The Mercy of Birds

CHAPTER 30: HOLD ME

CHAPTER 30
HOLD ME

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The storm didn't cease even as daylight broke on the horizon. Clementine perched on the sofa on her usual spot at the window near the front door as she watched the snow covered almost a quarter of the expanse of the pane from the ground below.

She had woken up so early, it was practically dusk still, and hovered on the stair that led to the second floor like a specter, just piling up things to stress about on her mind regarding her brothers, before she realized that one of them might arise and found her a creep for her antics. So she decided to wait for them somewhere else while she witnessed the undefeated gale outside pounding and knocking about their roof and eaves.

Last night she had helped Cameron prepare the soup for Nicholas and hoped that she could tag along in carrying it to him, but she knew it would do her no good to be in his vicinity, for her presence would only precipitate his ailments again.

...

"Migraine," Cameron explained to her. "It really became full blown when he was a teenager, about fifteen. He must be on constant medication but he hates taking pills. Victor said stress is his biggest trigger."

She could only nod in understanding.

"There's one more thing that I think you should know. Victor has a panic disorder and he goes to therapy for it—"

"And his... fatalistic desire to end... to cease to exist..."

Cameron dropped his gaze from her. The chopping motion of the knife in his hand halted for a while. The red onion on the cutting board minced into slender pieces.

"Yes," he said but didn't elaborate further. She knew not to pry and perhaps he was also preserving his boundary as it was not his story to tell.

...

A ringing sound pierced through the inertia and Clementine almost jumped to her feet in surprise. It was the house phone blaring on the living room and she contemplated on whether she should notify Cameron and let him be the one to answer it, for although he said he wasn't mad that she had answered his calls for him, she couldn't help but feel it was hardly appropriate, but he and the others must be asleep still for even at the umpteenth chime, no one came downstairs.

The phone went dead after a minute and she thought that she could breathe in relief, but it only rang again and she jolted for the second time, causing her to march over there with vexation.

She picked up the handset and was about to berate the other person for disturbing her peace when a familiar voice emerged. "Cameron? Sorry I only just got your message. I got some trouble with signals, what with the storm and all. How did it go? Is everything okay?"

"Dr. Singh?" she called out.

"Clementine? Is that you? Are you okay? Cameron texted me about your brothers. Where is he?"

The onslaught of questions bewildered her for a second and she stammered to answer. "Safe, safe... Cameron is still asleep... Nicholas and Victor also are..."

"They are in the house with you right now?" she asked with graveness in her tone.

"Yes," she answered as she looked over her shoulder to the stairs, still no one.

"How did it happen? How did they find out?"

She bit her lips and rubbed her face in a manner to comfort herself. How did she even begin? She knew she couldn't tell her the truth about Nicholas holding her at a gunpoint lest it would result in the very thing she didn't want to happen: their dissolution.