Stick together

 

‘Hi! Thanks for coming out and meeting us.’

‘No problem. I figure you’d rather not look after four kids on your own.’

‘The others are coming along later. They just had some errands first, so I offered to go on ahead. Anyway, all we have to do is watch from a distance.’



‘Ooooh, it’s Raya’s friend!’

‘…Or not.’

‘Hi!’



‘Hey, nice to meet you.’

‘I should introduce this lot. This is Carmella, and the boys are Tristan, Zeus and Charon.’



‘Is he your boyfriend, Raya?’



‘Um, no. He’s just a good friend.’

‘Aww, that’s a shame. When are you gonna get a boyfriend?’

‘Probably not any time soon… Why does it matter?’



‘Because it’d be really sweet! Aria said she’s never getting one, so that means you should.’



‘No way! If she gets a boyfriend, she won’t spend as much time with us!’



‘Hey, I’ll always have time for you lot.’



‘C’mon guys, I wanna go skating.’

‘Yeah, why don’t you do that? We’ll watch you.’



‘Alright! Last one to the skating rink smells of poo! And Zeus smells of poo anyway!’



‘You’re such a jerk, Tristan!’



‘Be nice to each other!’

‘…Wow. I bet they’re kind of a handful, huh?’

‘They sure like to bicker.’



‘Are you gonna skate at all?’

‘Well, I could, but I might fall flat on my face.’



‘Hey, I’d catch you if that happened.’

‘Haha, I’ll hold you to that.’



‘So what are your plans for after school? You didn’t apply to uni, did you?’

‘No, I didn’t. Edward’s a bit disappointed, since Aria didn’t either. He thinks we’re wasting our potential.’

‘Well, you’re obviously smart to be in the top classes at school.’



‘Thanks.’

‘Why aren’t you going, then?’

‘Same reason as Aria. I guess I’m afraid to move out of the area and not be near the triplets.’



‘It’s your life too, though. You can’t put it on hold for the triplets, even though you do care about them. That’s what their mum’s for.’

‘It’s not their mum I’m worried about.’

‘…Raya, if you think he’s badly hurting them, don’t you think it needs more than just you sticking around?’



‘I don’t think he’s hurting them. He’s nicer to them than he ever was to us, I know that much. But they need someone to come to if that changes. Someone who understands. And nice as Roxxi is, she buried her head in the sand when we came to her with… the truth.’

‘Yeah, good point… How can she stay with someone she knows treated his older kids like shit?’

‘I think she’s trapped, Logan. Ellis said she was really worried about being on her own. Her parents wouldn’t support her. And I believe it. I met them, they were weird. Nobody normal happily marries off their nineteen-year-old to a man in his forties.’



‘God… he’s kinda gross, isn’t he?’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘Sorry, Raya. I didn’t mean to upset you.’



‘It’s fine. But it explains why I don’t feel comfortable going. Besides, there’s opportunities here, I’m sure of it. I’ll just look for other local courses and jobs. I like cooking, maybe I could find something related to that. And plenty of jobs can be a career, right? With promotions, and stuff.’

‘Yeah, good point.’

‘So what about you? You applied, didn’t you?’



‘Yeah, but… well, I also applied to the fire service.’

‘The fire service?’

‘…I’ve always thought it’d be good to be a firefighter. It’s a really necessary job. I’ve been working a lot on my fitness. So if I get in, it’ll be a great opportunity.’



‘Well, good for you. That’s really brave…’

‘Thanks. I might not even get it, but hey… Are you alright?’

‘I won’t lie and say fire doesn’t terrify me. And the thought of you being in that position terrifies me even more. But if it weren’t for firefighters, I’d be dead, so…’



‘…Y’know, you called me brave, but I think you’ve been just as brave.’

‘I wouldn’t willingly go into another fire, though.’

‘Nor should you. I’m just saying, I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like. And maybe I’ll be able to prevent people going through what you did.’



‘Logan… I’m glad people like you exist.’

‘Well, thanks. That means a lot to me.’

‘…Maybe none of it’ll matter anyway, if your band makes it big.’



‘Oh, yeah. That’d be the best thing!’

‘Though I’d miss you guys if that happened. Always going away on tour.’

‘Well, if that happened, we could just take you with us on tour. As a caterer, or something. If you ignore the whole triplets situation, anyway.’



‘Yeah… it’s a nice thought.’

‘It’ll all work out. We’ll find a way to stick together. If it’s uni for me, I’ll still be local. And if it’s the band… By then the triplets might be all grown up anyway.’

‘Good point. I can barely believe they’re nearly ten.’

‘Besides, it takes a long time to break into the music industry, if you ever do manage it. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t. It’d be great, but having the band just as a side gig would be fine.’

‘It’s good to have a realistic backup plan.’




‘Hey, sorry we’re late. Are they behaving?’

[

‘About as much as normal.’

‘So, mostly, then.’

‘Yep.’



‘Go on, we’ll take over. You two go off and do something fun.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, go on.’



‘Maybe we should try that skating after all.’

‘Well, it’s either that or dancing, which I’m not great at either. And I’m not going to subject anyone to kissing me at that booth, so…’

‘I’m sure someone like you doesn’t need to pay someone to kiss them…’



‘Oh, thank you… Alright, let’s skate, then.’




‘He seems a nice young man.’

‘Yeah, I think so too. Good job, really, because I think he quite likes her, and if he wasn’t, I’d have to come after him.’

‘I think she quite likes him, as well.’

‘Looks like it.’



‘Bless her. It’s weird to think she’s rapidly approaching adulthood. Where did all that time go?’

‘I wish I knew.’

‘It feels like life is passing me by, sometimes. But what time do I even have, after work and childcare?’



‘You do have time, you just spend it online. Whether that’s a good use of it, only you can decide.’

‘It’s easier to connect with people on there… They’re usually into the same things as me, and I don’t have to explain to them about being a single dad.’



‘God, why am I saying all of this? Sorry, I’m coming over all gloomy.’

‘I understand, though. I know what you’re saying. But look on the bright side: at least one of us is gonna be well-adjusted.’

‘Yeah, and I’m really grateful for how mature she’s turned out. I just hope she hasn’t aged too prematurely. God knows the girl needs to have some fun now and again.’



‘She’ll be fine, Ellis. We’ll make sure of that. We always do.’

The next mayoral candidate

 Another two years had passed relatively quietly.

There was success for Edward as he managed to stay sober. After a time, he was even able to get a job at Sunset Valley High as its guidance counsellor.



Aria too had career success. She undertook training to become a security guard at Stanley’s store.



Saraya’s confidence grew with her new friends.



The triplets and Charon remained utterly unfazed by anti-alien sentiment and were as close as ever. But neither Roxxi nor Ellis changed much, not yet ready to make serious changes in their lives.

On the whole, you could presume things were well.

Things never stay that way.



‘I’m home!’



‘Hey. How did it go?’



‘They’ve chosen me! I’ve been officially selected as the next mayoral candidate!’

‘Oh my God! Tate, that’s wonderful!’

‘Thank you!’



‘Congratulations. That’ll be really big if you win.’

‘Absolutely. And I think I have a great chance. All of the usual people are up for backing me, and I shouldn’t have much trouble finding more.’

‘Wow… I never thought I might end up a mayor’s wife.’



‘It’ll be fantastic for the kids, too. It’ll really work out in their favour. It’ll get them more opportunities.’

‘You’re right. Oh, I really hope this works out.’

‘I’ll certainly do my best. I can’t wait to tell everyone.’



‘They’ll be really proud of you. My parents are gonna be so pleased.’

‘We’ll have to get together soon and celebrate.’

‘I’ll call them and give them the good news in a bit.’

‘Thank you. Where are the kids? I’d like to tell them, too.’

‘They’re out with the others. They shouldn’t be long, now.’

‘Okay, good.’

A little while later…



‘Hey, Roxxi.’



‘Hi. Did you have a good time?’

‘Yeah, we did.’



‘I got the top high score on one of the arcade games!’

‘Oh, wow. Well done, honey!’



‘Ah, there you all are. I’ve got some good news for you. You know there’s going to be an election in a few months?’



‘Yeah?’



‘Well, I’ve been picked to be a candidate to run for mayor!’



‘…’



‘Father, that’s brilliant!’

‘So you might be the next mayor?! Wow!’

‘That’s so cool!’



‘…Congrats.’



‘Thank you!’



‘I’d better get back, anyway. See you all later.’





‘Y’know, Raya… Lately I’ve been thinking about the past.’

‘What about?’

‘All the stuff that happened in Bridgeport, everything with Tate and Olivia and the money. How we ended up here in the first place. Sometimes I still wonder about the full story. We have the gist of what happened, but the story is still full of gaps, don’t you think?’

‘I guess so…’



‘I know Edward told us everything he knew. Not like I’d go bothering him about it again, not now he’s coping much better. For one thing, how was Miles able to trap them both like that? How did he break into Edward’s place and our places and set up some kind of complex video feed? And just how was he able to overcome Olivia? She might’ve been old, but she was still a vampire. How would a regular human force her to bankrupt herself?’

‘When you put it like that, it doesn’t make much sense.’

‘The whole thing is crazy. He just wreaked utter chaos then seemingly disappeared without a trace. I just don’t get how one man could do that to Tate and Olivia. They could’ve easily killed him.’



‘We’re never gonna find out.’

‘Yeah… It’s not like I’m gonna ask Tate about it. Doubt he’d say anything even if I did.’

‘I don’t suppose it really matters now. We haven’t seen Olivia in years. Where do you think she even is?’



‘Who knows? We don’t even know if she’s still in Sunset Valley. Damn it.’

‘Would you actually want to see her?’

‘Not really. I just want the truth. The mess they all created fucked up our lives. We didn’t deserve any of it. None of us. Especially Edward. Why did he have to suffer through all that?’



‘It was never about us. We were just caught in the crossfire.’

‘And how.’

‘But we should be trying to move on. That’s why we went to counselling.’



‘And I’ve come to terms with what happened. It just doesn’t stop me from wondering.’

‘Some things probably aren’t worth worrying about. I get it, I still have questions too. But you’ll never be happy if this is still on your mind.’

‘Raya, for me to ever be truly happy, Tate would have to drop dead first. He isn’t old or sick enough for that to be the case, unfortunately. So I don’t think you have to worry about my happiness.’



‘…I want you to be happy, though.’

‘Hey, I’m fine. Things are better than they ever have been! I’ve got a cool job, and I live with you guys. I’m not after much else.’

‘Good… Because the best thing we have is each other.’

‘Couldn’t agree more. We make a good team, all of us.’



‘Oh, boy… I’ve got some news.’



‘From the look on your face I’m assuming it’s not good news.’

‘No, not really.’

‘Go on, Ellis. Hit us with the not good news.’



‘…Tate’s going to be a mayoral candidate.’



‘…Really? What the hell?’

‘Oh God…’



‘Yeah… he told me himself.’



‘Don’t they have processes you have to go through to get selected? Did they really have no-one better?’

‘Maybe he bribed them.’

‘Probably. Ugh. I think it goes without saying that I’m voting against him.’

‘I would too, if I could…’



‘Damn, yeah, you won’t be old enough…’

‘My friends will be. I’ll tell them to make sure they vote. They’re not the type who’d vote for him, anyway.’



‘They’re not twats, so obviously not.’



‘We live in a swing area, so it could go either way. We can only do our part.’



‘Let’s hope it’s enough, because I do not want to live in a Sunset Valley run by Tate. I’ll fucking move.’

‘You’ll uproot your whole life?’

‘Honestly, I’m stubborn enough. Are you telling me you could cope with his smug fucking face being everywhere?’



‘It will be anyway. There’ll be even more campaign posters than when he ran for city council.’

‘Then I’ll draw moustaches on them all.’



‘Please don’t do anything to make me arrest you.’

‘Fine, if I must.’