After an hour or two, when the sun finally set, Eli, Charles, and I found oureelves sitting amicably around the living room in an alcohol induced haze that was oddly pleasant. For the first time, we weren't worried about The Triad or executing the plan. There was no tension or anxiousness.

It felt nice to just sit and talk like normal human beings for a change. It almost made me forget about the things outside.

The events from earlier seemed to blend together until they slipped my mind.

The Eagle Rare bottle was still a quarter full but no one took more than a few sips of the drink. I may not say it aloud, but I was certainly a lightweight. And Eli probably was too. That being said, any more than a few sips and I would go from loose and tipsy to shit-faced.

I wasn't an avid drinker but in the weeks that I had previously been alone, I grew very knowledgeable in how well the liquid could numb not only the senses but also pain.

Mixing it with Valium made it even better.

Even though he had been the most modest when it came to drinking, Charles, for once, seemed to actually be comfortable. He had laid the previously victimised post it notes aside and managed to sit and converse pleasantly without fidgeting or having an edge to his voice.

I was rubbing my hands together as the three of us spoke in utter contentment. The room was lit by only two battery powered UV mini-lamps that showered the room in a dim blue haze.

I'd pulled down my kevlar body suit to my waist so that my skin could get a chance to breathe. I wore a white tank top underneath that I'd taken from the drawers upstairs.

"I mis' the holidays," I started as we continue our ongoing conversation about the endless amount of things that we lamented before the word turned to shit. Most of it was random and had no purpose being said but that was ok. "Everyone was happy then. All those Christmas songs and red and green everywhere. My favorite color is green," I continued with a lopsided grin.

During the holidays, my brother and I used to sneak out to the the golf course at night and play a few holes. We could barely see the balls and rarely ever found them after the first stroke but the game really didn't matter. We didn't even keep score.

It was just fun.

"I used to like setting up the Christmas tree every year when I was younger," Charles reminisced with his pale blue eyes trailing off into a thoughtful memory.

Eli added nothing and had recently become less and less talkative. Unlike me, he did not appear to be an especially energized drinker. In fact, it seemed to dim him down. Yet his manner remained cordial as he listened to us ramble on.

I hiccuped as I thought about the white tree I used to set up in the living room with my mom. Her and I typically did the tree while my brother and dad did the lights outside.

Charles snorted. "I remember this one time my grandparents got me this huge container of sidewalk chalk when I was in the third grade. And I spent the next afternoon using the side of my neighbor's house as a canvas since it was real flat and all brick," Charles starged, using his hands to estimate the size. "But that neighbor ended up almost calling the police on me since she thought I was 'vandalizing'."

I giggled girlishly as I imagine a miniature Charles running from the cops.

"What a bitch," I noted, rubbing my hands over my face since I felt like I was losing feeling in my cheeks.

"Yeah, she really was," Charles agreed, "She had a pet ferret too. What kind of middle aged chick has a ferret?"

I shrugged with a grin that didn't seem to want to leave my face.

"I dunno, but my uncle's neighbor used to host dog fights," I offered with a shrug.

"That's messed up," Charles noted.

"Most people are," I replied.

"Do you remember that t-time when Sidney drew all ov-over Kailen's driveway with chalk?" Eli asked suddenly and with a distant voice.

Charles nodded. His grin waned.

"Yeah, and she came to my apartment, crying, because she was because she thought Kailen would be mad," Charles said fondly.

"Then she got so upset when the rain washed it all away," Eli continued, his genial demeanor seemed to dim as he spoke. I might have commented on it if I hadn't been so buzzed.

"And then Kailen spent that next afternoon helping her redraw it," Charles finished and my grin widened.

"Kailen was a real good guy wasn' he?" I asked before I could stop myself. They frequently brought up the late leader when talking about Wither Gate and always with great respect.

"He was," Charles replied. "Kailen took good care of the people of Wither Gate and even to the newcomers like us. I know he'd lost his family at the beginning but I think that's why he reached out to others because most of them had suffered the same way," Charles continued with a renewed sincerity in his tone.

Eli nodded wistfully. "Kailen was more than just the leader of Wither Gate," Eli said. "He was Wither Gate."

"He was too good for this world," Charles added quietly, speaking more to himself than to us.

It was quiet for a moment.

"I miss my family," I admitted. The loss of my brother had struck the hardest but knowing that I probably wouldn't see my mom or dad again had taken a bit longer to settle in. I was never especially close to them since they were often away at work or on trips and had a nanny take care of us until we were twelve. But I still held a small, lingering hope that a couple named Yasmin and Donovan, the former CEO and CPA of Mare Tech Corp, were still out there somewhere, surviving amongst the rubble.

It wasn't a practical belief but it made losing them a little easier.

"Me too," Charles agreed, "I miss Floppy"

"Floppy?" I asked, assuming it was the name of a pet.

"He was my dog," Chatles replied, rubbing his nose subconsciously. "He was this big, sleepy ol' basset hound that I'd had since senior year in highschool. He was a good dog. I just don't know what happened to him."

"Maybe he's jus' taking a nap," I offered lamley.

"He probably would be," He replied, grinning thinly.

Eli sniffed loudly as his thumb rubbed against the underside of his wrist. His eyes were glazed over with dejection and his posture had become withdrawn.

"I lied to you," Eli suddenly admitted to Charles with his gaze focused on the ground. The calm guilt in Eli's words changed the room's atmosphere like an incoming storm.

Charles brows furrowed as his formally casual expression turned serious.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I didn't grow up in downtown Ta-tallahassee like I said," Eli started before pausing which gave me time to ponder the reason for his dark tone. Not living in Tallahassee wasn't wasn't the end of the world.

Or so I thought.

"I didn't have a big family like I'd said. I wasn't a big brother. I didn't have an aunt named Claire. It was just me and my mom and we lived in Grey Cove," Eli continued. I sat quietly, unsure of how to respond. He had told me little of his prior homelife during the short time that I'd known him.

"You mean the trailer park? The one a few miles outside of Tallahassee?" Charles asked, his pale blue eyes were now serious.

"Yeah, t-that one. The one everyone used to call Hillbilly Cove," Eli replied with little inflection in his voice.

Based off of his description, one could assume that Grey Cove wasn't the most luxurious place.

Charles shook his head. "I didn't know," He said gently.

Eli nodded. "Nobody did," He said grimly, "Nobody knew that my mom was a drunk. They didn't know t-that after my dad left that she tried to OD on aspirin when I was in t-the sixth grade," Eli said and my narrow eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't t-tell anyone that Claire was actually o-our neighbor and later on my moms d-dealer. No one knew that I was the one who lit Claire's trailer on fire w-when she wasn't home so that she would stop giving my mom drugs. No one could even imagine that I was the kid breaking into the neighbors t-trailer homes and stealing people's money and valuables so that we could pay the rent. And t-th-that's just the start," Eli vented darkly as though recalling details from a past life that he wished to forget. I can't describe how he was feeling under that somber mask of a face.

All I knew was that he wasn't lying

It was hard to believe that someone as timid and kindly as Eli would have experienced or even done those things. But looks are deceiving and most people are better liars than we give them credit for.

Charles was stunned for a moment as he processed the new, and concerning, information that had been unknowingly plaguing Elijah's past. Charles turned his head to the left before running his hand over his mouth.

I stayed silent, knowing that this wasn't my affair but also because I didn't know what to say.

"Jesus gosh Eli I..." Charles started but Eli kept his eyes downcast. A silent tear had slid down the side of his cheek. Eli didn't wipe it away as his expression remained detached.

"How could you- why did you never tell anyone? Why didn't you tell me?" Charles asked, sounding upset but not because he was angry at Eli, he instead came across as disappointed.

"You shouldn't have had to bottle that up Eli," Charles added maturely.

Eli shook his head in disagreement.

"I didn't want t-to te-tell anyone," Eli said, now struggling to keep his voice steady. "I left Grey Cove and my mom be-behind right after calling special services to pick her up. For all I k-know she's still in a psych ward. Once I got to Miami, I just did my best to forget about it. I faked my t-transcript, cheated for scores and applied for aid t-to get into college. I even made fake social media accounts w-when I got a phone and eventually got a fake drivers license. I framed a whole new life for myself and f-fooled everyone. And it wasn't even hard."

He took a breath.

"As long as I believed that I was simply some guy from T-Tallahassee that wanted to be a nurse, then everyone else did too. I was just Elijah Bennet: that nervous kid with a st-stutter and asthma that no one ever bothered because he never stood out," Eli continued, his voice regained its stability.

Charles didn't say anything. He looked at a loss for words.

I too was speechless as I tried to wrap my mind around the premise. Eli had suddenly become the most secretive and sneaky person I'd ever met. I don't mean that unkindly but unlike me or Charles, Eli had been struggling to survive his whole life and even through his struggling, he never had someone he could talk to or ask for help.

Not like I did.

If anything, he was far stronger and more determined than I had ever predicted.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I offered gingerly. My life had been rather plush and easy going. As long as I kept good grades, didn't cause trouble, and only spoke when spoken too at dinner parties. I hardly ever attracted any unwanted attention to myself and by doing so, I stayed on my parents good side.

Eli ran a sleeve over his eyes before snorting quietly with a small grin. "No need t-to be sorry. Shit happens an-and all we can do is keep moving forward. Even if it feels hopeless," He said honestly before wiping at his eyes again. "I'm just happy I could finally t-tell somebody; you guys are the first people I've t-told you know?" He said, sounding strangely relieved.

Charles looked up at him with a trifled expression before swallowing slowly. "I guess I've been lying to you too," He said quietly.

"You're kidding?" I asked before sharing a silent exchange with Eli who was now puzzled. I was already stunned by Eli's secret past, I didn't stop to think about what Charles could've been hiding.

Charles shook his head. "I'm not," He started soberly.

"Did you grow up in a t-trailer park too?" Eli asked innocently, in an attempt to break up the tension.

Charles demeanor didn't lighten up; he only shook his head slowly.

"Issac wasn't the only one I killed that night," Charles said and I instantly felt a claw of dread run down my spine. There was a very dead and blank look in his eyes that I recognized quickly. I'd seen that expression in the mirror after I woke up from my failed OD attempt.

He looked hollow. And I'm sure he felt that way too.

Charles opened his mouth to continue but promptly shut it as his head turned to the side. He took a moment to recollect himself.

"The night of the crash," Charles started again, his voice tight, "A family of four had been in the other car. Two parents and two kids, seven and twelve."

My chest constricted as the pieces fell into place.

Chatles buried his face into the side of his shoulder, not wanting to look at Eli or I. "They didn't have a tree to break their fall. The went straight down a hi-hill and ended up pinned upside down," Charles continued, his voice breaking. "None of them made it."

I was sitting right beside Charles and felt the impending need to give him a hug. Or at least some comforting gesture just so that he'd know he wasn't alone.

His broad shoulders shook gently as he quietly wept. I scooted closer to him and carefully laid my head on his shoulder. I had done something similar with my brother after he found out his girlfriend of eight months was cheating on him. Granted I didn't quite view Charles as a brother, but it had worked with Christian, so maybe it could benefit Charles's too.

I glanced at Eli who sat up against the opposite wall. His tan skin was flushed red and pink as shiny tears seeped down his cheeks in steady streams. He looked half present as his eyes focused blankly on the wall. Memories and dark thoughts seemed to swirl through his hazel eyes.

Water started to creep from the corners of my eyes as we sat in a general state of gloom.

Charles blond head suddenly lifted and he wiped his nose with his arm before speaking.

"You want to know the worst thing?" Charles asked through a break in the tears, "That family had a third kid, a sixteen year old, who'd stayed home that night since she'd been sick."

He hid his face again. "I killed k-kids- a-a family, I-I-," He said, hardly louder than a whisper and in short stutters. I shushed him gently before he could blame himself further.

I reached down and slipped my hand into his. He hardly seemed to notice but I wasn't sure what else to do. I hadn't seen him get up, but Eli now sat one the other side of Charles. He didn't speak a word, he only offered the comfort of his company which I found reassuring.

"Charles? Listen to me for a minute, ok?" I insisted with a more confident tone than I'd expected, "It was an accident. Your still a good person."

Chatrles shook his head. "But I-," he started but Eli cut him off.

"Don't keep blaming yourself Charles. It's in the past now, there's nothing we can do about it anymore except forgive and move on," Eli said, "It's ok buddy, I promise."

His words sounded more steady than I'd ever heard before.

He didn't even stutter.

Charles didn't reply this time.

My own thoughts began to form as silence filled the room. I closed my eyes as time began to pass. Soon enough, Charle's shoulders stopped shaking. His hand loosened against mine but he didnt let go.

Eli and Charles were a much more damaged, but durable pair, than I think anyone could have seen coming.

However, unlike me, they still had a will to keep fighting. They weren't trying to commit suicide over what had happened to them. They may have been full of regret and guilt but somehow it didn't stop them.

Yet the moment I was faced with the hardship of loss, I fell apart like a house of cards.

Was I so weak?

Maybe its because they had each other for support or because they were just stronger.

How come I could comfort and understand them so much better than myself

Those thoughts caused something to click inside my brain. A very strange idea took form in the quiet comfort of my safe house where three messed up survivors sat together in our own separate states of despair.

'Shit happens.'

'It was an accident.'

'Don't keep blaming yourself.'

Move on.