I sank to the ground, deciding to wait for Judy's arrival. Thankfully Evelyn hadn't pushed me past the metal gate and locked it, otherwise I really would be trapped in the hallway; at the mercy of anyone who walked by.
Now I had to wait, again.
It was bugging me actually, why hadn't Judy told her about me? They had talked, that was for sure.
As I pondered this, a series of echoing footsteps reached my ears; originating from the dingy stairwell to my right.
They grew ever closer and next second, I saw a recognizable sneaker brave the landing as someone stepped onto the second floor; Judy had returned.
'My knight in shining armour.' I thought, 'Thank god she's here, this place is absolutely disgusting and I don't want to sit on the ground a moment longer.'
Judy turned the corner and blinked, staring at me in confusion.
"Judas? What you are doing out here?" She asked, looking down at my deflated visage.
I glanced up, acting as if noticing her for the first time.
"Ah- that… Someone with blue hair forced me out, I tried telling her about what you said but… She wasn't having any of it."
I avoided asking the obvious question as to why Judy handn't told Evelyn about me; as her getting defensive because of my accusations was the last thing I needed happening right now.
This had to be approached as if I were a neutral third party in the mix.
If I was too overt with my planned usage of Judy as a shield during this upcoming conversation; Evelyn would become even more suspicious of me for utilizing Judy as protection from her judgement.
"Damn, I'm sorry about that." Judy ruffled her hair, looking slightly guilty as she did so. "I invited her over to tell her about what happened to Angel in person; we both knew her after all, she doesn't deserve to learn about it over the holo like I did, that's just cruel."
So that's what it was, makes sense I guess. From a horribly emotional and illogical standpoint.
If I learnt my best friend had died my choice would to be find out where nobody could see me; so I wouldn't have to restrain myself.
"Lets go in, best to get this over with."
With those final words from her, I stood up grabbing one of her many pockets to stabilize myself as she strode past; causing her to look briefly at me before tagging the apartment's open button with one hand.
The door slide open quietly, and we both stepped inside.
Judy and I turned to see Evelyn standing in the corner of the room, evidently waiting for our; or should I say, Judy's return.
She looked surprised to see me again, clearly having commited to the idea of my being some kind of a thief or street urchin.
Ultimately, she decided to ignore my presence there and simply treated me like I didn't exist; instead bringing her gaze up to Judy's and asking a simple question.
"Where's Angela? You mentioned something had happened to her but didn't want to talk over the holo - Why?"
I stared into her eyes silently, trying to decode the emotions hidden behind her calm facade. A sprinkling of doubt was etched there, originating from her reaction to me. Along with, dare I say it; worry.
They were friends after all, it was natural she be worried about Angela's wellbeing.
Her worst fears were confirmed when Judy opened her mouth to reply, revealing a fact I knew all too well.
"Ev, Angel - She's, she's dead." Her voice cracked, a tremor entering the soft tone she had adopted for the delivery.
I felt like comforting my benefactor was the right thing to do in this situation, given my need of an improved relationship with her; but I decided against it, allowing the conversation between the two to pan out undaunted.
I took a quick glance at Evelyn's face, fully expecting some sort of change, only to discover it was exactly the same as before. Without a word, she strode over to the volatile Judy and embraced her, watching as I released my grip on the woman's clothes and stepped back; giving Evelyn full access to Judy's trembling frame.
I locked eyes with Evelyn as they hugged, slowly averting my gaze and staring at the ground; as if I were feeling uncomfortable with their actions.
After a short while Judy calmed down again, and they separated; making their way over to that awful couch next to the wall before sitting down on it.
I noticed a wince enter Evelyn's face as she made contact with it, and it took everything I had not to let out a grin at her reaction. Even the most skilled of masks cracked when faced with sitting on that particular piece of furniture.
It was clear to me now why she was standing awkwardly while waiting for Judy, instead of sitting.
"What happened? Tell me everything."
And she did, right from the beginning.
Judy's story started off when I called her, asking her to come over and then briefly described everything after that; the discovery Angela's corpse and finding out of my heritage, followed by how the policeman had tried to kill her when she called for help.
Judy paused there, looking over at me for a second before continuing her description of my precise method of killing him.
She finished her story by telling Evelyn we had both fled from the scene and our guess of the policeman being the killer.
"Your're sure he's Angels kid?" Evelyn asked, looking me up and down.
"Yeah, they look pretty similar right?; and if that isn't enough I saw an old photo of them together." Replied Judy, smiling faintly as she remembered her friend's happy face.
"Where is this photo?"
'Oh fuck.' I thought, icy realisation flooding my veins. 'The fucking photo. Its still in the apartment isn't it? Right where I dropped it.'
"Its- Shit. Probably still in Angel's place." Judy swore, curling her fist into a ball and smacking it down onto her thigh.
"Even if the NCPD doesn't go public with this like you think they won't; the kid isn't going to be off the hook." Evelyn's voice was cold and pragmatic, the harsh truth of her words pounding into my mind.
I had made a big fucking mistake, and now the entirety of my new life was at risk. My hands started shaking uncontrollably, and I started hyperventilating.
This time it wasn't an act.
Another mistake, just as devastating as my last.
Would failiure ever leave me?
I was going to be imprisoned, even in another world. Just when I thought freedom was within reach, it was ripped away from me yet again.
I felt like I was drowning.
My facade slipped away and I noticed Judy yell my name and rush to support me, but her voice was muffled.
Prison, again. AGAIN.
…
'Alright, I think that's enough. This pitiful show is over.' Pride's voice cut through my panicked rambling. 'They wouldn't arrest a child for life, stop being such a drama queen. Besides, that photo was taken quite a long time ago; dye this hair of ours and swap out those eyes, nobody will be able to connect the two.'
My fear subsided, emotions slinking back under wraps.
He was right, things were different now.
I was grateful Pride helped me get back into control, but it was far too late to repair the damage I had done.
My shaking had stopped, and I realised Judy was kneeling infront of me; hugging me. To the average onlooker it would seem as if her comforting had brought me out of a panic attack; whereas in reality, it was Pride's doing.
I was starting to develop genuine feelings of attatchment for this woman who I'd only truly met a few hours ago. She was just such a kind person, simple as that.
"I- Thank you." I returned the hug, and faltering a little before letting out a heartfelt thanks. Something I hadn't given out to anyone in a long time.
My gaze darted upwards, fervently looking for Evelyn's expression; to confirm the dreaded reaction of mistrust and prejudice as a result of my breakdown.
To my utter astonishment however, what instead came into view was one with an underlying sense of; sympathy?
Evelyn's face was the same cold, unfeeling one it had always been. But her eyes, they were full of pity; and more importantly, every single trace of suspicion was gone.
I shut my eyes, thinking hard.
This was bullshit, things like this didn't just 'go my way' magically. Why was she sitting there looking at me like that? Exactly as I would have wanted her too not two minutes ago.
'So you've caught on then?' Said Pride.
Then it clicked, what I was missing.
The rest of the voices had not spoken up when I fell out of control, even to the point I was losing it.
'Eeexactly, I didn't let them.'
'You…To have that level of authority; you let me have a breakdown?' I asked Pride, questioning him.
'Yes, I might have helped with it a little aswell; stirred up a few unwanted memories to speed up the process.'
'Why?' My inner voice was taking on a dangerous tone now, gripping the voice of Pride with my entire focus.
'You know why. Why are you asking me to repeat it.'
'I want to hear it directly from you, not because I 'figured it out' too late.' My grasp on him tighened.
'Fine, fine. I let it happen because we needed to fool our resident critic,' Pride indicated Evelyn's frozen figure, 'Into thinking we are actually who we say we are.'
'Letting that happen was unnecessary, she already believed we were Angela's son.'
'That doesn't mean she wouldn't have opposed Judy's decision to take us in.'
'You think she would have listened to Evelyn and kicked us out? Are you stupid?'
'She wouldn't have, but it could've caused their relationship to become rocky. Rocky enough that Judy may have refusde to help Evelyn with the BD concerning the heist.'
I nearly exploded in anger at his infuriating series of replies.
'Useless conjecture. It could it might, shut the fuck up - it wouldn't have happened. When did you start to care about the maintaining the storyline anyway; was that entire speech about 'repainting the tapestry to our liking' just bullshit?'
Pride waved off my jibe uncaringly, before continuing his case. 'Getting the perfect ending doesn't need to involve changing every little detail about the painting.'
There was no point trying to reason with this voice, he was too Prideful to accept he was wrong and to be completely honest; deep down, I didn't think he was wrong either.
I recalled Evelyn's face, answering Pride for a final time. 'The ends don't justify the means, especially not when they put us at risk like that.'
I could tell Pride wanted to argue back, about how there was no risk because it was all planned. But I was done indulging in his desires; this had gone too far.
I pushed him down into the dark with the others, and opened my eyes.
Evelyn spoke again, her tone amused as she stared down at us both. "I take it you'll be caring for him then?"
"Yeah, I thought you'd be more opposed to the idea though." Replied Judy, turning around to look at her.
"I would have been, still am a bit… But in the end it's your decision, and you seem to have a handle on things. Meanwhile I'll try to get my hands on that photo." Said Evelyn, standing up and striding over to me.
She pinched my cheek, and pulled on a lock of my hair studiously before saying, "If it comes down to it, visiting a ripper for some changes might not be a bad idea. Think on it."
She then hugged Judy one more time and walked to the door, stepping out into the hallway.
"I didn't even get to thank her." Muttered Judy, brooding a little over her friend's quick departure.
I could hate Pride's methods all I wanted; however their efficiency, I couldn't deny.
(A/N: It has been 11 chapters and not a single day has passed in the actual story. When I think about the extra year you guys voted onto the timeline I start weeping tears of blood.)