The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5 Chapter 4 Part 5
My problem is that I say "Okay, plot points X, Y, and Z have to happen this chapter or else I don't think it's done." And then all of a sudden I have hundreds of pictures that I need to make into a chapter. Gah, I wish I could just pour the story out of my brain without having to actually write it! I've already taken the pictures, what more do you want?! XD
Hey, listen!
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
--- --- --- --- ---
"Abel...?"
"Noah, have you heard from Kira?"
"She's not back yet?"
"It's not like her to be so late." Abel said nervously. "And she hasn't answered any calls."
"I'm sure she's fine, Abel. Maybe she just lost track of the time and decided to crash at the library or something?" Noah suggested. "She'll be back."
Abel frowned. "Well...it's just that Mom just disappeared one day too. Maybe I'm being paranoid."
Noah and Sparrow exchanged a glance - that worry, at least, was valid.
"I'll just stay up for her - you guys can go to sleep." Abel insisted. "Sorry to worry you!"
His siblings weren't so eager to leave him, but Abel was sensible, right? He'd call them if anything was seriously wrong. So they bade him good night and went upstairs.
But dawn broke and Kira still did not come home.
Abel nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang in the early hours of the next morning.
"H-hello?"
"Abel? Oh god, I'm glad I got a hold of you."
"Steve?"
"Kira didn't go back to your house, did she?"
"N-no. Why?"
There was a long sigh at the other end of the line.
"Abel, she called me last night really shaky. She told me that she was quitting Blue Amnesia and leaving town."
"Leaving town?!" Abel exclaimed. "Why?!"
"She wouldn't tell me."
"She had a message for you, in case you called. She said that she was sorry, but your kindness was too much for her. Then she hung up on me and I haven't heard from her since."
Abel was barely listening, but he got the message.
Kira wasn't kidnapped. She ran away.
--- --- --- --- ---
Morning cartoons were a favorite of the house, especially since Amélie came home. Amy was giggling away, wrapped up in a cartoon, when Noah came down the stairs and sunk into a chair with a huff.
"What's up, Noah?" Amy asked.
"Nothing much. Isis was complaining about back pain, and I think this time she's serious about it. She wouldn't even get out of bed to watch cartoons, even if I carried her."
"Ooh, then she must really be in pain. Isn't it almost time for the baby?"
"We've got a couple weeks yet."
"You didn't happen to pass Abel's room, did you?" Sparrow asked, careful not to worry Amy with her tone.
Noah shook his head. "He didn't go to bed. He's probably still on the porch."
They glanced outside - the sun was bearing down.
"In the shade, I hope." Row murmured.
"Maybe I should check on him." offered Seth.
The other two nodded, so Seth slipped out of the room without disturbing Amy.
"Abel?"
After no response, Seth asked aloud. "Abel?"
It was then that Seth noticed the smoke and embers escaping from Abel's skin, creating a cloud that was as dark as his mood.
"A-Abel!" Seth yelped. "Get up, you have to get in the shade!"
Abel stood but did move much further than that. Instead, he stared blankly at the sky.
"...Abel?"
"Kira's not coming back."
"Huh?"
"I guess, in the end, I couldn't make her happy. Isn't that funny? I couldn't make the one girl I love happy."
"I wonder if someone is laughing at me somewhere. All I want was..."
"What I wanted was..."
"Happi...ness..."
"Abel?!"
"ABEL!!"
"NOAH! SPARROW! Abel is-!"
The three of them managed to get Abel inside, and Amélie was an absolute mess from it, bawling at the top of her lungs that Abel was going to die. Sparrow tried to comfort her by telling her some fluids and ice packs would make him okay, but she wasn't an easily soothed child.
"So what do we do now?" Row asked above Amy's crying.
"I don't know." Seth replied. "He kept going on and on about how he couldn't make her happy. I think he's way past upset now."
"Kira, that idiot." Noah grumbled. He had noticed that she had always questioned how they could accept her, but he never expected that their kindness would be what drove her away.
"Abel's not gonna die, is he? I want Abel! Row, you gotta wake him up! I'm scared!!" Amélie hiccuped.
"Guys, I'm going to take Amy to her room and stay with her until she falls asleep, okay?" Row called.
"Ah, yeah, that's probably best." Noah replied, catching sight of his littlest sister's splotchy red face.
"We could all use some rest." Seth sighed.
--- --- --- --- ---
The next week at the Ink household was strange. Way more than usual.
For one, Abel woke up and went straight back to smiling. He rarely touched on the subject of Kira leaving, but when he did he merely said 'what happens, happens'. It was a little unsettling.
Especially when he started painting.
Abel had never been one for calm activities, always running around like a crazy person. Seeing him with brush in hand was surreal.
He wasn't particularly good at it, but it seemed to be calming him. And, since he never painted anything strange, they just let him be.
Amélie was very sensitive to her brother's fragile emotional state and had become pretty clingy.
She couldn't leave him alone, not like this!
So Amélie took to painting with Abel to keep him company...
...even though she was a fair bit better at it than he was.
The rest of the quads would gather, speaking in hushed tone. They were a little disorganized from lacking their normal leader, but they were determined to make Abel feel better.
"Well, it's almost time for them to come back, right?" Noah noted.
"Right!" Sparrow exclaimed. "Crap, I was supposed to pick them up from the airport...
When Abel wasn't putting up a front he was busy moping in his room, mulling over what he did over all those months to make her leave him. He just couldn't figure it out.
"Abe! We have a visitor! And this time..."
"...I think you'll be happy, right?"
"Rhyme!" Abel exclaimed, jumping up from the bed.
"No way, we missed you so much!!"
"I missed you guys more than anything, you know that."
"I guess some congratulations are in order, huh?" Abel said excitedly. "This why you were late coming back?"
"Ha ha, this is more of a recent development - I'm only a few months pregnant!"
"Levi and I actually got caught up tomb exploring all over China! It was quite the adventure, but that's for another time." Rhyme laughed.
Abel stared down at her belly. "Can I listen?"
"Of course!"
"Wow...this is amazing! Hey Rhy, your baby and Noah's baby will be almost the same age!" Abel gushed.
Rhyme rolled her eyes. "Yes, I heard about that on the ride here. Things never go as expected around here, do they?"
"Yeah...not what I expected..." Abel agreed absently.
"I heard about your situation too. Abel, what are you doing moping around? The little brother I know would be taking off in a hurry to win his girl back!"
Abel shook his head and looked down. "Normal Abel is what made her run away in the first place."
"Why are you so sure it's a problem with you? She said that she couldn't take the kindness - it sounds like her problem to mope over, not yours."
When Abel still didn't respond well, Rhyme added, "Look, Abel. When Dad left, he told me something that I didn't agree with at the time. He said that if you want something, you have to go after it and fight for it. I believed that good things would come if you waited for it long enough."
"But you don't always have the time, as we know very well." Rhyme said firmly. "You have got to go and fight for her!"
"And if that doesn't work?" Abel asked weakly.
"Then we move on. We'll always be there for you, you know?"
Abel pulled Rhyme into another hug. "Thanks, Rhy. You've always been good at getting us to kick it into gear."
"I'm just glad I didn't have to do any actual kicking while pregnant." she laughed.
They had only half a minute more before Noah was yelling upstairs. "Abel! Come outside!!"
Abel pushed to the front of his siblings to see who was storming their front gate.
It certainly wasn't a welcome face.
But Reese was fast approaching the house, and Abel knew he had to deal with him.
"You!" Reese snarled. "Where are you hiding her, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Abel snapped back, confused.
"Kira! After all that nonsense about her quitting Blue Amnesia, I was sure she was just hiding here until the storm blew over. Does she really think she can avoid me?!"
"Look, she's not here, okay?" Abel sighed. "So can you go home?"
"I won't take your lies, Ink." Reese bellowed back. "Kira is mine and I don't take kindly to others messing with what's mine!"
Abel had to remind himself not to lose it - Reese was a human, he was a vampire...
"I don't have time for this." Abel mumbled. "We're already suffering enough when she left, so..."
"Oh, you didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"Kira was with me before she ran off. Figured she'd rather sleep with the enemy than have her big secret revealed. She so easy to manipulate if you only know that one fact!"
"You should have seen her, begging me not to tell you. Pathetic. Begging on her knees, where she belongs -"
And that point was precisely Abel's bullshit limit.
Abel had struck so fast that Reese had no time to brace himself, slamming to the floor before Abel lowered his fist. Behind him Sparrow yelped while Noah cheered, with Seth shaking his head in disbelief.
"You should watch your mouth better in the future, you bastard."
Reese got up slowly, wincing. There was a ton of blood on his face - Abel didn't hold back as well as he meant to.
"Huh. Fair shot there Ink."
"You're so protective of such a worthless girl. You want to defend her, fine, but you might as well know the truth. I don't owe her anything anymore."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? I'm talking about how Kira killed her mother!"
Abel's expression changed dramatically. "She...she what?"
"Look at you - looks like Kira was right to be worried. It was when she was fifteen - killed her for neglecting her all throughout her childhood. So if you think that sort of woman is worth your 'noble intentions', go right the fuck ahead."
Abel didn't want to believe it. Kira killed her mother? Killed her, when others would give up anything to see their mother one more time? It couldn't be true. Why would she do that?
But it fit. The hedging around questions about her family. How nervous she got when he talked about how important family was. Why her self worth was so devastatingly low.
"Having a tough time believing it? Should I describe it to you?"
"Get out of here, Reese! I don't need this right now. Get off my lawn, now."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I kick your ass to the curb!"
"I'm going to find Kira and ask her myself. Then and only then can I know how I feel about this."
--- --- --- --- ---
I still kinda want to punch Reese in the face again.
Urgh. I would say that I'm never going to do this massive of a chapter again, but knowing me... Dear god, I hope you guys will bear with me until we can get through gen 10. XD
But eventful chapter, no? The first two babies of generation six are on their way! Romantic plots are being resolved! And hey, now we know Kira's secret, and knowledge is half the battle. The More You Know.
Also, the Inks just do not have a good record for planned pregnancies, do they? The last planned pregnancy in the main family was...Juliet? Wait, was that seriously the only one? Oh god, I'm terrible. XD So many born out of wedlock too.
Ah right, we had a concert in part one, didn't we? Almost forgot.
Autographs!
===========
Taya!
Taryn!
Lexi!
Mandi!
Mia!
Aiden!
--- --- ---
Those concerts were so much fun to do! Thanks so much to everyone who participated - it really encouraged me to do another audience participation thing in the future. :D We'll see when I can fit it in for the next five gens.
Alright, if anyone's still alive out there, please comment~!
Anyone?
Hello?