Connor Pallitan isn't normal, he's known that since the day he was born. Left alone in the woods, cloaked in protective fire, its a wonder the boy survived for a year. But eighteen? A miracle.
But then, all hell breaks loose, and it's up to Conner t...
⠀⠀⠀⠀ Cold, deadly silence. You couldn't cut the tension with a knife. Gracyn was still hunched over Stephen, his bloody hands gripping his collar as if it was his final grip on happiness, sanity, life. Like how he clung to Conner's shoulders, but that felt like decades ago in this moment.
And maybe it was, nobody could really tell.
Conner could still hear him mumble things like 'I'm so sorry', 'I love you' and 'this isn't happening, not again.'
Every word, syllable, breath, made his heart shatter.
Gracyn finally sat up, clutching his shaking hands into fists as he glared at Conner, a deathly glare, a hateful glare. "You." He growled, and immediately lunged at the boy, but Felix blocked him and Bex held him back as he shouted at his once best friend, who now looked like he wanted him dead.
"I trusted you!" He screamed, "you promised me you'd protect him, YOU PROMISED!" His voice cracked as he struggled against Bex's grasp. Part of Conner felt like he deserved it, part of him wanted to let Gracyn attack him.
He'd done it, this was his fault.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE," he screamed, his face turning red with anger as tears continued to pour out of his eyes, "I TRUSTED YOU!"
"Gracyn! Gracyn - Grace, stop this!" Bex struggled against Gracyn's feverish attempts to attack Conner, and she could feel his heartbeat in his chest, "Gracyn, please!"
Gracyn slowly stopped struggling against Bex's grasp, and Conner could see his body going slower and slower. Tears welled up in his eyes as he watched Bex catch his heartbroken friend before he fell to the floor. Gracyn wrapped his arms around her, sobbing into her armored shoulder as they hugged. "I can't do this...He's gone, Bex, he's – " he hiccuped, unable to finish his sentence.
"I know, I know." She whispered, rubbing his back in an attempt to calm him down, and Conner could only watch, afraid to get anywhere near him in this state. He could feel the floodgates of his eyes burst as tears poured down his face, and he felt Felix softly nudge him out of the catacombs.
"Come on, we need to talk." He said, slowly and quietly, but his voice stil echoed through the room as he was led out, sniffling while he tried not to think of the hell that had just taken place in there, but Gracyn's sobs seemed to pull him back.
The door to exit the catacombs creaked, and Conner looked up to see Evelyn and Joseph, shocked looks on their faces as they looked at the bloodied boy, all of the palace's inhabitants whispering behind him. "Conner, – " Joseph whispered, reaching towards the boy to comfort him, but Evelyn whispered his name and Felix raised a hand.
