Broken

You Don't Know

Grady and Edaline were in the kitchen when she came back inside. "How's Keefe?" Edaline asked cheerfully. Grady looked relieved that he was back, though he'd never show it.

"I was just heading up to check on him."

After climbing up the stairs to her room, she knocked gently on the door. There wasn't an answer. "Keefe?"

She slowly opened the door, finding the spacious bed empty. The sheets were made, and Ella was tucked gently beneath them. She scanned the room, eyes catching on Keefe's figure stood before the window.

"Keefe?" she asked again, walking up behind him. His face remained turned toward the window. She followed his gaze, looking out at the panakes tree. Holy moly, the panakes tree.

He finally turned to her, face serious as he saw the worry and embarrassment that flicked across her face. "You saw what just happened, didn't you?" He nodded. "...And...?" She couldn't contain her nerves. She bit her lip, reaching up to tug at her itchy eyelashes.

***

Oh, he had seen it all. Had seen Fitz approach her as she sat by the panakes tree. Had seen him glance at Havenfield right before leaning in. Had seen him make eye contact with Keefe, smirking a bit his way before leaning in to kiss Sophie. Had wanted to throw up and cry and yell and run away. Until he had seen Sophie pull away, that is. Until he had seen Fitz flash away on a beam of light.

When she reached up a hand to tug out an eyelash, he dashed an arm out to block her. Grabbed her hand in his, practically enveloping it. Her eyes, such a deep shade of brown, looked tearful as she met his gaze. The gold specks threatened to hold him captive for days, but he found the words to respond after a couple of seconds.

"Are you alright?" She nodded. He raised an eyebrow. She glanced down, shuffling her feet as she shrugged.

"He...he ended things. But it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would." She looked up, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Is that terrible? Oh that's terrible, I shouldn't say that. I just-"

"Hey, it's alright. It just wasn't meant to be. You aren't at fault for that, okay?" She nodded again. She still looked worried. Looked so precious, pajamas still engulfing her frame, hair in messy bun. He pulled her into a hug, feeling her relax against his chest. She let out a soft sigh as he rested his chin on her head, breathing in her scent. He knew this wasn't the time for his feelings to get in the way, considering she had just been through a breakup. So he'd play the supportive friend, until she was ready for more. But despite his patience, he still had his fingers crossed that that would be soon.

He pulled back from the hug, intending to give her some space to process everything. Her arms dangled loosely at her sides, her face tilted up toward his. He offered her a small smile, and she reflected it.

Then she paused, her face falling a bit as she said, "Keefe, will you tell me what happened while you were with the Neverseen?"

The shift in conversation caused him to cringe, but he nodded slowly. Only for her. He would face this memory only for her. And then he would push it out of his mind, try to forget as best as he could.

***

Sophie led Keefe to the edge of the bed. They both sat down next to each other, her thigh pressed against his in silent support.

"I...I don't remember much. They had me drugged most of the time, and I was tied up each time I woke up." He rubbed his wrists as if in memory of the bonds they'd been in just yesterday. She hated making him relive this, but she knew that if she didn't Forkle would. It was an assumption, she knew, but she thought that Keefe would rather have the question come from her than from the leader of the Black Swan.

"My mom was always there, always taunting me. She...she tried to convince me to join her, to forget about you and the Black Swan." He had been looking down at his lap, but now he forced his head up to look her in the eyes. She could see the genuinity, the seriousness in his icy eyes as he said, "I don't want to forget you, Sophie. I...I could never forget you." Her eyes teared up at the emotion he expressed. She watched him swallow and look back down.

"They used their powers on me to try to get me to talk. Gethen wasn't allowed to read my mind, though. I guess my mom hid some more of her secrets in my head and she didn't want him to see them." He said it like he was trying to make a joke, but the implications behind his words were too serious to laugh about. Still, she offered him a sympathetic smile. She reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it tight to show him that she was here, and that he didn't have to do this alone. He squeezed her hand, but still didn't look up.

"She...she tried to break me. Tried to use her words to tear me down." Again he swallowed, and when he finally looked up at Sophie she was dismayed at the tears that formed a steady stream down his cheeks. "Foster, what she didn't know is that she already broke me. So, so long ago. I've been broken ever since she hid those memories in my head, ever since I found out that she was the one that put them in there. Ever since she tried to kill my friends and turn me against them. I...I'm broken, Foster. Just not the way she wants me to be." He let the tears fall silently for a second, his cheeks ruddy from the emotion he was feeling. "You don't know what it's like to be so broken."

Despite empathy not being in her talent wheelhouse, Sophie could feel his dismay, his hurt, his torment. She wanted to take all of it away, make it so that Keefe could never hurt like this. She wanted to hurt everybody who had made him feel like this, starting with his mom. Oh, Sophie would make her hurt alright. A slow, fiery kind of pain.

Sophie couldn't stand to put him through any more of this. She let go of his hand, only to pull him into the tightest hug she could possibly give him. She couldn't find the words she needed, but hoped this would be enough. Because Keefe was not broken. No, he was so incredibly strong. He may be hurting, but he hadn't given up, and that's what mattered. He was here. And here he would stay.

He fell apart, tears catching on her shoulder while he clutched her neck. Sophie didn't mind. Not in the slightest. She felt him shake as silent sobs racked his body. She felt sorrow at his pain, but even more so a fiery fury that roared through her veins.

They sat like that for what seemed like hours, holding each other together. When his sobs slowed, his tears dried, and his body stilled, Keefe sat up across from her.

"There is one more thing." His voice sounded hoarse with emotion.

"Keefe, you don't have to-"

"No, it's okay. I'm okay." She nodded slowly at the determination in his eyes, then waited for him to find the words. "They kept talking about the Four Seasons Tree. I think they're planning something there. Either that or they mentioned it multiple times to throw me off, so that I would turn our focus there. Either way I think we should station some guards there, maybe? I don't know."

"Thank you, Keefe. Seriously." The fact that he was willing to relive all of this showed how devoted he was to taking down the Neverseen. She hated that she had to put him through it, but was happy to have a potential lead. Even if that lead linked back to her time spent in the custody of the Neverseen.

He nodded, and they sat in silence on her bed for a while, both of them thinking. Their hands were interlocked, neither of them moving to break the line of contact and comfort it provided.

"Sophie, Keefe!! Breakfast!!!" Edaline yelled from downstairs, breaking the pensive silence.

Keefe hopped off the bed, reaching out to pull Sophie to her feet. They walked downstairs, still hand in hand. The connection made Sophie's heart feel full, even as it skipped a beat in the process.