"When the roof caved in and the truth came out..."

[bloodonblood]

Who? Saxon Stirling and Caleb McDaniel
What? Things keep changing
When? A couple of days after Brodie and Asher return from Charleston
Where? Saxon's place

Caleb honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. Ever since Brodie's disappearance, he'd been completely on edge, unable to sleep or eat, and worried to the point that he felt sick, and there were actually times, well out of sight of anyone, that Caleb could do nothing but curl up and cry. He was honestly and truthfully brokenhearted at what felt like the loss of his best friend, but more than that, over the last few weeks, there had been no question in Caleb's mind that something was up. Brodie would probably try to deny it, but there was something wrong, and apparently something that Brodie didn't want to tell Caleb.

He took a cab to Saxon's place, not even bothering with driving -- parking was fucking ridiculous in New York, not to mention expensive. It was easier just to take trains and buses and taxis any day of the week. So he ended up just outside Saxon's building with a bag for Brodie over his shoulder -- containing mostly clean clothes and his toothbrush, but also his Star Wars snuggie and stuffed Yoda. There were some things that would never changed. He made his way up to the stairs and buzzed Saxon's place, hoping like hell that this wasn't about to end very badly.

Comments

[bloodonthedancefloor]

It was day time, and Brodie should be sleeping. Well, sleeping per se. You didn't actually need sleep as Kindred, but you tended to shut down during the day to recharge for the wanderings at night. At least he would somewhat have the appearance he was ill when Caleb arrived. Lack of rest and decent sustenance could do that to a Kindred. Through the intercom, he told Caleb to come on up and unlocked the door to wait for him. He had instructions from the Prince not to tell Caleb of The Masquerade just yet. Apparently it had been agreed amongst The Powers That Be that Brodie should know first, and he should have the chance to tell Caleb about his cancer himself. If they started to tell him of their Kind, what Asher was, it would inevitably need to lead to the fact Brodie's blood was tainted. It wasn't a can of worms that needed to be opened just yet.

"Hey, dude," he greeted Caleb when he arrived at the door, giving him a soft companionable pat on the back. "Just take a seat. Do you want coffee?"

[bloodonblood]

As much as he wanted to be able to just settle in for a friendly chat with Saxon, Caleb was 100% on edge. He had to know, as soon as possible, what was going on with Brodie, or it was quite possible that he was going to lose his shit. After Brodie and Asher's downfall as a couple, Caleb had really stepped up to the plate that much more as Brodie's protector. Brodie's heart had been so broken by the loss of Asher, and as the BFF, Caleb had actually been ready to go find Asher himself and give him a piece of his mind. But Brodie had insisted it wasn't necessary, and Caleb had ended up at home anyway, for the sole purpose of comforting his heartbroken best friend, and trying like hell to keep Brodie's head above water when he felt like he was drowning.

So at the question from Saxon, Caleb just shook his head firmly. "Nah, dude. I'm good. I don't need coffee. I just need to know what's up with Brodie. What happened? Where is he?"

[bloodonthedancefloor]

Saxon knew that the news of Asher's death had rocked all their friends to the very core, but no one more than Brodie. Up until very recently, Saxon had honestly believed Asher to be dead. Yes, he was Lilah's companion, but despite the conspiracy theories, she hadn't seen him either. Yet, his designs had still kept coming and all it was Lilah's job to do was to market his designs. Asher didn't need to be present. So, he was either alive or someone was acting on his behalf in the wake of his death. If anyone had been at his memorial service, they would find it near impossible to deny Asher was dead. It had been an awful day, and Brodie had been physically sick at the memorial site when he grief was too much for him to cope with. There had always been this huge question mark over the whole thing, though. Something was weird. Saxon felt stupid for not realising what it had been.

He led Caleb in through to his living room and then took the seat across from him. He had been trying to figure out how best to approach this, but the more he thought about it, the less he knew. It was going to be hard not to fuck up and give too much away. "There's really no easy way to put any of this, so I'm just going to get it out there. Brodie's with Asher. Asher's not dead. He, um..." There was hesitation, because he wanted to get right the cover story they were rolling with until the actual truth could come out. "I've known for a little while. My lover, she's Asher's marketing genius, so we were eventually told he was still alive. He did have an accident, he was hit by a car, but he survived it. Someone tried to kill him. So after that, he was advised to fake his own death to escape the spotlight to protect himself, and protect everyone close to him. He didn't want anyone he loved to be hurt because of him. But he couldn't stay away. When he heard Brodie was in the hospital, he couldn't keep himself away and he's made the choice to come back. He's just, um..." Suicidal? Strange? Undead? "He's different to what he was. He doesn't need anyone having a go at him for the choice he made." Or they would probably find themselves on the rude end of a fanged frenzy.

[bloodonblood]

Shocked wasn't even the word for what Caleb was when Saxon told him that Asher was alive. In fact, when the words left his old friend's lips, Caleb just gave a sharp bark of disbelieving laughter and shook his head. Asher wasn't alive, and Caleb knew it. They'd all been at his fucking memorial for Christ's sake. Caleb had been the one with Brodie when he got that horrible call. He could still see it in his mind, his best friend literally breaking down in tears, and Caleb stepping out to catch him before he collapsed on the floor. What had followed had been hours of Brodie just sobbing brokenly, intermittent with sitting in complete silence, the shock of what he'd heard making him believe that it just couldn't be true. But inevitably, it would sink in again, and he'd be a sobbing mess, clinging to Caleb because he was all that Brodie had there. "Dude, seriously? Asher's... Asher's dead, dude. He's gone. You've got to be kidding me. Dude, people don't come back from the dead. He got hit by a fucking car, Sax."

He shook his head hard, the anger beginning to set in. He understood what Saxon was saying, but he'd been there. He'd seen Brodie hurt like he'd never been hurt before, and it wasn't fucking right. How could Asher do that to the people who loved him? "He didn't want to see the people he loved hurt? What the fuck?! You seriously think that Brodie wasn't hurt hearing that the only guy he's ever fucking loved was smashed by a goddamn four by four? Did he think that was going to be less painful for him? Sax, dude, no offense, but... Brodie died that day, too. There's no other way to explain it. The Brodie I knew is gone. He's gone, and that's because Asher's gone, and... Fuck, dude, you're telling me he went through all that hell for nothing? There's no fucking way. Asher wouldn't do that to Brodie, even if they weren't together then."

[bloodonthedancefloor]

"You would want Asher killed, would you?" Saxon snapped, only just managing to hold himself off from shifting. He was Kindred here too. He was trying to process the fact one of his childhood friends was Kindred after killing himself, and another was dying of cancer. Something Caleb didn't know. Fucking hell, why was all this placed in Saxon's lap to deal with? He knew his involvement was a huge help to the higher powers that be involved in all this, but how the fuck could he be expected to lie through his teeth when everything he said was being opposed like this? "Because that's what you're saying, man, and it's fucking uncool. I'm not denying what Brodie went through, but you're failing to fucking see that Asher did this to protect him!"

He pointed to the door, randomly gesturing in the direction of Westchester where Brodie was at the Carlisle estate. "How do you think it fucking felt for Asher? He lost Brodie and his world fell fucking apart. Then he has to face the notion someone wants him dead, and that as a result, it could put everyone he loves in danger! Brodie had you. He's always had you, he's always needed you. But Asher has a massive history of people trying to hurt him, losing people he loves. So maybe he fucked up. Maybe he got scared and had no fucking clue what else he needed to do, but it's seriously fucking uncool of you to sit here and bitch one of our fucking closest friends out for making mistakes out of being terrified the person he loved was going to get hurt. He's back now and he's trying to put it right, and I can as sure as fucking hell promise you that if you don't cooperate, Asher will make sure you never see Brodie again. The last thing you want to do is underestimate how powerful he is. You know if you make Brodie choose between you and Asher, you will lose every time. You think Brodie died that day? Try stopping and thinking how Asher felt. Because he's your friend too." It was a harsh blow. A very harsh one, but Caleb had to see how serious all this was. He had to be prepared for what was coming next.