Oh Brother ** (EDMUND)

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Addilyn Slater was sick of her siblings. And if you knew her, that was really saying something. Addi would never say that. Addi would never admit to disliking grey and Claire. However, very recently, they've both done a 180 on her and were different people. Whether or not it was because of her, was something she did not know. Well... apparently Grey wanted to be safe over Addilyn, so now she had to watch her back constantly to make sure Theodosia wasn't out to get her at any waking moment. But Claire....she was on her own planet and Addi wasn't going to continue delving into her petty issue.

She had just come inside from smoking a cigarette and wanted to go sit in the library. Peace and quiet, that's all she wanted. As soon as she walked in, she made her way over to the furthest corner, so no one would see her. She sat on the loveseat, her knees pulled up to her chest, and looked out the window. She took a deep breath, and a small tear fell down Addilyn's face. Why couldn't she just be happy?

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Edmund couldn't find Addi and it was driving him crazy. He spoke to her brother the night before only to learn the Theodosia lied to him and that Grey wasn't talking to Addi to protect her. Edmund couldn't help but feel guilty now. The whole thing was his fault. Sure, Addi would have noticed that Grey wasn't talking to her, that he was- in fact- avoiding her, but it was Edmund who told her that Grey was doing it for selfish reasons. And now she was broken. He never imagined Addi could be so sad and depressed, but it was bad. She even avoided him for a week! Now he wanted to tell her the truth, but he wasn't sure she would believe him, but the first step to telling her anything was finding her and he was running out of places to look.

Finally he went to the library, giving up his search for her. He would find her later, in class if nothing else and then he could tell her that they needed to talk. He walked in and made his way to his favorite spot, a corner where few people ever went. He froze when he recognized the long blonde hair. Addi. He made his way over to her quickly, taking in her body language as he approached. She was curled up on the couch, hugging her knees and when he got close enough he realized she was crying as well. "Adds," he muttered quietly, hoping to not scare her as he sat down next to her on the loveseat, reaching over and wrapping his arms around her. "Did something happen?" Edmund whispered softly, hoping nothing else happened to make things worse for her. What he really wanted to do was just tell her about Grey, tell her the truth, but he had a feeling he had to ease her into it. She wasn't in a good place right now.

@jill2

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Addi heard Edmund's voice, but she kept her gaze out the window. She felt movement on the seat next to her, and the next thing she knew his arms were wrapped around her and he whispered into her ear. Addi let her head rest on his shoulder and she lifted a hand to wipe away the tear that had streaked down her cheek. Sniffling, she shook her head. "No...nothing else happened. Just...sad." Addi lifted her head up and turned to look into Edmund's eyes.

She sat up more and moved her right leg underneath her and her left leg was still bent towards her chest. Addi faced Edmund more and tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

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When Addi put her head on his shoulder, Edmund was relieved. A part of him was nervous that even after everything that happened yesterday, Addi would still try to pull away from him, but she wasn't and he was so glad. Especially when he had such great news to tell her. But ... how to do it? When she said that nothing else happened, he tightened his arms around for a moment, showing her that he was there for her.  "I'm sorry, Adds," he whispered softly. 

Then she sat up and turned to face him, asking him what was wrong. He cocked his head to the side slightly, surprised by her question. Nothing was wrong. Other than the fact that he didn't know how to tell her what he learned about Grey. Then an idea popped into his head. He gave a soft smile, "Nothing is wrong, but I have a question for you. Do you- do you think I would ever lie to you?" he asked sincerely, his eyes searching hers as he waited for her answer. If she said no things would be so much easier; if she said yes, he didn't know what he would do. Either way, he was going to tell her the truth about Grey. He didn't want her thinking badly of him and being so upset for no reason. Not when he could fix it.

@jill2

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Edmund squeezed her gently and Addi let out a sigh. His arms made her feel safe, always. He apologized, but Addilyn had given up on trying to tell him he didn't need to apologize. Absolutely nothing that was currently going on was Edmund's fault. If anything, she should be apologizing for ignoring him for an entire week. But Addi knew that Ed was just trying to be helpful, and that was all that really mattered. Right...?

His next question brought a slight surprise to her. Why would he ask something like that? Her eyebrows furrowed together, she sat up more to look him in the eyes better. Addi opened her mouth, wanting to answer, then shut it again. Was this a trick question? She coughed gently and tilted her head at Edmund. "Well...I think it depends on what exactly you were telling me..." She wanted to ask why, but she hoped that Edmund would just tell her.

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As Addi tried to decide how to answer him, Edmund watched her confused expression. She opened her mouth, then closed it and seemed at a loss for words. Blast. That meant that she wasn't going to say when he wanted her to say. When she said it depended on what he was saying, he couldn't hide his disappointment from her. What was the point in trying, she'd see it anyway. "Adds, I would never lie to you," he told her earnestly. "Especially not about anything really important. Maybe little white lies here and there, but never anything important. I promise. Do you believe me?" He asked, turning so he was facing her on the couch and reaching forward to take her hand in his own. She needed to believe him, but even if she didn't, the next thing he was going to do was tell her the truth. He hoped she'd believe him though. It meant a lot to him.

@jill2

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Addilyn suddenly became extremely nervous. What was he going to say? What was wrong? Did he not really love her? Was that the lie? Or was the lie that he was going to tell him family? Were they going to have to stay secret forever? Her heart began beating faster as she nodded her head to Edmund. "I...I don't know Edmund. I need to hear what it is first...I can't just believe you, especially if you've already said you've lied before." Goodness...this is not what she needed anymore.

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Edmund's mouth fell open slightly. She thought he lied to her? He put that bit about white lies in just in case, but he'd never purposely lied to her. Ever. He omitted truth sometimes, like when she wanted to date Kyle and he didn't tell her how much he cared for her. "I've never lied to you Adds," he muttered softly. He wasn't going to start an argument about it though. He paused a moment before telling her what happened. "And I really hope you believe what I'm about to tell you. Yesterday I cornered Grey to get mad at him about how he's been ignoring you. We ended up talking for a while and he told me something different than Theodosia did. He told me she offered to leave you alone if he had no contact with you and I t makes more sense. I think it really just fits in more with what I know about your brother, don't you think?" He watched her closely. Would she believe him or would she think he was lying? Since apparently she suspected him of lying before.

@jill2

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. He now looked offended, which was a complete accident, but he was the one that said stuff about little white lies, not her! She hadn't assumed he'd ever lied to her before, but when he said that, she began questioning things. Why wouldn't she? That was an in to him saying he's lied before. And now he was saying he's never lied. Addi's face scrunched up in confusion as to what he was trying to get at, but then he spoke again and her eyes widened slightly.

Grey...wasn't trying to save himself? Well she highly doubted that! Not with the way he walked away from her after she punched him! If that was the case he probably would've said something to her, he would've had someone tell her. Even Claire! Addi lowered her eyes at Edmund. "I believe you when you said he told you that. But I don't believe what he told you. I think he lied to you. If that was the truth, I would've known about it. I wouldn't have had to punch him. He probably just wants me to feel bad about what I did to him." Her anger was rising, and she didn't even recall if she had snapped at Edmund or not, but she hadn't meant to...

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She was angry. There was no denying that. The only thing he couldn't tell was who her anger was directed at. He knew she was angry at Grey, but he didn't know if she was mad at him for believing her brother. He didn't know what to do. Edmund saw the anxiety, sorrow and disappointment in Greys eyes. He recognized that look and knew Grey was telling the truth. Yet, by the look in Addi's eyes, she didn't want to see it. Edmund felt bad for Grey. It was going to be much harder for him to get Addi's forgiveness. "I'm sorry Adds, I wasn't trying to upset you. I really do believe him, but I'm not going to push you," he told her, squeezing her hand gently. "I love you," Edmund added softly. Hopefully she wouldn't push him away again. He could handle anything but that ...

@jill2

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

He squeezed her hand and Addi just looked at him. She wasn't angry with him; slightly upset that he believed Grey but she wasn't going to fight with him about that. Edmund was allowed to have his own beliefs and even if it was her stupid brother she wasn't going to tell him not too. However, Addilyn did wish that Edmund was...more on her side for this. She was hurting, and completely broken. And yet he was with Grey on this one. "I'm always upset, Edmund. There isn't really anything you could do to upset me more, I don't think. Yes, I wish you didn't believe him. I highly doubt he's telling the truth. It's how he is, selfish, trying to get everyone to pity him."

She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes, calming her thoughts. Letting it out slowly Addi looked down at their intertwined hands. "I love you too, E..."

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Edmund didn't want to talk about this anymore. He knew it wasn't making her happy, that it just made him worse. He sighed, giving in. She'd probably be angrier if he didn't say anything in response. "It wasn't his words that convinced me, Adds. And I don't feel pity for him, he did this to himself. But until I met you, I spent my life watching people and I'm good at spotting liars. I believe him because I could see the regret in his eyes. If I didn't see that for myself, I would definitely still be angry at him. I probably would have punched him," he mused quietly. 

When she said she still loved him, Edmund scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her again. How he wished he could take her pain away. But he couldn't. He ran his hands up and down her back gently, trying to help her calm down and relax. He kissed the top of her head gently, not even looking around to check if anyone was watching. They were in the corner of the library and at the moment, he didn't care who saw them. He needed to be there for her. 

@jill2 

[Deleted]

@edmund
<3

Addi couldn't help but chuckle at Edmund's words. It wasn't the best time to do so, but she just had to. "Don't worry, Edmund. I already got the punching covered." It was something she now found slightly amusing. The day of though, was horrible. She had felt so bad that she caused her brother physical pain. But now, she could really care less. "In his eyes or not Edmund...he was selfish for what he did."

He hugged her tighter and she felt her body just lean into him, begging to be squeezed. A few more tears fell from her eyes as he rubbed her back and gave her a gentle kiss on the head. Addilyn knew no one was around to see, but it was still the fact that he did it, that he wasn't afraid to show that in front of people, meant a lot to her.

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The last thing Edmund expected was for Addi to start laughing. Then she said she had the punching covered and Edmund smiled. "That was a pretty intense punch," he complimented her. He nodded a little when she said Grey was selfish, even though he didn't think that was quite the right way to word it. "He definitely wasn't thinking about how it would affect you," he agreed. 

After that he just held her tight and close. He figured when she was tired of him, she'd pull away but until then he was going to keep her as close as possible. 

---the end---

@jill2