The ride was silent. Uncomfortable, but needed. As Clayton sits in the car alone. He could help, but think about where to go from here. Nathan was in a dollar general trying to get them somewhat of a phone, while he groveled and grieved the entire time. It wasn't like he needed help. Clayton gave him the money. But the thought of continuously dragging him around, knowing that he has his own shit going on… felt conniving. Like he was a parasite, constantly nagging and stealing all of the other's happiness. And Nathan was his victim.
The feeling of guilt and sorrow flooded itself through the man's heart. Was he really a parasite? Leeching off of anything and anyone who agreed to help him.
Was he really that selfish?
The sound of the car door swooshed open, leaving a nice wave of cold crisp air to dance along Clayton spine. But it didn't compare to bitterness that surrounded his heart.
"Ready to get something?" Nathan's smile didn't seem to match the ambiance that surrounded the car before. It seemed…nice. "I've been craving an iced coffee. Since I don't know how long." As the key cranked into ignition, the two couldn't help but grab their phones to try and set them up. It had been a few hours since they left the fire, so they had enough time to go to the mechanics, and grab what was left of their phones. Clayton's phone was at least complete. His screen may have been cracked, it slightly turned on if you turned it at a certain angle. Nathan's phone, on the other hand, was far beyond help. At this point, they wouldn't be surprised if he had to get a different number. The backing was flipped out and the screen was absolutely ripped. He keeps saying "it's fine." But the look that purged when he said those words… weren't okay.
As Clayton pushed his SMS card into the new phone, he watched as the screen slowly began to light up. Although it's been a while since he'd seen a green robot shine his way on a screen, he was somewhat proud of the memories that danced along his mind.
He couldn't help, but smile at the simple home screen that displayed time, date and weather… and several missed messages.
Heaven: Hay! Are you taking time off? Don't be working, Y'know.
Devin: Hay! Are you coming to work?
Yas♥️: (thirty) missed calls
Yas♥️: (two) videos sent
Clayton looked at the last two messages in confusion. She sent him something? And he didn't see it! As he tapped on the notification, he watched as the phone flashed white before showing the message history. Two videos popped up on the screen waiting for him to open. Feeling somewhat hesitant, he does.
"Hello? Clay? I fell under the floorboards in 2435 Long street and I… I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it." The scared woman continued to go on about how she found a name in the archive, Epson Deainon. On the back she found an address, that address. As she went on, she talked about the barley functioning light and the feeling of falling. She didn't know how long she was down there, but everything seemed to be fused together.
The next video…sounds much more sinister. As she huffed, Clayton couldn't help notice the sound of fire blazing in the background. She began to go on about how she tried to call for help, but was shot. She didn't know who, but someone shot her. As her breathing became weaker, Clayton could hear the sound of her slamming onto a hard surface before the video clipped out.
He could feel Nathan's eyes on him. For a second, he forgot he was here. With everything going on with Yas, he forgot he wasn't right there with her. But either way, it still confirmed what he feared.
She was in that fire.
And he left.
The feeling of satisfaction slowly dissolved as he realized what he's accidentally done. He couldn't turn back now, it's been hours since they last were there. Surely the place had turned to ashes. In an act to silence the voices in his head, he quickly pressed the power button to shut off the phone.
He tried to focus on anything else. The feeling of the engine purring or the sound of the rain hitting the windshield, but nothing worked. He hated this feeling. The feeling he felt when he left his best friend to die. But still, that was nothing compared to this. He lost his child, his wife, hell he couldn't even keep his dog. He felt Nathan's hand on his back, but it still didn't comfort him.
As they waited for their time to order. They talked. Clayton couldn't honestly care what it was about, but they talked. At first it was about how he was feeling, then it just… teetered off. Put in random topics, making jokes… Nathan made everything look, alright. Even though it wasn't.
"Hello! what can I get you?" The voice sounded deep. And his tone… Clayton swears he heard that voice before. But who? Nathan took the time to order them both something to drink. For him, a classic Vanilla Iced coffee. For the other… just a hot chocolate. After he confirms the order, Nathan quickly pulls up to the car that's been sitting in front of them for the last fifteen minutes.
"How do you do it? Nathan. Be so happy, I mean." Clayton meant it. How did he stay so positive? He wasn't much better than him. Both "lost" their children, both don't have a loved one in their life. They had no one. Although the question was serious he only received a bellyful laugh in response. After that, A smile spreaded on his face. One that was infectious. Clayton couldn't help but give the same one back. "What? Did I say something wrong?" They both exchanged laughs before Clayton started speaking.
"Nothing… just. I'm glad you're speaking okay." Nathan began to speak about his life. He grew up sad, mother wasn't fully there mentally. His father hated it, so he acted angry as well. As they grew up his siblings lived in fear. Constantly running away from home, constantly doing drugs to escape their surroundings. And there was just him… sitting at home. Studying for some "childish" exam.
He remembered staying up, for hours on end, making sure that there wasn't one chance for him to fail. In the end he did. He didn't get into any honors classes, he didn't get any special medals when he graduated. He didn't get anything.
But for some reason, he was happy. He felt as if he tried his best. And to him… he felt great.
Clayton couldn't help but feel something for the man. On one hand, he fought hard to get where he got. On the other hand, he didn't get far. Now he was without a family… without someone to love him.
He was alone.
The car went quiet after Nathan spoke about his life. Leaving a somewhat uncomfortable air around them. He didn't want to leave it, but what could he say? "Yeah, I had to leave my family as well." It seemed cocky, and centering the whole situation around him wasn't his goal. But he had to say something. Something meaningful, something that would help, something…
The sound of the person at the window interrupted his thoughts as quickly as they came.
"You ordered the chocolate and coffee, right?" The face that held the voice struck Clayton like a truck on the freeway.
"Tayvion? Oh my god, how are you?" Clayton leaned over, slightly happy to leave the past conversation in the dust. "I haven't seen you in forever." Tay began to go one about how college took forever to finish. Granted, most of it was due to his obsessive partying and bad grades, but still. After he received his diploma in communications, he spent the last few weeks trying to get random work experience.
As he talked, Clayton couldn't help but notice the stern and aggravated looks Tayvion and Nathan exchanged with each other. They looked as if they wanted to reach over and kill the other. They seemed… unnerved.
"Let's just hope he didn't poison anything." Nathan hesitantly grabbed the cups from the man before looking through the tops. It wasn't like he was actually gonna see something, but the action of sealing in mistrust was absolute. Tay looked at him with some sort of sourness. Almost as if he ate the world's nastiest orange.
"If I did, I would be happy to see you die." After he rolled his eyes in resentment, he closed the slidable window before taking the next order. As Clayton took in the awkwardness and the sound of Nathan's cursing, he couldn't help but wonder what resided between them.
"Can I ask about that…" The detective's voice trailed off as he noticed one thing in particular. An envelope. Just as red as the first one. With gold embroidery, it laid ever so nicely taped to Nathan iced coffee. As he eyed it, Nathan's eyes slowly did the same. Though, his lips were already wet with the liquid of his drink.
Clayton reached out to grab ahold of the letter. The letter felt so different from the first one. The first felt so paper like, while this one… felt like a fabric. The envelope felt silky along his fingers as he felt over the grooves. If it wasn't for the fact that the letter had a terrible meaning, this would be a pretty wedding invitation. Still, he knew he would have to open the letter up eventually.
Hearing the fabric rub against each other sent chills down the two spines. With each less fold, Clayton could feel his vision becoming more and more dim. He could hear the cars beeping around them, he could hear Tayvion sliding open the door to tell them to leave. But they couldn't.
"What does it say?" Nathan drowned out the things as well. "Read it!" Clayton's eyes scanned the paper that was glued to the blood colored fabric. He took in every piece of information before speaking once more.
"Poison your drink? Yeah right." As the words left his mouth, he could feel his vision becoming more and more dark. "We need to get off the road." As he tried to keep his vision safe, he could feel the jerking of the car going forward. He could hear Nathan talking, but his voice wasn't any better than he was. As he drove, he tried to talk himself into being awake.
"We just gotta get somewhere safe. That's all we gotta do." Nathan grabbed the steering wheel with both hands in order to keep his balance. Suddenly, reaching somewhat of a good spot, he quickly jerked the vehicle into a good position.
At this point, Clayton could feel his hands getting more and more numb. He didn't know what that woman put in his drink, but god, it worked. With what little amount of strength he had, he slowly moved his eyes over to Nathan. He watched his head slowly fall into his shoulders. He was out.
Clayton began to breathe heavily to keep himself somewhat stable. He had to keep breathing, he couldn't afford to just pass out. He could jus…
The sound of heels hitting the floor caused the man's attention to deviate for a good bit. As the car rumbles outside of a construction site, he couldn't help but wonder who it was who lingered out here. Still, he could forget to focus his breathing.
"Damn it." He reached over to tap on the car's illuminated screen. He didn't know what number he pressed, but he needed help. The phone rang a while before someone's voice echoed through the entire vehicle.
"Hello?" The woman's voice sounded old, yet young. New, yet familiar. He didn't know who this was, but he needed to get help. Clayton began to tell them about the coffee, the note, and what horrific medicine they placed in their drink. He didn't know why he told them everything. He just did. He ended off saying his location before leaving time for her to speak.
Nothing.
Suddenly, he could feel a rush of wind hitting his skin. Then, the feeling of a hand and cloth quickly made its way to his mouth. He couldn't fight it though. As he struggled to breathe, he could feel his voice being repeated back to him through the car.
They'd won.