Complicated People Who: Gavin & Kat Where: Kat's place When: Afternoon, Sunday 11/12
There was only one sibling left who did not know Gavin's daughter was home safe. Kat had been out of town and this wasn't really the sort of thing you told people over the phone. Not to mention she'd been pissed off at Gavin the last time he met her so he'd almost regaled the duty of telling to Aaron. It was better in person though and once he heard she was home he took a walk with the dogs to Black Cove since she hadn't come to church that morning. He spotted her as he came down the street, still outside at her car and realized that if he'd come much sooner he'd have missed her. He slowed as he neared the house, giving her a little wave when he thought he got her attention.
Kat hadn’t been home longer than half an hour. She’d been uncertain about going on a buying trip with all the uncertainty about Amelia, but she didn’t figure Gavin would want her help-- if indeed there was anything she could have done beyond the initial search parties-- and she’d needed to get out of town for a bit. She knew that Aaron would get in touch with her if there was any unfortunate news, and she’d held her breath every time her phone had made a sound. All in all it had been an uneventful few days, and she was currently working on taking out the items she’d Tetrised into her car. Around her on the driveway were a couple of boxes of carefully wrapped vases and glassware and an antique plant stand; she’d paused to stretch her back when she noticed Gavin approaching.
Instantly her stomach dropped to her toes; was he here with bad news? He didn’t look upset, necessarily, although it was sometimes hard to tell with Gavin. She moved closer, her brow furrowing slightly. “Hey,” she said, extending a hand toward the nearest dog.
Things might be a little sour between them but the dogs still liked her, panting happily up at her with Max licking her hand when she reached down. Gavin watched them with a faint smile then gave her a curious look. He had no idea how she'd take the news and he was always more on edge with the women in his life than he was with the men. She might just get pissed off at him for not telling her sooner, for not calling her and telling her to come home if he didn't want to tell her over the phone. "Hey," he said quietly. "Can we talk?" He didn't want to have this conversation outside but she still had an awful lot of things to carry inside. Maybe he could leave the dogs to stand guard, they'd at the very least look the part.
Kat probably looked blank, but she was trying to process her feelings about what he might be there to tell her. Her heart thudded unpleasantly in her throat, and she swallowed. “Of course,” she said with a slight nod. “Come up on the porch. We can talk there.” From there she could make sure nobody made off with her estate sale haul, although she thought it unlikely anyone would in this neighborhood. She led the way to her wide front porch with its cushioned wicker furniture, taking a seat on the chair and leaving the two-seater couch for him and the dogs.
Gavin sat down and the dogs followed suit, Max staying close to his feet while Rude moved to sniff around and explore the space they so rarely visited. It hit Gavin how little he knew about his sister. He'd shielded her and Aaron for years but in a way Aaron had also shielded her from her older brothers. Gavin had moved out so young and it was strange to love someone he didn't really know. He tried to find the words and it should have been easy, considering how many times he'd told this story now. It was different with Kat, he knew what to avoid with his brothers, the pitfalls and possible problems. His sister though, did she even believe in the supernatural? She came to church every so often but that didn't tell Gavin much. "Amelia's safe," he finally blurted out, finding his phone and looking up the picture of her and Jasper before handing the phone over. "It's all a little... She's older, she's... I can't explain it."
Things had never been easy between Kat and Gavin, but that didn’t mean she didn’t wish they were better. She was honestly surprised to see him here but definitely not displeased. She wasn’t expecting what he said, though. “Older?” she parroted, blinking at him. Amelia being safe was the main important thing, but the rest of what he told her wasn’t registering. She took his phone when he handed it to her, looking at the picture of Jasper and a girl who looked vaguely familiar. After a few moments of staring at the photo, she used her fingers to enlarge it, making the girl’s face as large as she could and still make out detail. She felt sure Gavin wouldn’t tell her a thing like that unless he fully believed it, but it was hard to take in. “How did you find her?” she asked finally, putting the picture back to normal size.
"She found us," Gavin replied. "I came home and there she was, Jasper looking at me expectantly until I recognized her." He let out an amused little huff and shook his head. "I know it's... it's crazy but I uh, I talked to the sheriff. He had a DNA test done and it's really her." Gavin hadn't really needed to see that test but it was good to have it on hand for anyone else. He pulled the rumpled piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Kat. "She was taken somewhere, she doesn't know where but... time went faster, I guess. She fought her way out through some... black stuff. She thought we'd all be older too."
“None of this makes any sense,” Kat said. Her tone was mildly stunned though not necessarily disbelieving. She reached over to set her brother’s phone on his thigh before taking the paper he was pushing at her. Blinking, she tried to focus her eyes on it. She’d never read a DNA test before but she’d take Gavin’s word on its accuracy. “Has she said what happened while she was gone?” she asked, not lifting her gaze. What had her niece gone through? She hated to think about a child that young being taken somewhere without her family and spending years. It was wonderful that she was safe, but so many years had been lost. Kat wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it; it was a strange sense of relief mixed with unease. Was Amelia happy? Would she be okay? It was too soon to know that, probably.
"She told us some things," Gavin said, studying his sister as she focused on the DNA test. "It didn't make a whole lot of sense. It got dark, she said, then she was standing in a street. No animals, no snow, hardly any people. She's starting to forget and I don't know, Kat. It might be a good thing. She's terribly skinny, probably not for long the way she's eating now though." He paused and cleared his throat, leaning forward a little bit. "Kat... We can't tell mom and dad, mom would tell dad and he'd... tell everyone who cared to listen. Nobody can know she's back unless they're close to us and can keep their mouths shut."
Personally, Kat never wanted to forget anything. She needed those memories, even the terrible ones, to keep her sharp and focused, to ensure she never became too soft. But she could only imagine why her niece might want to do that very thing. She was staring blankly at the paper in her hand, and her gaze lifted to her brother at what he said next. Her lips tightened, and she held back a twitch of irritation. Not at Gavin for once, but at the very thought of her parents. “Of course,” she said crisply. “I’d never tell them a thing.”
Gavin could have guessed that, none of his siblings had any love for their parents and why the hell would they? There had been too much pain, violence and bullshit coming from that direction, whatever love there could have been had been smothered at birth. "Good," he said quietly. "Thanks, Kat." He wasn't much of a talker and things were still awkward between them so he glanced out at her car and nodded toward the things she hadn't brought inside yet. "You need help with that?"
Their relationship would never be perfect, most likely, but Kat was willing to put the most recent dust-up behind them. It was like that with her and Gavin: a step forward, two back, two forward, and so on. They were all complicated people. For now she was willing to be ecstatic that her niece was safe, even under unusual circumstances. “Sure, if you don’t mind,” she said, handing the DNA test paper back and getting up. Two could get it done more quickly than one, and she was eager to settle in and relax for a while after her trip.
Gavin folded the paper and slipped it in his pocket again. "I don't mind," he muttered though he wouldn't be carrying anything heavy - that usually fell to Aaron who would likely do a better job of this than he would. Fortunately it didn't seem like she'd been buying anything huge so that was an awkwardness he could avoid. "You should come over for dinner sometime, meet her," he muttered as he followed her off the porch, the dogs following them curiously.
Kat realized that his words were apt. It probably would feel like meeting Amelia for the first time, because the last time she’d seen the girl, she was a young child. “Anytime you want,” she said with a slight smile. “Just let me know.” She directed her brother as to what was fragile and what wasn’t and they got to work. Between the two of them, it wouldn’t take long.