Not a City of Angels

Chapter One

Nov 11, 2013 9:00 AM

One month before the Particle Accelerator explodes

The sound of rain battering on the roof of the rental was all Blaine could hear as he drove in the dark with trembling hands. The car was an Audi, and if Blaine wanted to think more, he'd have thought to ask for a better one.

But Blaine didn't care. A man as he should have, would have, prowled the Hertz carpark in the early hours of dawn, fresh off his morning flight. The unusually good-natured attendant and would ave held a brief conversation with him as he scoured for the mid-sized vehicle he liked. Maybe negotiated for an upgrade in the frosty sunlight, his family standing behind him with their luggage. Kurt would have acted the impatient angel he was. And now, Blaine was alone.

The shaking man was approaching Central City limits, his tanned hands gripping the steering wheel of the Audi with whiter knuckles. He briefly glanced into the front mirror at his reflection, an unusually handsome face for someone so broken. Damaged inside.

Blaine couldn't even sigh. His eyes were wide, and his dark, gelled hair appeared mussed and frazzled in the light.

He didn't know where he was going, but he knew what he was- lost. Blaine drove in silence; he didn't dare turn on the radio. He couldn't.

"Squirt?" Blaine heard a voice as the car door was opened. "What're you-"

Blaine got out of the black Audi with unsteady feet, shivering in the winter morning. His small frame was covered suddenly by his brother's warm embrace. He found comfort at last.

❦

Lily Anderson remembered the time her second-oldest brother came to stay with her and Cooper indefinitely. Or live in Central City, at least, if the latter was untrue.

Lily saw Blaine, heartbroken and numb, in the living room after her oldest brother found him sitting in some rental in their condo's garage as he was heading to work. She was only ten, but Lily agreed with Blaine. Her brother was broken.

Cooper didn't tell her what was going on with Blaine that first night. Lily didn't ask questions the second night, either. But on the fifth day, Lily listened to Cooper as he explained that Blaine was there to stay for awhile.

"Blaine is going through a tough time right now," said Cooper, and Lily nodded. She knew what that was like, or so she thought. She at least knew sadness.

"Is he coming to live with us?" asked Lily then, "Like when I did?" She watched Cooper's face for confirmation.

"Not exactly," Cooper said. "Just for a little bit. Until he gets...happy, again."

Lily knew Blaine wasn't in the best state of mind after coming back from New York, which was where he had been living for as long as Lily could remember. She just didn't understand- unless it had something to do with-

"Is it Kurt? Are they having a fight?" Lily sat up on the bed, her hazel-brown eyes moving to focus on Cooper as she solved the puzzle.

Cooper lay a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Go to sleep, Li. We'll talk about it more tomorrow."

"I want to talk about it now" Lily said, "What about Blaine? Will I get to see Carole and Burt, still? What about our trip to New York next month? To see Rachel's big show with them?"

Lily had a million questions, and wondered if Cooper would even answer them. She was an astute guesser- very clever- and expected disappointment as her oldest brother said nothing, flipping a light switch slowly, leaving the room. She got it. Cooper just wouldn't admit it himself.

Lily spent that night tossing and turning, and eventually gave up on sleeping all together. One of her biggest hobbies in darkness like this was to grab a flashlight, a sketchbook, and a set of pencils and blending sticks.

She started by drawing her nightmares- and for a little girl at the age of 10, her drawings were scarily accurate to the average eye. Soon enough, a man began to take shape- the very man in a yellow suit that had killed her parents all those years ago.