Melody got the text after finishing up at a restaurant, it was morning where she was. She couldn’t keep waiting for the other to act and had decided to look into things on her own over the holidays. But what had happened threw a rod in things. Finding the man was the easy part but explaining things had been difficult. Coming armed with a few photos and some information she’d skimmed from that other family, she wove a sad tale to tell the man across from her because that really was what it was. A tale of someone left behind because of terribly selfish people, echoing her own way she did things.

“He’s happier now for the most part but I think he would want you to see him. I can help organize things so I will leave this with you. My brother and I care for him very much.” Placing a folder before the man in front of her, she could tell he would follow along. They looked so tired, so sad over the tale she had told. It hadn’t even been an exaggeration or warping of the truth to get them in on things. “I need to head back stateside but I will be in touch, sir.” A warm little smile was offered to them as she turned and left, leaving enough cash on the table to more than cover the meal she’d had with them.

Now she got a moment to read through the texts on her phone, shocked to see a rather long one from her brother. Liam had been attacked, almost killed, and was in the hospital getting checked out. Worry prickled over her skin as she started towards the airport and searched for the quickest flight back. She’d originally hoped to see more of the beautiful countryside but something had happened and it was serious enough her brother had let her know. She hadn’t even wanted to bother him about the fact Liam had been playing middleman and had shooed her away so they could do things wherever they pleased. He’d been polite and to be honest she had been getting a little tired of harassing her brother for information. Bank vaults were less secure than that brother of hers.

Another text came in as she packed her bag at the hotel and phoned for a taxi to the airport, letting her know that Liam was okay and getting a cast. Again it was from Aloysius, they were short and to the point which was so very unlike him. He still hadn’t told her exactly what happened, or how things had ended, but given the fact he couldn’t just pull Liam to himself like he had with her meant that he’d had to go to them and solve the issue. A chill ran up her spine as she thought of that cold icy look he’d given her when she’d had her hand in his chest.

A few hours later, as she got on the plane, she received one more text from Aloysius, letting her know that he was taking Liam to the manor to keep him safe and away from the city center for a bit. She felt a bit conflicted about that, about how they were squirreling away the blond. Then again, he’d been torn up when she had been attacked but she hadn’t let him fuss over it. Why did it matter now though? She hadn’t wanted people to see her hurt, hadn’t wanted her brother to know she was weak in that way.

Something had been changing with Aloysius, for a while now, and it had been because of Liam. She wasn’t sure if she quite liked it either, he was feeling more and more familiar instead of like the caricature of a person her mother had said he was after the divorce had split everyone apart. She still hated it, hated seeing him especially when he would start falling apart. That wasn’t how a Sharp was supposed to be and she wanted that inheritance and position to do what she wanted with things. Aloysius had been so passive and she wanted things more active so that more prominence could be brought back to the family name.

Pulling that photo out of her coat, she looked at it for a bit as the plane started to taxi. It was the one that had been used as blackmail, one of Liam and Aloysius. One that had her brother smiling an honest-to-good smile and not the same fake one she used. Liam had done a lot for the Sharps just by existing, by being a good person. Somehow he had found something in both of the rotten siblings that was good enough. Part of her was jealous that Aloysius had gotten to him first, though she really wondered if things would have turned out like this if she had met them first. Aloysius had let them help and had sought it out for the most part while she still kept things bottled up.

Sending a text out in response, she let Aloysius know she would be there as soon as she could make it back from her trip. Things were complicated, she had good news for Liam but if they were drugged up or in a bad state she didn’t want to excite them. She wished things were better with Aloysius so he wasn’t so short with these messages, she wanted to know more about what was happening because she actually cared about Liam. She could understand the sad story and hard life they had lived and felt bad for all the things that had happened to them even as they fought for better now. Maybe it was because he’d become a replacement for Aloysius to her, someone she could actually get along with because they hadn’t dumped the weight of a business on her without any notice or care.

It always boiled back down to that, there were so many secrets and lies between her and Aloysius. What little she had gotten out between her prodding of him and of Beni left her stuck between two images she had of him. Maybe he wasn’t a good-for-nothing drunk, an abuser like their father. If anything… she’d noticed some scars that showed the opposite and she didn’t like those implications. But he was still around somehow and had sobered up, something she’d never expected to happen more so now after she had learned the reasons behind things.

Was this how things would go for her as well? Would she break under the pressure of everything and fall to pieces too? She was stronger, right? Taking a deep breath as she settled against the headrest, she knew that when it really mattered her brother was the one strong enough to actually ask for help and let people help him. He didn’t care if he looked weak, at least that’s what it felt like to her. She just couldn’t figure out how to move forward, it would have to be something Liam played middleman for when he was better. It would probably make him happier, to be honest, and she liked it when Liam was happy. There weren't the same ulterior motives when it involved him, no social games or hidden knives behind one’s back. It felt normal, peaceful even and she wished he would just stay that way. She and Aloysius were terrible people when it boiled down to it, beneath the pretty exteriors they were both rotten in different ways.

It made her a bit sick but when it boiled down to things, she really wished that everything had happened differently in the Sharp manor all those years ago. There was so much poison in the well that she’d always felt it was a lost cause, something to just jump ship from when she felt a better opportunity or social game to sink her class into. Her mother had done it time and time again, even after the divorce. But things were changing and if she didn’t entertain the idea of changing along with it, she’d end up all alone in that big empty manor. All the money and responsibilities but nothing else, something would need to change. It would take time to figure it out, time to plan, and work through things.

It was a lot to think about, especially now that something had happened to shake things up. Hopefully, by the time the flight landed, she’d be able to hop in her car and rush over. Maybe she’d order some new food place that Liam wanted to try since he was always trying new things. And begrudgingly, she would thank her brother for letting her know what happened and protecting Liam because he needed protecting after all the things that had happened to him. They had both been protecting him in different ways, her handling the mess that was part of his biological family and Aloysius… They had actually saved them from a real threat, something she wasn’t sure she could do. It twisted her up inside that she was so weak.

Pulling her headphones on she closed her eyes and tried to push it all away as the music started to play. It wasn’t a cacophony, something she was used to now but a quiet and peaceful thing. It helped her drift off and away from all these things that had her worried and weak. There was a lot of time to rest before she got back to work on figuring things out. Slipping beneath the waves of darkness, she let the music guide her to sleep.

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