Faye, Malo, and Pali waited for hours for Dre to return, but she never did. When Pali called her multiple times, there was no answer. He stood near the door, his fingers tapping furiously against the screen of his phone, his chest rising and falling in short, agitated bursts as the call went straight to voicemail every single time.
Dre was gone... No idea when she was coming back...
They had no idea what to do. Martha had no relatives around or anyone to announce her death to. The only family she had was Dre, and Dre was nowhere to be found. The house felt strangely hollow, the silent living room pressing in on them while their breathing turned slow, heavy, and full of confusion.
Faye and Malo cried their eyes out until there were no tears left to shed. This wasn’t the first time they had seen someone die, but Martha’s death hit them to the core.
The woman was a nice person. She was someone they actually knew, someone close to them. Faye sat curled up on the floor, her shoulders shaking violently with every quiet sob, her throat raw and dry as her lungs struggled to pull in full drafts of air. Malo buried his face in his hands, his heart pounding a frantic, miserable beat against his ribs.
Pali regretted doing the ritual. He should have just listened to his friend when she said she didn’t want a walker’s life. The time she had on earth had ended. It was too soon. If he hadn’t gone through with the ritual, then maybe Martha would have lived to see another day. He leaned his head hard against the doorframe, his jaw set so tight his teeth hurt, his lungs letting out a long, shuddering exhale of pure guilt.
"You guys should go home. I will wait for Dre," Pali said. He forced his voice to sound steady, but the deep, rough edge gave away his exhaustion as he looked down at the two teenagers.
"Let’s just all wait together," Faye said. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand, her voice trembling, her chest heaving as she tried to pull herself together.
"Go home. I’m sure your family must be waiting. Malo, your siblings too. Don’t worry, I will call when she returns." Pali insisted, his tone leaving no room for an argument as his broad shoulders slumped under the weight of the night.
"I have seen people die, and this is the first time that it hurts," Malo said. He was now sitting on the couch with his head resting on the armrest.
"She was a nice lady. All she did was smile. She even said she was going to adopt me when she saw how my parents treated me..... Why do good people die first?" Malo cried. Fresh tears leaked out from under his swollen eyelids, a shaky, breathless gasp escaping his lips as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Faye, take him home and check on Kali and Henry before you get home too," Pali said. Looking at the boy on the couch was sad to watch.
Faye had no choice but to leave the house. She wanted to wait for Dre to come back and perhaps do a proper send-off for Martha, but Pali said he was going to call. So Faye dragged Malo out of the house and drove him to his home.
They were outside Malo’s house.
"I’m sure we are regretting what we did..... If only we had not agreed... but we need to be strong. You should go in and rest while we wait for Dre’s return," Faye said. She turned in her seat to face him, her lungs expanding with a careful, steadying breath to show him she was trying to stay solid.
"I still need to go pick up your kids first. Today is Sunday, and Princess must be waiting for me," Malo said. He rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hands, his breathing coming out in small, ragged hitches as he tried to sit up straight.
"Don’t worry. Just go inside. I will do it myself." Faye assured him softly, her own heart skipping a tiny, nervous beat at the thought of facing Princess after everything that had happened.
"Alright. See you later, drive safely..." Malo said, then he got down from the van. He pulled his backpack over one shoulder, his sneakers dragging slightly on the ground as he let out a tired sigh.
Faye waited until Malo entered his house and was welcomed by his siblings, who hugged him before shutting the door. She watched through the driver’s window as the front door swung open, the small children wrapping their arms around his waist, and the sight made a small, warm breath slip out of her lungs before the door clicked shut.
Faye drove to Pali’s shop to check on Henry and Kali. They were both okay. Henry was by the counter attending to customers, it was late but he was already wrapping up for the night.. and Kali was inside.
Seeing that they were okay, Faye left them and drove to the clubhouse.
Faye stayed in the van for about 20 to 30 minutes, trying to gather herself before stepping inside. She leaned her forehead against the leather of the steering wheel, her eyes closed tight as her lungs pulled in long, deep breaths, trying to wash away the heavy scent of grief and blood that still seemed to linger in her nose.
It hadn’t been a good weekend for her, and she didn’t want to bring the negative energy inside.
The Trios had won their first E game, and they must be celebrating their victory.
Earlier she checked their live and saw how happy the team were... She wanted to talk to Princess but after what happened she might have to wait...
The plan was just to pick the pups and then leave..
Faye finally got out of the van and entered the clubhouse.