Iris

31 | daze

tw: mentions of abuse, murder, and panic attacks, please be careful while reading.

THE CLOCK TICKED. Time crawled. The past departed, and the present arrived. The future remained a mystery. It was dark, chilling, tangled, and intertwined with the threads of my past.

The atmosphere was thick. The tension was heavy. A familiar weight sat amidst the walls of my throat, clogging my airways. Every inhale of air carried traces of Oxygen. Every ounce of Oxygen was the fuel needed to burn my organs and intensify the flames that had started to leap atop my ribcage and within my chest.

My surroundings were a haze. The flames that had emerged within burned every deterrent on their route, leaving nothing but ashes behind. The air I exhaled was tainted with my unuttered words and escalating panic. Everything was a blur. Every noise was a muffled murmur. I sat in the living room, but I also found myself trapped within the rotting walls of the basement.

I saw Christopher. I saw my brothers. But I also saw my foster parents and Morgan. I still heard their haunting murmurs and echoing yells.

A part of me—a very small part of me—knew that Christopher's unspoken words were about to alter the trajectory of my future by repainting the hues of my past. I knew his words would crush me under their tremendous burden. The secrets I feared were going to unravel. The missing pieces of the puzzle were going to fall into their destined place.

I was well aware that handling the truth of my past and the buried secrets of my life was beyond my capacity, but I was also well aware that I had my older brothers by my side—that their support was all I needed to stand after stumbling. What I failed to realize, however, was that my brothers would also crumble. What I failed to realize was that the truth would crush them to the point of suffocation.

My eyes lingered on the files Christopher had placed on the table. My vision flickered as I stared at the USB he had put atop the files. The uttered words drifted in and out of my ears, for they held no significance to my mind. Christopher apologized for coming today. He told Roman he knew he should've come some other day. I didn't pay attention to Roman's response. I didn't pay attention to the words Elliott uttered either. Nolan sat in the distance. He was quiet. I couldn't see Atlas' figure, but I knew he was somewhere, lingering and listening. Marcus wasn't back. Not yet.

I had a bad feeling.

I had a very bad feeling. And it grew. It flourished. It expanded. Waves of fear swam across my heart. Winds of agony crawled up my throat. Roars of thunder pounded against my head. Everything multiplied. Every minuscule emotion aged into a fierce beast.

"I'm assuming you know by now that Iris' accident wasn't one," Christopher started.

I knew. Roman knew. Everyone knew. It was no new information.