Conform or Suffer: The Darkness of Beauty

Chapter 4 Dot's Only Brother Left

Quig couldn't speak or cry out as the medics carried his stretcher to the ambulance. For a split second, he saw his oldest sister in the driveway, but she appeared wet and translucent. Fog covered her face and wings.

His other sister, Dot, drove up in a flower delivery van. She shouted at Grew-Ella. "I got here as soon as I could."

Medics loaded him into the ambulance, and he opened his eyes. Grew-Ella and Dot forced themselves inside.

"We're not leaving you," Dot said.

Grew-Ella sobbed as Quig's thoughts faded in and out, but he saw a flash of hospital lights, a nurse, and a surgeon.

Dreams abandoned him as his mind awoke. His once-fragmented thoughts no longer hovered between life and death.

Voices surrounded him, but he couldn't speak or move.

Dot and his father frequently came together.

He attempted to cry out to them dozens of times.

Hospital:

Time passed.

Quig heard everything but couldn't interact or see.

"Grew-Ella is returning. Don't call me Dad in front of her," his father said.

"She's safe and I'm positive she already knows you're our father."

"But she is engaged to Trent's best friend."

"Trent will tell Chase if there is enough money involved. He is not honorable, and I refuse to lose another family member to that monster," Dot returned with a bitter tone to her voice.

"I never told you that Trent attacked Quig."

"Dad, he called me from Ann's phone to brag. I tried to reach them in time." Her sobs echoed through the room.

'Sis, I love you,' Quig thought. He heard footsteps, and Grew-Ella had to have returned.

"I bought hot chocolate."

"Thank you for everything. I wanted to sleep at the hospital, but I'm only finalizing the adoption of my nephew next month, even though I've been raising him," Dot said.

"No, Quig wished the best for you, and I have the summer off. If he wakes up, he'll have a job waiting for him. I'm looking for a new co-professor who is a published author," Grew-Ella said.

Another voice filled the room. "Grew-Ella, you're my gorgeous pet, not Quig's. You're shady. Why do you choose to be the primary caretaker for a half-dead reject instead of kissing me at movie premieres?"

"My brother isn't a reject." The dot pointed at the door. "Chase, only three people are allowed in the room, and my brother needs her."

Quig's bed was raised at an angle. Dot's image came into focus, and he could see his sister. Claws extended from her fingers.

Chase squeezed Dot's paw pads. "Grew-Ella comes with me." He possessed an uncanny valley quality because of his perfection. Stumps from his surgically removed pixie wings could not be seen through his dress shirt.

Dot yanked herself away and pressed the security button.

"Quig is my best friend, and I'm staying!" Grew-Ella grasped Quig's hand.

He felt the softness of her fingers, but he couldn't grasp them back.

"Whoever attacked Quig should have killed him and saved us from his pretentious writing." Chase dragged Grew-Ella towards him. He kissed her and tossed her back into the chair.

Quig tried to scream at him, but he couldn't move.

Dot stood up. "The state of West Virginia owns the hospital, and you have to follow Earth's laws."

"Celebrity princes are never banned," Chase said.

Dot pointed to the door. "They are when Yoleta is the biggest hospital donor."

"Yoleta loves me." Chase wrapped his arms around Dot.

She shoved him off of her. "No, I'm pretty sure she despises you."

"Your brother should die. He'll join your other one. How many half-brothers do you have?"

"Quig is the only one left," Dot said with a hint of sadness. "Why do you have to be so cruel?"

"Rodrick, you were supposed to drag Grew-Ella out, and you're sipping hot chocolate," Chase said.

Dot and Quig's father started speaking. "Grew-Ella's brother tossed me out the last time. Let Grew-Ella mourn the life of her best friend."

"I guess I'll allow it if he is going to die." Chase hugged Grew-Ella and tried to kiss her again. "Darling, I'm sorry. You forgive me, right?" He pretended to kiss her ear to disguise what he was telling her. "You have to behave, or they'll leave you in a workhouse or force you into a local beauty contest. If you don't win a title, you'll never be free from Vex. Not that you'd win. You'll end up dead underneath a bouquet of roses."

Grew-Ella stared at him. "Chase, I stabbed Quig's attacker. I never thought I had it in me. Anything can be a self-defense weapon."

He backed off.