Mysteries
Wynnona
My hand reaches out for the journal. I examine the small, flimsy book in my hands before opening it. The pages are old, having taken on a yellowish colour. I look at the sly fox sleeping peacefully in my lap before opening it. The pages are filled with black ink, swirling into fancy letters that have been written elegantly. I look around the room again, taking it in fully. A part of me feels like I've been here before.
Turning my full attention back to the journal, I flip to the last entry. It is dated the day of my birthday, better known as abandonment day, June 19, 2504. The elegant writing takes up the first quarter of the page, written almost frantically. It reads:
Today will be my baby girl's fourth birthday. I'm beyond excited. My little angel has been growing steadily, easily showing more smarts then most children her age would. I can't explain how proud of them I am. My baby boy isn't taking well to being stuck on the ship. He misses his friend, a sweet, intelligent Klentic boy. But that's not important because both boys like each other very much and that's good enough for me. Now, to steal my lovely husband's amazing recipe for cake.
This must be the journal of the woman I had seen earlier. Once on the ship a couple minutes ago and once in my dream the other day. Then it hits me, Giovanni, the Sean I know on earth, is the little kid. But why am I seeing his memories?
Curiosity grips my stomach, but I don't keep looking through the journal and photos. Instead, I close the book and put it back, closing the drawer. I pull out my phone, wondering if there is a way I can get into contact with Giovanni. For some odd reason, it looks like I can make a call. The curious cat in me clicks his name and calls him. He did say I could call anytime, right? After three rings someone picks up.
"Hello?" Answers a female voice. I hear a groan in the background and try to judge what kind it was.
"Hi, I was um, just calling to ah, talk to Giovanni." Why am I so fucking awkward? Curse my stutter when talking on the phone.
"Hey Gio, Wynnona's calling." The girl calls. I hear soft chatter on the other end. Nervously, I start playing with one of Star's paws.
"Wynnona?" Giovanni's voice comes through the receiver. "What's wrong?" He asks.
"Um," why can't I find the right words? "I've just got some questions for you." I mutter softly.
"Ow!" I hear him growl at someone. "That hurts." Someone on the other end says something to him I don't catch. Then there is laughter. "Feel free to ask me whatever you want." He sighs.
"First off, are you okay?" I ask, worry lacing with my voice.
"I'm fine. Jake is just upset with me so he's being extra mean to me." I almost laugh aloud at his words. From what I've seen, the two have a very interesting relationship.
"Okay." I just decide to ignore it and move on. "Did you have a sister?"
"Yes. She disappeared a long time ago though." Is all he says.
"What happened to her?" I ask, a strange feeling setting in my stomach that I don't recognize.
"The day of her fourth birthday, my family was attacked. I was eight at the time and it was my job to keep her safe. I failed." My heart breaks for him.
"Okay, I'm gonna sound crazy but hear me out." I stutter out.
"It's going to take a lot to make me think you're crazy." He says with a slight laugh.
"I think I've been seeing memories of your past on this ship." I tell him. The line goes silent and I hold my breath.
Giovanni
Everyone goes quiet after Wynnona stops speaking. My heart is pounding. Could Wynnona be my lost baby sister?
"It's probably just strong residual energy left behind by the previous owners of the ship, Giovanni's parents. Create a connection with the ship and this should stop." Jake speaks, easily playing it off as something it isn't.
"Oh, okay. Thanks, and that's all." Wynnona stutters out. It's rather adorable. I say goodbye and Lillian hangs up. Jake aggressively stabs the needle into my flesh, continuing to stitch my wound shut. I hiss in pain and punch his shoulder slightly.
"Would you stop with that; it hurts like hell." I growl at him. He looks up at me with his board, soft, grey eyes. They are different from Lillian's. Where hers are like molten silver, his are like smoke, swirling around his pupil. The thick smoke leaves no possibility to see any emotion that may swim in them.
"Maybe this time you'll remember how mean I am when you don't listen to me." He growls right back. I grumble to myself and tilt my head back, closing my eyes. He finishes up the stitches and places a bandage over it.
"We needed to get the book off earth safely." I sigh, feeling exhaustion set into my flesh and making my bones feel much heavier.
"And that means you should just throw away your life?! Like it doesn't matter?" His voice has raised, and he's now evidently upset. He's stood up and is waving his arms around as he normally does when we fight, and he gets upset with me.
"That's how I was raised." I defend. "The only thing that has mattered in my life has been protecting Athena."
"That's just an excuse for the shit job your mother did dealing with her grief." He shouts. That hits a nerve in me. I have always known that my mother never dealt with losing dad and my sister well, and that her grief was translated into turning me into something that could never be taken from her. Some days I wonder what my life would have been like and if she knows how much she changed me from a loving, innocent child to a soldier that was incapable of love.
"That's not fair." My voice lowers dangerously as my jaw tightens.
"Oh yes, it is." He shouts. "She didn't raise you properly. You used to be such a warm-hearted person. You were innocent and loving until she twisted you up to be just like her." Tears have started to gather in his eyes. My anger is flushed out with my need to comfort him, protect him. I swing my legs over the edge of the hospital table and grab his wrist, pulling him to me.
"Shh." I whisper to him. I press him against my chest and wrap my arms around him tightly, ignoring the discomfort of my wound. "I'm sorry. I'm a reckless idiot and you deserve better then a broken human like me." I speak softly, but warmly, meaning every word. I am a reckless idiot. I charge head first into a dangerous situation, forgetting there will be a consequence to my actions.
"Yes, you are." He agrees with me as he hiccups into my shoulder, letting his tears fall. His arms are wound tightly around my shoulders. "But you're my reckless idiot." He pulls away from me and rests his hands on my cheeks. His forehead pressed against mine and his swollen eyes shut. My hands tighten on his waist as I lean up slightly to place my lips against his.
It's a soft kiss, a light press of the lips. An apology for being an idiot. His fingers thread into my long hair as he presses himself closer to me, if possible. I groan against his lips, slightly in discomfort from my still fresh wound. I don't hear the door to the infirmary open but pull away from my beautifully intoxicating boyfriend when I hear a throat being cleared. Jake's eyes widen in fear when he sees who is standing behind me.
Looking over my shoulder I see none other than the devil herself, my mother.
"Hey mom." A call simply. She looks very unimpressed, her arms crossed, hips cocked to one side. I can feel the shiver that runs up Jake's spine at the heated anger in her mismatched eyes that's directed at him. I pull him closer into my chest, resting his head onto my shoulder to act as a barrier between the two. "What's up?" I ask in a bored tone, wanting to get back to what Jake and I were doing.
"You should be on mission, getting the book here and not trying to stick your dick into this toy of yours." My anger rises as she speaks. Jake and I are both used to her calling him a toy and a play thing, but that doesn't stop it from getting on my nerves.
Jake's warm fingers start to fiddle with the ring on the chain around my neck. Not only is it my nervous tick, but his as well. When my mother catches us doing normal couple things, he will always fiddle with it.
"He's not my plaything or my toy, he's my boyfriend." I tell her firmly. After dad died, she showed how much she hated homosexuality and me being involved with anyone romantically or sexually. When I was 18, I couldn't take lying to Jake about my emotions anymore. When I was 19, I lost my "virginity" to him. Mom was beyond pissed when she found out. I, however, refuse to break up with him for anything. He's my world. I'd die without him.
"A mistake is what I think you mean." She corrects me in her high and mighty tone. I don't have the energy to argue with her. Not about this. Not again. She's the other reason I haven't proposed to Jake. There is no right time and I'm scared of what she will do to him if I do propose.
"What do you want?" I ask her, my voice tired as I pull Jake closer. He's sat down in my lap, resting his head against my shoulder and chest, playing with the ring.
"You have a mission; I'm making sure you stay on it." She walks towards me and pushes her fingers against my forehead. "I'm also making sure you're thinking with the right head." She growls at me as a warning. She leaves and slams the door.
"Why is she so scary?" Jake asks in a soft voice. I look down at him and my heart almost stops. His grey eyes are looking up at me, innocent and exhausted. The ring he was fiddling with has slipped into his ring finger. Elder gods I want to claim him as mine. Show the universe he belongs to me and no one else. Not to say he's a possession, just that he's mine.
"I don't know." I sigh, kissing his forehead as he yawns. He reminds me of a kitten some days. "Come on, I'm taking you to bed." He stands up and grabs me the fresh shirt he had Lillian bring. I slip it on and take his hand, letting him lean against me as we walk to our shared room. Once there we change into our pajamas and crawl into bed.
"Giovanni?" Jake asks softly. He crawls over to my side of the bed and rests his head on my shoulder and bicep. I wrap my arm around his waist to pull him closer to me. He always gets cold at night. He sleeps in my old shirt that's too big for him and a pair of fleece pants but is still cold. We have discovered I am a heater at night, so he always cuddles up close to me and steals all my heat. I hum in response to him, my eyes closed. When he doesn't answer I open my eyes and look at him.
"What is it, Jake?" I ask, slightly worried. His eyes are glued to the ring around my neck.
"That's your grandmother's wedding ring, right?" He asks. I nod my response, eyes glued to his trying to find something. "Giovanni are you going to propose to me?" He asks, eyes moving up to meet mine. My body goes stiff after hearing his words. His grey eyes are twisting with hope and longing.
"I was." I tell him, suddenly finding the wall behind him very interesting. "I was going to during the dinner I planned a while back, but then mom came in and ruined it. There have been a million times I was going to, but it never seemed like the right moment. And I-" Jake places his finger against my lips to stop my nervous rambling.
"Yes." He whispers, leaning closer to my face. I give him a confused look. "Yes, a million times over you idiot." He kisses me and takes me by surprise. I respond instantly and kiss him back. He's the first to pull away and stare at me, the smoke of his eyes dancing with love. "I can't believe you waited this long." He teases. I grumble and glare playfully at him. He turns over and reaches into his bedside table, going to grab something.
"What are you doing?" I ask him. He rolls back over with a box in hand. He opens it to show me a small locket. "What is this?" I ask him softly, sitting up on my elbow.
The locket is simple, a golden colour and shaped as a heart. It's around average size. Jake says nothing as he leans forward and undoes the clasp of my necklace and slips it off. I just watch as he takes the locket out of the box and wraps it around my neck. The metal is cool and the heart of the locket rests in the center of my chest, almost directly over my pounding heart.
"It's so that you never forget what you're fighting for and will always keep us close to your heart." He says softly, placing his hand over my heart. I reach for the locket, opening it to find a photo of him and Lillian on one side, the other side blank.
"You're adorable." I tell him softly, my love for him seeping into my words. He sticks his tongue out at me as I close the locket. I grab the ring and hold it up to him. He gives me his hand. I take a hold of his palm and place light kisses to each of his fingers as I place the ring on his finger. It fits him perfectly.
"Idiot." He mutters, scooting closer to me. He lifts his hand to examine the ring on his hand. I pull him closer, liking the way the ring looks on him.
"I love you too." I tell him, kissing his cheeks and letting sleep take over my senses.
I look around myself, standing in my pajamas from when I fell asleep. I'm standing in a graveyard. It's pouring rain and a small group of people are gathered around what I assume is a headstone. All of them are dressed in black, many of the people holding umbrellas. Three people stand at the end of the grave dug into the ground. A slim, older woman holding an umbrella in one hand and a child's hand in the other. She wears a heartbroken look and a black dress that ends just under her knees and black gloves. The child's hand she's holding is attached to a young version of the boy I saw with Wynnona. Brett is what I think his name is. His amazingly blue eyes are bloodshot with tears that fall down his face.
I don't know when I got in front of the group of people, but I did. I can see the faces of all the people better. I turn to look at the name on the gravestone. It is a larger one with two names on it, Liam Smith and Mark Smith. My attention turns back to the young boy and I spot a somewhat familiar face. People have started to leave, heading off somewhere to continue mourning the people who had died.
The young girl in front of me is much taller than the boy beside her. All she does is stare down at the graves being filled by people I pay no mind to. Her shaggy red hair is soaking wet, no umbrella is defending her from the hammering rain. She wears a black button down and black skinny jeans, both of which are also wet. Her fists are white, clenched at her sides.
"It's not fair." She whispers. Brett steps away from the woman holding his hand and out into the rain. He wraps his arms around the soaking wet girls' shoulders. "Why do I have to lose two families?" She cries into the boy's shoulder. My heart aches for the two children.
"It will be okay at some point. For now, Gama says she will take care of us." Brett pulls away, wiping at the girl's eyes. Or well, the amazingly deep green eye I can see. Her crimson hair covers her right eye. "So, come on Wyatt." He offers her his hand, one she takes. A police officer comes over to the trio who now stand under an umbrella the woman gave them. Brett holds it as the girl, Wyatt, leans her weight into him. The officer comes over to the two of them.
"Are you two the children of Mark and Liam Smith?" He asks the two softly. Brett nods as he looks up at the man. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I have a letter here from the man who murdered your parents." The officer hands it to the children's grandmother. The only major thought in my head right now is: really? These two just lost their parents, and you're bringing them a letter from their parents' murderer?
"Can I see that?" The young girl asks her grandmother. The older woman hands her the letter. The young girl grabs it and rips it apart.
"Wyatt!" The boy and his grandmother exclaim in shock.
"I don't want some stupid apology letter from that crazy person." She growls. The venom and hatred in her voice sends a chill up my spine. I catch the way her green eye deepens to an almost black colour. "Tell that asshole he can rot in the special place in hell reserved for scum like him, sincerely Wynnona Allen." Her name strikes me.
I wake with a start, covered in sweat with a worried Jake hovering over me.
"Hey." He says softly, placing his hands on my cheeks. I grab his wrists and stare into his calming grey eyes. His soft brown hair is sticking up in all directions. "You're okay." He whispers to me. I feel the cool metal of his ring against my burning skin. I regain my breathing getting it under control before I grab his waist and pull him against me.
"I know who my sister is." I tell him, a wide smile on my face as I kiss him senseless. I kiss every part of his face, once, twice. He laughs at my crazy action.
"Who might that be?" He asks through his giggles. I place my lips to his, not answering him. My mind is reeling from what I have just learned.