PROMISE ☾ ray

chapter 7

act 1
chapter 7 | unravelled

no more secrets. everything i know, i'll let you know, too.
to survive, we have to stay together and trust each other, always.

as emma and norman filled don and gilda in with everything, from the demons to ray and [name] having known since a long time ago, the latter two watched as don and gilda fell apart more with every word.

without realising it, [name] had moved closer to ray, tugging at the end of his shirt. without realising it either, ray had taken that hand of [name]'s and held onto it.

filled with unshown remorse, the two held their breath as norman and emma finished exposing every detail they knew.

'demons?' don repeated, trembling. 'a 'farm'?'

gilda looked paler than usual.

'and ray, is a spy?' he directed his gaze to the older boy. '[name], too? you knew all this time? knew what would happen to conny on the day she left?'

'remember, it was for our sake!' norman reminded, panicking.

don whirled around, facing norman and emma. 'were you guys trying to lead us into a world full of enemies without us knowing a single thing about the truth?'

the older two looked anywhere but at him wordlessly.

softly, he began chortling. then, broke into a full fit of maniacal laughter. all of sudden, he moved and struck norman square in the face.

'QUIT MESSIN' AROUND WITH US!'

[name] gasped, and emma cried out as norman fell back with a thud.

'don!' ray shouted, but earned a painful punch to the face as well. don grabbed emma's shirt next, drawing his arm back, and emma tensed up before the punch came.

suddenly, a small hand grabbed the back of don's shirt.

'don!' shouted gilda, and his arm dropped down weakly.

'are we really that useless?' his voice cracked. 'in your eyes, are you seriously so useless you had no choice but to 'protect us from the world'?'

gilda stepped forward, eyes red, and her hand still on don's shaky back. 'we already know why you lied to us. you never lie, emma, but when you do, it's to keep us safe, right?'

[name] had dashed to ray and norman's side as don bawled into his shirt's sleeve, and pressed cold towels onto their cheeks.

'still!' don cried, tears falling. 'i thought you guys wanted to rely on us, that's why you asked! it's so frustrating...'

emma bit her lip, eyes growing hot.

'it's true that we aren't as smart as you guys,' don wiped his tears away with his sleeve. 'but we're family! we're siblings!

'we just wanted you to have a little faith in us!'

[name]'s heart ached. she could hear gilda's soft sniffling from behind don, who had cast his head down quietly.

'my bad,' he said. 'i'm acting a little strange right now. let me go cool down for a bit.' with that, he walked out the dining room, heading into the hallway. gilda hurried after him with worry.

the other four in the room sunk into shameful silence.

'it wasn't our intention,' emma broke it. 'but i can see how cruel we've been to them.'

norman got up, the cold towel pressed on his cheek. ray sat himself up, [name] still holding the towel to his bruise, despite him telling her he could do it himself.