Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Evan watches as Chan breaks the news to his sister and brother about their parents. As the three siblings grieve, Evan wishes he could do more to help. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Super Trooper. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Evan felt helpless in the face of so much grief. He
continued to softly stroke Chan’s back, unsure what else to do, as the siblings
cried together over the loss of their parents. Evan’s own parents had died when
he was a teenager. Murder/suicide the police had called it. Evan hadn’t been
witness to what had happened—they’d kicked him out of the house when he was
seventeen, and their deaths had occurred just a few weeks later. He’d only
found out from reading the front page of the local newspaper. He’d often
suspected that had he says, he would become just another part of their gruesome
story. He couldn’t find it in himself to mourn either one of them. They’d both
made his childhood a time of terror and cruelty. At lease he had survived them.
What was that saying?
What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
But this… this was loss such as he’d never seen
before. He had to do something to help, but he didn’t know what he should do,
or even could do. He’d been the bearer of bad tidings before in the course of
his time as a State Trooper, but this was different.
At least he could help Chan take care of the
practical side of things, such as planning the funeral, checking to see if his
parents had left a will, and so on.
And just be there for Chan for anything else he
needed Evan for.
He was struck by a sudden thought, something that
had not occurred to him until that moment, as he watched Chan and the children
express their grief… what was going to happen to the children? They were
orphans now. Had Chan’s parents made any allowance for such an occurrence? Had
it ever occurred to them to set up a contingency plan in the event of their
deaths?
While he knew they had to figure that out, he also
knew it wasn’t a subject he cared to raise in front of them, either. He and
Chan needed to be alone for that, so they could sort things out. First things
first. All he wanted right now was to help them get through this horrible
night.
“Chan,” he began softly, touching his arm.
Chan turned toward him, and Evan’s heart broke at
the sight of his large tear-filled eyes.
“You should stay with them tonight,” he said. “They
need you.”
“I will,” Chan readily agreed. “Will you please stay
too?”
Evan hadn’t even considered that an option, and he
wasn’t sure how the children would feel about his presence. But he understood
that Chan needed him… needed him very badly… how could he do anything else but
stay with him?
“Of course,” he promptly replied, glad to see some
of the tension drain from Chan’s face. Staying was the least he could do for
the man he loved. “Is there a guest bedroom?” Somehow he didn’t feel right
about sleeping in Chan’s parents’ bed, not when the wound was so fresh. That
just didn’t feel right.
Chan didn’t seem to question why he asked, so
perhaps he felt the same way too. “Yes, there is. Maa keeps everything ready, in case of unexpected guests…” His
voice broke for a moment but he quickly brought himself under control with a
sniffle, before turning back to his siblings.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “Time for bed. There
is much to do tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to go to bed,” Kamal protested. He
folded his arms across his chest and glared at Chan and Evan both, as if
defying either of them or both of them to make him go to sleep. “I want to stay
up with you.”
“Kamal, behave,” his sister chastised, probably out
of habit. Her tone held no real bite.
“We’re going to bed too,” Chan assured the young
boy. “So there’s no reason for you to stay up. Everything will be dark in here.
Much better for you to be in bed. We’ll be right in the guest room if you need
anything, okay?”
Kamal grumbled a little more. “What about my story?”
he said, as if looking for an excuse to argue. “Who will read to me?”
“I will,” Laksha quickly volunteered. “Go wash up and
brush your teeth, then pick out a story and I’ll be in when you’re ready.”
Kamal mulled her words over, and for a moment, Evan
thought he would complain about something else, but instead he nodded and
jumped up from the couch. “I’ll be super quick,” he said before he raced out of
the room and out of sight.
“Thank you for staying with us,” Laksha said in a
small voice.
“Of course, I’m your big brother,” Chan said. “I’ll
always be here for you.” He hugged her against him, and for a long moment,
nothing was said. Finally, Laksha drew back.
“I-I’ll see you in the morning, Chan. Sleep well.” She turned large
liquid eyes toward Evan. “Sleep well,” she repeated with a formal bow before
she slid off the couch and scurried quickly out of the room. He hadn’t expected
a hug, so wasn’t surprised or disappointed at not receiving one.
Once the girl was out of sight, he felt Chan relax
back against him, his muscles going limp, as if he couldn’t maintain his strong
façade any longer. Evan wound his arms around him and held him close.
“We’ll get through this,” he promised Chan. “Never
doubt that.”
“I don’t,” Chan said softly.
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