Timekeeper

14. What have I done?

"Hey, Logan come look!" I felt as Virgil grabbed my arm a dragged me into the living room. Patton was currently rummaging through a closet. Roman was singing to the radio. I was surprised to see Deceit sitting on the couch. He was in his usual outfit with an obvious sew job on his one glove, but that didn't matter. At least he was out. "Logan, look at the tree!"

"Haven't I seen them all already?" I said smiling as I looked up at Virgil's tree. The tree itself was darker in color but the ornaments were bright. There were purple, blue, and white bulbs covering it. It was a stark difference between that and his usual dark aesthetic.

"No, you haven't. I worked very hard on it." I rustled his hair and he pushed my hand away. Patton started to snicker as he walked over with a box, placing it on the coffee table very carefully. 

"What's in the box, Pat?" Deceit asked as he looked down from his phone. I could see Roman getting excited as Patton slowly opened it up.

"It's a tree topper." Patton replied with a bright smile. "I made one for all of you. This one is for Virgil."

"But... last time you made me something..." Virgil started and Roman flinched. It wasn't something he was very proud of. 

"It's fine Virgil. I told you, I was more concerned with your safety than a glass figurine. I'm just happy no one got hurt." Except that there was a crash and you all were out for several hours. But I agree with Patton, At least no one got hurt. I watched as Patton took out this large lump of paper and slowly started to unwrap it.

"Jesus, Pat. How long did this one take you?" Roman said as Patton held up the tree topper for everyone to see. It was an angel. Typical tree topper, but the glass work was elegant. The wings were outstretched as if in flight. Its outfit was on similar to Virgils. It was wearing a hoodie and pants. Virgil's signature patchwork design was throughout the entirety of the work. At his feet looked to be a cloud, hiding where the tip of the tree was supposed to go. I think the most unique and intricate of details on this was the subtle bone structure. Somehow Patton had made it look like the angel had transparent skin and you could see a slight skeleton underneath it. 

"Not as long as yours but I am sure you knew that." Roman rubbed the back of his neck and I laughed. How did Patton get so good at glass work? "From making ornaments. I made them every year. Then it just sort of turned into a passion of mine." Patton said as if he read my thoughts.

"Did I say that out loud?" Patton just laughed and everyone looked at me confused.

"No, I just always know what your thinking, Logi bear. I'm a good guesser." Patton took the angel and started climbing up a small step ladder. I got this bad feeling as I watched him struggle to place the topper on the tree.

"Patton, maybe I should do it. I am the tallest." I called out as I got closer to him. He just shook his head and I sighed.

"I am 27 years old Logan. I am more than capable of putting a tr..." I watched as his foot slipped underneath him and he started to fall back. Without a moment's hesitation, I rushed over, catching Patton as he fell. He wrapped his arms around my neck and clung onto me for dear life.

"DAD!" Virgil and Deceit both yelled when the initial shock finally faded. However, the loud crash cut them both off. Deceit hid underneath the blanket he grabbed from behind the couch and Virgil just froze.

"Not again..." Roman Came over and slowly started to pick up the pieces of broken glass of the floor. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as the other one. Roman looked up at me and I nodded reassuringly. If we managed to fix the other one, we can fix this one too. I placed Patton on the couch and watched as Deceit grabbed Patton's arm holding it tightly under the blanket for support. Patton's eyes went wide and he pulled him in close. Blanket and all...

I took the box from Roman that was filled with glass and looked over at Virgil. He just had his hands in his pockets, looking away as if he had expected this. But I knew it still upset him, plus he was worried about Patton. It's ok, we'll have it fixed and on that tree in no...

"Uh Oh..." I whispered as the lights began to flicker. Everyone looked around in confusion. The only one who may have been causing this was Deceit and even he seemed to be doing better. So why...

The whole place went dark and I felt a cold chill run down my back. Suddenly there was this sharp pain in my chest and I stood there gripping my shirt as the lights finally turned back on. I just stood their eyes wide and in shock as my body ran cold. Everyone started looking around wondering what had caused the crash. Everyone was still up and functioning so they were all just confused. I snapped out of my shock and started to leave when Virgil grabbed my arm.

"Where are you going?" I turned to see his confused face but I was too upset to truly see it. I pulled my arm from his grasp and left to go back into my room, leaving everyone behind even more confused than before. "I knew it..."

When I got to my room my anger just fueled. My desk was covered with papers. My lights were flickering, and everything was a mess. I had been so focused on Chris and everything he was showing me... I had allowed myself to get caught up his all that emotional drama that I neglected my work and now this is happening. 

The mindspace crashed again and I felt another sharp pain as if the mindspace was punishing me for my absence. This was bad. When the lights came back on I quickly set to work cleaning everything up. It didn't help that I had to stop everytime it crashed. Thomas was not having a good time. He had said he'd been feeling off. WHY DIDN'T I SEE IT!?

"Logan?" I spun around to see Chris standing there, a worried look on his face. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Chris nodded and I snapped. I was pissed, so pissed I saw an inkling a fear set in his eyes. "YOU HAPPENED!"

"What do you mean?" I grabbed a handful of papers and chucked them at him, causing him to throw his arms up. "Logan!"

"All this... ALL OF THIS... Is because I allowed myself to fall for your shit." His eyes widened and he took a step back in response. "Because of you I neglected my job and as a result, Thomas is suffering."

"But I... I-I... I wasn't..."

"GET OUT!" I practically growled at him. He shook his head and tried to reach out. I flinch and he stopped. "JUST GET THE FUCK OUT CHRIS!"

"Logan, don't do this." I grabbed another thing of papers and threw it at him again. This time he didn't even bother to block them. They where papers so it didn't really matter.

"Go!" He looked at the ground, a solemn expression on his face and I clenched my fists. "And stay the fuck out of my life!"

The lights started to flicker again for the last time as Chris disappeared. I felt my anger slowly melt away until I just felt empty. I ran a hand through my hair and collapsed on my bed. My thoughts slowing down as the call of sleep began to drag me down. The lights finally crashed, and as the darkness took hold, the last thing I thought was...

What have I done?