Chapter Text
Hero had covered their eyes so they wouldn't see the impact, but... With how quiet the morning was, they heard them… his screams of agony as he died. Kel vomited almost instantly.
"Why..." Aubrey sputtered, getting away from Hero and getting her first sight of what was left of Sunny. "How did he..."
His final words rang in their heads. "I killed Mari." He said, shocking Aubrey enough for her to let go of him. She stumbled backwards, before charging forward to grab him again "You aren't going to lie and get out of this! You can't!" Then he started fighting back. They weren't just trying to restrain him, he was doing everything in his power to get over the edge of the railing.
Why was it so short?
All he needed was to get enough of his body over the edge to fall, and he was struggling like an animal to get over.
And now he was gone.
The only source of answers to the questions he left them with, to all the questions he had left to answer.
Sunny left them once again, only this time forever.
The rest of the day was a blur. Aubrey never went home, he had to drag her just to get her to leave the hospital. They never went to the side of the building where he fell. They couldn’t.
Sunny’s parents knew, didn’t they?
They knew what really happened to Mari.
They let him think she hung herself, let him blame himself for years that it was his fault…
They left Sunny to take one more life, even if it was just his own.
Why?
Hero wanted to vomit like Kel had, to expunge what he felt in any way possible. Yet, he couldn’t.
For some reason, the police interviews were short. Even if they were the only ones who saw it happen in person, there was a camera on the roof. There wasn’t any doubt about it, Sunny had committed suicide.
Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY?!
The same question screamed inside Hero’s head, over and over and over.
Why would Sunny take two of the most important people in his life from him? Why would he rip apart all their friendships? Why would he attack Basil like that? It was evidently severe enough for Basil to feel he had to use lethal force in return, judging by his eye, but…
It just wasn’t like him.
It didn’t make sense.
“Hero?” Aubrey said, shaking his shoulder. Hero snapped out of his introspection, and looked over at someone who may as well have been his sister. He had been trying to drop the big brother act, but…
He hadn’t realized it, but part of him was still trapped in the past. He wanted it back. He wanted Sunny back…
He still wanted Mari back.
After four years, he still wasn’t over it. Now he questioned if he might ever be.
“Sorry, I’m just…” Hero sighed, motioning vaguely with his hands. “I don’t have a clue. I don’t… have a fucking clue.” Kel sucked in air, making a distinct noise. Hero was swearing, and Kel knew that was never good. After all, when Mari died…
Kel was the one who was there, the one who had to take in everything when he finally snapped. He couldn’t do that again.
“What do we do now?” Aubrey muttered, staring at the TV in Kel and Hero’s living room. It was the evening news, plainly reading out the weather and some minor local news of the last day. What happened to Sunny was still in the hands of the police, so it wouldn’t be out until tomorrow more than likely. It was just background noise, something to let their eyes and ears focus on something else.
Kel and Hero’s parents were giving them space after the news, thankfully.
“We gotta find out what happened… right?” Kel said, his happy-go-lucky demeanor entirely faded, “For ourselves if nothing else.”
“The only person I could even think to speak to is Basil, he was… he was there that night, wasn’t he?” Aubrey said, resting her head on one of her knees.
“What makes you think that?” Hero asked.
“He said he was going there early, right? He wanted to… see them practice.”
“I’m shocked you remember that…” Kel muttered, “But… yeah. I remember too. Sunny wouldn’t have been able to do that to Mari alone, either… he would have needed help.”
“When’s he gonna wake up anyways? It should’ve only been a few hours, right?”
“Yeah, he only had bruising, not even a concussion.” Hero replied, “I think visiting hours are over by now though.”
A thick silence spread between the trio, weighing on their shoulders.
“We made a promise, right? We won’t abandon each other. Not again.” Hero spoke, finally breaking the silence.
“And it’s already been broken.” Aubrey said, “So what?”
“I’m not going to. Kel isn’t either.” Hero said, looking at his brother. “I promise.”
“Just… shut up.” she said, waving her hand in front of her face. “I don’t have a damn clue what to think right now.”
“None of us do.” Kel replied, “I’m… I’m scared.”
“I guess things will go back to how they were just a week ago.” Aubrey replied, “For better or for worse.”
“No, things weren’t exactly going well here.” Hero said, “I don’t want that for any of you. We… we need to try to fix this.”
“Fix what, exactly?” Aubrey cut in, the sharp edge in her voice, making Hero flinch. “There isn’t a damn thing left to fix. That selfish piece of shit took any chance of it with him.”
Silence.
Hero could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
Aubrey looked back down at her feet, fiddling with the cusp of her socks.
“Forget it, I shouldn’t be here.” Aubrey said, starting to stand up before Hero put a hand on her shoulder.
“I want to listen to you, please.” Hero pleaded, meeting her gaze as she glared back at him.
“Why? What the fuck do you get out of it? Once this shit is over you get to go right back to college like nothing happened. Kel and I are stuck here. WE have to handle this, so why do you-...” She was interrupted by her own hiccups, tears streaming down her face, “Why do you care?”
“You two mattered to me this whole time, we were all just trying to forget in our own different ways… and none of what we did worked. We’re right back here, right where we started.” Kel said.
“That’s… mature of you.”
“Heh, maybe…”
Hero still hadn’t responded, partially because he wasn’t sure how. Aubrey and Kel were starting to take note though, judging from how they were focused on him. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck FUCK . He needed to think of something, he had to be the older brother, he… he…
Tears were streaming down his face too now.
Kel was right, they were right where they started.
“H-Hero?” Aubrey sputtered, “I’m…”
“You’re…” he sighed, visibly shaking, “You’re not… entirely wrong. I shouldn’t care. If… I wasn’t still stuck on Mari after four years, maybe I wouldn’t. I can’t move on, not yet, especially not after… this.” he waved his arms in the air, entirely unsure of what to even think. He lowered his hands and quickly buried his face into them.
“Should we just… sleep on it?”
“Maybe…” Aubrey sighed, “I can’t go back to that fucking place now, you’ve seen it.”
“Sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch.” Hero coughed, wiping away his tears with his sleeve.
“Hero, I can take the couch. Seriously.”
“And I’m being serious. You need something comfortable.”
“You say that like you don’t.” Kel interjected, looking his brother in the eyes.
“Well there’s two beds and three of us.” Hero shrugged, internally relieved to have something else to talk about. “I’m not making a guest sleep on the couch, and I’m not kicking you out of your own bed.”
“I’m the house equivalent of a hitchhiker right now, Hero. It’s-”
“I’m sleeping on the couch.”
He didn’t mean to say it as an order, but that’s how it came out. Fuck. He was letting it bubble up again.
They didn’t argue about it anymore. The three went up the stairs, and after he grabbed a blanket, only Hero went back down.
The stairs had a funny feeling to them that night, like there was something watching him on the way down.