Echoes

Lucas was exhausted. When he got home with Jett, he just walked in the door and headed straight for Jett’s room and shut the door, and lay on the bed. He was tired, but he could still overhear the conversation in the other room. Jett was going to head over and see Brandon – part of Lucas wanted Jett to lash out on his behalf…most of him wanted Jett to be supportive. He wasn’t so blind as to realize that Brandon wasn’t at least a little hurt, and he needed someone right now. Lucas hugged himself as tears started up again. It had felt like Brandon was breaking off their relationship, even if he hadn’t come right out and said it. He rolled over to face the wall, and punched the pillow as he did so. He was happy being human again. He wasn’t rejecting Brandon or Jett or anyone else for being a vampire…why did his personal choice have to boil down to hating vampirism entirely? He fell asleep in the midst of crying, and tears dried on his face as he slept. 

He’s forgotten about dreaming again. They seemed to be mocking him tonight, casting up the night’s events with a vicious light, turning and twisting them into something they never were. Brandon’s words, while harsh, became cruel in his dreams, and they continued to play upon his fears. Ultimately, while he slept, he’d lost everyone he cared for. He awoke briefly when Jett came to bed and wrapped an arm tightly around him. It was a source of comfort, and greatly helped at pushing the nightmares away, and keep them at bay.

Lucas woke up when the sun shone on his face through the gaps in the curtain. Jett’s arm was still around him, and he mumbled a little as Lucas moved, but also tightened his hold. Lucas had to pry his arm off or try to wake him up, because it was a little hard to breathe. “Dammit Jett, wake up.” he said as he finally managed to loosen Jett’s arm. Jett shifted, giving Lucas some room to move, though by now he was awake.

“You’ve been crying.” he pointed out, sounding dismayed.

“How could I not?” Lucas said. “You weren’t there – you didn’t hear him.”

“I don’t know the tone, but I know the words.” he said, pulling Lucas to him with a hug. “So I understand why you’re upset.”

“How did it go when you went to see him?” Lucas asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“I didn’t yell at him. We talked – he told me how he felt.”

“And how is that?”

“He’s hurt. In a certain sense, I think he feels betrayed because you made the decision and didn’t get his input. You’ve rejected everything he loves and considers the best qualities about himself.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I know that.” Jet said, rubbing a hand up and down Lucas’ back to try and keep him calm.

“Does he want anything to do with me anymore? Because it sounded like he didn’t…”

“I’m sorry Lucas…I can’t answer that one. He didn’t indicate to me one way or another.”

“I love him Jett. I love you both.I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“I know that. You’re not losing me, anyhow.”

“How do I make him see that I don’t hate him or what he is?”

“I don’t know Lucas. I just don’t know.” he said, keeping Lucas close. He knew Lucas was upset, and silently he wished that things would somehow right themselves. After a while, he sighed.

“You need to talk to someone more qualified than I am. Maybe you should try talking to Charles.”

“Maybe.” Lucas mumbled into Jett’s chest. Jet sighed inwardly and pulled Lucas back with him, laying them both down.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Greg had overheard some of what they had been saying, and pulled out his phone to text his son, Eros. He wasn’t just the god of love – he was regarded too as a protector of homosexual love between men, and Greg felt that the world couldn’t afford for Brandon to be heartbroken, powerful as he was.

I’ve got a job for you, Eric.

Hi Dad. Good morning to you too. How’ve things been?

It’s important, Eric.

On a scale, how important is this job?

If you’d tap in, you’d know, now wouldn’t you. You’re supposed to be a protector as well as the god of love.

Yea, a protector of gay men. Dad, what are you trying to get at?

It’s a long story, but it revolves around Lucas and Brandon, mainly. Jett is stuck in the middle. 

Tell me.

Greg rapidly texted, summing up the story in brief.

Brandon Decacious, right?

That’s right.

He could do a lot of damage is he’s upset – is that what you’re worried about?

Yes. The world doesn’t need the damage h e could cause as a result of acting out over this.

What do you want me to do?

Examine the threads – see if they can be repaired. Call in help if you need to. Beyond the fact that Brandon is potentially dangerous right now, I have a fondness for Lucas – he’s a good kid, and you can tell how hurt he is by all this. Trish helped him come to the decision.

She should help then. Seems like it’s partly her fault.

By that token Henry should help too, but you and I both know he’s unlikely to leave Tartarus. 

True. Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Bud Dad, there isn’t going to be much I can do if he doesn’t want to talk to me. 

If that happens, bring in Trish. She’s got a way about her, he may open up to her. In fact, I’ve a better idea….teach Trish to read the threads. Teach her what you can do – she’s your niece after all.

Okay Dad. I’ll get in touch with her.

The sooner the better.

Greg set the phone down with a heavy sigh. He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, involving his kin in this matter. But like he’d told his son, he liked Lucas and didn’t like seeing him suffer. For that matter. he liked Brandon, thought not as much. They both needed help, and the least he could do was try.

Meanwhile, Eric headed over to Trish’s, shortly after Chance left, and went over what Greg had told him. She agreed to help, and he began teaching her to tap into some of her latent abilities, which included seeing the threads that bound people – to tell how damaged they were and if they were beyond repair or not. Potentially, she had the ability to fix that, but that was something she had to learn intuitively, if she had the ability at all. By evening, Trish had gotten rather adept at it, and Eric bade her good evening.

Trish was debating on seeing Lucas or Brandon first. She’d already seen Lucas and knew how he was affected, so she supposed she should go see Brandon. She wasn’t sure how wise of an idea it was – she’d be running solely off instinct and intuition…but she had to try, right? After all, Lucas was her friend, and Brandon had helped her out so much when she was having issues with her father.

There was no use in coming up with an excuse to see him – he’d probably easily guess why she was there. The real question was how upset would he be with her, assuming he knew she’d helped Lucas figure out what he wanted? She had to try, irregardless.

When Chance came home, she explained to him what was going on, and told him to keep an eye on the baby, and promised she’d be safe – after all, she had Samuel watching her now. With that, she took the car, and headed over to Brandon’s, hoping to get there prior to dark, so he wouldn’t have as much of a chance to potentially dismiss her.

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