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 Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 9:08 pm
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The entire conversation with Tobias had left a sour taste in Zack‘s mouth. It felt wrong just leaving Evan there; he thought about turning around on the way home multiple times but in every scenario he imagined, it never ended well.
He kept Cambria in mind instead, trying to plan how he was going to tell her. How he was going to handle this. All we had worked out so far was that she deserved to know—no more secrets, after all, no matter how shitty the truth was.
But she would be able to wrap her mind around this better than he could. He was too irrational to be making plans for any of this. Right now he kept thinking how easily Tobias could attack Evan, how he could hurt him. Even if he didn’t know that he was a senshi, did he tried to corrupt him...
A shudder ran down his spine.
It didn’t matter that Zac had been convinced that Tobias was genuinely invested in Evan, that he really cared for him—he just couldn’t help not trusting him. The Negaverse was full of liars and even the best of people could lose themselves to the chaos.
Zac shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts. The drive felt like it took forever but, finally, he pulled into the driveway.
The faster he could speak to Cambria, the faster she could change his mind. The faster they could go back and get Evan. The faster they could keep them safe.
He glanced at his phone eagerly, more than a bit disappointed that he still had no messages. He knew it would take time for Evan to calm down, or for Tobias to talk to him, but Zac needed to know that he was okay. Zac needed to know that he hadn’t left him in the hands of a monster who was waiting hurt him.
If anything happened, Zac would go save him. He would do whatever it took to make things right. Or, at least, as right as he could.
He knew what corruption could do, knew what you could lose when you swapped sides. He had been fortunate to lose the memories of the monster inside of him, the memories of his time spent in the Negaverse.
But Evan had always been unlucky, and Zac would have to expect the worst. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he lost everything Evan was, everything he had worked so hard to become.
He drew in a shaky breath and tried to stay calm, tried to prepare for how he was going to tell Cambria about this. He heaved himself out of the car and walked up to the front door. He didn’t knock; he yanked it open and was prompt to close and lock it behind him.
Cambria was in the living room already but the moment he saw her face he completely forgot everything he had planned to say—and instead blurted, “Tobias is in the Negaverse.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:39 am
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Cambria had been curled up on the couch, cradling her phone in her hands and turning it on every few moments, just in case she had missed a call or a text, but so far, nothing had popped up. When she heard the car door shut, she was alert, though deflated slightly when she didn’t hear the second door closing—but perhaps they had closed the doors at the same time.
She sat up a little straighter when the front door opened, holding her breath and letting it out in a frustrated puff when Zac entered alone…but his words caused her next breath to freeze in her throat.
…Tobias was what.
Cambria stared at the blonde, her brows furrowing in confusion and after a long moment, she forced a smile onto her face. “…Now, Zac that’s a pretty hefty accusation…I know you don’t like Tobias, and I’m guessing that Evan chose to stay there with him but…but you can’t really think that he’s in the Negaverse…”
Because if he was…that meant that Evan was in danger.
A whole lot of danger.
Her heart began pounding rapidly and Cambria tried to draw in a breath that would actually fill her lungs. She stood suddenly and swallowed hard, trying to force back the sudden rush of fear that rose up inside of her.
“But…why did you leave Evan there if you…how do you know Zac? Why did you leave Evan?” Her voice rose sharply and she glanced towards the door, still hoping that Evan was going to walk through. Still hoping that this was all some big trick and that she was misunderstanding something.
Misunderstanding everything.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:15 pm
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Zac’s face contorted at the accusation and he was both pleased that she was giving him a reason to go back and torn because she was treating it like he was in the wrong.
“It’s not an accusation, it’s a fact. When I went over there, I knocked. He answered, I told him to get Evan. We argued and he powered up. Like that was supposed to scare me. So I hit him. I didn't power up, I didn’t tell him anything. I told him he was making a huge mistake and I told him that I wasn’t going to let him be with Evan.”
Zac seemed entirely earnest when he clarified, “I’ll kill him, Cambria, I will. I won’t let him hurt Evan. But…”
His voice trailed off and he faltered, planting his hands on his hips as he paced in a small circle.
“He seemed afraid of that. When I told him Evan would dump his a** as soon as he found out, he got nervous. Real scared looking. He said…”
Zac faltered and looked at Cambria, searching her face for understanding—or guidance, or anything. Anything but disappointment.
“He said he couldn’t do that. Said he didn’t want to lose Evan. That he’d rather leave the Negaverse. I told him he had to tell Evan and he said he would, and…and, damn it, I just—I don’t know. Maybe I ******** up, maybe I got caught up in the moment. But I believed him. And I thought if I just dragged him out back and beat the s**t out of him, Evan would just hate me even more. I didn’t even get a chance to speak with him, you know? I don’t—Tobias says he’s taking care of him, but I didn’t even get to see him. He’s gonna tell Evan to text you, though. I told him to have him text me, too. Tobias is supposed to give me an update or something on how Evan’s doing, but he promised he was going to tell Evan. About the Negaverse thing.”
Ah, ********, what if Evan didn’t take it well? What if Evan flipped s**t? What if Evan told him he was a Senshi and Tobias caved and took him to be corrupted?
So many thoughts, so many concerns, bubbled in his mind. He reached up to scratch at phantom itch on his chin.
“…He said he would do anything to stay with Evan. And I don’t know, I believed him. I think he meant it.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 8:19 pm
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Cambria stood there, watching Zac for a long, long moment and finally managed to take in another breath, just shaking her head and trying to take it all in.
It was just too much.
Today was just way too much to deal with all at once.
Quietly, Cambria took a step backwards and went to take a seat on the couch once again, though missed and landed hard on the ground, wincing. “********/>
The word slipped out and with it came the tears. All of the stress from the earlier fight and now this news on top of everything like some poisonous icing for the cake and…and suddenly she was scared on top of feeling like a lying monster.
It wasn’t fair.
She rested her back against the couch and drew her knees up to her chest, lowering her forehead to rest on top of them, her arms wrapping around them.
“I never…expected to have a kid this early, Zac. I swear, I feel like Evan’s our baby and we just keep ******** up with him today. If you…believe Tobias, then…I’ll believe Tobias. I know…I know that you’ve never liked him so if he managed to convince you that he wouldn’t hurt Evan well…”
Well then there was nothing that she could do.
Quietly she lifted her head and looked at Zac, her expression full of weary doubt and confusion. “…Did he hurt you, Zac? Are you okay?”
There was nothing she could do for Evan right at this moment. Nothing she could do until he called her or texted her…and she had really never before felt so damn helpless.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:19 am
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As soon as Cambria went down, Zac moved to her side. She didn’t seem hurt, but he didn’t want her to be alone. Without hesitation, he sank down onto the floor next to her, right by her side, and tried to draw her close to him. He hooked his arm around her and kept her in a loose embrace. If she wanted to get away, she could. If she wanted more, it was in her hands.
“I’m fine, I’m the only one who was throwing punches. I got in a good hit, made him bleed. I wanted to do it again, but I stopped myself. He’ll be sore and bruised, but he’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t like what he’d done to Adria.
He swallowed; he didn’t remember that night, but he knew what he had done. Certainly thanks to his own inner rage, but he was certain that the Negaverse was guilty, too. The blind rage, the inability to stop and rationalized what he was doing.
Tobias was a monster waiting to happen, too.
“To be honest, I was sort of hoping you’d tell me to go back and kick his a**,” he mumbled. “To grab Evan and drag him home to keep him safe. But I…I was trying to do the right thing. I was trying to give Evan a little space. Trying to treat him more like an adult.”
…Since trying to protect him from the horrors of the world had been overbearing and suffocating. Since it had turned him and Cambria into liars just to keep Evan safe from the truth.
“…I don’t know if leaving him was the right choice. But Tobias looked confused. Lost. I told him Evan would leave him as soon as he found out and he told me he was going to tell him, as soon as Evan calmed down a bit. Maybe tonight. So…” He sighed heavily. “…Keep your phone on you, just in case Evan texts one of us to pick him up.”
Not that she wasn’t going to already.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:57 am
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Zac nodded. “I was thinking tonight. But if I don’t hear anything from Evan by then, yeah. You know I’m going over there. I figure, a little space, a little time. We’ll see if Tobias can work anything out, if he can make things okay. But I’m not giving him more than tonight.”
He shook his head. “Maybe it’s a lot to ask, to get him to make these decisions so fast, but I don’t want to give him time to think about alternatives. If Evan really is so important to Tobias, there’s only one option. And if he’s not…”
Zac was quiet for a short while; he didn’t want Cambria to hear the thoughts he was thinking. They weren’t healthy, he knew it, but in this situation he didn’t have many options.
“…If Tobias isn’t going to make the right choice, I’ll stop him from making any worse choices.”
He’d kill him, if he had to. If that’s what it took to keep his family safe.
The thought made him feel a little sick; so far as he knew he hadn’t killed anyone before, but despite any morality or guilt he knew that he would do everything in his power for Evan. For Cambria.
The Negaverse had taken enough so far. If Tobias wasn’t going to get out, Zac would take him out.
He inhaled slowly, trying to force himself to calm down. He pulled Cambria closer and kissed the top of her head lightly before just resting against her.
“…Let me tuck you in bed, Cambria. I’m gonna pick you up, all right? We can go lay down for a bit. I’m sure Evan’s going to be okay. Nothing’s going to happen to him. If I thought he was in danger, in real danger, you know I’d be out there doing everything I could to stop it. But he’s going to text us, soon, to let us know that he’s okay. I know that much.”
…He didn’t, not really. He just hoped. For Evan’s sake.
For Cambria’s.
For his own.
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