A Silent Cry

Chapter Fourteen: Photos

A/N: Tbh, I wish I could update as consistent as PsychoGenius

There was no way for anyone to know that Cry was at Felix's house save for Sarah. Cry was never the type of person to tell his personal life to the world. So imagine his surprise when Minx and Russ arrive unannounced at the front steps of Felix's house. If he hadn't encountered Keith a few hours prior, he might have considered that to be the biggest surprise of his life. Felix wasn't very familiar with either of them, but he let them inside nonetheless. "So, um, what brings you guys here?" Felix started rather awkwardly. Cry gave him a sympathetic look.

Minx and Russ glanced at each other before Minx spoke up. "Maybe we should talk somewhere a little more private."

Cry gripped onto the couch. He wasn't sure he wanted to know if it meant the whole Kjellberg family couldn't hear, but Felix lead them to his room. He closed the door and looked at Cry. Cry pursed his lips and hugged his arms around his body. "So what is it?" Felix asked. He walked up next to Cry — their shoulders almost touching.

Russ leaned against the post to Felix's bed and Minx remained standing. "We have some news," Minx said in a soft voice. "I had a friend of mine do some research on Keith — just to see what he could find — and he found a lot. It's probably more than I've ever found on a person ever."

Cry held on tight to his shirt sleeves. Felix spoke for the both of them, "Okay, well, what did he find?"

Minx glanced at Russ before continuing. "Uh... We found that Keith has an extensive criminal record which includes animal cruelty and drug abuse. On top of that, he was also diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. And..." She trailed off. She shared another look with Russ, the two of them wearing the same grim expressions.

Both Cry and Felix didn't take that as a good sign. Cry felt as if his throat was closing up. He wanted them to continue, but at the same time, he was afraid. He looked at Felix, expecting him to say something, yet he remained silent. Cry unconsciously leaned towards Felix's shoulder as he tried to remain calm. It made him feel a little better.

"Minx's friend sent her a text when we were walking over here," Russ continued for Minx. "He was looking through everything he found and noticed something a little... alarming." He paused, unsure. "M-maybe you should show them, Minx."

Minx frowned a bit, but her brows knitted together in worry. She fished out her phone from her pocket and poked it until she found what she needed. Then she wordlessly handed it over to Felix. Felix took it and Cry peeked over his shoulder to see. What he saw almost made his heart stop. It was a picture of a computer screen and on that screen were pictures of him. It appeared that they were taken without his knowledge; he was never looking at the camera. There were some with him walking with Russ, others with him smiling at Felix, and even one with him heading up to his house with Sarah.

"My friend took that straight from a file in Keith's computer," Minx explained. "We don't know if he took them or not, but the fact remains that he has them stored for safe keeping."

Cry felt himself begin to panic. His chest seemed like it was crushing in on itself and he couldn't breathe. Not even when he was trapped in that closet did he feel this amount of panic. His hands began to tremble before he had the chance to hold onto something. The room was starting to turn dark and he felt as if he was unable to keep himself up. Felix grabbed onto Cry's arms and gently helped him the rest of the way to the floor. Cry saw everyone looking down at him with a different expression on every face. Their mouths were moving but he couldn't hear a thing. All he could hear was an annoying ringing that seemed persistent on hiding his hearing. Felix signed, "Are you okay?" But Cry was unable to respond. Instead, he let a small whimper escape his lips. He saw Felix turn to Russ and Minx and all their mouths began moving at once.

Then everything went black.

When Cry woke up, he was in Felix's bed with the whole Kjellberg family around him including Minx and Russ. Everyone looked anxious or at least concerned, but Felix looked like he was under distress. His hair was disheveled as if he ran his hands through it several times and his face held a painful amount of worry. "Cry --" Felix tried to rush to Cry's side but was stopped by his father.

"Give him some space, Felix," his father ordered. It wasn't all that commanding but Felix obeyed anyway. It was obvious he was reluctant to do so.

Cry laid in bed for a few seconds before trying to sit up. His face flushed in embarrassment when he had to lay back down from dizziness. What kind of a person passes out in his friend's bedroom? Only an idiot like himself. "Sorry," he signed. His hands were a little shaky but he ignored it. "Didn't mean to worry." God, he couldn't even do sign language correctly.

He saw Felix frown out of the corner of his eye. "You gave us quite a fright, dear," Felix's mother spoke in a gentle tone. "We were afraid we might have to call an ambulance."

After making sure that everything was alright, Felix made his family leave his room. "You're lucky my mom doesn't have your mom's number," Felix mentioned. "She would have called the second I said you fainted." He gave a small smile in Cry's direction. The room was silent after that. No one spoke until Felix decided to say what was on everyone's mind. "So what are we gonna do about that Keith thing?" Felix didn't let it go unnoticed that Cry went completely rigid when he reached for the water bottle next to him.

Russ looked toward Minx for an explanation. "We were originally going to let the police handle it," she sighed. "But Russ and I decided that we have some business to deal with first. My friend found enough information to take Keith down completely and we're going to use it before turning it over."

"Why?" Felix questioned. "You could end all of this right now -- leave it as a bad memory. Why hold onto it longer?" It was clear that Felix was an outsider. If he knew Minx; he wouldn't question it.

Minx got that signature mysterious look in her eye. "We have some scores to settle."