Life is Strange: The Graham Theory

Episode 1: Hypothesis [Part Three]

Dinner didn't satisfy Warren at all.
It was as if the thoughts of the day's events played a part in his dissatisfaction towards the meal. Warren couldn't lie, it was incredibly delicious- but he couldn't focus.
Evening fast approached and night time soon came, calming the atmosphere.
Warren sat alone on his bed, his laptop screen glowing in the darkness of his room.
He clicked on the folder he had saved to his computer desktop- a folder named "Family."
The first image was of his mother, who stood, ashy blonde hair and pale grey eyes. She stood by a shorter boy, who smile was familiar to hers. Himself- except younger, around 13 years old. He looked rather similar, except with shorter hair, flicked at the front. He had just been accepted to study Advanced Studies in Biology and Chemistry for Blackwell. He was significantly younger than the other students on the curriculum.
"Mom... If you could see me now, what would you think of me?" He mumbled to himself. He flicked onto the next photo. It was of him, more recent. He stood with an older boy, wearing a uniform for the armed forces. It was his older brother, Christopher Jr- named after his father.
"Toph... I wonder how you're doing.." Warren thought. He hadn't seen his brother since his mother's funeral, as he flew back straight after the service had finished.
The next picture flicked through to his dad. He stood next to a lot younger Warren, who was about half his father's size. Warren never saw his father much as a child as he was also a member of the armed forces. However, he had retired a couple years back due to age and not fitting the standards for fitness anymore.
Upon seeing the image, Warren remembered something.
"Oh yeah. I have to see dad tomorrow."

Morning arose quite quickly, and Warren clasped his car keys in his hand.
He hadn't been home since moving into Blackwell dorms, and he couldn't bring himself to come home after the situation with his mother.
Until now.
He sat into the drivers seat and turned the key.
The engine didn't start.
"Fuck." Warren cursed, turning the key again. "Goddamn it! Not today..."
Still nothing.
Warren slammed his hands on the dashboard. "Stupid thing. Guess I'll have to find another way around..." He pulled his key out of the hole and got out of the car, locking it.
"Having trouble?" A voice bellowed across the car park. Chloe stood next to her truck, Max standing beside her.
"My dad invited me over and he lives on the other side of town." Warren explained, walking towards the pair. "Thing is, my damn car won't start."
Chloe nodded, thinking. "I might know a guy who could fix that for you."
"You know a lot of guys."
"True, true." She nodded.
"Like Frank and that other guy who-" Max began.
Chloe hushed her friend. "Let's not get into that. Rachel might not appreciate it. Anyway, Graham- want me to give you a lift?"
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Heck, I wouldn't even offer if I wasn't sure."
"Trust Chloe, Warren. Her driving isn't THAT terrible." Max encouraged him.
Chloe looked at her in disbelief, however smiling. "Wow! Malicious, Mad Max."
"It's out of love!" Max winked teasingly.  She turned to Warren. "Come on! You show us the way."
They all piled into her truck and Chloe switched the engine on. It roared to life.
"Let's go!"

The drive to his home sent him to a slight tranquility, watching the bay out of the window. It was midday and seagulls were flying high. Everything looked so gentle and calm. The view of the lighthouse was distant but it sat firmly on the hill. Pine trees frequently appeared into view.
"So it's a left?"
"Yes."
Max turned to Warren. "Hey, are you feeling better from yesterday?"
"Reasonably." Warren told her. Admittedly, he still felt uneasy- but he fought that feeling and distracted himself away from it all.
"Good."
Chloe took another turn and a house stood amongst the trees came into view. It was quaint and fitted well within its peaceful surroundings, with the brick painted white and a long driveway, accompanied with a pale blue front door. "Is this it?"
"Yes! Perfect. Thank you." Warren gratefully told her. "I owe you one."
"Cool. Just text either of us when you want to go back."
"Actually, would the pair of you like to come in?" Warren asked. "Saves you on wasting fuel on me, and saves you a trip too."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" Max asked him, before looking at Chloe- who nodded.
"I'm sure. Plus it'll calm my nerves. It's the first time I've been home since..."
"It'll be a pleasure. I hope your dad doesn't mind." Chloe got out of the car alongside Max and locked the door. They followed Warren to the front door, where he opened it and walked inside. "Dad? I'm home!" He called out. A figure of a man walked into the hallway.
It wasn't his dad though. Instead a young man with short dirty blonde hair and familiar brown eyes stood in front of him.
Warren's eyes widened. "Toph?"
"Hey, little bro. Not so little now, huh?" His brother stood in front of him, smiling.
"You're home." Warren walked towards his brother and hugged him. "It's been a while."
"It has. The front line is a tough job." Toph explained, releasing from the hug. "I see these soldiers on our side get alienated by war and then they just get super violent- and I hear stories of them getting arrested after they come home cause they end up killing their families."
"No!" Warren was in disbelief.
"I'm glad I didn't turn out that way."
"Me either."
"I think what happened to mom really grounded me that way." Toph stated. "The military business is a completely risky thing to undergo- like the combat is risky as it is, but my biggest fear was the psychological aspects."
"Our minds surely terrify us." Warren agreed. His mind definitely terrified him at the minute, with all the strange things he had experienced.
Toph looked towards Max and Chloe. "These friends of yours?"
"Yes." Max answered. Chloe nodded, and walked towards him.
"You're a soldier; you must be good at using guns, right?" Chloe asked Toph.
Toph nodded. "Yeah. Quite so, seeing as I'm a member of a military family."
Chloe pulled out a handgun from her jacket pocket, much to Warren's horror and Max's embarrassment. "It keeps jamming. How do I fix that-"
"Chloe! Put that thing away!" Max scolded.
"Hey! Surely getting advice from an expert will make me less likely to kill someone." Chloe reasoned.
"Yes but in Warren's home of all places? Don't be stupid." Max hissed.
Chloe nodded, realising she was right. "Oh. Yeah. I'll put it away." She said, tucking it back into her pocket.
"Thank you." Max followed.
"It probably needs lubrication." Toph spoke up.
"Thanks!"
"Hey, is dad home?" Warren asked.
Toph answered. "Yeah he's upstairs in his bedroom."
"Thanks. I won't be long. Make yourselves at home." Warren told the girls before heading upstairs.
He stood in the doorway of his father's bedroom. His father, starting to reach the older parts of life, was in front of him- his once short brown hair slightly grown out and peppered with grey flecks. His face, much like his elder son, was more defined with lines that conveyed emotion.
He was sat on the bed; his hazel eyes were engrossed in a photo album and not noticing his son.
"Hey, dad."
"Son!" His dad put the album down and walked towards Warren, briefly hugging his child. "How's school?"
"Good! I feel like I really understand some things!"
"Excellent! I'm glad my boy is finding his way around. An aspiring scientist, like his mother."
"Yeah." Warren smiled. "How... Is everything with that?"
"Oh about the situation with your mother? It's tough... I miss her everyday." He opened the photo album to the next page. A wedding photo sat in the middle. "The happiest day of my life, besides the birth of my sons."
"You two looked perfect for each other. You really were."
"I think so too, Warren." He turned a page and a loose piece of paper fell out. A degree certificate for biomedical sciences. The certificate name holder read:  Amelie J. Harrington.
His mother's name before marriage.
"This piece of paper resulted in your mother achieving a lifelong dream." His father handed the certificate to him. "Take it. She would want that for you. A reminder that anything is possible."
"Thanks dad."
"It's okay, son."
Warren turned to leave the room, when he spotted a perfume bottle on the bedside table. "Wait..."
"Warren?"
"Why is this here? Mom always hated that perfume. She never bought it."
His father cleared his throat. "Well... I, uh, had someone over last night. A woman. We met not too long ago and well... It's working for me."
Warren turned around and looked at his father dead in the eye. He tried to restrain his hostility. "Moving on already? After how many years of marriage?"
"Warren, please-"
"I understand you don't want to feel lonely, but isn't it too early to introduce some woman to try and fill the shoes of my mother?" Warren protested. "Think about how me and Toph feel. I'm sorry. I'm not the one to comment on what you want to do with your life, but I'm not okay with this just yet. I'm not ready."
"Warren..."
Warren walked through the doorway. "I'm getting some air, dad. Let's just drop the subject and talk about some nicer things."
He walked downstairs, where Chloe stood in the doorway, smoking.
"So how was it-" Chloe began to ask, but was blatantly ignored as Warren stepped outside quickly, a firm expression of anger on his face.
Chloe tilted her head. "Earth to Warren! What is wrong with you? You look hella mad."
"Everything was fine until he told me that he found another woman."
Chloe's face softened. "Oh...fuck. I know that feeling entirely. Didn't want my step-douche in my life."
"I don't need some random woman stepping in as my mom. It's not right. I don't need a new mom." He clasped his mother's certificate tightly in his hand. "It's way too fucking early, anyway."
"Man, I agree. I just hope he doesn't decide to marry some witch."
"So do I." Warren looked around.
Chloe beckoned him in. "Come on. Let's join Max."
"Yeah."

The day passed quickly after that, the subject of the woman being brushed under the carpet.
It was time to go home for the three. Toph and his father stood at the doorway.
"Drive safely! It was wonderful meeting you two girls. And Warren?" His father called out.
"Yeah?"
"Make your mom proud."
"Will do."
The drive home was quiet. Warren gazed back out the window at the mid afternoon, sun kissed bay.
That's when it happened.
A storm hitting Arcadia bay. A huge tornado. The car struggled to drive through the torrential rain. Then suddenly, a huge tree uprooted flying directly towards their windscreen.
Glass smashes.
Warren closes his eyes in fear and opens his eyes. Drenched in sweat. Shaking.
The car had been pulled over and the doors were open. He was sat on the sidewalk, away from traffic.
"Warren!" A voice cried out, whilst she wrapped her arms around him.
"Max..."
"You completely collapsed whilst we were on our way back and we had to stop to check you weren't dying." Max explained.
"You're shaking like fuck." Chloe told him. "Not to mention you're sweating fucking rivers. What's going on."
"I..." Warren couldn't formulate a sentence. "I'm fine."
"Clearly not. I'm getting you to bed, and if this happens again then we're taking you to a doctor." Max insisted.
"S-sure."
The drive home felt like it lasted years.
Max was right. Warren wasn't okay.
And this was only the start of it.