Olympus Drive Book 3: According to Plan

Chapter 56

Basil

Ten pm. Another day without a drink. Another day Thyme didn't stab someone that I know of yet. Another good day. Everything is fine.

"Why is he here?" Helen is pointing at Gale who is watching TV with the others. He doesn't seem to understand it, but it involves snacks so he's cool with it in general.

"I like him, we think he's Luke's kid," I say, innocently.

"Really? Because he hasn't tried to flood anything."

"That we know of yet," I say, flatly.

"You---alcohol—you always have alcohol I need some," Hector appears and walks directly over to a cabinet, sorting through it until he finds our dad's whiskey.

"Since when do you drink?" Helen asks.

"Since today," he says, taking a long drink then a deep breath. He's wearing his typical suit, but no tie??? And the top button is unbuttoned?? Something is wrong.

"Are you okay?" I ask, picking up Helen and putting her down someplace else so I can talk to our little brother.

"Completely fine," he says, doing another shot directly from the bottle.

"Because you don't look fine," I say, frowning, as he hugs me.

"I am," he says, hugging me tightly, little head in my chest.

"You sure?"

"Completely now," he says, straightening back up, "My ---my wife---is she not here?"

"Yeah she said  she couldn't find you. Would only describe you as being an idiot, so she thought since idiots come here she'd stay here," I say, frowning. He really doesn't look all right.

"The boy—the boy is with her right?" he asks, rubbing his face like he doesn't know it's there.

"Your son Darius? Yes he is," I say, frowning. He always call Darius by name because he helped pick it. Apparently you get to do that when you marry people. Never mind I named Gale.

"Excellent---where--?"

"Is he hammered?" Helen asks, climbing down off the counter.

"He is now," I say, looking at the whiskey bottle, as Hector sort of stumbles up stairs. He's unsteady for him, that's the thing.

"I want to know what's wrong with him. Do you think he cheated on her?"

"Do I think some other human would want to get close to him? That's a hard no," I say, as I follow him up the stairs.

Jasmine is tucking Darius into bed in her mom's old room, sitting reading him a story while he plays with a 100 dollar bill because my kids finally got to him.

Hector just collapses in her lap, his face in her chest.

"You're an idiot," she says, tolerantly, petting his hair.

"I love you so much," he mumbles.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" I ask Jasmine, pointing at her husband.

"Yes," she says, kissing his forehead. He's actually sobbing.

"What?" Helen asks.

"He did something I told him not to do because it would upset him and I was right," Jasmine says, calmly, hugging him as he crawls more into her lap, still shaking.

"What's wrong?" Darius asks, sitting up and feeling for his parents.

"Nothing precious one," Jasmine says, but Hector pulls his boy into a tight embrace as well, sandwiching him in between the two of them.

"Do they act this loving all the time or is it to make us feel like shit?" Helen asks me.

"Usually to make us feel like shit, now I think he's having a crisis."

"He'll be fine," Jasmine says, "Night dad."

"Here, he may want this," I say, putting down the whiskey bottle. Time to go check on my kids they've been unattended for all five minutes---

And they're gone.

"How do they do that?" Helen groans.

"I don't know," I say, checking my phone, two texts from Gerard saying 'do you know where the kids are?' and one from Lisa saying that Luna is gone.

"What is it?" I ask, calling Gerard, "Because I think we both know the answer is no."

"Um---we need to find them. now. There's been a shooting."

"What?" I growl. And Thyme is back, "Okay, I'm going---"

"I'll take the east side you take the west," Helen says, tossing me my coat.

"Right," do I trust her alone? No, but she and I are the only people who can control Thyme. It wouldn't be the first time he shot someone because he was bored.