all the tiny details.”
“It’s important to talk to somebody about what you’re feeling, Zelda.”
“Please tell me, Ms. Harmon. Is talking about my feelings going to bring back my daughter? Is it going to magically repair Sebastien’s body so he can be removed from the massive amount of machines he’s hooked up to?” Zelda sat up, examining the woman with narrowed eyes. She should have expected this. Of course, they’d send a shrink for her after she came in clutching a dead baby.
“No, it will not.” Kacey looked down, writing in her book about the woman’s irritation. She glanced back up curiously. “You refer to Claudine as your daughter, yet for Sebastien, you only use his name. Why is that?”
A short bark of laughter escaped her lips, followed quickly by a burst of nausea in her stomach. She didn’t want to hear Claudine’s name, that ‘s why. “What else am I supposed to refer to him as? The father of my child? There is no child anymore. He was never my friend, my partner, nothing.”
“And yet you were so desperate to see him that you lied to the nurses about him being your husband.”
Her chest tightened, but she refused to show this stranger anything. “That was for Finn. Sebastien is his best friend. I figured he had a better chance of seeing him if I helped.”
Her mind was racing, reliving the entire experience in the ICU. The horror she felt when she realized what was happening, that his heart had stopped. She wanted to tell him how she felt. He deserved to be the first person to know, not this random ass stranger who was only trying to headshrink her.
“My baby died. That happens to people every year, I’m sure, and people get by fine.” Zelda took a breath, staring the woman in the eyes. “I’ll be fine, with or without Sebastien, and definitely without a fucking shrink.”
Kacey Harmon just nodded, writing somthing down in her notebook quickly before standing. She moved the chair back to its proper place and walked to the door, only stopping to turn and quickly tell her she’d see her soon. Then she was gone.
“Cass, listen to me, please.” Gideon pleaded with the woman, reaching out to take her hand, to stop her from leaving but just before he managed to grasp her, she turned. Hope bloomed in him but was shattered as soon as he saw that she wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Gideon...You just, you just confessed your love for someone else." Her voice held a sadness that cut him to the core. "What would have happened if I hadn't come home early? Would you have been able to stop yourself?"
"Nothing would have happened Cass. He asked, I told him the truth. I still have feelings for him, yes, but nothing in comparison to what I feel for you. We didn't work out and I have no intention of doing anything with him, not when I'm so faithful to you. Please know that. Please."
The hospital was just as they had expected; a frantic rush of patients lining up to be seen, nurses trying to make sure that people were being seen and the countless Doctors who were on hand, looking frazzled already only a few hours after the purge had ended.
Gideon and Cassia had been separated from Zelda and the other two men almost as soon as they walked into the hospital, though Gideon couldn't say that he particularly minded. When or if the tortured man woke up, they were likely the last two people he would want to see. They were, after all, the reason Sophie had killed their baby and had cruelly abused the couple.
He was the reason. Had it not been for Gideon, for Mason thinking they still had a chance, then Sophie wouldn't have even been in that area.
Zelda and Sebastién could have gone on with their lives. They could have watched their baby grow up. They could have had a life together without heartbreak if not for him. They could have had lives.
The woman stirred in her bed, her grip on his hand tightening, quicky breaking Gideon from his pitiful reverie. The doctors had given her medication for the pain and had already taken x-rays. Her collarbone was broken, along with a few of her ribs. There was also a fracture in her forearm but other than that there wasn't much else wrong with her aside from some cuts and scrapes. All he had needed were some stitches where the knife had been plunged into the flesh of his shoulder and an injection to ward off any infection. He had been discharged quickly enough though Cassia was recommended to stay overnight, just in case.
Thank goodness they'd gotten there when they had, when there were doctors still readily available to help those most seriously injured. He hated to think what would have happened, especially to the couple that had been tortured in place of them, had they arrived at the Hospital any later.
They had gotten lucky, and instead, strangers had to pay the price for them.
Zelda was laying back against the hospital bed, staring listlessly up at the ceiling, recounting the events that had occurred as soon as they had stepped foot in the hospital. Sebastién had been rushed away as soon as the staff had seen them hefting the man through the emergency doors. Finn had called out for help and the nurses came running, their faces whitening as they saw the seriousness of the situation.
Sebastién was quickly carted away on a stretcher, an oxygen mask being placed on his face almost immediately after the medical personnel had taken over. He had been taken to surgery. Hopefully. Claudine had been taken away as well, though she was likely taken to the morgue. Maybe Sebastién would meet her there.
It had taken Finn a while to reason with her, to allow them to take her baby away. He had pointed out that there was nothing more that could be done for her, nothing more that could help. She had been staring at the ground as he'd spoke, clutching onto her child for dear life, though it sounded as if he was crying or near to it. That was, she knew upon reflection, what had allowed her to let go.
Once she'd been seen and left to recuperate on the hospital bed she realized that it was the first moment that she and Finn had had to breathe since they had arrived at the hospital. It had been a whirlwind few hours. First Sebastién had been taken, then a doctor had examined her leg and hand - requesting a few x-rays in the process - and finally, a nurse had come by to administer pain medication before another woman stitched up the deep wounds in her arm, the crude wording marring her skin.
She knew, as she gazed down at her arm, that the tattoo Sebastién had done for her was ruined irreparably. If he didn't make it through then she would have nothing left of him but empty memories.
"What the hell happened, Zelda?" Finn's hesitant voice broke through her trance, looking up from his lap and making no attempt to hide the concern on his face. "I know Sebastién. I know him. It's not easy to get a one up on him. How the fuck did this happen?"
"It was my fault." She began, sitting up with a wince. The adrenaline was wearing off and whilst the pain medication was good, they weren't strong, as the doctors were worried she could have a concussion. "The couple at the house, they were injured and I just couldn't watch them die. I couldn't, Finn. Sebastién followed me out and by the time we got back inside...well, it was too late."
"He went upstairs to make sure the house was clear and he never came back down..." Her lower lip trembled, watery eyes meeting Finn's before finishing. "God, I thought he was just angry at me but he was upstairs being tortured. Oh, God."
Giving her a few moments to calm herself, Finn gripped her good hand like a lifeline. "Who were they? Where did they come from?"
“I don’t know.” She lied easily, “They were wearing masks.”
She knew who they were, she knew what they looked like and she knew enough to track them down. If she told Finn, he would tell Sebastién and they would go after them and that was the last thing she wanted. Sebastién wouldn't give himself enough time to heal and they would get injured again or killed. She couldn't risk it. Not yet. Not until it was legal to do so again. Maybe then she could tell him.
Or she would do something about it herself.
There was a long period of silence between the two, both caught up in their own thoughts, though they still gripped on to each other like lifelines, as if they were the last thing they each had in this world. How close that was to being true.
"They cut off his leg.” The man's voice cut through the silence, disbelief weighing heavily onto his words.
Zelda just nodded, not willing to inflict Finn with the horror that had occurred to Sebastién in that room. Not wanting to relive it herself.
Her hand started to ache again and she had to force herself to stop trying to ball it into a fist. She was due to have surgery on it as the knife had damaged a tendon that needed to be repaired, but as it wasn't a life or death case, she had to wait. Thankfully the bullet had been removed from her leg easily, but the nurses advised her not to walk around for a day or so, or put any pressure on that limb lest she tear open the sutures.
She had been provided a wheelchair not ten minutes ago and she eyed it thoughtfully for a few moments before demanding Finn take her to Sebastién. There was a nurse in the room at the time, pausing from where she was dabbing disinfectant on the claw marks upon Zelda's cheek.
"He's in the ICU, only immediate family are allowed in there."
"I'm his fucking wife," Zelda snapped, glaring at the woman and causing her to flinch. "Finn is his brother. We're his only family. Would you have him be without his family if he dies?"
Finn, who was sitting on a chair behind the nurse, met Zelda's gaze and rolled his eyes. It was obvious the nurse knew she wasn't being entirely truthful, but judging from the look on Zelda's face, the woman didn't want to risk their chances of seeing Sebastién again and have to face the redhead's wrath.
“Next floor up, room 205.” The woman spoke quickly before spinning around quickly, not want to risk the emotional battering that Zelda was likely to bring if she were to refuse them.
As soon as the nurse left, Zelda beamed up at her friend from the wheelchair, feeling proud despite herself, proud that she was still able to instill fear into people's hearts.
"You'll need to push me," she stated, waving her injured hand in Finn's face. "Don't want to go round in circles."
“Figured that much, already.” He rolled his eyes for the second time, moving behind the wheelchair and pushing the woman out of the room.
The hospital was teeming with people in various states of disarray. Staff were getting yelled at by angry family members, tears were being shed along with various other bodily fluids. A small child was curled up next to a chair, blood dripping from his brow as he sobbed for his dead mother.
It was hard to ignore the various states of the people around them but nothing they would be able to do could help, especially as they couldn't even help themselves. Claudine was still dead and no amount of Doctor's or nurses would be able to bring her back.
Another nurse stopped them again, just as they reached the ICU, opening her mouth to let them know that it was family only.
"Oh for God's sake, don't get her started again. It's been a long day." Finn started, cutting the woman off before she could even really start her spiel. "I'm his brother, this is his wife. We won't stay long, we just need to see him. We need to know he's okay, you understand?"
The nurse crossed her arms, raising a brow but seemed to buy the story regardless. She gave a quick nod before giving them some information on Sebastién, her words to the point, not caring if they hurt their intended listener. "Just so you know, he's been put in a medical coma. They'll reverse it in a few days once they know the extent of his brain injury but as of right now, he's on the edge so you best get in there and say your goodbyes in case he doesn't make it."
She pointed at a door down the hall with the blinds drawn, imploring them to be as quiet and delicate as they could.
Zelda felt her stomach lurch.
There was no telling what was going to be inside that room, what would await them. He wasn't going to look good, not given that he was in the ICU, tubes likely connected over his body. She wasn't sure what they did with him when they took him, but it must have involved surgery. How else would have they been able to stop the bleeding?
She felt ill, her chest feeling like it was twisting itself in knots as the anxiety built inside her. Finn's pace slowed to a near halt as they neared the door, the two of them staring at it with some trepidation for a few long moments.
"Open it."
Finn reached out, turning the handle and pushing the door open. The lights were on, dimmer in here than in her room, not as clinical and harsh. They flickered slightly, which Zelda supposed was fitting. Sebastién's life seemed to be dimming too, despite the staff having cleaned him up.
He had a tube down his throat and two in his nose, both attached to what looked like a harness around his head. His breath still seemed to rattle, just a little. It worried her. Wires came from both his arms, the one on his left feeding him blood, the one on his right giving him intravenous fluids. He was attached to a heart monitor too, the beeping loud in the otherwise quiet room.
The blood had been cleaned up, his skin stapled together at his hairline and stitched in various places across his face and arms. Part of his head had been shaved where the injury was, an injury that neither Zelda nor Finn had noticed before. There had been a much more pressing matter at the time.
His hands were each wrapped in a cast of sorts which left Zelda to vaguely wonder what Scott and Sophie had done to them to inflict such a mangled outcome. The thought made her flinch. Gauze covered various other parts of his arms that they could see and there was a faint patch of blood visible on his chest, causing Zelda to distantly wonder what sort of horror lay beneath his hospital gown.
Her eyes moved lower.
A blanket covered his legs, but even then she could see the difference in length. The injured leg was slightly raised and seemed thicker under the blanket, though she knew from her work in the clinic that the limb was wrapped and compressed in order to help aid the healing process...and his comfort.
It was sickening to see him like this, so cold and still. Something inside Zelda made her fear the worst.
“Jesus Christ, what did they do to you, Seb?" Finn asked, knowing full well that he wasn't going to get an answer. Even if he were conscious it was unlikely that the man would have bothered, words generally being too much of an effort for the man. The thought put a twisted smile on Zelda's face, though it fell moments later as her eyes filled with unshed tears as she stared at the man lying motionless on the bed. He looked so young and so pale, and so like a corpse that it scared her.
Ultimately, they weren't anything. Not anymore, not really ever. She most definitely wasn't his wife, she wasn't even his girlfriend. Was she even his friend or was she just there because of Claudine? They didn't even have her to keep them together anymore.
He never knew it but over the six months that they had lived together and the nine that they had been in contact again, she had started to see him as more than just the father of his child. She had seen his quirks, his small smiles directed towards her and towards the baby. She saw how happy the child had made him, how delighted. Every time he had laughed, she had greedily wanted more, but he never seemed interested in her in that way, as hard to read as he was. So she had kept silent, but now? Now she wished she had told him. He had deserved to know that he had been loved.
Zelda reached out to take Sebastién's bandaged hand in hers and cradled it against her chest. Breathing in deeply, she opened her mouth to say something to the unconscious man, something she had needed to say a long time ago.
"I lov-"
Then the beeping started.
At first, it was frantic, the sound shrill in their ears and Zelda took a chance to glance back up at Finn, who stood frozen and wide-eyed over his friend's body, the body that had begun to jerk with what could only be described as a seizure. It wasn't long after that that the sound became one long and extended noise, not giving Zelda a chance to truly gather what was happening.
Nurses rushed into the room within seconds and the room filled with a frantic chaos. A man started barking orders at them to get out causing the both of them to jump, Finn quickly wheeling her out of the room in terrified silence. They stood outside the door for a minute, listening to the man barking orders at the nurses inside, though their side of the door was completely silent. That's when the reality of the situation hit her.
Hanging up on Finn was hard. Zelda sat for a few minutes, chest heaving with silent sobs as she tried desperately to keep it together. She wanted him to hurry, but more than anything, she wanted her family safe.
The house was silent, save for the insistent whispering coming from the living area, the British man still trying to calm the woman. It was getting on Zelda's nerves. Cass's daughter didn't get murdered in front of their eyes. How dare she act as if her beloved Claudine's death affected her more than the girl's mother.
In the back of her mind, Zelda knew she was being a little unfair. That the young woman had a reason to be so distraught. Fighting for control of her emotions, Zelda listened in again, this time for something else. A ragged breath. Occasionally Sebastién's damaged body would heave out a breath, a sign he was still alive, though as time went on it worsened giving an indication that he really didn't have long, especially as it started to sound a little crackly every time he breathed in which could be an indication of fluid in his lungs.
Still, she reasoned, there was nothing more she could do inside but worry and Zelda couldn't stand it, not being able to do anything but wait. So she had chosen to stand outside, arms wrapped around her body in an attempt to protect her body from the cold and against any more emotional onslaught, as if it would help. She'd be safer inside; it was still purge time, though at this point she could hardly care. Being inside, being surrounded by the stench of death, was not something she wanted to remember.
If someone wanted to kill her where she stood then she would be more than grateful.
A world without Claudine or Sebastién was a world she did not want to live in.
Zelda could hear Finn before she could see him, the harsh rev of the engine could be heard from a few streets over. The wait, however, felt like it spanned for hours as Zelda's impatience and panic started to spike.
It was obvious that Finn had been speeding the entire trip due to how he screeched into the driveway, pulling to a stop right in front of her. Barely giving himself time to switch off the engine, Finn jumped out the truck with a panicked expression plastered upon his face. He looked frantic, hair tousled as if he had been running his fingers through as a way to distract himself through the long night.
The worry that was evident on his face only grew as he took a good look at the woman before him. He looked frantic, a panic in his eyes that only grew when he took a good look at the woman before him.
“What the fuck happened here, Zelda? What happened to you?” Finn didn't waste any time with his questions, gripping onto her elbows for a second as if to reassure himself that she was alive. Then he looked closer. He released her for a second before lifting her head with his hand and tilting it to look at the scratches that marred her face. Zelda had forgotten about them as with everything else that had gone on that night, it definitely was the lowest on her list to worry about.
“Where’s Sebastien?" His eyes moved frantically over her face before something furious dawned in his eyes. "Did...did he do this to you? Did he fucking hurt you?"
Despite herself, her eyes flashed with a brief moment of fury. "He would never," she insisted, tensing for a few seconds until she shook off her anger, knowing that Finn was just trying to make sure she was okay. Sebastién was known for being surly at times, though she knew he would never hurt her...and she knew that Finn knew that too.
Finn let go of her at her words and he shot her an inquisitive look. "Where is he then?"
"Inside." Her voice was a quiet whisper and she knew that she wouldn't be able to muster up the ability to elaborate the state Sebastién was in at that moment lest she waste all the time she had spent in the kitchen trying to keep her emotions in check. Finn was going to have to just find out when he went in there.
To steady herself, she squeezed her arm with her good hand, summoning everything inside her to keep her stable, at least for the time being. Zelda had never cried in front of Finn, and she wasn't about to start now, not when there was work that had to be done and bodies to be moved.
The man hesitated, looking from the woman to the open door that led inside the house. The house usually seemed inviting and warm; it was the one that Finn had gone with Sebastién with to check it out and it was the only place that had even come close to making the Frenchman smile. Tonight it was eerie. The street was void of life though they could hear signs of fighting a few streets over.
The two of them stood for a few seconds, straight fear overtaking the panic that Finn had had whilst driving over to the home he frequented so often, though he eventually moved away from Zelda and towards the house. She followed close behind, obviously reluctant but Finn was yet to see why other than her obvious injuries and dishevelment.
There were voices coming from the living, causing the man to freeze. Were the people who did that to Zelda still here? The woman put a hand on his arm, nodding slightly at him to assure him the people were safe, though he could see that she had a wide-eyed look of terror plastered back upon her face.
Watching as Finn took a step into the room, Zelda took a deep breath to steady herself; to prepare herself for seeing it all again.
She watched the horror flash over Finn's face, hands moving quickly to his mouth as he stopped himself from gagging. That was how she knew he had seen Sebastién. She could tell he only just managed to avoid vomiting, an expression she had seen from him many times from nights out in the past. Oh, how she wished that tonight was as carefree as those others.
Gideon had quieted down as soon as he saw them in the doorway, watching Finn carefully. He tensed, an arm wrapping around the blonde woman in what looked like an attempt to block her from Finn's view. The idea was almost laughable, if they were in any other situation, that Finn could be a threat to anybody and that the Brit could protect the woman who had now commandeered his jacket, only one arm inside the sleeve but despite that, it was done up to the very top button.
“Is he…?” Finn had turned towards her, looking at her with wide eyes, the seriousness in them bringing her back to reality.
"Is he dead?"
“He’s alive, but barely." She stepped back into the room for the first time since bandaging everyone up, surveying the room. Claudine was still on the chair, covered in blood and as still as a porcelain doll. Sebastién was on the floor, equally as immobile. It was a cause for worry.
It looked like they'd stepped into a haunted house or a set for a horror movie, except that this was all too real.
Finn took a deep breath beside her, steeling himself as he prepared to divulge his plan to get them to safety. "Okay," he started. "If we go now, we should make it to the hospital by 7. I imagine that most people who need help will be too scared to leave until the Purge is over."
They were quiet a few moments and everyone involved seemed to be trying to figure out how they were going to get out without furthering anyone's injuries. Finn surveyed the knife stuck in Gideon's shoulder with trepidation. "You able to help get him to the truck?" He asked, sending a quick look towards Sebastién's body before glancing back to the man.
Zelda noticed that he had avoided looking in the corner where Claudine lay, the man barely even managing to look at Sebastién without his gag reflex flaring up. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.
“We managed to carry him downstairs," Gideon responded, giving Cass a quick squeeze before walking over to Finn. "This will be easier."
Zelda went to move, only to find that Finn had moved his arm as a blockade to stop her. “Zel, you're pretty seriously injured yourself. You shouldn’t even be standing. I'm not risking you hurting yourself further, babes.”
The familiar pet name helped for a few moments, but her chest fluttered with anxious panic once again as soon as she saw them heft Sebastién up off of the floor on the count of three. His head lolled in a sickening fashion, his limbs too loose to be anything but unhealthy. The sight nearly brought her to tears.
She really didn't think he was going to make it through the night, though she quickly crossed her fingers, biting her lip as she prayed to a God that she didn't believe in that he would make it to the hospital.
As soon as they had left her sight, she turned, facing the woman who had moved silently to stand behind her.
"Can you walk at all?" Cass just nodded, chewing on her lower lip anxiously as she shuffled out the house, looking in every direction for fear that they were to be attacked again.
Then Zelda found herself alone.
With nothing else to occupy her thoughts, her gaze quickly rested on the small bundle of blankets that she had placed so delicately on the chair in the corner of the room. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced herself to cross the room, to pick up Claudine and cradle her to her bosom carefully. By this time in the morning, Claudine was usually getting up, crying for her mother and for food, though this time she would never wake up again.
Without wiping away the tears at her eyes, Zelda pressed a kiss to her daughters head. She would be damned if she left her baby alone here.
Taking one last look around the room, she wondered for what felt like the thousandth time that night how on earth they were going to clean up. It was silly, thinking of the state of her house at a time like this, but it was the only way she could distract herself from her loss, at least for the time being.
It was as if thinking about having to clean, of Sebastién's reaction to the condition of his house, made it easier. She knew, realistically, that he wouldn't give two shits about his house as soon as he heard that they had murdered Claudine, something that she could only assume he didn't know about, given the extent of his wounds.
Would he be done with her, once he woke up? She knew that they had only spent time together because after their one time tryst she had fallen pregnant. She had thought he'd become fond of her, but he was so hard to read. Maybe he hadn't begun to open up like she'd hoped. Maybe, by what little chance he survived this, she would lose him too.
“Zelda…” Finn's voice broke through her reverie and she turned, clutching Claudine's body tightly as tears pooled in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks.
"I let our daughter die," her voice cracked, the tears falling freely now. "He's going to leave, just...just like she did. I let this happen. I couldn't even save my own child."
"What sort of mother am I."
A broken noise came from Finn and he darted forward, putting an arm around her and squeezing gently as he guided her out of the house. "That's not true, Zelda. Have faith. Neither of us will know what he thinks if he doesn't get to the hospital...if he doesn't get a chance to wake up."
They stepped outside into the frigid air and Zelda's eyes automatically locked on the truck, finding Sebastién lying in the back with Gideon sitting on the edge in anticipation. He was eyeing the street nervously, no doubt worried that Sophie and Scott were lurking around the corner, waiting to slaughter them all at the last minute.
Cass was inside, looking just as panicked as before. The thought of sitting alone with two strangers was obviously too much for the girl, though Zelda found she couldn't blame her...not after tonight.
“Gideon, you need to be with her. She's terrified out her mind," How she mustered enough in her to speak so calmly was beyond her, though she put it to the fact that they were now on a mission. It was nearly the end. "Finn, help me up."
“Zelda, no...that's a bad ide-" Finn started, but she quickly cut him off.
“Please. I need to be with him. Let me have this.” She cut him off quickly, struggling to climb into the back of the truck at first but Finn finally gave in and ran forward, giving her the extra hand to get in as one of hers was still clutching Claudine, encouraging her to scoot along the cargo bed and sit as close to the cab as she could.
Soon enough they were off and Zelda found herself stroking Sebastién's bloody, matted hair and pressing kisses to Claudine's head. If she spent the ride sobbing then nobody would be able to hear her but the wind.
Gideon was up seconds after Scott left, sparing a quick glance towards Cass to reassure himself she was okay before moving to untie Zelda first, working as fast as he was able to get the knot loose. His hands shook, fumbling with the knot for a long moment before he finally managed to get her loose.
Her screams had turned into broken sobs as she stared at the small, bloody body surrounded in an equally stained blanket. He couldn't tell what colour the blanket used to be save for a small patch on one corner. The once baby pink blanket was now a dark red, soaked through with blood that was likely not only from Zelda's baby but from the man upstairs too.
As soon as her hands were free, the redhead went to stand, forgetting for just a moment how injured she was. Pain pulsed down her leg, causing her to stumble and bow to the side though determination kept her moving, only allowing herself to fall when she reached where Sophie had so cruelly dropped her baby. She was lying unnaturally, something that Zelda noted with yet another harsh sob tearing from her throat.
She didn't hesitate, pulling the infant to her chest and clutching her tight as she sobbed into the child's downy hair, fingers clutching her lifeless body to her body as if her own life depended on it. Every part of her knew that Claudine was dead, that there was no fixing this, no miracle cure, but she still believed with every shred of hope she had left in her that if maybe she held her close enough, made her feel protected and loved once more that she would make a small noise, move in her blankets...anything.
Nothing changed.
The blanket remained motionless, the room remained silent save for her desperate, heartbreakingly raw sobs.
Claudine was dead.
Her daughter was dead. Her baby...gone. The thought kept repeating in her head, over and over again, Sophie's laughter going around in a loop like a broken record. She felt nauseous. She wanted to stay where she was, praying that someone might just walk in and finish the job, killing the rest of them so she could be with her family.
That wasn't possible though. She needed to check on Sebastién. He might still have a chance, but not if she didn't do anything.
Gripping onto the side table beside her, Zelda pulled herself up with one hand, clutching onto Claudine with the other. There was a chair in the corner of the room, one that Sebastién often took when he was too stuck in a book to pay attention to much else. Hobbling to that corner, Zelda gently placed her daughter onto that chair, giving her another squeeze and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her head before she pulled away.
She allowed a final sob to pass through her lips as she gently brushed Claudine's soft blonde hair. She straightened, forcing herself to pull away. She was stronger than this, she'd lost people before. In fact, it was something she was well versed in, having to force herself out of the darkest spots she found herself in. Standing up was easier said than done, but she managed it regardless, using the armchair as a support before she turned to look at the two on the couch.
Gideon had freed the woman from her restraints, laying her down on the couch to rest, Zelda presumed. It was probably for the best; she'd been banged up enough before entering their house...there was no telling what was wrong with her now without seeing a doctor.
“God," She started, before pressing her lips together in an attempt to keep herself from breaking. "I hate asking for help, but please...” She focused on her breathing, opening and closing her good hand and pressing her nails into the palm of her hand as a further distraction from the pain radiating elsewhere on her body.
“We need to get Sebastién.” She paused again, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what they did to him up there, I- I need help getting him down here if he's still alive."
Gideon just nodded in response, not willing to argue with the woman that there was a good chance that the man upstairs was dead. After all, Sophie had said that they had killed two people tonight, not one. There would be two corpses.
The man stood up, whispering something quickly to Cass before he followed Zelda's lead slowly up the stairs--her injury was obviously bothering her though she didn't make a sound. She had to get to Sebastién. She continued to open and close her fist, tensing at the amount of blood there was everywhere as they made their way up the stairs. There was too much, it looked like they were in a gory horror movie except that it was real life that this was happening, not on screen.
Her heart sank with every step she took closer towards Claudine's room, the room where she could only assume Sebastién was. The door was partially open, so Zelda unclenched her hand and pushed it to. The amount of blood in the hall was nothing in comparison to what she could see of the room. The two stood outside the door for a few moments, Zelda herself being almost too afraid to go in. Out here, there was a chance that Sebastién was still alive. As soon as she stepped inside, he would either be alive...or dead. No maybe's and no in-betweens.
Finally, after a long minute of silence, save for their labored breathing, Gideon moved her aside, stepping into the room before she could have a chance to collect herself. He opened the door fully and all at once all they could smell was the metallic coppery scent of blood, mixed with vomit. There was no comparing this room to the one she had walked into this morning to feed her daughter.
Moving her good hand to her mouth to stop herself from gagging, she looked around, noting that Gideon wasn't able to stop himself from heaving as he saw the scene in front of them. That was what gave her the push to step into the room.
Nothing could prepare her for the grisly sight that met her.
Blood stained the room, the curtains and walls splattered with red along with the furniture, leaving Zelda to vaguely wonder how long it would take to clean up. That was when her eyes finally noticed what was spread on the floor. Bits of bloody flesh and bone were strewn about the room, causing her to double take, a cry of horror escaping her as her eyes finally found the man she was looking for.
Gideon was kneeling over him, checking for a pulse whilst she stood rooted by the door. Sebastién looked unrecognizable. His dark curls were now matted with drying blood, face swollen with discoloured bruises and with blood dripping down from his forehead to his eyes. She didn't have to think about what had done that to him as she had been on the receiving end of Scott's boot herself.
She gazed further down. His hands looked mangled, though one was definitely worse than the other, the fingers bent back at unnatural angles and a couple of them had definitely pushed through the skin. Zelda fought back the urge to gag again as she finally saw the cause of all the blood, of the flesh and bone thrown about the room.
Sebastiéns leg was missing from the knee down. They'd cut his leg up...bit by bit until he had finally passed out. The bone was sticking out the end of his stump and Zelda knew that if Sebastién survived this kind of torture then they would need to take off even more of the limb to correct it.
“I- I don't know if he's alive,” Gideon spoke quietly, startling Zelda out of her panicked trance. He turned his head back to look at her, eyes wide with fear. "I- I've never done first aid...I thought I felt a breath but I can't feel a heartbeat."
All at once, she knew she was going to be sick and that she wasn't going to make it to the bathroom in time. She spun around and heaved, vomiting on the floor next to a teddy bear that had been with Claudine since her birth.
She gave herself a few moments to collect herself, gripping the wall for dear life. She had thought they were spineless, that they were full of empty threats. She had taunted them easily because nothing serious would come of it. They were supposed to be a joke. Instead, they had just used her attitude against her, taking it out on Sebastién and on Claudine instead of her.
"Do not cry," she warned herself, digging her nails into the flesh of her hurt palm, the sharp spike of pain bringing her back to reality.
She straightened after a minute, clenching her hand a few times to anchor her mind before turning and falling to her knees beside the man and trying to completely disregard the fact that she could be kneeling in a pool of blood and vomit. She pressed her fingers to Sebastién's jugular, resting her head against his chest at the same time in an attempt to feel a pulse, desperately trying not to think about how terribly pale he was.
“Just, he’s not good.” Gideon finished, his hands trembling a little as Zelda tried for a pulse.
"I- I think I've got it," she muttered, holding still for another minute as she tried to confirm her suspicions. Then she felt it, his chest rising shakily beneath her. It wasn't much, but it was something. "We need to get him downstairs, get that leg elevated."
“At least they tried to stop the bleeding for us," she started, standing and looking down at the man she had grown to love. "For whatever fucking reason. That’s a little bit of good fortune. We just have to get him downstairs and then to a hospital…” She spoke quietly, slowly, trying effortlessly to piece everything together in her mind.
Why would they have tied a tourniquet around his leg if they wanted him to die? Was it in hopes that they would think they gave him a chance only to have him die anyway? Maybe they were hoping he would die before she found him.
The pain in her head was returning and she took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself.
“What if we each put one of his arms around our necks, it might be easier than carrying him laying down…” Gideon suggested, his stance awkward as if he didn't know whether to comfort this woman who he didn't know or to bolt.
Zelda just nodded, continuing to stare at the man lying prone on the floor. What cruel fate was this, she found someone she was actually beginning to love and now he was hours, if not minutes away from dying…
They moved in unison, taking each of his arms and slinging them over their necks. Zelda noticed that he wasn't bound at all, though she could see the faint marks where he had been tied up. They likely removed them when they knew he was no longer able to defend himself.
Her leg was burning with every step she took, especially with the new weight added to her, but she forced the feeling down. It was still there, but she couldn’t let it bother her yet. Once she was back downstairs, when she had sorted them all out, then she could let herself feel it.
The stairs were tricky in a row of three, but they made it down, back into the living room where a panicked Cass was standing by the door, watching with wide eyes.
“There was a noise outside. I- I thought it was them, coming back for whatever reason...” The blonde explained as they moved Sebastien to the reclining armchair in the corner, her arms wrapped around herself as best they could considering her injuries.
“We’re okay, Cass. It’s already 6, there’s only an hour left.” Gideon ran his hands over the woman’s arms a few times, trying to reassure her and to keep her gaze away from the man they had brought downstairs. "They'd be fools to come back now."
Zelda stared down at Sebastién, wishing there was something more she could do other than wrap a towel around the man's stump leg in hopes that it didn't bleed anymore. His chest still jerked every once in a while, a good indication that his lungs were trying to work, that he was intaking oxygen. That meant he wasn't dead yet.
She turned away from him for the time being, knowing that the other two had injuries she could at least help, though she found herself looking back at Sebastién more often than not for fear that he had finally succumbed to his injuries.
Inspecting Gideon’s shoulder, Zelda decided that removing the knife was probably risky. She had removed it from her hand, sure, but that was in an attempt to survive. Removing it from his shoulder might fuck him up further, who knew if it had struck an artery or a vein. She didn't know enough about the human anatomy to risk finding out. It wasn’t bleeding particularly badly, partially because the knife was still there. She decided to leave it for when they finally got themselves to the hospital, the Doctors could deal with it then. Hopefully, they would know the best course of action to take as the last thing she wanted to do was potentially kill anyone else.
A sling for Cass’ arm was easy enough. Zelda used a scarf, tying it carefully so that she didn’t put the girl through too much pain. She bandaged the woman’s cuts, some from Scott, some from getting hit earlier in the night. That was all the woman really needed. Gideon laid her back down on the couch but continued to talk to her, keeping her awake. Smart. Zelda hadn’t even thought that maybe the girl had a concussion.
Finally, she had some time to herself. Limping into the kitchen, she barely made it before she collapsed onto a barstool at the counter. Reaching over towards the sink, she grabbed a dish towel lying nearby, ripping it in half. Half went around her calf, where she was almost certain the bullet was still buried beneath the skin. The other half went around her hand, the wound gaping and still seeping blood. The edges were rough and she knew she'd have a scar on either side of her hand. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled the rag tighter, almost in an attempt to punish herself for how the night turned out.
She sat there breathing for a few long minutes, the tears feeling hot and heavy at her eyes though she tried fruitlessly to blink them away. Wiping her eyes quickly, Zelda steeled herself before looking down at her arm. The bitch Sophie had carved the word 'cunt' into her arm, right on the tattoo Sebastién had done for when they had first met, the tattoo that she had gotten in memory of her father. The cuts were deep but thankfully they had stopped bleeding by now, though she knew they were going to scar, ruining the tattoo that she treasured most dearly, warping the flowers that were inked into her arm.
However, that was the least of her worries tonight. She glanced back towards the living room, wanting to imagine that Claudine was alive and well, that Sebastién was causing her to giggle like he usually did. He always opened up around her, giving her a smile that delighted both of the women in his life.
She took a deep breath, bringing herself back into reality, leaning against the counter in front of her. A buzz sounded in the silent air, making Zelda jump before she realized that it was just her phone receiving a text. The device was still lying where she had discarded it earlier in the night. A light was flashing, the phone vibrating as an indicator for a new text message. Zelda reached out tentatively, opening it quickly once she realized that Finn had responded to the text she had sent in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Following his original response, he had sent several more messages afterward, each one getting more panicked than the next. Her stomach dropped. She had no reason to feel guilty, but it still tore her up inside.
‘Andrew “Finn” Garfield’ sent:
lol i cant believe smeone wud want the purge on their body 4ever
'Andrew “Finn” Garfield’ sent:
Zel? Did u fall asleep?
'Andrew “Finn” Garfield’ sent:
U can’t just stop responding mid convo on purge night, babes
'Andrew “Finn” Garfield’ sent:
ur worrying me, is everything ok?
'Andrew “Finn” Garfield’ sent:
Zelda….?
'Andrew "Finn" Garfield' sent:
Zelda...please respond. Call me as soon as you get this. Fuck. Please let it be that your phone died. Please answer me
There were tears in her eyes as she read the messages, though she refused to allow herself to ponder on it, hitting the call button almost without finishing reading the texts, her hand shaking as she raised the phone to her ear.
“Oh thank fuck. Zelda, I thought for sure something happened. Are you okay?”
She paused. She hadn't thought this far, didn't know what she wanted to say to the man. What she could say. Instead, she just let out a small sob into the receiver.
“Fuck, something did happen, didn’t it?” His tone shifted from lighthearted to serious. There was swearing on the other end of the phone, his keys jingling audibly. “Okay, stay there, I’m on my way.”
The line went dead and all Zelda was left with was the sound of the room filling with her harsh sobs.
It had taken ages for Zelda to book the tattoo. It wasn't the design; she knew exactly what she wanted and where she wanted it placed. The issue was with the artists she'd looked at and their skillsets--she wasn't happy with any of the work she'd seen whilst looking around for someone good enough to mark her permanently.
Finn had suggested doing it multiple times, repeatedly asking her if she didn't trust him, if she didn't like his work, but it wasn't that at all. There was just something weird about it, she thought, having your 'ex' tattoo you no matter how brief the relationship was. Their coming together one of those things that had happened extremely passionately and fast and had ended on the same note but even faster. In the end, she was convinced to book an appointment with the guy he ran his shop with, a man she'd never met before. According to Finn, he was somewhat of a recluse. A brilliant mind but completely socially inept.
Though he was her friend first and foremost and ex second, there was a little something that thought there was something off about how much Finn had been talking about his co-worker and shop recently. Zelda couldn't lie, she was worried that he had something up his sleeve, something that would make her regret even thinking of getting a tattoo.
A beep sounded from her phone, Zelda grinning despite herself when she saw who it was from.
'Andrew "Finn" Garfield' sent:
lol u excited for ur tat 2day?
She sighed. Of course this is what he would talk about. Again.
'Zel' sent:
I would be if you didn't keep psyching me out about it.
'Andrew "Finn" Garfield' sent:
Ur deff overthinking this babes.
'Zel' sent:
Honestly just feels like a prank tbh LOL
'Andrew "Finn" Garfield' sent:
I pranked u ONCE get over it!!! Sebs
nice he prob won't even talk u got
nothin to worry about ;);)
'Zel' sent:
Fine. I stg if this is one of your frat
buddies though...
'Andrew "Finn" Garfield' sent:
I get it!! U'll be fine. See u soooooon
Sighing and throwing her phone back onto the bed, Zelda rubbed at her face before taking down her hair from the plaits she'd put them in the night before, her red locks falling down in soft waves. She ran her fingers through them to get rid of any tangles before heading to the bathroom to apply a little makeup before she left.
A couple of hours later Zelda pulled up to a small building on the edge of what could only be described as the most hipster street in Brooklyn. It was a stand-alone one-story building with dark wood surrounding it and stained glass windows taking up the majority of the front. A sign up top said 'Encre D'Encre Tattoo Parlour'.
"Jesus fuck. What the fuck am I getting myself into," Zelda muttered, slowly climbing out of her car and staring up at the building. It took her a few seconds to take it in before she could force herself to move towards the building, up the steps, and through the ornate door. An obnoxious bell sounded as she walked in, something that she was sure was Finn's idea. He tended to like things that mirrored his personality.
"Zel! You came!" A voice called out, "Be still my heart!" The man was tall and slightly tanned, his arms and neck covered in tattoos. His face sported a labret piercing and a cocky smirk. Finn.
"Of course I came...you made me pay the deposit." Her voice was deadpan as she took in the interior of the shop.
The floors were dark and the walls were covered in art, so much so that the walls themselves could barely be seen. The front area was completely separated from the back by tall walls and a doorway with intricate designs carved into the wood. The front wasn't all that big, a desk and a small seating area by the window.
"So Andrew," she teased, leaning up on the counter. "What do I need to do to get some ink? Sign some shit...maybe meet the artist...unless you've been making him up this entire time?" He really did talk about the guy a heck of a lot, so much so that it was becoming borderline obsessive. Maybe he was trying to convince himself that Sebastién was real too.
Laughing at her sarcasm, Finn merely reached over the counter to grasp her shoulders and pull her into a hug. When he finally tore himself away, he grabbed over some paperwork and a pen and pushed them towards her.
"Just read and sign these, yeah? Seb is just finishing up with his client before you and then he'll be out. You'll meet him soon," at that Finn beamed like he just won a prize at an amusement park. "I've been telling him all about you!"
"Oh joy, just like you've been telling me about him. Honestly Finn, from the way you've been going at it, the bloke probably hates me already." She laughed a little to soften the blow a touch, though she could see that Finn knew he had overdone it with the praise on either end.
"Look, you're both just really important to me, okay? I don't know why I never brought you here sooner, you could've met a couple of years ago..and got the tattoo then too."
"Finn, you know why I wouldn't have come then." He grimaced in what could only be taken as his way of apologizing before spinning around when he heard a door open from further in the shop. They could hear a low accented voice speaking, halfheartedly reciting how to take care of the tattoo to someone who, upon seeing a heavily tattooed woman walk through the archway, definitely knew how to take care of her ink.
The woman stood in the arch for a few seconds, leaning in momentarily as she listened to the foreign voice finish his spiel. "Well, I'll definitely keep you well informed on how my ink is healing," she purred, her voice husky and flirtatious as she muttered something unintelligible, reaching out in what looked like an attempt to stroke the tattoo artist's arm.
Zelda couldn't help but gag a little though it quickly turned into a muffled snort when she heard the man speak in stilted English. "If you call me for anything other than another appointment, I'll personally make sure your next tattoo will be of a steaming hunk of rotting shit. Au revoir."
At this point Zelda had her hand pressed against her mouth, giggles escaping when she saw the woman turn with a huff, sending a glare her way before shoving a bunch of cash on the counter and storming out of the store.
"That. Was. Brilliant." Finn grinned as a man who could only be Sebastién walked through the wooden archway. His eyes flickered towards her as he walked through, holding her gaze for a couple of seconds before looking away. A few seconds was enough to get her heart rate speeding up and her face flushing a deep red, though.
Sebastién was real. Sebastién was real...and fucking gorgeous.
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