Catastrophe

Chapter Five

Raven

I couldn't believe it. Even as we moved from a party of mourning into one of celebration, the very idea that Butters was okay seemed like nothing more than wishful thinking. I found myself watching him as he interacted with those around him. Carol stood talking to him as if he were just another McCormick brat. Karen treated him as a brother. The look in Kenny's eyes told me the smaller blonde was well on his way to being a true McCormick as he played with something in his pocket. He had been doing that a lot. Toying with an item he never took out of his pocket. I knew this hoodie was a new one as his previous was stained in blood that scared all of us. I was about to pull Kenny to the side, curiosity strong enough to send me down the rabbit hole looking for Wonderland, when a knock at the door silenced everyone. I watched in silent amazement as the party goers all moved to protect the small still healing blonde. It was my own father who opened the door and his anger shook my very core.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" He spoke in a low and even voice, but the tone told me the person outside the door was not welcomed in the least and when they replied, I found myself standing beside Kyley and Butters as the others stood before us in a protective stance.

"I just- just want to talk to Kenny." David's voice sent a chill over my spine, but when I took in the shaking form beside me, my own fear was replaced by pure anger. Butters was cowering beside me, pale and coated in a cold sweat. His usually bright and friendly eyes were dull and panicked. He was clinging to Kenny, trying to prevent him from going towards the man outside.

"No." My father snarled. "You aren't welcome here and you aren't speaking to him. You already did enough damage."

"Please, Mr. Marsh?" David begged, his voice breaking. "I know I'm the last person you all want to see, and after this you will never see me again. The trial was this morning. I was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. I'm here now, with a police escort, to speak only to Kenny before I'm locked up forever."

Dad turned to look at Kenny, raising one eyebrow. Kenny turned to look at us, silently asking if he should hear him out. His eyes slid over Wendy, Eric, Tweek, Craig, Token and the others before landing on my own. I could see his hesitance, but I could also see the pure terror playing out on Butters' face. I looked away from Kenny to the tiny blonde between us. He was petrified and barely standing he was shaking so hard. I slid my gaze over to Kyley, his own green eyes were watching the broken blonde with shame and guilt trapped in them. Taking a deep breath, I moved away from the boys, away from Kyley, and away from safety. I made my way over to the door, slowly pushing my father out of the way. On the other side, between two officers with two sets of handcuffs on and his ankles trapped in some form of redneck style shackles, a grief stricken and scared looking David stood with his head down. He hadn't noticed my presence yet. I could feel Kyley's worried eyes on my back, I knew Kenny wanted to trade places with me, but I needed to face the man before me. I needed to show him that Kyley was always mine and that Butters was more than he appeared. With that in mind, I started to speak, my eyes on the sky behind the man before me. "I'm not Kenny, but I deserve a chance to speak to you all the same. You crashed a party meant to help not just myself but a handful of amazing kids get better to try to kill my fiancée and instead you shot Butters. You told an amazing and caring kid he was worthless and unloved, you tore him down to nothing in front of his best friends, in front of the kids who idolized him, in front of the man who spent every day of his shitty life trying to be better than the world allowed for him, then you took him from us. You shot him. You aimed for his heart with your words and your weapon and you took him from us. Butters may have come off as disposable to you and he may not have known how much we actually loved him, but you had no right to do the monstrous deed you did. I'm a pretty shitty person, I've done a lot of shitty things, but I would never shoot an innocent boy in front of all of his loved ones. Even Eric fucking Cartman, the evil mastermind that he was seven years ago had never once tried to kill Butters. The kid was different, yea, and he could be ungodly naive at times, yes, but he was one of us. You don't deserve to speak to Kenny. You don't deserve to speak to me. You barely deserve to see the sun again. You shot the one kid who would have even thought of forgiving you. I stand here now, speaking to you only because I need to in order to heal myself. If I didn't need to face you before giving my everything to Kyley, I wouldn't be standing here. My father would have slammed that door, but I needed this. David Rodriguez, as Kyley's fiancée and a friend to both Kenny and Butt- and Leo, and I use his birth name here and now to fully prove that he was a part of our gang, that he always was and he always will be regardless of status in life, I stand here to tell you Kyley is mine, he always was and you need to forget him. Not for us, but for yourself. You guys broke up seven almost eight years ago, man. You were kids. You could have moved on, could have found real love, had a family, been our friend. You could have been by our side, celebrating Leo's birthday in September, stuffing your face with the shitty food we attempted to make to show him his importance to us, you could have stood beside us at the wedding, but instead, you put a bullet through the heart of our favorite ray of sunshine, you threatened my husband to be, you put my kid brothers at risk, you jeopardized the chances of seven amazing kids getting better and rejoining the outside world. You broke fucking FIRKLE. The kid showed up today in WHITE. He wore color every day since you tore our town apart with that one bullet. I wish I could say I'll forgive you one day, but in the bare naked truth, I won't. I will forever hold this burning hatred, this painful anger until the day I leave this world. Even if Leo somehow were to survive, I would still never forgive you. You're not worth it. I won't tear you down like you did to Leo but I won't lie either. You became a monster, ugly on the inside and tainted by blood, the second you pulled that trigger on a boy who lost so much and knew nothing but pain in life. Tell me David, who exactly was Leo in your eyes?"