Chapter 33 – What Happened?

Lonnie stepped out of Trebor’s room confident that Marcy would be alright while she searched for someone who could give her some answers. Looking up she found Braylin on his way to see Trebor. She put a hand out, touching his arm “we need to talk.”

Bray’s eyes tried to avoid hers as he made it obvious that talking was the last thing he wanted to do when the single most important person lay just beyond the closed door. “Can it wait?” he demanded, his voice every inch as unfriendly as he meant it to be.

“No,” she shook her head at him. “I know you want to see him but coddling him isn’t going to make any of this better.”

Bray’s nostrils flared as instant irritation bubbled up inside him at her words. “Coddling him? That’s not…” he took a deep breath attempting to pull in his raging emotions. “After what he’s been through don’t you think he deserves it?” How dare she come in here after three years and criticize how they were doing things.

“”Why haven’t you told him?” she demanded pushing for answers, ignoring his comment.

Blinking he took a step backwards “what?” His mind reeling trying to grasp what she was talking about “tell him what?”

“That she’s still out there,” she waved a hand vaguely towards the cityscape just outside the walls of the hospital. “Don’t you think he deserves to know the truth? Can’t you see he’s terrified?”

“Of course he’s terrified,” his eyes slid towards the door as his thought returned to the man inside. Sighing, he turned his attention to the young woman “what makes you think she’s still out there?”

“Trebor said so,” her voice was loud “what’s being done to hunt her down?”

“Lower your voice,” he hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her in the direction of the waiting room. “Trebor doesn’t need to hear his.”

“Why?” She pulled herself free “don’t you think he can handle the truth? He’s not made of glass.”

“I didn’t say he was,” he kept walking hoping if she wanted answers she’d follow him to the waiting room. “There are reasons why we need to keep this from Trebor.”

Lonnie dithered uncertainly in the hallway before she followed him. Her heart sank inside her. She hated secrets. Been a part of one too many in the last few years. “If this has to do with my brother I won’t agree to keep secrets from him. He needs to know whatever you’re keeping from him.”

“You can’t just come here and assume you know what’s best for anyone.” His voice was raw and angry. He could sense the nurses turning to look at them as they passed in the hall. He took several deep breaths fighting a losing battle with his rising emotions.

Lonnie was staring daggers into the back of Braylin’s back as she followed him into the mostly empty waiting room. “I know what secrets do to people. Secrets eat you from the inside out. I don’t want that for my brother. He’s too good for that.”

Bringing a hand up Braylin squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Ordinarily I’d agree with you. I don’t like keeping things from him. But what worries me most is how he’ll handle it. If he finds out before he’s ready it could shatter him.”

Stunned silence hung between them as shock replaced the anger etched on Lonnie’s face. “Maybe you should tell me what happened. I asked Mom but she didn’t seem to know…”

“Because she doesn’t. We haven’t told her yet,” Braylin led her over to some chairs faraway from everyone else. “Only I and a handful of others know.”

Something in Braylin’s tone had her shaking her head and shivering from the cold. “He didn’t…” her voice faded. It wasn’t possible. Not her brother. He couldn’t hurt a fly. She lifted her eyes, meeting Braylin’s and read the truth they held. Nodding, she sat beside him steeling herself to hear what she realized she didn’t want to know “you better tell me.”

***

They sat in silence while Bray tried to collect his thoughts. The only sounds were the low murmurs of conversations going on around them. The distant sound of someone crying as someone lost their fight for life. They were all connected in this fragile network between life and death. Glancing out the window he began to say “your dad…he saved my life. He pushed me away.” His mouth snapped shut as tears rolled down his cheek “I should be the one struggling to live. Not your dad.”

Lonnie wanted to reach across and take Bray’s hand. She wanted to tell him it was alright but she couldn’t move. She felt as if she’d been turned to stone, her emotions trapped inside this body of stone. Her thoughts turned inward and she could see a little girl giggling in the arms of her father. It took her a moment to realize that she was the little girl and the strong, firm voice was her father telling her how much he loved her. She could feel the wetness of her own tears as they cascaded down her face unimpeded. Why had she wasted so much time?

“My dad the hero,” she meant it to sound flippant but it fell flat and lifeless. Taking a shivery breath “you better tell me,” she said her words coming out in a soft whisper. She no longer wanted to know. She wanted to remember her brother the way he was. He wasn’t the sort to do what she now believed happened. Not her brother. Not Trebor.

Turning from the window Braylin stared at his hands lying listless in his lap. Maybe if he looked hard enough the answers to life’s biggest questions could be found there. After a moment his eyes lifted, swimming in tears “He killed her. To save me.” He shivered despite the warm sunshine coming through the window “she came running out of the building, gun raised. She was going to kill us. Me.” He doubted he’d ever forget that moment. The way she looked. The wild half crazed gleam in her eyes as she raised the gun in her hand, pointing it at his chest.

Lonnie pressed her fingers over her mouth to keep from crying out. “But…” she swallowed hard. She wanted to protest the reality of his words. Groping for something, anything she said “mom said the undercover cop shot her.”

Nodding Bray ran a shaky hand across his face, squeezing his eyes shut wishing he could wipe the entire scene from his mind where the images seemed to have imprinted on the back of his eyelids replaying every time he closed his eyes. “Wally he…” licking his lips wishing he had something to drink “he followed her after she shot Garrett.” He started picking at his nails “she was quick. Set a trap.” He remembered the way Trebor jumped beside him when guns went off inside the building.

Lonnie had the unreasonable desire to shake him, to hurry him along. She didn’t know why, though, it’s not like she really wanted to know. Not anymore. “Did she kill him?” she asked, urging him to continue. Maybe that was why she hadn’t met this Wally guy yet.

“What?” Braylin asked, jerking his head up, a puzzled look on his face.

“The detective. Did she kill him?” She tried to reign in her growing impatience with his halting story telling. “Is that why Trebor had to defend himself and you?”

“Wally?” he asked, puzzled.

“Who?”

“Wally. The detective,” he said, frowning a little. “That’s his name. Wally.” His thoughts went back to that day. He had his hands practically inside Garrett’s chest as Trebor told him what to do. There had been so much blood. He didn’t know how long it was between the shots inside the building and Kara stumbling towards them, hand pressed to her side, blood dripping onto the pavement. “She was out of her mind. Crazy. You could see it in her eyes. Obsessed.” He shivered at the memory. He’d never seen anyone look like that before. The only way he could describe it was evil. Pure evil.

Lonnie’s brows creased as she tried to fit all the pieces together. “So…Wally died in a shootout with Kara inside the building. Then Kara, knowing she was done for came out to finish you two off.”

Pulling himself from his memories Bray nodded “no…I mean yes…except…” Sighing he hated having to remember the details. The details that he never could fully rid his mind of no matter how hard he tried. In a way he envied Trebor. Overall he hated knowing Trebor did what needed to be done for them both to survive. 

Taking a deep breath he continued “she was carrying a gun. Pointing it right at me. She couldn’t have missed.” He looked outside where everything looked normal. Normal people living normal lives. He wished he was one of them. “She wanted Trebor to suffer. She was going to shoot me and make him watch.” He turned to look at her “I didn’t know he had a gun. Didn’t know that Wally had given him his backup just in case…” 

Reaching for his hand, Lonnie squeezed it. “It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me anymore.”

Nodding he stared at the floor “Wally wasn’t dead. He was hurt. Bleeding bad. I remember how I was watching him. He had his gun raised …” He swallowed the bile that rose “the next thing I know Kara was lying on the ground making these awful gurgling sounds as she drowned in her own blood and Trebor was clutching his arm.”

“Maybe the detective shot her,” Lonnie suggested.

Shaking his head “she was shot from the front…Trebor was in the right place.”

“Do they know that was the kill shot? Maybe she was already mortally wounded before Trebor shot her.” Grasping at straws she continued “have they accounted for all the bullets? Determined which was the kill shot? The autopsy would be able to tell.”

“Maybe,” he mumbled unconvinced but there was hope in his eyes. 

“Until we know for sure Trebor didn’t do it.” She nodded, she liked this better than believing her brother was capable of killing someone.

“Do you really think so?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “We won’t know until we know the autopsy results. For now all Trebor needs to know is that she’s dead and can’t hurt him anymore.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “I hate that this will be in all the papers and media.”

“Let’s tackle one problem at a time,” she suggested with a smile. Standing she said “for now let’s go back and check on them.”