But Only In Red Ink || #Wattys2017

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tia

"Miss Hiddleston," said the EMT. "We have to take him away now."

It seemed like hours had passed with Michael in my arms. I wished that he was only sleeping. I wished that he would wake up.

I nodded and held my arms up, letting them take him away from me. Carlisle came to me and helped me off the ground. "The sherif asked us to take you inside to get cleaned up so we can get you to the station."

I sighed. "I need to pack our stuff before I go. Who knows when I'd come back? Michael wouldn't want our things to stay here and collect dust."

"Ti-"

"I'll go and do that. Oh my dress," I looked down at it and the giant red stains. "He'd want me to keep it, I think. But how do I- bleach will work fine."

"Tia, stop." Carlisle set his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about all that. They're going to do it and take it to Michael's house."

I shook my head. "But he likes it folded a certain way. You know he has OCD," I chuckled.

He nodded quickly. "Yes. He's my brother. I know. But don't worry about it, okay? He's gone now so it won't even matter."

I stared at the ground and sighed again. "Alright. Let's go."

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A week later I found myself dressing in the black dress that I bought years ago and never wore. I looked in the mirror of Michael's bedroom and checked whatever needed to be fixed. My lipstick needed to be darker. I was not feeling that bright red. Burgundy will have to do.

The day after Michael's death, I came home to my panicked father who wanted nothing but answers from me.

I told him everything. Absolutely everything. Every single bit of what I could remember and the conversation continued to replay in my mind.

(just a gif of Tia's dad ☺️ teehee)

"Tia, I raised you better than this. Running around with grown ass men after all that I taught you-"

"Bull, Dad! You've got that little light skin girl coming in and out of the house all the time like we don't know! We notice when her things are being left here! We know what's ours and what's not, Dad! We're not stupid! Don't be such a hypocrite!"

"Tia Yvette Hiddleston. Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

"You! I'm talking to you! I could've died, Dad! And half of those decisions I made were to protect you! And this is what I get? I get a damn 'I raised you better?'"

"OH MY GOD! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ALONE WITH THAT MAN IN THE FIRST PLACE, DAMMIT!" He breathed heavily, glaring at me. "You know what? You want to go do adult things, drink, sleep with thirty-seven year old men, get pregnant, you do that. But you can't stay here as long as you do it. Pack your bags and leave. I don't care where you go. Just go somewhere but here."

I remember looking at my sister and seeing the shock on her face. It was almost like she wanted to stand up for  me but if she were to move or say one word, she would be packing her bags with me. I understood completely.

At the funeral, I stayed by Beck's side the whole time. We never left each other's sight and Carlisle stood behind us as they lowered my husband's casket into the ground. I sighed and hugged my sobbing best friend.

"I don't hate you, Tia," she said as she ate in the church's fellowship hall. "I should but I don't. I get what you had to do. I would've done the same thing." She took a deep breath after finishing her last meatball. "I just can't believe that this is how he went and why he went."

I nodded. "I never suspected it from him neither."

"But what makes it worse is that he could never control his actions, Ti. That accident when he was a kid? It really fucked him up. Like a part of me feels like it really wasn't him but somehow he felt like it was his fault that mom died and he made himself believe that he was the one that did it. And that he killed any one else that could have been his fault. Like Ryan!"

I frowned. That was possible. I'd never seen any proof of Michael killing Scarlett and Ryan and anyone else he was involved with. Only time I ever saw it was in his strength and the police shooting. "Wouldn't he remember if he did it though?"

"Well I mean now we don't know because he's not here to tell us but he had his black outs all the time. Sometimes I guessed that's how he came up with a lot of his house ideas." She chuckled a little as Michael's receptionist came up to her and gave her condolences.

Hm..

I looked around and spotted Carlisle from across the room. As soon as we made eye contact, I noticed something shifted within his facial language. We made our ways to each other and he took my arm, walking me out of the church and to his car.

"Carlisle, where are we going?" I asked.

"Some place private." He drove far away from the church, saying nothing at all.

"How did they know it was Michael," I asked. "How could they be so sure he did it?"

"They have the evidence."

"What evidence? Where is it? I want to see it."

"It's confidential. Even the criminal's girlfriend can't get her pretty purple fingernails on it."

"Bitch, this is magenta. First of all and second of all, I'm his wife. I should get to know these things!" I demanded.

"You're his wife by play date wedding. Not by law." He rolled his eyes turning into a park in which held with nothing but a lake and swans. He parked and looked at me. "Get out the car. We're taking a walk."

I did so and as we walked alongside the lake, he put his arm around my shoulders. "Now, I have a secret. It's at the tip of my tongue and at the back of my lungs and you're gonna keep it. Understand?"

I side eyed him and nodded slowly.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "Good girl. Now listen to me carefully because I'm only saying this once."

I looked ahead as he whispered in my ear. "I killed all those people. Which is pretty ironic because you always see me killing myself to keep him out of bullshit but actually I did the bullshit and he killed himself. Now who is the real brother's keeper?"

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Bruh.

LOVE YALL!!
~Shann