Getting It Together

Progress Report

"Flores? Are you okay?" Lolita asks gently, drifting next to the man.

Florencio sat curled up on the floor, his clothes covered in blood and his cheeks stained red. He stared hard at the ground, lost in thought.

"At least he won't be around anymore," Cat says softly. "He can't hurt anyone ever again. We're so proud of you. You did the right thing."

"Flores." Pascal was back in the bathroom, staring helplessly at Florencio. He kneels by the tub, starting the water and grabbing a washcloth. "Let's get you cleaned up, alright?"

When the tub was filled, he takes off Florencio's top, leaving his pants on, and gently hefts the man into the water. Dunking the washcloth in the warm water, gently dabbing it over Florencio's still face, washing off the blood. Florencio's eyes drift shut.

"What are you going to do with the body?" Cat asks. Pascal had taken Jason away once he'd put the knife away, dumping his body somewhere outside.

"Dispose of it." Pascal says through gritted teeth, rubbing shampoo into Florencio's hair and working out the dried blood. The water in the tub had turned pink with all the blood being washed off of him.

Once Florencio was all cleaned up, Pascal had Logan take him upstairs to get clean clothes, chucking the blood-stained ones into the wash.

"Pascal, we are so proud of you." Seagull praises. The ghosts all drifted around Pascal, all talking at once. They had waited outside while Cat and Lolita tried to comfort Florencio, not wanting to overwhelm him. "You finally did the right thing. Thank you, Pascal. We know you cared for Jason, and it was hard to find out he'd hurt you like that. How are you holding up?"

"I called Amelia," Pascal says, his face pale. "She's coming in a week. She had to take of Jory's cast soon anyways."

"Pascal, that was tough to do but believe it or not it was the right thing to do. Thank you." Forgetful praises.

"I sure hope it was." Pascal smiles thinly.

"It might be a good idea for you to set your family up for a movie night or something. I think cuddling with Flores and the others on the couch with Disney films may help Flores feel a bit better." Koala suggests. "You did make the right choice, but it's still going to be hard on Florencio. Hurting someone can be a struggle, never mind killing someone, even if that person has hurt you badly."

Potter stares down at the ground. "Yeah. Second that."

"Yeah...Yeah...That sounds good." Pascal nods, standing and moving into the living room. The ghosts all follow him out.

"I'm really sorry Pascal," Seagull says. "I know it's hard losing a person you trusted, but I'm so proud of you for taking care of Flores's needs first. I truly do love you, you know that?"

"Thank you..." Pascal mutters, looking down at the carpet. He started to get everything ready, pulling blankets out and picking DVDs off of the shelf.

"Can you guys stay in this house or do you have to move now?" Robin asks.

"Well, Jason invited us here, and we don't really have a place to go." Pascal sniffs. "Maybe in a week, we'll move closer to Amelia and our family...Jason was always sort of cut off from the world...You all are of course, welcome to come. I wouldn't want to leave you alone in an empty house."

"I'm not sure." Potter shakes their head. "I'd stay behind if I didn't know Hourglass would stick around..."

"I just, I can't believe I let him hurt Flores like that." Pascal looked on the verge of tears.

"It's ok Pascal, he was good at pretending in front of you, and you were a bit distracted trying to settle your family. It's understandable to assume Flo's odd behaviour was due to other stuff." Koala reminds. "He's safe now at least. Just keep a closer eye on everyone around your family, and make sure you look into anyone your family says is upsetting them. They might be acting differently around you so you'll trust them and not believe your family."

"Okay." Pascal nods. "I'll do that."

Pascal calls everyone downstairs. Giovonnie and Alejo were the first to come down, followed by Jory holding Jasper, then Logan guiding Florencio.

Pascal puts on the Lion King, ushering his family over to the couch and cuddling close to Florencio. Florencio melts in his hold, his eyes trained on the TV, though he didn't make any of his usual movie time comments.

"Alejo." Potter whispers, moving close to the man on the end of the couch. "I know you're not in a good place at the moment, but if you can, I think Flores would really appreciate a hug from you."

Alejo slowly moves sideways until his head rests on Florencio's shoulder blinking mutely. His older brother looks down at him in shock before shakily smiling.

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